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| Back Alley Princess (1973) Directed by: Lo Wei |
Overlong and unbearable, Lo Wei (The Big Boss) directs the story of homeless swindlers played by Polly Kuan (as a character posing as a boy) and Sam Hui. After an endless array of scenarios where they squeeze a little money out of various sources, they hook up with a poor family of martial arts performers and use their crafty skills to help them out a little. Kuan's Chilli Boy even manages to befriend a lawyer who takes her out of the gutter and into the high standards. And there's a Hang Ying-Chieh subplot about his whip, his prostitutes and seeing as Angela Mao is there, some fury in the fighting stakes is injected as well. Still, at 2+ hours, Lo Wei displays no sense of knowing when to stop. It's hard to see him being in love with this dull material (with several strand of opportunities sure) and hard to figure out why you would want to kidnap an audience for 2 hours just to give them scattered commercial content. Carter Wong and Tien Feng also appear. |
| Bamboo House Of Dolls (1973) Directed by: Kuei Chieh-Hung |
Predating one of the Women in Prison-genre's more famous, if not THE most famous entry, Ilsa, She Wolf Of The SS, Kuei Chieh-Hung's Bamboo House of Dolls was produced by Shaw Brother's and lensed by Yu Chi. Professionalism is a dependable factor here therefore, even beforehand! You certainly shouldn't expect great depth from an exploitation vehicle though so going into the film, I had my expectations in balance but came out disappointed. After the grim opening reel, featuring various forms of torture and rape, an actual plot sets in and our female prisoners goes on the run for a gold treasure. What becomes an examination of patriotism and the film's characters is in reality very slight but more or less serviceable. The biggest flaw in the great looking framework is that of pace and length though. Which is ironic since prior to the IVL dvd, an edited down, English dubbed version was the only viewing option available. While I can't vouch for how that edit in particular plays, I can easily see where material could've been excised, based on the Hong Kong version. Kuei isn't furthering any themes or characters during the hunt that takes up much of the second half and it lacks spark. Exploitation elements do come off in a fairly strong way however and despite the Cat IIb-rating, unless it's another misprint which was the case of The Killer Snakes dvd, there's much flesh and gritty violence on display. Certainly destined to grow into even more of a cult classic, Kuei Chieh-Hung thankfully rebounded the year after with the bleak The Killer Snakes. Bamboo House Of Dolls does pale in comparison, in many ways... Lau Wai Yue, reportedly in her feature debut, is memorable as the lesbian warden and Lo Lieh offers up some fine screen presence (was there anyone more dependable?). Danish starlet Birte Nove, sharing main billing here with Lo Lieh, also appeared in Lui Kei's Sexy Girls Of Denmark, also at Shaw's. Chan Sen and Fan Mei Sheng can also be spotted amongst the supporting players. Buy the DVD at: |
| Banana Club (1996) Directed by: Sin Chi-Wai |
Just like Anthony Wong's weird Top Banana Club released just a few months earlier was inspired by a local radio show, Sin Chi-Wai's romantic comedy features a similar plot framework. Although much more concrete and standard, this is an occasionally funny rom/com that may have its odd behaviour (Alvina Kong's multiple personalities as Banana Queen is in fact an in-joke. See if you get it), but remains fairly endearing despite. Michael Chow, Simon Loui and Edmond Leung turn their poor "Love Studio" radio show around by being abusive and proclaiming themselves as experts in love. In reality, neither are and respectively they work through issues of letting go of the past, committing and finding someone as sexually active. Best interaction comes in Michael Chow and Pauline Suen's scenes with Chow clearly being an unconventional choice for a romantic lead but strikes a fine note in his role. In a basic way and that's more than enough. Some trademark silliness courtesy of him will make fans of the underrated comedic actor crack a smile as well. Director Sin Chi-Wai also delivers one of those expected endings that you feel so much more comfortable with because you know concentration is put forth to deliver a basic formula well. That's the case here. Amanda Lee, Halina Tam, Cheung Tat-Ming, Ben Lam, Tats Lau, Emily Kwan and Julian Cheung also appear. Buy the VCD at: |
| Banana Cop (1984) Directed by: Leung Po-Chi |
Leung Po-Chi choose not to go down as ambitious roads with his next movie after the award winning Hong Kong 1941. Instead, he took on this Cinema City comedy starring George Lam and Teddy Robin as cop and informer respectively, trying to catch a killer on the loose in London... It's been widely acknowledged that George Lam is a bit of a plank but his pairings with Teddy Robin has generated amusement and it's happening again in Banana Cop. There's ample opportunity for Teddy to toy around with Lam's character while he is also not afraid to have the requisite jokes tossed at him about his height. Surprisingly though, neither this lighthearted nature or the violent aspects to the film is played broad in any way, creating a welcome balance that Hong Kong cinema more than often seems to be scared off trying to achieve. Leung Po-Chi proves adept at both moods and while proceedings stall in an intrusive way during the middle section in favour of taking the duo to various colourful London locations, Po's level headed direction to each mood attempted is admirable. Add on to that a bittersweet romantic subplot between a blind girl (the sorely missed Cherie Chung) and Teddy's character and Banana Cop becomes a pleasant time with 80s Hong Kong cinema. Buy the DVD at: |
| The Barefoot Kid (1993) Directed by: Johnnie To |
