A Tour of Europe: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

Most of my time here at Foreign Entertainment has been spent hopping along the strangely-proportioned stones of anime in the river of Japanese culture. The whole point of my Anime Friday feature was that I'm an exceedingly Western person who needed a change in my pop culture diet. I got that and then some, but now it's time for me to settle back into more familiar territory. Every week, I'll be exploring one work of European film, television or music in a feature I'm calling A Tour of Europe.

For the first entry in this new feature, we'll be visiting France, the home of some of the greatest cinema in the world. Specifically, this entry is about La Parapluies de Cherbourg ("The Umbrellas of Cherbourg"), Jacques Demy's dreamy 1964 musical.

Now, I'm not the biggest fan of musicals in the world. Most of the time the attempt to combine theater with song results in a production that does neither as well as a show focusing on one or the other. There are a few notable exceptions, but by and large I'm willing to accept that musical theater is an acquired taste. My biggest problem with it has always been the unnatural feel of people breaking into song. Theater already requires a suspension of disbelief, so having to endure something as strange as emotionally-motivated singing is a high hurtle. The solution to this problem, as Demy and company surmised, is to put the entire script in song so nobody ever really "breaks out", they just "flow in".

Umbrellas is undoubtedly commercial and a lot more inviting to non-French viewers than most French cinema. It's a Technicolor designer's wet dream and it indulges in the swooning romanticism of the era's Hollywood pictures. This doesn't mean that it isn't still very, very French. The romance is tinged with heartbreak and it takes less than an hour for Demy's florid world to grow weary of itself. It's not so much a story of a doomed love between young flames Genevieve and Guy as it is a response to the idealism of romantic cinema using its own stock and trade.

Cinephiles will recognize a young Catherine Deneuve in the role of Genevieve Emery. Though Deneuve had already proved herself a very capable actress by the time Umbrellas came around, she's really just the face of this movie. All of the actors didn't sing for themselves here. In Deneuve's case, Umbrellas was a breakout role for pop singer Danielle Licari who would go on to sell millions of records at the end of the decade.

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg cleaned up at the Academy Awards and it has since been hailed as one of the greatest films of all time. For our purposes, it's the gentlest possible introduction to French New Wave cinema. The likes of Godard and Truffaut are often too rough and unapologetic for the uninitiated. We'll definitely be looking at more films from the New Wave, so I wanted to start out here in what is basically Franco-Hollywood. I'll be back next week with another entry from another country. Au revoir.

Tsotsi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You've heard about Tsotsi. It was nominated for a number of awards and also won an Oscar. It made such waves in the movie industry, or at least in part of it, that Gavin Hood was signed up for major flicks. Yes, let's not go into the epilogue; let's talk about Tsotsi.

What's the story like? In a nutshell, an angry, young hooligan, David, ends up taking care of a baby whose mother he kind of maimed in a robbery. Oh, and the police and other hooligans are out for him. I'll confess that the story is more complicated than that. The story links two vastly different worlds in South Africa - the poor folk who live in make-shift houses in townships and the super rich who in expansive home protected by barbed wire and hi-tech security fencing. and So, one of those bitter, hardened orphans goes off with his little criminally-minded group to get a chunk of what is entitled to them. Where do you find that? Behind the electric fencing, in that rich home of course. Well, these guys end up shooting a woman in an attempted robbery/hijacking and driving off with her car. Problem is, David finds that there's a baby in the car. And to his own surprise, he finds himself taking care of it. He does this in his own way; bullying a young mother in his neighborhood to feed and wash the baby. I suppose he tried. As the story progresses, David distances himself from his 'gang' and even gets into nasty fights with one. In the end, it's a matter of will he be caught and will he do the right thing?

I guess that brings up the vital question - why should you watch it? Firstly, I would argue that the story does not adhere to typical antihero depictions. As it is, I was somewhat disappointed to note that a certain percentage of foreign critics dismissed the main plot-line as cliche and just another take on an old theme. Fair enough, the man from the ghetto facing a moral dilemma is an age old story; we've come across it way too many times. In most cases, it is probably Nicholas Cage with a receding hairline.

