Le Samouraï (1967) August 2, 2008
Posted by Cal in : Thriller, Non-Asian, 1960s films , 5 commentsDirector: Jean-Pierre Melville Main Cast: Alain Delon; François Périer; Nathalie Delon; Cathy Rosier Territory: France/Italy
Contract killer Jef Costello (Alain Delon) carries out a hit on a nightclub owner during opening hours, and is spotted upon exiting the crime scene by the house pianist Valérie (Cathy Rosier). However, when rounded up for a police line-up by the Superintendent (François Périer), Valérie denies that she’s ever seen Costello. Reluctantly, the police release him, keeping him under surveillance until they can get proof. Pursued by both the police and his employers behind the hit on the nightclub owner, Costello is also curious as to why the pianist didn’t give him away…
When you consider that this is apparently Johnnie To’s favourite film and John Woo practically gushes throughout the booklet of the Criterion DVD release, you’d have thought I’d at least have heard of this film. But it wasn’t until a fellow Hong Kong film fan mentioned him in this very blog that I became aware of the existence of Melville and Le Samouraï. Certain things are beginning to click now though, like why Chow Yun-Fat was always referred to as the Alain Delon of Asian cinema. Well, Chow Yun-Fat loses out on the style stakes but it’s not really his fault – the 60’s were a much more stylish era than the 80’s and I’m looking to get me a fedora and trenchcoat in the vain hope of pulling off a Delon.
Despite Jef Costello’s unquestionable cool, his lifestyle is not too enviable. He lives in a hovel of an apartment with a canary as his only companion (and even here, you get the impression he only keeps the pet because it serves a practical purpose). There are no nick-knacks or diversions in his spartan flat, and the only thing that comes close to decoration is a collection of empty mineral water bottles on top of his wardrobe. His only real contact in the human world is his “alibi” Jane Lagrange (Delon’s then-wife Nathalie), but he treats her so casually and indifferently you can’t tell if they are friends, lovers or just working together as a means to an ends.
The film has style outside its main star, though, and the film has a chic that was only achievable for a short space of time in the mid-to-late sixties. The colours used are mainly just varying shades of grey, often making you think Melville might as well have shot the film in black and white. It is a very minimalist film, and the lack of dialogue in many scenes (it’s almost ten minutes before the first line of dialogue is delivered) adds to the distinctive style. The exterior shots of the city of Paris are also excellent. This is the only film I’ve seen set in Paris where the Eiffel Tower is not even in a single shot – probably because this is a French film and it’s only us foreigners who need those establishing shots to show we’re in the City of Light and not, say, Istanbul.
It’s not all style and no substance, though. The plot is compelling enough, although the pace is a trifle more pedestrian than is fashionable today with a surprisingly lengthy section where suspects are gathered at the police station for an identity parade. He wonders why the pianist Valérie didn’t shop him straight to the cops and suspects she’s up to no good. That doesn’t stop him obviously developing feeling for her though, even if she’s working for the organisation behind the hit on the nightclub owner. Like Jef’s flat, there’s little in the film that is superfluous, and the urge to find out what’s going to happen is strong.
At the end of the day, it’s the character of Jef Costello that intrigues most. His solitude, and his abstinence from the most basic human comforts make us want to know more about him. That he’s a killer (and a damn fine one) adds to his mystery. Where did he learn his skills, for instance, and what made him become the way he is? When he refuses his ticket when checking in his hat, we suspect we’re never going to find out. But although we have few answers to our questions, the ride was worthwhile.
Interpol 009 (1967) May 11, 2008
Posted by Cal in : Action, 1960s films , add a commentDirector: Yeung Shu-Hei Cast: Tang Ching; Lee Kwan; Margaret Tu Chuan Territory: Hong Kong Production Company: Shaw Brothers
There’s an international money counterfeiting gang in town, and Interpol agent 009, Chen Tianhong (Tang Ching) is sent to investigate.
Like Lo Wei’s Golden Buddha from 1966, Interpol 009 attempts to bring a Chinese James Bond to the screen, although the two films are otherwise unrelated.
Agent 009 has much in common with his more famous counterpart – he’s a suave womaniser, heavy drinker (although he prefers brandy to a vodka martini) and is deadly with any form of weapon you can to give him. He’s also got an arsenal of gadgets to get him out of scrapes, such as a watch with several uses (including a listening device), a lighter that can turn into a smoke bomb and chewing gum that can open locked doors. However, that’s pretty much where the similarities end, as Chen Tianhong has the charisma of a housebrick. Perhaps sensing this, he is given a sidekick in the shape of Huang Mao (Lee Kwan – best known for his appearance as Ah Kun in Bruce Lee’s The Big Boss) who runs around Hong Kong in a Beatle suit and provides comic relief.
