Recommendations: the 80's titles I missed

[Mike Thomason]

With the arduously slow progress I am having with some of my other recent requests, maybe folk here could recommend potential viewing pickups from the below list of eighties titles I never managed to see originally? I've had a look at some of the reviews housed in the DB for some of them, but found either generic one/two line synopses (which I can find on the back blurb of a DVD sleeve already) and/or writeups that focus on trivialities (like who appears in the film, who gets their gear off [wtf? who cares?] or other movies the film is similar to) over actually divulging why the (re)viewer liked/didn't like the film in question...

Awarding a film a "sporting event" styled scorecard after saying next to nothing about why the viewer did or didn't like a given film is virtually useless to me (as both a interested reader, and on a personal level). Thus I'm hoping I can get a bit of honest, capsule feedback on the below films so I can start prioritising them to catch up with some of the "oldies":

Let’s Make Laugh (1983)
On The Wrong Track (1983)
Project A (1983)
Cherie (1984)
Hong Kong 1941 (1984)
Long Arm Of The Law (1984)
Love In A Fallen City (1984)
Maybe It’s Love (1984)
Merry Christmas (1984)
My Darling Genie (1984)
Prince Charming (1984)
Teppanyaki (1984)
Flying Mr. B, The (1985)
Girl With The Diamond Slipper, The (1985)
Illegal Immigrant, The (1985)
Intellectual Trio, The (1985)
Let’s Make Laugh II (1985)
Love With The Perfect Stranger (1985)
Twisted Passion (1985)
Unwritten Law, The (1985)
Brotherhood (1986)
Caper (1986)
Happy Din Don (1986)
Love Unto Waste (1986)
Lunatics, The (1986)
Magic Crystal (1986)
Rosa (1986)
True Colours (1986)
Why Why Tell Me Why (1986)
Autumn’s Tale, An (1987)
Easy Money (1987)
It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad World (1987)
Long Arm Of The Law II (1987)
Magnificent Warriors (1987)
Prison On Fire (1987)
Project A II (1987)
Romancing Star, The (1987)
Scared Stiff (1987)
Thirty Million Rush, The (1987)
Carry On Hotel (1988)
Cherry Blossoms (1988)
Crazy Companies II (1988)
Final Justice (1988)
Haunted Cop Shop II (1988)
Her Vengeance (1988)
How To Pick Girls Up (1988)
It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad World II (1988)
Lai Shi, China’s Last Eunuch (1988)
Mr. Possessed (1988)
Painted Faces (1988)
Romancing Star II, The (1988)
Walk On Fire (1988)
Woman Prison (1988)
Blonde Fury, The (1989)
Burning Sensation (1989)
City Kids 1989 (1989)
First Time Is The Last Time, The (1989)
Ghost Busting (1989)
It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad World III (1989)
Perfect Match (1989)
Proud And Confident (1989)
Return Of The Lucky Stars (1989)
Triads: The Inside Story (1989)

If a film from any respective year (noted above) is not present, then I have seen that title and thereby do not require feedback on it (apologies about this, but casual readers who are not aware that I've been following [and writing about] HK cinema for over twenty years often comment, during the course of these requests, that X film isn't on my list and I really should see it -- which ends the discussion up in me reiterating over and over that I have seen X film and am ONLY seeking feedback on those in the list). Thus, there's a few fan favourties and "classics" amongst the above list that I've never seen, it's true, which is why I'm hoping for some genuine feedback on what to pick up, and catch up with, first.

Thanks in advance!

[cal42]

You haven't seen Project A?

Anyhow, apart from that masterpiece, I'd certainly recommend having a look at Magnificent Warriors (a little on the rushed side perhaps, but reasonably produced and really fun to watch).

Rosa is OK but forgettable, as was Haunted Cop Shop 2 (the only bit I remember is a string of child-like puns in Cantonese which I actually understood ).

Magic Crystal's a film I've always wanted to see myself to be honest, but never found.

[Mike Thomason]

You haven't seen Project A?

Well, the fact of the matter is that until 1993 and the release of the atypical Crime Story I was never a fan of Jackie Chan. It's taken time and the guy aging gracefully for me to warm to him -- now I have a lot of respect for him; and, of course, he's terribly outspoken and fiercely anti-American Hollywood globalisation machine...which wins him HUGE points in my book.