What's interesting in this case is the fact that the antihero's actions or behavior was never glamorous. Sure, a number of times, the direction and content evoked sympathy from us; we felt sorry for his sad childhood and it was disconcerting to know he was one of the many who are struggling for their basic human needs in South Africa. But at no point did the director and writer flesh him out as a cool-to-emulate character. None of his actions were sensationalized. There were no monosyllabic phrases that was meant to show him as a desirably macho man. The fight scenes were ugly and somewhat realistic and showed violence for what it was - dirty, out of control and life-changing.

Secondly, the movie is a rather accurate depiction of life in South Africa. There is nothing cliche about the backdrop of the movie. It provides a fascinating insight into social situation, be it the disparity between rich and poor, the crazy crime situation there or even the simple fact that despite all these problems, the country is thriving and growing with the times. That last phrase meant for those who dismiss the country as just another little nation living in little huts. While we are on the topic, I must note that the movie depicts the violent crime situations rather well. Did you notice that bit where the same house was hit twice by the robbers? Would it scare you if I said that in South Africa people really do watch where you go, how often you leave your house and where you work? This is a frightening little insight into that aspect of the South African life.

 

Cinema a la Canada: Zero Patience

In the 1980's and early 1990's, the cultural consciousness surrounding HIV/AIDS was littered with myths, misconceptions and outright lies. The confusion wasn't helped by books like And The Band Played On by Randy Shilts. In it, Shilts promoted the "Patient Zero" theory that HIV came to North America through the promiscuity of a single, gay flight attendant named Gaetan Dugas. This theory came out of a single cluster study that was riddled with flimsy science and anti-gay prejudice. The book came out in 1987. By 1993, a film maker and erstwhile activist named John Greyson put together a fun, informative and delightfully campy movie called Zero Patience with the help of just about every major film organization in Canada.

Zero Patience is a surreal musical in the tradition of New Queer Cinema. In the late-80's through the mid-90's there was a surge of innovative and often controversial films that eschewed innuendo in favor of directly addressing themes relevant to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. Zero Patience uses the movement's arch sense of humor to put the myths about HIV in sharp relief. By putting everything in such absurd context, the myths themselves seem all the more silly and contrived.

The premise of Zero Patience is that Zero, a thinly-veiled reference to Gaetan Dugas, dies of AIDS and returns as a ghost. The only person who can see him is none other than Sir Richard Francis Burton, the Victorian pseudo-scientist, who in this story accidentally got mixed up with the Fountain of Youth, allowing him to continue his studies into the late 20th century. In the film, Burton is a curator at a Natural History Museum and he decides to create an exhibit tracing the false history of HIV, ranging from the "monkey" myth to a video display about Zero.

While Zero tries to piece together the mystery of his return to earth, the story visits with his friends and associates from life. Among them are an old lover who is battling HIV-related illnesses and a friend who now heads up an HIV/AIDS education and awareness political group. Their experiences put a full, human face on a messy political problem that should have been a health concern instead.

While some of the songs in Zero Patience are simply there for fun, most of them focus on disseminating solid medical facts about HIV and highlighting the emotional complexity of what it's like to have the condition. The low-budget feel and the educational bent of the film keeps it from being a work of high art, but given its time and its purpose it is a real accomplishment.

While LGBT culture has become somewhat more mainstream in the 21st century, much of its art is still fairly underground. It would be a controversy to try to release Zero Patience in 2009. The fact that it saw the light of day in 1993 is astounding. Thanks to our neighbors to the north and their more lenient view of censorship, a truly unique film about the HIV/AIDS crisis got a much deserved reception.

Things that make you go "...Uhmmm"

Alright, so it might not necessary tease that exact reaction out of you. In fact you just might opt for the traditional three letter expletive. And that will be at the audience reaction and not at the so-called offending material itself. What am I going on about? So-called controversial content that have riled up people over time. Specifically I want to mention three ads that have annoyed a number of usually sensible people.