Chen Tianhong (who proclaims, and I swear to God this is true: “Danger? That’s my middle name”) woos the ladies despite some stinky chat up lines (he even comes out with “do you come here often?” to one lady). This is perhaps the sauciest Chinese film from the 60’s I’ve seen as Agent 009 canoodles with just about every lady he comes into contact with and there’s even a bare bottom at one point. This is a far cry from the previous year’s Golden Buddha, which is extremely coy in comparison.
The story concerns a money counterfeiting gang headed by a beautiful mysterious lady (the tragic Margaret Tu Chuan, who would commit suicide before the decade came to an end at the age of 27) and it’s here that another problem becomes apparent – the villains are all a bit pedestrian and the locations are very domestic, with the action all taking place in Hong Kong. Part of the appeal of the Bond movies is the exotic locations and the overblown villains, and this film is a letdown on both points.
There is some enjoyment to be had from the film, despite its drawbacks. However, I’m not sure all the fun is intentional. There’s a scene where the bad guys are beating up some guy, who manages to get away in an unguarded car. He gets away and then drives his car straight off the nearest quay and into the water. One of the perusing villains just mutters “silly man” and shakes his head – which I found hilariously funny. The final reel mercifully turns up the action a couple of notches, and another Bond device comes into play – the age-old ploy of the bad guys tying up the hero (with sidekick in this case), planning a grisly fate for them and then scooting off and assuming the hero gets splattered across a large area. In this case, the villains leave 009 to stew until the bomb they’ve planted goes off and turns Chen Tianhong into a disgusting red mess.
So how long do the villains give Chen Tianhong to ponder his fate while they make a speedy getaway? Two minutes? Five minutes? Surely no more than ten minutes? Actually, they give him two hours. In that time, Bond would have got out, killed an army of henchmen, downed a couple of vodka martinis, shagged the villainess, killed her and quipped about it to his leading lady while making a witty quip over the radio to an exasperated M. Chen Tianhong barely gets out with his skin intact, and this sums up the film in a nutshell.
Interpol 009 is just too dull most of the time to be enjoyable and suffers from some illogical plot problems to boot. It’s not a complete write-off, and the 60’s fashions and sensibilities are always fun to watch, but this is not even on par with the more cringeworthy Roger Moore-era Bonds.
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) August 27, 2007
Posted by Cal in : Action, Non-Asian, 1960s films , 2 commentsDirector: Sergio Leone Cast: Claudia Cardinale, Charles Bronson, Henry Fonda, Jason Robards Territory: Italy
Original title: C’era una volta il West
Newlywed Jill (Cardinale) arrives in the town of Flagstone to find that her husband and his children from a previous marriage have been slain. The executions were carried out by Frank (Fonda), who is working for Morton (Gabriele Ferzetti), a rail baron crippled by a bone disease who is largely confined to his specially adapted train carriage. Frank plants evidence to implicate the bandit Cheyenne (Robards) and his gang, but upon befriending him, Jill finds he is not the man responsible. Cheyenne joins up with a harmonica-playing stranger (Bronson) to find out the truth. Harmonica, though, has his own agenda.
Upon watching this for the first time a few years ago, I was quite disappointed with certain aspects of this film. In retrospect, much of my criticism was simply down to the fact that I had watched The Good, the Bad and the Ugly the previous week and I couldn’t help comparing the two films all the way down the line. Now, I can judge the film on its own merits a lot more now, and Once Upon a Time in the West certainly does have a lot going for it.
It’s crystal clear right from the start that this is a big production. Paramount had given Leone a generous budget to work with and it shows (it has been stated that the Flagstone set alone cost more than A Fistful of Dollars). The cast list is even more impressive than before (with Henry Fonda gleefully playing against type), and the production moved to the United States to shoot some genuine western scenery. The direction from Leone is also excellent throughout, with more of his trademark wide shots mixed with extreme close-ups. In fact, Once Upon a Time in the West is probably his best looking western, even without the standout crane shot introducing the town of Flagstone.
