The full programme for the Venice Film Festival has been announced, including new films by Takashi Miike and Tsui Hark, and the adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood (more…)
The full programme for the Venice Film Festival has been announced, including new films by Takashi Miike and Tsui Hark, and the adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood…
There are several upcoming treats in store at the Venice Film Festival, which is often host to a first glimpse of some of the more interesting Asian films (and, in some cases, the nearest to the mainstream that they get).
There’ll be a lot of interest in Takashi Miike’s latest film, a (doubtlessly very personal) take on a samurai tale, 13 Assassins, which also happens to be a co-production with the UK. Also on show will be the highly-anticipated version of Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood by Tran Anh Hung, the first full length novel Murakami has allowed to be adapted.
Hong Kong stalwart Tsui Hark is also in competition with Detective Dee and the Mystery of Phantom Flame. I, for one, have fingers crossed that we see a true return to form.
Out of competition there’s more from Miike, Zebraman and Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City; the latest from Infernal Affairs director Andrew Lau, The Return of Chen Zhen; The Child’s Eye 3D, the first Chinese/Hong Kong 3D film(?) from (who else but) the Pang Brothers; Reign of Assassins by John Woo and Su Chao-Pin starring Michelle Yeoh; Shock Labyrinth 3D by Ju-on: The Grudgedirector Takashi Shimizu; and Space Guy by Zhang Yuan.
The festival runs from 1 to 11 September, and hopefully we should get to see some of the fallout soon afterwards…
With the long-awaited sequel The Storm Warriors out next Monday, we look back at the original adaptation of Ma Wing-Shing’s comic book Fung Wan, directed by Andrew Lau (Infernal Affairs)… (more…)
A French co-production, Johnnie To’s superb (partly) English debut pays homage to Jean-Pierre Melville’s classic Le Samouraï… (more…)
A great thriller by Johnnie To and wry look at how 21st century news is broadcast all rolled into one – Hong Kong filmmaking at it’s best… (more…)
Very capable remake of Johnnie To’s Breaking News moves the action to Russia, but the question is do we really need one…? (more…)
Directed by Wong Ching Po (A Decade Of Love; Mob Sister) and starring Andy Lau (A World Without Thieves; House Of Flying Daggers; Infernal Affairs), Jacky Cheung (Bullet In The Head), Shawn Yue (Dragon Tiger Gate; Initial D – Drift Racer; the Infernal Affairs trilogy) and Edison Chen (The Dark Knight; the Infernal Affairs trilogy), JIANG HU is a stylish gangster thriller.
Andy Lau stars as Triad boss Hung Yan-jau, whose celebrations to mark the birth of his first son are overshadowed by his having to intervene in an internal power struggle amongst his men. Despite the possibility of the situation exploding into all-out gang warfare, Hung is reluctant to take the extreme action advised by his long-time friend and closest ally, Left Hand (Jacky Cheung), who recommends the assassination of not only the troublemakers, but of all members of their immediate families. Claiming to have Hung’s best interests at heart, Left Hand takes it upon himself to order the elimination of those who threaten Hung’s position.
Meanwhile, a parallel storyline is unfolding involving two ambitious young gangsters, one of whom is hoping to climb the ranks within the criminal underworld by accepting a seemingly suicidal mission to murder one of Hong Kong’s most powerful Triad leaders…
A powerhouse cast of Hong Kong cinema’s finest actors helps propel Wong Ching Po’s dynamic thriller to a superbly stylised showdown on the city’s rain drenched streets and a climactic twist that brings the movie’s two plots together in a pleasingly dramatic finale.
JIANG HU (cert. tbc) will be released on DVD (£15.99) by Palisades Tartan on 30th November 2009. Special Features include: “Making of” featurette; music video; trailer; 2.0 and 5.1 Dolby Digital and 5.1 DTS Surround audio options; optional English subtitles.
One of the first films from the newly relaunched Palisades Tartan label – reborn from the legendary Tartan Films label, which went bust last year – is A World Without Thieves. Written and directed by Xiaogang Feng (Assembly; The Banquet), one of the most successful film directors in China, and starring Andy Lau (Three Kingdoms; House Of Flying Daggers; Infernal Affairs), Rene Liu (Double Vision; The Personals), You Ge (If You Are The One; Legend Of The Black Scorpion), Baoqiang Wang (Assembly; Blind Shaft) and Bingbing Li (The Forbidden Kingdom; The Knot), the film is billed as a thrilling crime caper with plenty of action and more than a hint of romance to spice things up.
Lau and Liu star as a master pickpocket from Hong Kong and a femme fatale grafter from Taiwan, respectively. Partners in crime and passion, they swindle their way across China until one day she suddenly decides to call it quits, both to her egregious lifestyle and to her entanglement with her lover. It is at this crossroads in their lives that they run into a humble peasant with a very large consignment of cash. It’s an encounter that will alter their fates forever…
A World Without Thieves (cert. 18) is released today on DVD (£17.99) by Palisades Tartan.
Palisades Tartan, the reborn imprint of the Tartan Films label, are offering a chance for two to attend their UK premiere of Park Chan-wook’s Thirst and meet the director in person… (more…)
Say what? Another two hours to find out how the Battle of Red Cliff actually goes? Is it worth it? Oh yes, all you John Woo fans out there, it really is… (more…)
Director/action choreographer Ching Siu-tung’s solid if slightly disappointing movie An Empress and The Warriors is released on UK DVD today.
Starring an under-utilised Donnie Yen, Leon Li and Kelly Chen, it’s an historical melodrama. Yep, another one. And sadly it doesn’t delight in the way you might hope from the director of Hong Kong 80s and 90s classics like the Chinese Ghost Story and Swordsman series of films, or from his collaborations with Zhang Yimou – Hero, House Of Flying Daggers and Curse Of The Golden Flower.
You can read our full review of An Empress and The Warriors here »
Peter Chan’s The Warlords, starring Jet Li, Andy Lau and Takeshi Kineshiro, is released in the UK on two-disc DVD and Blu-ray today by Metronome.
Yet another historical drama, over blown, over acted and over long – but it’s still easily the best thing John Woo has done in a long time…! (more…)
Action choreographer on Hero, House Of Flying Daggers, The Warlords and far too many others to mention, Tony Ching Siu-tung is back in the director’s chair for the first time in five years – but is this the triumphant return we were hoping for…? (more…)
Peter Chan’s The Warlords, starring Jet Li, Andy Lau and Takeshi Kineshiro, is on limited release in London and around the UK by Metrodome.
Peter Chan’s take on the historical wuxia drama is far grittier and more grounded than we’re used to, with a fine performance by Jet Li that will surprise his critics – but do we really need another film like this? (more…)