These are ads that were meant to make you laugh. Or at best, run off to buy their new-fangled product. Personally, I don't find anything offensive about any of them, even the last one. All of them seem quite innocent and silly at best. That's what makes all the spewing angry words from the general public so ... weird.

 

Virgin ad that some call "That Branson Ad"

Oh come on! Why were people complaining about Richard Branson's role in this ad? Honestly, the way people ranted and raved about his 'patronizing' outlook in the ad, I expected him to be the lead character. Perhaps filling a sack with puppies and smuggling them in a Virgin train. Or using them as a pinata on a Virgin train. The way people were going on and on I expected something really shocking.

So imagine my surprise when I couldn't spot Mr. Branson the first two times I saw the ad. Condescending? Demeaning? What are they going on about? I can't even find the man in the ad. And when I did, it was a bit of a 'facepalm' moment. I commend him on being a rather good sport.

 

And later, the puppet sold for thousands of Rand!

This one requires a bit of background information. The franchise in question is popular food outlet in South Africa. These guys are famous for their ads which offer a good blend of topical issues mixed with quirky sense of humor. 

Well this particular ad got them into a lot of trouble. The puppet in the ad alludes to a youth group leader called Julius Malema. These guys are affiliated with the country's largest political party, the ANC. Well, every party was sort of borrowing heavily from the US inspired 'change' theme and, yes, ANC also ran with that idea. Only problem is, the youth group was a bit too forward in their defense of their party and it's ideas. Sure, there was a lot of mudslinging and other dirty tactics from all sides. But Malema was always one step ahead in the verbal tirade. His comments about 'killing' for the leader (link), the rape accuser from the now-acquitted leader's trial (link) and opposition party leader Zille (link) earned him the image of a "Talk first, Think later" sort of man. And so, is it any wonder that the backlash to his comments included a possibly fake school certificate from his school days? Apparently he didn't do so well in Maths and Woodwork.

Put this in context of this ad. "Change" could be a play on the words and the 100% Malema is a playful jab at their t-shirts. The ad folks seemed to be banking on an ongoing joke in the country anyway. Well, here's where it become funnier. The ad was controversial, certain people talked of militant action and Nandos listened to Malema's complaints. Filtered his comments and got to the gist of it, is more like it. They pulled the ad and came up with this one, which by the way was an even better parody than the first one.

Click here to see the altered ad.

 

Man with Mohawk hits a nerve

 

This is another unbelievable moment. From the sounds of it, tons of angry viewers complained about the negative message in this ad. In a nutshell, the ad has Mr. T belting out snickers bars to a speed-walker.  

But here's what I found funny ... a number of people outside UK got al riled up and had this ad pulled ... from UK. Apparently folks in UK were a-okay with this ad; in fact, there were only 2 complaints about it. People were pretty much "meh". I suppose once you've seen cutting humor on a show like Nevermind the Buzzcocks, the Mr. T ad is like watching the antics of a playful kitten. I still cannot believe that this ad was offensive enough to be pulled and yet, people are happily waving the free speech banner in defense of Miss CA.

 

Shouf Shouf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shouf Shouf, the Dutch comedy series, is based on the movie by the same name. Sometimes the movie is known as Hush Hush Baby which, I must admit, is a bit of an arbitrary title. But then, I've only watched the series and have no clue what the movie is all about. Well, it's supposed to the same concept, carried through into a series and, if the series is anything to go by, it's main source of inspiration must be just as funny.

What's Shouf Shouf, the series, all about? The story revolves around four friends, Ap, Rachid, Mussi and Robbie, and their strange mishaps. Specifically, the gist of the plot is how Morrocon-born Ap settles into his new home in the Netherlands. As you can imagine there are many cross cultural references as well as funny little insights about Netherlands itself. As for other continuing themes, in almost every episode these guys run into weirdest situations. And of course, as is the case with most comedy sitcoms, you find that each situation is created/worsened by silly judgments by the main characters.