One of the few things that doesn’t work so well as far as I’m concerned is the decision to make one of the leading characters female. Don’t get me wrong, Claudia Cardinale is very capable (and utterly, utterly beautiful) but I don’t think Leone really knew what to do with female characters; a little like Chang Cheh (I’ve got to make some kind of reference to the genre or seriously consider renaming this blog Heroes of the West!) in his films – who are usually either virtuous family members, untouchable goddesses or whores. The character of Jill McBain is a bit of a mixture of those. It seems to me an arbitrary decision to make a female lead, simply to do something different from the Dollars films. The result is her character seems the least well drawn of them all, although being a non-combatant it is sometimes refreshing to see things from her perspective and not from a gun-toting cowboy for once.
With the male leads we are on much more familiar ground. “Harmonica” is cut from the same cloth as the Man with No Name (it is rumoured the part was originally offered to Eastwood, who refused in order to make his name in Hollywood), a mysterious, laconic stranger who plays a haunting dirge on his mouth organ whenever he appears. His presence and purpose is unexplained throughout the film, but hinted at by his reference to men Frank has killed in the past. Leone films tend to give rise to all kinds of theories, but the strangest one I’ve heard concerns Harmonica. Some believe he was killed in the shootout that occurs at the start of the film, and spends the rest of the film as some kind of avenging spirit. It’s a nice thought but I’m pretty sure it’s not what Leone was thinking and doesn’t seem wholly feasible; but judge for yourself.
Ironically, seeing as how he had such a tough time on a Leone film, it was Eli Wallach who persuaded Henry Fonda to appear in this film. Leone had been trying for years to obtain him, but the quality of the scripts (or rather, the translations of the scripts) always put him off. Fonda does indeed have some presence as the ruthless, self-centred Frank, and from testimony obviously enjoyed playing the bad guy for once! His scene where Morton confronts him on the hillside, away from his specially adapted carriage, has particular bite when Fonda spits at him: “when you’re not on that train, you look like a turtle out of its shell”.
Robards rounds off the main cast with the mainly good-natured bandit Cheyenne, who has some nice chemistry with Bronson’s character.
Ennio Morricone provides the soundtrack once again, but this time his contribution is more conventional. All of the main characters have their own theme (one of which is actually a plot point in itself), and there’s also a surprisingly bouncy, melancholic tune that serves as the film’s main theme. There seems to be different motifs or cinematic themes throughout the film (such as water), but one seems to be rhythm; from the persistence of the windmill at the start to the rhythmic click-clack of the railroad. This is also captured in Morricone’s main theme.
While I still think Once Upon a Time in the West could have been paced a little better, I’m definitely coming to appreciate it a little more now. In particular, I’m growing fond of the screenplay, which includes plenty of sharp and snappy dialogue. It seems the film is a grower – it under performed at the box-office and but obtained its classic status in later years. Which leaves me hopeful of enjoying this one even more in future.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) August 22, 2007
Posted by Cal in : Action, War, Non-Asian, 1960s films , 7 commentsDirector: Sergio Leone Cast: Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef Territory: Italy
Original title: il Buono, il Brutto, il Cattivo
A drifter known only as Blondie (Eastwood) and a Mexican bandit Tuco (Wallach) have a nice scam going where the latter, wanted for heinous crimes, allows himself to get captured by the former, who collects the reward money and saves the bandit’s life at the last moment. They then split the reward money and head on to the next town to repeat the process. The partnership has many ups and downs (the couple distrust each other and try to kill each other with casual indifference) but the two are forced into working together again when they both come into separate pieces of information regarding the location of a cache of stolen Confederate gold worth $200,000. Unfortunately, Angel Eyes (Van Cleef) also knows about the gold, and his ruthlessness and viciousness outweighs even that of Tuco’s and Blondie’s. Paths cross and uneasy alliances are made and broken on the way to the gold, and all this occurring at a time when the country is being ripped apart by a bloody and horrific civil war.
More than a western, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is more like an epic adventure. Finally, Leone had the budget to really go to town on this film, and the quantum leap between this and its predecessor is even more pronounced than between A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More.
The first line of dialogue is delivered more than ten minutes after the beginning of the film. There are title cards for the three main characters that flash up on the screen upon conclusion of their introductory scene, and the last one appears when nearly a half hour has passed in film time. With those kind of statistics, you could be forgiven for thinking The Good, the Bad and the Ugly would be a little slow. Instead, it fits so many ideas into its running time that Leone could easily have made the film an hour longer and got away with it.