Plus, I've never really been interested in martial arts movies -- I came to HK cinema with an interest in its horror and action genre cinema all those years ago. A kind of "side door", if you like. Since then, I took more and more interest in HK cinema as a "whole experience" and diversified into its dramas, comedies, thrillers and so on. I'm still no big fan of martial arts movies -- but there's still a lot out of HK that does interest me.

[Brian Thibodeau]

I've had a look at some of the reviews housed in the DB for some of them, but found either generic one/two line synopses (which I can find on the back blurb of a DVD sleeve already) and/or writeups that focus on trivialities (like who appears in the film, who gets their gear off [wtf? who cares?] or other movies the film is similar to) over actually divulging why the (re)viewer liked/didn't like the film in question...

While my reviewing style certainly doesn't conform to what to what seems to be the more common internet style of massive amounts of plot synopsis and massive amounts of critique, I nonetheless tried my best to sum up the all-around crappiness of at least one of the titles on your list (well, one that I've written about here, anyways ) without retyping the copy off the DVD sleeve. But I'm afraid I did have to lower myself to point out the absolutely gratuitous and thematically forced kit-offing (is that even a word? ) of at least one principal actress in the piece because, well, in some instances, I do find such things worthy of note, though obviously not on the level of some of our more experienced Cat. III experts. With that in mind, this link will may be of no use at all, but since the title is on your list, well, one never knows....

http://hkmdb.com/db/reviews/show_review.mhtml?id=11557



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[Mike Thomason]

While my reviewing style certainly doesn't conform to what to what seems to be the more common internet style of massive amounts of plot synopsis...

I know just what you mean there! And it's usually extremely badly written plot synopsis at that! As well as plot synopsis that goes on, and on...and on, usually to the point of just stopping short of the end credits of the film itself and thereby giving away every single plot point imaginable, and then some. Actually, your style in this instance was quite refreshing -- you covered the basics of the plot and drew attention to the high (and low) lights of the film, perfectly pinpointing just why you didn't like the film. That's pretty much exactly what I was looking for...

But I'm afraid I did have to lower myself to point out the absolutely gratuitous and thematically forced kit-offing (is that even a word? ) of at least one principal actress in the piece because, well, in some instances, I do find such things worthy of note, though obviously not on the level of some of our more experienced Cat. III experts.

There's quite a difference between an offhand remark and endless, gushing, fawning verbiage that is little more than purple prose best left to the likes of Hustler or Penthouse forum over what I'd consider decent (and relevant) film critique*. But that's a discussion for another day...

* No, I'm not a prude by a long shot -- but nor have I ever intended for any of my own film writing to come off like the over-sexed rantings of a virginal teenage boy.

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

I will second Project A (and its sequel) as well as Magnificent Warriors. Project A is an excellent film in the canon of Jackie Chan. The stuntwork is excellent (especially the homage to Harold Lloyd) and it is a fun film. Not too much to complain about that film.

Hong Kong 1941 is an interesting film to watch. It is nice to see Chow Yun-fat in a straight dramatic role. The performances are excellent though the love-triangle is predictable. The Japanese/Chinese angle has been overdone (and I'm sure you have seen your share of these plots) and the plot is a little slow.

On Reviews: I have been guilty of over emphasizing plot and bloviating. I think the key is to try to improve after each essay you write. I have been most annoyed by professional reviewers who get their facts wrong (while I like Roger Ebert he can be wrong in many of essays like Umberto D. and his rambling Brazil review; what's most embarrasing is when you quote something and then find out the reviewer is wrong like when Ebert wrote that For a Few Dollars More was a remake of Sanjuro).

[cal42]

I will second Project A (and its sequel) as well as Magnificent Warriors. Project A is an excellent film in the canon of Jackie Chan. The stuntwork is excellent (especially the homage to Harold Lloyd) and it is a fun film. Not too much to complain about that film.

While I agree, if Mike's not into Martial Arts movies, he just might not get as much out of them as us. However, out of all of those three I'd definitely, 100% recommend the first Project A film as I think it does genuinely have something for everyone, then maybe Project A Part II, and then Warriors.

Mike: Interesting way of getting into HK films, by the way. With me (and I'm betting, many many others) it was the other way around - I didn't realise HK made other types of movies for about the first 18 months I was watching 'em!