Consider these situations. If your friend really wanted a live chicken, he would have specified it on the grocery list. And even in that situation, a flustered looking chicken wouldn't have been so bad if your friend didn't need it for his cooking class ... which incidentally has already started. And while we are on the topic of inappropriate moves, walking into a social event wearing paintball gear is a really really bad decision!

So why would you watch these series? If you like learning about different cultures or, coming from a diverse background, you see the funny side of adapting, this will definitely tickle your funny bone. At the same time, I also think that the series might just appeal to a wider audience as it also makes good social commentary about prejudices and bias against different cultures. None of this is done in a preachy manner; most of the situations are tongue-in-cheek and some are just laugh out loud funny. As an example, I refer to the instance where one of the guys dashed off to grab some petrol for his scooter. Unfortunately, there had been a spate of arsonist activities in the area. And the police were on the lookout for suspicious characters, which happened to include young men running off with petrol containers. Perhaps the worse bit of was the frisk and search of his persons. It wasn't the act per say; rather it was the untimely discovery of his tape recorder. Did I mention that it had his latest rap song/singing effort on it? And that it was something along the lines of "burning down the house"?

Anime Friday: Conclusions

For this week's Anime Friday I was going to cover Dragon Half. The intention was to do a compare and contrast with last week's entry, Slayers. They're both inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, they both employ Chibi art and they're both at the same level of not-too-serious adventure fare. Ultimately, I decided against it. There's nothing much more I can say on that topic.

When I started this project nearly six months ago, I had every intention of carrying it for an entire year. That amount of time would give me an opportunity to explore as many facets of the genre as possible, spending equal time with the big names as with the obscure fan favorites. It's been an interesting run and I'm glad I did it, but I think it's time to move on.

I began Anime Friday as an attempt to explore why it is the genre never really clicked for me, or for a lot of people for that matter. I dug into anime from the perspective of general criticism as well as from a point of view that was more sympathetic to its idiosyncrasies. In the end, I've come away with the following.

I feel remiss for not having an anime adviser who grew up in Japanese culture. At best, I've had advisers who lived in Japan for a brief but decent period of time. This led to some unfortunate self-selection. Americans who take the leap of living in another country tend to do so out of a fascination with that country's culture, however skewed their initial understanding of it happens to be. This project would have benefited from direct information about how different people from Japan view anime, not just how Americans who are predisposed to either liking it or dismissing it feel about the genre.

Despite any insistence that it's somehow exempt from the same rules, anime is a cartoon medium. This brings with it a lot of baggage that I simply refuse to believe is culture-specific. I don't think there's anything about Japanese culture that makes Japanese people any more willing to take cartoons seriously than Westerners. In fact, I think it's something of a misconception that they do take this stuff seriously. Do Americans take their favorite programs seriously? Did anyone but a small fraction of avid comic book enthusiasts go to see X-Men Origins: Wolverine for anything more than action scenes, special effects and a shirtless Hugh Jackman? In short, all true Otaku may be Japanese, but all Japanese people are not Otaku.

Don't mistake me for being summarily dismissive of the cartoon medium. I do believe there is nuance beyond falling anvils, it's just limited. Ink is never going to capture the subtlety of a fine actor, but that's not really the point of ink. Cartoons are meant to be exaggerations and anime is nothing if not a series of exaggerations. A character will have practically no nose, chin or cheek bones, but that's just because the artist would rather focus on giant, jewel-colored eyes and, ahem, "expressive" hair. The set pieces are rarely ever going to have narrative qualities because many of them are designed simply to be destroyed by an over-the-top fight scene.

This is ultimately why I've come to prefer the silly anime over the dramatic stuff. Regardless of a creator's intentions, drama requires more than moody lighting and grim line delivery. Anime is better off sticking to monsters, robots and popcorn plots because those are all things that cartoons can do better than live action productions. Expecting ink and voice actors to provide high drama is like expecting a tricycle to win the Tour de France.