This time, Clint Eastwood is not as prominent, and there is a good argument to be made that Eli Wallach is the real star of the film. He certainly provides much of the humour and has more than his fair share of memorable scenes. Van Cleef provides a worthy adversary as the thoroughly evil Angel Eyes. His return is a thousand times removed from his role as the mostly benign Col Mortimer in For a Few Dollars More.
The simple story of three men in search of stolen gold is complicated only by the inconvenient interference of the war happening all around them. Oddly, it is rarely, if ever, directly commented on by the central characters until Blondie, witnessing a particularly futile attack, comments:
Never seen so many men wasted so badly…
Which pretty much sums up the folly of war in just a few words. Throughout the series, the Man with No Name has hit the nail on the head a few times, but never more so than here.
But that’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly all over. Practically every scene is outstanding, and it is by turns comic, poignant, witty, exciting, brutally violent, melancholic and dramatic without any of the disparate elements working against each other. The character of Tuco is especially entertaining, and rather than routing for Clint Eastwood all the time, the viewer can be strangely drawn to the rat-like bandit. He’s not simply there for comic relief, though. The scene where he confronts his brother, who has become a monk, is surprisingly weighty and well acted by Wallach.
Blondie, meanwhile, seems to have hardened somewhat from previous incarnations (if they are previous incarnations – see below) while paradoxically seemingly more compassionate and lyrical. His introductory scene sees him leaving Tuco to die in the desert – hardly the actions of a man with a strong code of justice. His sense of humour is wry and often dark to the point of absolute black (“sorry, Shorty”) and he dispenses put-downs and trades one-liners with Tuco to great effect.
Angel Eyes is, unsurprisingly, an altogether less sympathetic character. He’s also the least well drawn of the characters, but this may have been intentional; our lack of any background on him only goes to make him more mysterious and deadly. His introduction sets the tone when he refuses to renege on a job when offered more money to spare a man’s life and instead kill his employer: he takes the money and kills both parties, which has a kind of perverse sense of honour to it. Where he goes, extreme brutality usually follows, and the scenes of torture and cold-blooded murder are still quite shocking in the 21st Century – I can only speculate how nasty they looked back in 1966. He often disappears from the film for great lengths of time only to reappear out of nowhere and cause mayhem and destruction.
I’ve tried to avoid pointing out scenes in this review as I just got totally bogged down with “if I mention this, I have to mention that” and you realise the film is just so rich you’d spend all day saying stuff like “well, Tuco’s in the bath, and…” or “Tuco goes to a gun shop” or describing the bridge scene in great detail or any number of other occurrences.
There are a lot of clues that The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a prequel to the other “Dollar” films. Blondie starts the film in an entirely different outfit from the other films and acquires his hat and sheepskin jacket from Angel Eyes at the Betterville prison camp, while he takes his trademark poncho from a dead soldier. This backs up other “evidence” from A Fistful of Dollars, where a grave is seen to carry the year 1870, five years after the end of the Civil War. Or it could all be accidental!
The score is once again provided by Ennio Morricone and it’s a great testament to him that there are probably only a handful of films in existence in the entire world that have a more instantly recognisable theme. But it doesn’t stop there – his ideas permeate the film and add to the atmosphere throughout. Of particular note is the “Ecstasy of Gold” score, which excellently compliments the stunning visuals.
It’s a shame that relationships began to be strained between Eastwood (and others) and Leone and they never worked together again. I’ve yet to see Once Upon a Time in America, but The Good, the Bad and the Ugly seems pretty unbeatable as Leone’s greatest work – certainly Once Upon a Time in the West didn’t feel as well-paced and accessible as this.
The version on review here is the somewhat controversial MGM Special Edition, with the addition of around 18 minutes’ worth of rare footage that was never dubbed into English before. One of the problems is that Eli Wallach and Clint Eastwood both came in to do their lines more than thirty years after the film was shot, while Van Cleef, having died in 1989, is voiced by a professional voice actor. The somewhat predictable result is a jarring transition at times between the old and restored footage, particularly where the now very elderly Wallach is concerned. Eastwood commented that dubbing his old self was like “looping my son”, while you can hardly tell the difference in Van Cleef’s dialogue. It’s one of those impossible situations where people would have screamed blue murder if Wallach and Eastwood hadn’t come back to do their lines and professional “impersonators” had done the job for them. The restored footage does help resolve a few continuity problems that occur in the regular release, and we get another good bit of Blondie and Tuco banter in the desert, so I say it was worth it. Maybe I’m biased, though, as it’s the only version I’ve seen! A lot of people were annoyed, though, that the audio was overhauled completely, which I understand resulted in the replacement of all of the original gunshot sounds with new ones amongst other changes.