[Brian Thibodeau]

endless, gushing, fawning verbiage that is little more than purple prose best left to the likes of Hustler or Penthouse forum

How dare you! I've written..errr...read some very convincing letters to the Penthouse Forum. I mean...a friend of mine read them and told me about them... No wait, I mean, my girlfriend wrote them...yeah, that's what happened! And she wrote them about me!

Seriously, though, there are definitely some rather...over-eager reviews out there (and in here!), particularly when it comes to Category III fare! Sometimes the leering tone of such reviews doesn't bother me, as it generally grows out of the leering tone of many of the films themselves, especially the ones that offer little else of substance anyways. Other times, it's a little creepy reading a someone's analysis of an actress' assorted naughty bits. If you're Joe Bob Briggs, that's OK, otherwise, it's a fine line...

On Reviews: I have been guilty of over emphasizing plot and bloviating. I think the key is to try to improve after each essay you write.

So true!

Further, when you factor in reviewer ages (where known) and years of familiarity with the "product," it's not too hard to cut some writers at least a little slack—especially those who aren't nationally syndicated and newcomers who just love sharing their thoughts. Reviews at some dedicated movie and cult-movie websites I've seen, though, often seem constructed in templates: while they may impart a good balance of synopsis and analysis, there's an unavoidable sense of deja-vu in the structure of the writing. No big deal, really, as it's probably just a result of a single person of an otherwise very, very small group doing all the thankless labour. I do, however, very much like the variety of international voices found in the review database here, syntax boo-boos and all, and while some of the oldest reviews are of questionable value (like the little one-line non-reviews we often find), time will smooth out the wrinkles I think.

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Another title on your list list jumped out at me, Mike. I'll take it for granted that you've seen its horrendous sequels by virtue of their absense from the list, but you might want to move UNWRITTEN LAW up a few notches. Not so much because it's a classic film, which it's most certainly not, but just to complete the triple-play!

[Brian Thibodeau]

Interesting way of getting into HK films, by the way. With me (and I'm betting, many many others) it was the other way around - I didn't realise HK made other types of movies for about the first 18 months I was watching 'em!

This would make an interesting thread on it's own (hmmmmm ). I think you'd find quite a wide variety of "entry points" for fans of this stuff, especially more recent adventurers, who have a much wider variety of genres available in all region codes from which they can start to explore. Like this chap:
http://hkmdb.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=41823

Once upon a time, I'd have joined Mike in sidelining the martial arts movies, though in my case it would have been largely thanks to the "chopsocky" reputaton they'd attained through dubbed, edited and scratchy old grindhouse incarnations that polluted Saturday afternoon television schedules and department store VHS dump bins for the better part of 20 years. I just couldn't get through them in that form! Now that they're finally being treated with no small amount of respect by both Hong Kong and international distributors, I've been stocking up in the hopes of discovering them for the "true" first time somewhere down the road. After all, the whole experience isn't really whole without them...

Interestingly, the Hong Kong movie that both introduced me to the world of Hong Kong cinema beyond "chopsocky" and sealed my fate as a junkie was the genre-mixing ACES GO PLACES II, in it's U.S. videotape form as one of the MAD MISSION titles. That was around 1988 (which possibly runs me a close second to Mike's 20 year run! Although, when one factors in our ages.... ), and I still can't shake the addiction. Scary...


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Another title on your list from that era, Mike, that I'd move to the top of any priority buying/watching list is LONG ARM OF THE LAW. One of those rare HK thrillers that feels absolutely real—and the finale within the walled city is claustrophobically intense while maintaining a solid sense of the geography of the place. No larger than life heroes or villains. No flashy or needlessly augmented stuntwork. Just desperate people on both sides out to maintain a way of life. Probably one of the best, and most convincing "anti-illegals" movies I've seen to date. Very much a product of time and place, and all the more fascinating today because of it. The first sequel, which is also on your list, hews to genre conventions way too lazily to even come close to the first film. I have the third one in my "to watch" pile. I think Andy Lau is in it, so I'm suspecting it might be even more conventional.

[cal42]

This would make an interesting thread on it's own (hmmmmm ). I think you'd find quite a wide variety of "entry points" for fans of this stuff, especially more recent adventurers, who have a much wider variety of genres available in all region codes from which they can start to explore. Like this chap:
http://hkmdb.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=41823

So he's done 197 reviews in that amount of time??? Holy Sh*t!