It's been a worthwhile ride and I've learned a lot, but I do believe it's time to move on. There's a whole world of unique music, cinema and television to explore. While I'm certain that I'll return to Japanese culture frequently for this blog and I have no intention of swearing off anime, Fridays will now be devoted to a more expansive range of pop culture. In the end, I suppose I just wanted anime to be deeper than it turned out to be.

 

The Hunt for Gollum



It was eagerly awaited and finally, the hunt ensued last Sunday. That's right, I am talking about The Hunt for Gollum. It is a British fan film that premiered on May 3rd at the SciFi London Film Festival. And, surprise surprise, it is available to view for free at their official site.

What's the story about? Apparently the good folks behind this movie based the movie on the tidbits and extra information sprinkled amongst the appendix pages of the Lord of the Rings books. Basically, the timeline of the story is just prior to beginning of LoTR. So the story sees Strider aka Aragon embarking on an all-important quest, a quest to find little Smeagal. If you read The Hobbit, you'll remember how Bilbo outsmarts Smeagal and nabs his magic ring. Yes, well Mr. Smegal is mad and he wants his precious back. So he leaves his little cave and scurries off to find Bilbo/Frodo/ring. Which is pretty scary when you remember the nasty guys looking for ring as well.

What's to like in this movie, you ask? Plenty. This fan film provides a good medley of a) creative skills, b) talented movie making abilities and of course, c) covering a subject dear to your heart. It is certainly a 70s idealistic moment where a bit of time and love for a subject can result in a superb work of art. On the other hand, maybe the modern million dollar movie debacles have made me too cynical about how and why movies are made at all. Well, The Hunt for Gollum certainly paves the way forward for future ventures.

Everything looks so good. When you watch the movie, keep in mind that the folks spent only 3000 pounds on this flick! That is not excusing quality; rather that is a commendation of what can be done with in the right hands. The costumes are good, the acting is fantastic, the special effects are well done and Smeagal is just mind blowing.

It moves with the times. This flick premiered on the internet and was viewable worldwide. That is more than I can say for renowned web series which are supposed to be openly accessible to all (hello, internet etiquette?). Someone should point this out to big movie producers (you know, those eager for a big break in the 'interwebs') that internet success means open access to everyone all over world. By the way, the official website for HFG is down; apparently there was a surge of traffic, crashing the site.

Non Commercial For The Win. Before anyone asks, yes, it looks like the guys did speak to the main folks handling the Tolkein Enterprises . And, yes, it seems like the creators did get go ahead. In fact, since the guys behind the venture released it as a tribute and are not making any mega millions or pennies from it, it is good to go.


Go forth and enjoy! And, before I log off, here are links to their site, the movie and interviews!

Official Website of The Hunt for Gollum
Site to View movie online
Interview with Chris Buchard (writer and director of film) on BBC

 

Anime Friday: Slayers

I think I've finally pinpointed the source of my problem with most anime. In order to do so, I had to reach back more than a decade into what turned out to be a very different era for the art. Anime in the first half of the 90's was, for the most part, neither slick nor self-conscious. Watching Slayers is like watching a playful puppy you know will one day turn into a neurotic, old dog with no new tricks.

Everything I've ever called bad about any of the movies or series I've watched for this project occurs in some form in Slayers and yet I enjoyed this show more than most of the things I've watched for Anime Friday. The animation is often laughably bad. The camera pans over obvious stills, the color work for a character's hair bleeds over into their eyes, stock cycles are employed. And yet, none of this bothered me.

The voice acting, aside from the distinct enthusiasm of Lisa Ortiz, was pretty weak and exaggerated. The script is nothing but exposition dumps and unnecessary reiterations of plot points. The story itself is barely passable. So, why was I compelled to watch several episodes every single day for a solid week?

When I first started watching Slayers I was pleasantly surprised at how unabashedly cartoonish it was. It was fun, it was goofy, it felt like a Saturday morning adventure show. That's where it hit me. I can tolerate and even enjoy all of the many bad parts of Slayers because it never asks me to take it seriously. Like a candy bar brings with it no expectation of nutrition, shows like Slayers never ask their viewers to engage with any weighty drama.