I usually shy away from mentioning much about the DVD releases of films and concentrate on the actual film when I’m writing this stuff, but a special mention has to be made to the extras on this 2-Disc set. There are masses of good mini documentaries in here, and Wallach and Eastwood are both present. Wallach, particularly, is insightful into the making of the film, and recounts the few times he was nearly killed on set with good-humour. He also recounts that he didn’t think the “shoot, don’t talk” line was supposed to be funny and played it straight – which probably adds to the effectiveness of the gag. The somewhat relaxed attitude to safety in Italian film is mentioned throughout, with Eastwood telling a nice anecdote about where he intended to be when the bridge blew, having worked on Leone pictures before! There are also featurettes on the real General Sibley, Leone, Ennio Morricone, plus a couple of “lost” and reconstructed scenes, a featurette about the restoration of the film and a few easter eggs. All in all, a grand package for a film that immediately entered my Top Ten films when I first saw it and promises to be a firm favourite for many years to come.
For a Few Dollars More (1965) August 15, 2007
Posted by Cal in : Action, Non-Asian, 1960s films , add a commentDirector: Sergio Leone Cast: Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Gian Maria Volantè Territory: Italy
The success of A Fistful of Dollars is stamped all over this sequel. Instead of the whole film taking place in one small location, we get several (apparently, one of the town sets built for the film still stands to this day!). There are more extras, there’s more colour to the script, and most tellingly of all, Leone was now able to hire two American actors.
For a Few Dollars More tells the story of two bounty hunters (Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef) who travel the country blagging criminals. When a jailbreak frees a particularly dangerous criminal, El Indio (Volantè), the two team up to take him and his gang down. El Indio wastes no time upon his early release and immediately plans a daring bank raid, with the two bounty hunters in tow.
The extended scope of this sequel really does help the film, and the tale of bank raids, jailbreaks and bounty hunters is pretty compelling, especially when tempered with the same wry humour from the original. Some of the cast from A Fistful of Dollars return but in different roles, which can be a little confusing. Heading the cast of baddies is again Gian Maria Volantè as El Indio – a man apparently suffering from a severe dependence on marijuana, but who is a deadly shot and a crazed loon thanks to a painful past. His particular fetish is to challenge unfortunate souls to a duel using the last chime of his pocket-watch as a signal to begin.
The Man With No Name (although some call him “Monco”) has developed a little from A Fistful of Dollars and is now a slightly more moral character, in that he has a more pronounced sense of justice. He’s also less laconic and more prone to deliver the odd wisecrack.
Lee Van Cleef’s addition to the cast as the chilled, pipe-smoking veteran Col Mortimer gives Eastwood someone to play off, and the pair trade one-liners effectively. He’s given some nice scenes by himself; most notably his introduction right at the start of the film involving his train making an impromptu stop. Also, there’s an early appearance by a twitchy Klaus Kinski as one of Indio’s gang.
Again, the direction and cinematography is strong. One standout scene takes place at night and involves a battle of wills and a game of one-upmanship between Van Cleef and Eastwood, involving the shooting of a stationery hat across a dirt floor. The way the hat always lands in thin bands of light cast by neighbouring buildings is quite inventive and stylish.
As in the previous film, Morricone provides the score. While not as memorable as the previous instalment (and certainly nowhere near as identifiable as the next instalment) it serves the piece well.
Overall, definitely a worthy sequel, but one that seems overshadowed by both the originality of A Fistful of Dollars and the epic adventure of The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.
A Fistful of Dollars (1964) August 10, 2007
Posted by Cal in : Action, Non-Asian, 1960s films , 4 commentsDirector: Sergio Leone Cast: Clint Eastwood, Gian Maria Volantè, Wolfgang Lukschy, Marianne Koch Territory: Italy Production Company: Constantin Film Produktion
I used to be badgered by people who knew I was into Hong Kong movies that I would “love” Spaghetti Westerns. I didn’t see what the attraction would be as I had never been into westerns, even as a kid. But on seeing Leone’s “Dollars” trilogy a few years ago, I’ll admit I know where they were coming from, and have become quite fond of the sub-genre.