Johnnie To directed this remake of Chang Cheh's 1975 Shaw Brother's movie Disciples Of Shaolin with Aaron Kwok now in the Fu Sheng role. The story of the corruption and evil within wealth with innocence as the pawn is familiar and that's something Johnnie To can't escape. The developments of Kwok's character is expected but would've felt less so I think if To hadn't attacked the material so ferociously. Simply put, a little melodramatic restraint would've done the trick. No doubt, the film is fairly powerful despite and boasts terrific production values as this was a co-production with Shaw Brother's. However where Johnnie absolutely succeeds in implying rather than stating is in the growing romantic bond between Ti Lung and Maggie Cheung's characters. It's two performers and performances that instantly gels and even overpowers the main story, which is perhaps not the result you'd want to go for as a filmmaker though. Lau Kar Leung directed the action back in the 1975 film and in a pleasant surprise is back on board once again in the same capacity. By this time, the new wave of martial arts cinema had hit and the heavily wire-assisted martial arts was definitely more the in thing rather than traditional styles. The latter being Lau's forté and he's one that has often spoken out against the extensive use of wires. He's given much free reign to keep things grounded here thankfully. With Aaron Kwok's dance background, Lau also is able to use less doubling than usual compared to martial arts vehicles for bigger stars. The choreography is intricate and entertaining, albeit a bit short overall (all those old Shaw Brother's movies by Lau definitely spoils you). Wires are mainly used for specific moments not so much related to the fights but when they are, its usage feels warranted. Buy the DVD at: |
| Beach Of The War Gods (1973) Directed by: Jimmy Wang Yu |
The Seven Samurai story structure and yet another clash between Chinese and Japanese, that's Jimmy Wang Yu's Beach Of The War Gods for ya! Usually by the numbers and featuring A LOT of expansive battles, Wang Yu provides little distinctive style as he pads the running time with swords swinging. Little character (of course) exists in the film other than the displaying of different ideals among the Chinese in war times so it's also (of course) difficult to relate when Jimmy asks us to care for the death of key characters. The package is sufficient though with some parts of the direction being quite atmospheric and the final duel (and really all of the beach scenes) finally sees some creativity rear its head but vintage Jimmy Wang Yu post-Shaw's takes place within a structure of pure creative insanity a la Master Of The Flying Guillotine. For straight faced genre excursions, turn back to his work with Chang Cheh. Also starring Lung Fei. Buy the DVD at: |
| The Beasts (1980) Directed by: Dennis Yu |
If you can get past the fact that The Beasts feature a way too convenient script in order to get the rape/revenge storyline going, ludicrous character traits (except for Kent Cheng's Mo) where one of the titular beasts actually is as close to one, literally, and uneven acting, this Dennis Yu directed low-budget effort can be a fairly effective and nasty piece of work. With stylistic nods to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and drawing inspiration from The Last House On The Left, Yu creates a grim atmosphere, mostly thanks to some effectively lensed island visuals. Yu, part of the late 70s/early 80s new wave of directors would go on to helm The Imp and later the Lau Kar Leung vehicle Evil Cat. As some of his other fellow new-wave directors, he eventually faded away when there was no room for the pessimism and darkness that accompanied some of these early films. Veteran martial arts actor Chan Sing plays the revenge seeking father and Patricia Chong his daughter, the rape victim. The Beasts was art directed by Tony Au and Stanley Kwan acted as assistant director. Both would go on to direct fine works of their own including Dream Lovers and Rouge. Buy the VCD at: |
| Beauty And The Breast (2001) Directed by: Raymond Yip |
The office setting from Needing You is spiced up with sensibilities from La Brassiere, with added mutation for Raymond Yip's Beauty And The Breast. His handling of the tone is early on already wrong when setting up his terrible male characters. There is no way these should or can be redeemed, but of course, movies such as these go the idealized and predictable ways so what are you going to do? For starters, romance and comedy should not register low! Seeing as Yip manages to actually do that, Beauty And The Breast is simply best avoided. Admittedly, Francis Ng manages to squeeze actual humour out of the unsympathetic character of Mario and the subsequent physical change he goes through but that's Ng bringing something, not being supported by the director. His sidekick Daniel Wu hardly feels like he's in this picture, nor does Michelle Reis. Although forced and very expected, Lam Tze-Chung (Shaolin Soccer) manages to strike a minor chord with the audience though. Buy the DVD at: |
| Beauty Investigator (1993) Directed by: Lee Tso Nam |
Moon Lee/Yukari Oshima vehicles are fan favourites but efforts such as Dreaming The Reality failed to entertain me. It's clear though that they're both competent action heroines and the silly, fast paced and most importantly entertaining Beauty Investigator is a better showcase for that. Other than a few funny moments from Lee, the directing and narrative is standard. The action (mixing gunplay and hand to hand combat) however carries the film nicely. Also starring Gam Chi Gei, Melvin Wong and Choong Fat. The English dubbed version featured a nude shower scene with co-star Sophia Crawford but was never included in any Hong Kong edit to the best of my knowledge. |
| Beginner's Luck (1994) Directed by: Billy Chan |
Kent Cheng wrote and produced this pleasing comedy detailing one of the Hong Kong inhabitants most beloved gambling form. The only legalized one: horse racing. Mark (Lau Ching Wan) together with brother Hark (Michael Chow) and friend Bowie (Bowie Lam) are all gambling addicts and the stakes are getting particularly high for Mark. Finding it hard to balance his love for gambling and love for his fiancee May (an always radiant Wu Chien-Lien), a hard loss forces him to make a living the slow way... Engaging stars and an easy going pace by director Billy Chan makes Beginner's Luck a very engaging piece plus it doesn't challenge us with complex lessons either. It's all done in a cinematic world where all will turn out perfect by the end but being well-meaning in intent prevents most pitfalls on the horizon. Although referenced throughout, the late Bill Tung doesn't appear in the film in his real life occupation as a horse racing commentator. Kent Cheng (as a character named after comedian Stephen Chow Sing Chi for no apparent reason), Lau Shun, Angelica Lo and Teresa Ha also appear. Buy the VCD at: |
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