Interestingly, the Hong Kong movie that both introduced me to the world of Hong Kong cinema beyond "chopsocky" and sealed my fate as a junkie was the genre-mixing ACES GO PLACES II

You know, I can't remember what it was for me, but I suspect I went down a safer route through John Woo movies. Now that I think about it, I suspect my first tentative steps out of the kung fu world was A BETTER TOMORROW. I know ROUGE was in there too quite early (and Mr Vampire, if that counts) and from there it was a short step to Wong Kar-Wai, who I adored for a while. It's only been relatively recently that I've explored the Hui brothers' comedies and suchlike, but sadly I watched them just a little too long ago to make decent reviews on here (and some of them need reviewing). I suppose I could watch 'em again, but with so much shiny new stuff arriving here weekly, I never find the time to rewatch stuff as much as I used to.

I wish I could get out of the kung fu rut I'm in sometimes - I used to watch a much broader (in every sense of the word!) spectrum of HK cinema at one point. What finally tipped me over the edge (if you hadn't already guessed) was the release of the Shaw Brothers catalogue, which has never lost its novelty for me and tends to make me look a bit one-dimensional in my chioce of reviewing material. I tend to ignore new films in favour of these titles, which are AS GOOD as new in my eyes, while the rest of HK cinema passes me by! That said, I severely distrust movies starring pop stars, which seems to happen far too much these days in my opinion. It was different in my day: at least Jackie Cheung could act!


None of which helps Mike's quest one jot!

[Brian Thibodeau]

So he's done 197 reviews in that amount of time??? Holy Sh*t!

Yeah, third place on the word-count scoreboard, that bastard. Plus he gets a good piece of the limelight in the front page "three reviews" rotation! Carpal tunnel's bound to set in sooner or later, then we'll see.

None of which helps Mike's quest one jot!

Hey, any thread involving 80's Hong Kong cinema is bound to bring out good memories and hidden treasures! Besides, I made sure to add at least a couple of recommendations in the last few posts just to be keep things reasonably close to the topic at hand!

[Mike Thomason]

None of which helps Mike's quest one jot!

It's okay, guys!

Y'see, one of the joys of the modern (internet) world is that discussion such a this in this topic tends to diverge and splinter off into tangential arcs, which makes good reading for myself. You will get no "stick to the topic" or "stop thread high-jacking" school master nonsense from me -- as evolutionary threads like these are indicative of the evolutionary nature of the internet and internet forum discussion. Indeed, it's been really nice to read about people's early memories of HK cinema.

While I'm no fan of martial arts movies, I do watch them periodically and do appreciate some of them (though, I had no overwhelming desire to see Jet Li's Mainland Chinese epic Fearless on release as I knew there was a "director's cut" on the way and was happy to wait); and yes, I do have a LOT of Jackie Chan's earlier films on DVD in their spanky new remastered versions as released in HK. But I guess, with time, the other genres have interested me more...which is why I spend a bit of money here and there keeping abreast of all the new films as well.

So, thus far, the recommendation are: PROJECT A (which I can get in a boxset with Part 2 out of HK now); THE UNWRITTEN LAW; LONG ARM OF THE LAW (which I'll wait for Joy Sales to re-release in the near future); and HONG KONG 1941 (which has not long been re-released as well).

But seriously, how are the two ROMANCING STARS films?

[Brian Thibodeau]

A few more thoughts on titles on your list. In flipping through my old "reviews" I'd probably move a few more up or down on the priority chart, including,

BLONDE FURY. This is probably Rothrock's best Hong Kong work, despite the kudos she often gets for RIGHTING WRONGS. Some of the comedy elements seem a bit forced, but I recall reading that Corey Yuen was involved in shooting some of that stuff, so in a way, it just adds to the hodge-podge nature we all know and love. Top-drawer action stuff all the way through (hardly surprising considering the director, Mang Hoi), including a wonderful godown battle with Jeff Falcon and Vincent Lyn while Elizabeth Lee hangs chained between the cab and trailer of a transport truck a la THE HITCHER!