This is a tale of a drifter (Clint Eastwood) strolling into town and playing one group of criminals against another for his own monetary gain. The story itself isn’t original – Kurosawa successfully sued for similarities to his film Yojimbo, despite the latter film itself bearing more than a passing resemblance to an 18th century stage play. What made it original was the dark, oppressive tone of the film (which became a staple of the genre and was occasionally taken to ridiculous extremes), the introduction of a laconic yet charismatic anti-hero and some dramatic and stylish directing. Not to mention the addition of one of the finest film score composers who ever lived.
The first five minutes sets the tone pretty well – this film, and all the characters in it, seem to have a morbid fascination with death. We even start with a hanging, and the only happy man in town is the local undertaker. However, the plot of the Baxters (bad) against the Rojos (very bad) is not overly compelling, and the story loses momentum during the latter’s burning of the former’s mansion. In a parallel to the Bruce Lee films, the screen seems to go dead when Eastwood isn’t on screen – although it’s more evident here than on subsequent films. Thankfully, the tempo does pick up again for the inevitable climactic showdown, though.
Although Leone insisted that the three films were unrelated, it seems pretty likely that the infamous Man With No Name is the same character in all three films. Furthermore, I’ve just realised (and a quick scan on the internet seems to confirm, or at least validate the theory) that A Fistful of Dollars is set after The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, and that Leone’s 1966 masterpiece is a prequel to this film. Whether the Man With No Name had a name or not is still a matter of debate. The tag seems to have been an invention of US distributors, but interestingly, although referred to by other characters under a variety of names from film to film, he never actually refers to himself under any of them. For example, in this one, he’s called Joe, but only by the elderly undertaker.
The music is provided by Ennio Morricone, and his style is evident even this early in his career with his haunting score of grunts, whistles along with more traditional musical instruments. Clint provides his own voice for the English language version, and he obviously took a great deal of care in the looping process to lip-synch the audio. I’m glad I ‘discovered’ these films in the DVD age, as I’m positive that all of Leone’s films would have looked utterly rubbish in a fullscreen format. You would just miss far too much detail on a pan-and-scan edition that it just wouldn’t be worth it as Leone seemed to work entirely in extreme close-ups and dramatic panoramic shots.
For anyone who still hasn’t discovered the Leone/Eastwood films, this is the obvious place to start, and A Fistful of Dollars still makes for entertaining viewing today. But be advised that there was better to come.
The Magnificent Swordsman (1968) July 26, 2007
Posted by Cal in : Wuxia, 1960s films , 1 comment so farDirector: Cheng Kang, Yueh Feng Cast: Wong Chung-Shun, Shu Pei-Pei, Tien Feng Territory: Hong Kong Production Company: Shaw Brothers
Lone swordsman Jiang Dan-Feng (Wong Chung-Shun) is ambushed by a pair of bandits and quickly despatches them. One of them, as he is dying, asks Jiang to take his personal effects to his sister. This being a Wuxia film, our hero is bound by a strict code of honour, and he agrees. The bandit’s sister, Xiu Xiu (Shu Pei-Pei), is surprisingly forgiving and tells him that he got mixed up in a bad crowd of robbers before he died. As it happens, these self-same bandits are threatening to tear up the village at any moment, and Jiang prepares to defend it despite being despised by the town folk for killing Xiu Xiu’s brother.
Wong Chung-Shun’s place in cinematic history is secured. Although you might not know the name, even the most casual of Hong Kong movie fans has seen him and he will forever be remembered as the guy who betrays Bruce Lee – not once, but twice!
But before he had relatively small roles in Fist of Fury and Way of the Dragon, Wong Chung-Shun was a stage actor who also appeared in many films, and I couldn’t resist seeing him play the lead in this Wuxia film from the 60’s.
Magnificent Swordsman tries very hard on every level. There’s a definite attempt to copy the cinematic style of King Hu in almost every outdoor shot, with tonnes of mist and smoke flying about and some wide-shots that would have made the Master proud. It’s also strikingly like a Japanese film at times particularly the way the lead dresses, acts and the style of the combat scenes. There are also some good sets to look at, with the bandits’ lair being particularly noteworthy. Strangely, though, some of the camera work is pretty dodgy, with shaky shots here and there that occasionally hamper the atmosphere.
One definite highlight is the musical score, which is so “influenced” by Morricone that you’ve got to smile. If you take a sample from any part of the score and play it to anybody and ask what genre film it came from, they will undoubtedly say it was from a Spaghetti Western. Even the theme song evokes comparisons to the genre despite being sung in Mandarin.