So, there it is. I've watched several anime movies and series, most of them from the past five or ten years, and most of them are so self-serious that I can't help but scoff at all of their sub-par executions. Slayers is an inherently goofy romp through high fantasy in which even saving the world from a giant demon is treated as light fare.

In the end, I respect projects like Slayers so much more than the myriad failed attempts at stony drama and social commentary in anime. No matter what it's about, how good the voice actors are or how slick the animation is, anime is still just a cartoon medium. It exists below an extra layer of make-believe where actors can't react with a simple facial expression and set pieces interact with characters on the same level as the represented flesh on the screen.

Comprehension: 10/10- If I wanted to be snarky, I'd give this one an 11. Most of the dialog consists of one character bluntly explaining some element of plot or meta-plot to another.

Enjoyment: 10/10- It was popcorn and candy, pure and simple. Slayers has no subtext, no commentary, no character depth. It is watching familiar archetypes having an adventure, but it never asks its viewers to expect anything more than that.

Improvement of Understanding: 10/10- In short, I get it now. Unless something seismic happens in the next few weeks, I don't know how much farther I can go with this project.

Next Week: Dragon Half

Night Watch: Now That's what I call a Vampire movie

Here's a movie that brought the oomph back into the vampire lore - Night Watch (2004). By the way, I hear that the 3rd part is coming out sometime this year. And not a moment too soon, in this age of vampires having identity crises and, er, sparkly chests. In an odd twist, the third part is called, wait for it, Twilight Watch.

First things first. What's the story of this movie? As a recent reference, think of Underworld or even the anime Trinity Blood. There are factions within society, society being some sort of parallel universe where Russians are fighting the good fight against evil ... or good, depending on where you signed the dotted line. So you get humans called The Others which must not be mistaken with the pale, wheezy figures from that Kidman movie. Oh, no, these folks are super folks, born with 'extra powers', quite nifty ones I might add, which aid them in the constant struggle against the blood sucking dark forces. They are part of a group called the Night Watch and they keep the Day Watch in check.

Day Watch, you ask? Who the heck are these guys? Day Watch are the vampire folk and assorted minions, including disgruntled humans with incredible powers who wanted a bit more than a meager paycheck at the end of the month. These guys keep tabs on the Night Watch. In a funny way, it's a circle of life and everyone maintains a balance, going through the motion until that big defining moment in the future. I'm not entirely sure what happens but it's something along the lines of a powerful and nasty lord in a respectable headdress picking a side.

And all that is just the background setting. The main story, weaved together with fascinating little subplots, revolves around Anton Gorodetsky. I don't want to give away too much and spoil the twists in the plotline so let's sum it up as so: story's about the choices Anton made in the past, how it changed his life and led him to join Night Watch. Anton's most recent case has to be solved somewhat tactfully since it has drastic implications for everyone's future.

Enough said about the plot. Here are the reasons why I thoroughly enjoyed the movie:

Because the movie plot will leave you guessing. Don't expect predictable sub plots and typical cliches. In fact, you will probably find yourself glued to the TV, wondering, among other things, what the heck that owl shapeshifting was all about.  There won't be any "safe breaks" where you can casually walk over to grab a beer while you wait for that annoying character to run amok into the woods and ultimately into the masked bad guy. Did I mention that sub plots are mixed into the main plot in a somewhat non-linear manner?

Because there are many delicious creatures in the mix. Remember the previous reference to Underworld? That's right, similar to that flick's werewolf-vampire love-hate relationship, Night Watch has an interesting medley of supernatural beings - flashy vampires, nifty shapeshifters and of course the random cursed creature. There's something delightfully Diablo-like about this setting. All we need in this mix is a quirky Deckard Cain.

Because the music was hardcore. Do you know what's worse than sitar music in a vampire movie? Lengthy, mushy love scenes between humans and vampires dotted with pop romance songs. Yes, we get it: "Baby, if you were gone, maybe the sun came out" or something to that effect. Music in the movie ranges from rock to heavy metal, giving the fight scenes an extra edge. Think back to Rammstein's self-promotional opening song in the club scene of Van Diesel's XXX. It gave it an extra edge, didn't it?

