| In 2003, 20th Century Fox teamed up with something called Fortune Star Entertainment to give some of Hong Kong’s most awesome action movies their long overdue English-language DVD release.
My eyes just about bugged out of my head when I strolled into a store and saw Naked Killer (1992) and City Hunter (1993) just sitting there on the shelf, so many years after hearing about these outrageous flicks. Fox and Fortune Star kept at it, eventually releasing 25 outstanding Hong Kong (HK) films, all widescreen, all with selectable English and Cantonese audio tracks, and all bargain priced – sometimes for as little as six bucks!
I couldn’t believe the number of old favourites the companies came up with. It got to the point where I’d pounce on anything the companies put out, sight unseen. Hey, at those prices, why not?
Here’s a partial list of some of the coolest releases.
· City Hunter (1993) – Jackie Chan goes ultra-cartoonish in what might be his single most ridiculous picture ever. Want to see Jackie Chan crash into an arcade machine and emerge dressed as the female kickboxer Chun-Li from Streetfighter II? Here’s your chance.
· Naked Killer (1992) – Gotta love that title. City Hunter’s luscious Chingmy Yau is unforgettably sexy (but not naked – damn you, misleading title!) as an unstoppable hit woman in love. Sleazy, fast-paced, violent and utterly ludicrous, this has to be seen to be believed. Fox trimmed a couple of steamy lesbian scenes from this version, alas.
· Magnificent Butcher (1979) – A classic, directed by the ever-reliable Yuen Woo Ping (The Matrix, Shaolin Dunkard). Sammo Hung as "Butcher Wing"! Kwan Tak Hing reprising his role as Wong Fei Hung! Er… am I doing a good job of selling this, or am I just bellowing Chinese names at you? Well, rest assured that what we’ve got here are real Chinese folk heroes played by the actors who were born to play them, and that the result is a super awesome kung fu flick.
· The Prodigal Son (1982) – Fantastic old-school chopsocky. Yuen Biao plays a spoiled brat who thinks he’s a tough guy, and doesn’t realize that his rich daddy is paying people to lose fights with him. When he gets his ass handed to him in a genuine fight with a gay opera performer (Mr. Vampire’s Lam Ching Ying, with his eyebrows plucked), he realizes how crap his kung fu skills are, and persuades his swishy opponent to teach him how to fight properly.
· Eastern Condors (1986) – If you’ve never seen a Hong Kong action flick before, start with this one; it’s amazing. Hung leads an all-star band of Chinese-American convicts on a suicide mission– they must go deep into postwar Vietnam to destroy an ammunition depot before the Viet-Cong can get to it. The Matrix (1999) is the only movie I can think of that blends gunplay and kung fu as well as this one, the action sequences are frequent and incredible. Fast-paced, exciting and very accessible to western audiences. What are you waiting for?
· Royal Warriors (a.k.a. In the Line of Duty) (1986) – Michelle Yeoh (still calling herself Michelle Khan at this point in her career) impresses as an action heroine in one of her first starring roles. Non-stop action and explosions, with Yeoh foiling an airplane hijack attempt, driving into battle in a makeshift tank and going toe-to-toe with a chainsaw-wielding madman!
· Mr. Vampire (1985) – Holy crap, you have to see this! White-faced Chinese vampires hop around with their arms outstretched, and can be deactivated by sticking bits of yellow paper to their foreheads (behold the supernatural effectiveness of Post-Its!). Lam Ching Ying saves the day as the Taoist priest who knows exactly what to do when you’re being menaced by the bouncing undead. Wild!
Good times, good times. The reason I mention this is because the current supply of Fox/Fortune Star DVDs seems to be dwindling away, and not being replenished. The only thing the companies have jointly released since 2004 seems to be the Bruce Lee Ultimate Collection box set, which just isn’t the same thing. What kind of "ultimate" collection omits Lee’s masterpiece Enter the Dragon (1973) but includes Game of Death II (1981), which was pieced together out of discarded footage eight years after Lee’s death? Oh well – Fortune Star was probably just trying to re-release its single-disc version of Game of Death II in a package that people would actually buy. That’s fine with me – I just wish they’d hurry up and get back to releasing those cool single discs again. C’mon Fortune Star, what else have you got in your vaults? Sex and Zen (1992)? Pedicab Driver (1989)? Bring ’em out! We want ’em! |
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