The story is the spanner in the works, though. There is a tendency towards melodramatics and overacting, particularly by Xiu Xiu’s finance (played by Yau Lung). Even without this, there’s nothing terribly compelling about the story, which often promises to go down the Seven Samurai route but frustratingly never does.
The Magnificent Swordsman is an A Grade Shaw Brothers production with oodles of atmosphere, style and some nice touches to the action sequences. But the dull storyline ensures this never rises above mediocrity, unfortunately.
Sons of Good Earth (1965) May 5, 2007
Posted by Cal in : Drama, War, Romance, 1960s films , add a commentDirector: King Hu Starring: Peter Chen, Lee Kwan, Betty Loh, Kok Lee-Yan, King Hu Territory: Hong Kong Production Company: Shaw Brothers
The year is 1937 – just prior to the Japanese invasion of China. Painters Ju Rui and Lao San (Peter Chen and Lee Kwan) inadvertently stumble upon He Hua (Betty Loh), a woman sold into the sex industry at a local brothel. Doing the decent thing, they protect her from the brothel keeper by posing as a married couple. The relationship quickly becomes the real thing after a comment by kindly old sergeant Hao (Kok Lee-Yan), who proves to be too clever to have the wool pulled over his eyes. Their peaceful life is shattered when the Japanese invaders come to town and begin their reign of terror. But certain citizens such as Director Ding (King Hu) start mobilizing guerrilla forces in the area.
This was King Hu’s first film as sole director (although he has that credit on The Story of Sue San, he was apparently supervised by Li Han-Hsiang), but already some King Hu trademarks are in place. It starts as one thing (a romantic comedy, believe it or not) and ends up as something completely different (a war film), going through something else in the middle (a political drama, for want of a better term) without the separate pieces jarring together horribly. The film is also shot fantastically, but that is standard for a King Hu film and hardly warrants a mention. Actually, the soundtrack almost steals the show – there’s so much martial music here that it reminds you of one of those big WWII epics made in Hollywood during the period.
The two leads play painters caught up in the whole mess, and do a pretty good job of it. Lee Kwan will be familiar to many as a comedy actor in such films as Fearless Hyena, but here he pretty much plays it straight. There are also so many familiar faces in this such as veterans Kok Lee-Yan, Ku Feng and Tien Feng – who between them probably racked up film appearances well into triple figures! King Hu himself appears in a supporting heroic role, and does a pretty decent job of it.
There are certain small lapses in the narrative from time to time, but the whole thing hangs together surprisingly well and there’s hardly a hint of melodrama involved. This is perhaps the least sensationalist portrayal of the Japanese invasion of China I’ve seen, but you’ve still got your despicable villains (one of whom is played by Fung Ngai, who seems to have made a career out of playing Japanese villains). The film does have an unnecessarily jingoistic feel at times, and it’s hard to believe that the Chinese weren’t actually at war with anybody when this film was made, least of all the Japanese.
You will have to suspend your disbelief a number of times, but Sons of Good Earth is certainly worth watching.
Have Sword, Will Travel (1969) April 22, 2007
Posted by Cal in : Wuxia, 1960s films , 6 commentsDiretor: Chang Cheh Starring: David Chiang, Ti Lung, Li Ching Action Diretor: Yuen Cheung-Yan, Tong Gai Territory: Hong Kong Production Company: Shaw Brothers
Engaged couple Siang and Yun Piao Piao (Ti Lung and Li Ching) help an aging and decrepit Kung Fu master transport some silver. However, lone swordsman Yo Li (David Chiang) inadvertently gets involved.
Have Sword, Will Travel is a typical Chang Cheh movie – buckets of blood, honour and nihilism going hand in hand. And like many Shaw Brothers films from the time, the first hour or so is pretty actionless – a deliberate attempt to give the final reel more emotional impact. While most of the early part of the film is preamble, it does set up the love triangle that is created when Piao Piao takes a shine to Yo Li - much to Siang’s annoyance. Also, the scene where Yo Li is forced to sell his horse is surprisingly moving.
The final half an hour is a brilliant showcase set in a magnificent old tower. The setting imposes some great atmosphere, although it has to be said that the frequent switches between exterior and studio shots is not particularly effective and are quite obvious. The swordplay here is extremely impressive for its day, and the usual buckets of blood are employed to great use. I’m sure Freud would have had something to say about all the ejaculations of blood on show here! Add to that the obvious needle between Siang and Yo Li, and it makes for quite an intriguing finale. Will Siang relent and let Yo Li help him when faced with insurmountable odds in the tower? Who will finally walk off with Yun Piao Piao?