Love it? Hate it? What did you think of the movie? And what is the name of the song in that fight scene between Anton and hungry vampire lady?

 

Before they became stars - Part 2

I wrote an article recently about martial arts actors and their lesser known projects. Some of the comments reminded me of other noteworthy stars. Well, some of them are well-known all over the world and their pictures are splashed all over the place (or in Donnie Yen's case, baring his chest on his site and various magazine covers). In this article I will talk about Donnie Yen, Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung. (Note: If you don't give a hoot about going through this short list in ordr, click on each name to jump to the relevant section).

So, what did these guys do before they became the hottest foot-flicking, fist-waving martial artist on the block?

 

Donnie Yen

Donnie Yen have come a long way indeed. If you read his biography, you'll see that his life experiences range from getting the know-how from the martial arts masters in Beijing to making gushworthy action flicks in Hong Kong. And now he's a bit of a world renowned celebrity, directing his own movies to boot. 

I must admit I have not seen too many of his early ones. I saw Drunken Tai Chi, which was good fun. The plot was an average run-of-the-mill avenge me family or else number. But what was worthwhile the interesting action bits. Where tai chi is concerned, I was more of Dacascos/Jet Li's Wong Fei Hong fan myself. The point is that this movie helped the actor make a name for himself and showoff his talent. Speaking of tai chi, another movie that I fondly recall is Once Upon a Time in China II. I always thought of Wong Fei Hong(Jet Li) as the be-all-and-end-all of all heroes. He'll set everything right, no one can beat him I told myself. Thus, they had to come up with a nasty enough opposition to the hero's skilled movies i.e. Donnie Yen as the swift and smooth General Nap Lan.   

Check out one of this superb fight scenes here.    

 

Yuen Biao

You couldn't watch an old Jackie Chan movie without coming across this name. Yuen Biao was the spunky, youthful face amongst all the more grown-up mischief-makers in those movies. He doesn't seem to be too famous outside Asia but he definitely has a strong fan following there.  

Here's a bit of trivia to pique your interest: did you know he was a stunt double for Bruce Lee in Game of Death? Did you just say "Whoa"? I know I did. My favorite movies include the Lucky Star series, Wheels on Meals and Project A. All of them are ventures involving Jackie Chan. It's the usual fun and games involving well-choreographed action bits. Wheels on Meals is especially fun since it's got Benny Urquidez as the creepy bad guy. Fights with him almost always seem like epic battles it always comes frighteningly close to Urquidez winning.  

Catch a glimpse of his fighting style here.

 

Sammo Hung

He is another familiar face from old Jackie Chan movies. Currently he is famous in most countries as that “cool Chinese cop” from Martial Law. While that was not a bad series, I was initially upset to see a great martial artist don the stereotypical “Kung Fu fighter from China” role. In hindsight, this portrayal of him as “The other” might have been the best way to overcome language barriers.  

How's this for a fun fact? Apparently he did a cameo in Enter the Dragon! Well, Sammo Hung was in most of Jackie Chan's earlier movies like the Lucky Star series as well as numerous others. His fighting style and prowess is almost always showcased in most of these flicks. For a glimpse of this, check out the last fight in Winners and Sinners (first movie in the LS series). Who else can leap back and forth between piled up cargo boxes while fending off four minions?   Check out the end fight scene here.  

One early movies that I will highlight are Pedicab Driver. It's a good old-school martial movie; realistic fight scenes mingled with occasional bits of good humor. You know, the good old days when martial arts resembled well choreographed version of street fighting. Gist of the story? Rickshaw driver defending his girlfriend (who used to be a hooker) from her previous boss (i.e. gangster pimp). Good times all around. Two noteworthy scenes are the end fights against Chow and the big brawl between Sammo Hung and Lau Kar Leung.

Check out the latter scene here.  

 

That's my list. What were your favorite movies/fights of these martial arts stars?

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