This was clearly a major influence on the new wave of HK Wuxia films such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, House of Flying Daggers et al. But with all the fancy CGI and high production values, the new crop of HK swordplay films aren’t particularly better than the originals. Those that look down all HK films (except those embraced by Hollywood as being “not just a chop-socky but with an actual STORY”) would do well to check this out, providing they can stomach the intensely graphic (and still quite convincing) violence.
Come Drink With Me (1966)
Posted by Cal in : Wuxia, 1960s films , add a commentDiretor: King Hu Starring: Cheng Pei-Pei, Yueh Wah Action Diretor: Han Ying-Chieh Territory: Hong Kong Production Company: Shaw Brothers
A general’s son is taken hostage as leverage to free a bandit leader. The general’s other offspring, Golden Swallow, is sent to retake the son. When the bandit gang encounter the Golden Swallow (Cheng Pie Pei) in a local inn, they are taken aback by his martial arts ability and are swiftly defeated. With the help of local beggar Fan Da-Pei (Yueh Hua), the Golden Swallow keeps the bandits at bay. But everyone has a trick or two up “his” sleeve…
It’s been mentioned before, but it does seem to be true that King Hu was Hong Kong’s answer to Akira Kurosawa and Come Drink With Me is one of the seminal Hong Kong Wuxia movies (only his own A Touch of Zen and Dragon Gate Inn are in the same league). Although by today’s standard the action scenes appear more stylised and less natural, there is still plenty of things to admire. Besides, it’s the drama, splendour, character and story that is memorable and I’m sure Ang Lee, Zhang Yimou et al would give a major body part to be able to achieve what this film achieves – and with no CGI and relatively few trick shots. I’m talking about genuine mood and feeling, which Come Drink With Me has by the bucketful.
Those who still aren’t convinced that Shaw Brothers films went down the pan production-wise during the mid seventies should take a look at this 1966 movie. In fact, the first ten minutes should be enough to convince. The outdoor scenes are fantastically filmed and the interior sets are breathtaking – all standard for a King Hu movie. A lot of credit should also go to the lighting department who never fail in keep everything looking top-notch with lots of great mood lighting.
The film is a series of stand out scenes and set pieces. In Golden Swallow’s introduction scene, we see “him” surreptitiously humiliate a whole clan of bandits. Forget Bruce Lee, THIS is the art of fighting without fighting! Incidentally, a bald Yuen Siu-Tien (who later became famous as Jackie Chan’s Sifu in Drunken Master) can be seen in this scene. The only leap of faith required really is the fact that anyone could take the Golden Swallow for a man. Seldom have I seen such a pretty man…!
We also have some real sexual tension between Golden Swallow and Fan Da-Pei. When she (for her secret has been revealed!) gets into a fight at the temple (another cracking location, by the way), her vest briefly becomes visible – leading to a short burst of giggles from the bad guys and Golden Swallow’s acute embarrassment. This sets up the scene later where Fan Da-Pei is forced to suck the poison from her chest wound. It may seem tame by today’s standard, but this is really intimate stuff here, and should be taken in context of the era in which this film is set. To have a man see, let alone touch, such an intimate part of a woman’s body was not to be taken lightly in those days.
Surprisingly, subsequent viewing reveal more than the odd instance of intentional humour – and in particular a sense of irony. This is not quite as straight-laced as it first appears, and not as doom-laden as films by, say, Chang Cheh, who would pretty much dominate Shaws during the early 70’s.
If you really wanted to poke holes in the film, you could do – it’s not perfect. The bandits are a bit of a weak spot, admittedly, as you never do know what it is they stand for. They’re certainly nasty enough (they kill a small child, leading one monk to bemoan: “You’re too ruthless!”). However, on the whole, it has stood up remarkably well.
There are quite a few groundbreaking films from Hong Kong that shaped the industry. In the sixties and early seventies, you have a veritable bucket load (including The One Armed Swordsman, The Chinese Boxer, Vengeance, The Big Boss, and King Boxer). But Come Drink With Me is one of the more entertaining, and definitely the best looking, of the lot.
As a footnote, the sequel (which was helmed by Chang Cheh) was extremely disappointing but seems equally influential. Chang’s drenched-in-blood style does not sit well with its elegant antecedent, and the whole mood of the film is vastly different. Alas, King Hu had left Shaws by this time and had gone on to make his masterpieces in Taiwan. More of which later…