THIRTY MILLION RUSH. Not a classic, but some classic action scenes in this one, probably a 7 out of 10 kinda movie. Story's a typical MAD MAD WORLD retread (the 1963 U.S. version, that is), but it builds pretty speedily to the “how’d-they-do-that?” finale in which most of the principal cast members do many of their own stunts in, on and over a boat suspended by a crane hundreds of feet above the water. Mark Cheng’s unaided 20-foot drop from a support beam to the boat (as the camera zooms out to reveal just how high up he really is) is a jawdropper in itself!

SCARED STIFF could probably go in the upper portion of the lower 50% of the titles on that list, in terms of must-see, but as with most HK movies, there's some serious goodness within. Eric Tsang's kind of annoying in it, and the first half is a rather insipid comedy, but the second half takes a nicely unexpected dark turn into stalk 'n slash territory, and the junkyard finale is phenomenal. I was lucky enough not to have read anything about this film before seeing it, so it actually contained one nice character twist half-way through, but it's fairly big, so most reviewers inevitably spoil it when they don't need to.

I'd agree with others here that ROSA is pretty average. More a series of comedy sketches than anything, with a couple of expectedly showstopping fight sequences. If you do watch it, keep an eye on Chung Fat's 'fro during the final confrontation: it keeps changing sizes, so I've always wondered if there were reshoots on this one.

MAGIC CRYSTAL is likewise a middle-of-the-list kind of thing. I normally hate the use of the word "cheesy" to describe any film, but MAGIC CRYSTAL comes pretty close to earning the label. It's a cornball kiddie adventure that marries hyperactive action design to a hyperstupid screenplay. “Eagle Hunters” Andy Lau, Cynthia Rothrock, Max Mok and Wong Jing fight to keep a telepathic lump of green alien rock from the cluthes of evil KGB man Richard Norton, who apparently knows every kung-fu style in the book, which therefore makes him unstoppable. Along the way, the rock is adopted by Andy’s moppet nephew, who feeds it ice cream and plays with the rather rude, glowing phallus that sprouts out of it’s back; in return it acts like a meddling nag, lecturing the boy on how to play fair and stand up for himself. Nods to E.T., RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK and ALIEN are shameless. Definitely worth seeing, but I personally didn't find it worth keeping...

And a quick reminder that I wouldn't necessarily move UNWRITTEN LAW up to the top of your list unless you're a completist and want to see how the filmmakers behind the sequels could take such a hoary, cliched concept and make it even MORE hoary and cliched. It's the kind of courtroom drama that gets made by people who've seen plenty of courtroom dramas at the movies and on television, but never an actual trial.

[Mike Thomason]

Sweet! Now that's what I'm talking about! Woot!

[Brian Thibodeau]

Hope it helps. Mind you, with the exception of five* I've got most of the others on that list sitting in the ever-expanding "to watch" piles, but lately I've been cajoled into watching more recent stuff!

Actually, I do remember watching TRIADS: THE INSIDE STORY, but I can't recall my thoughts on it at the moment. Definitely not a top-of-the-list kind of movie, but others may think higher of it.

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*The five titles I don't have are:
Maybe It’s Love (1984)
Girl With The Diamond Slipper, The (1985)
Love With The Perfect Stranger (1985)
Twisted Passion (1985)
Mr. Possessed (1988)
...so naturally, I'm hoping to hear Mike's (or anyone else's) thoughts on these in this thread someday, as they're definitely 80's movies I missed! (EDIT: actually, it might just be three, as MR. POSSESSED and MAYBE IT'S LOVE ring a bell...is the latter a Shaw movie by chance??)

[Mike Thomason]

Yes, MAYBE IT'S LOVE is a Shaw film from the eighties. The DVD sleeve has one of the lead actresses in her nightwear and from outward appearances they've sold it as a mature drama...whereas, I believe it's actually a murder-mystery-thriller type thingy...

[Brian Thibodeau]

Yes, MAYBE IT'S LOVE is a Shaw film from the eighties. The DVD sleeve has one of the lead actresses in her nightwear and from outward appearances they've sold it as a mature drama...whereas, I believe it's actually a murder-mystery-thriller type thingy...

Yup, that's the one I've got! In fact, after looking it up at DDDHouse, I now have the strange feeling that I bought the DVD ages ago, then picked up the marked-down VCD during one of my recent bargain binges.

[dandan]

if you're still wondering...

Project A (1983) - great stuff, as others have said, this is an essential watch. the same goes for Project A II (1987)

Long Arm Of The Law (1984) - good, solid, gritty affair. a good watch. the third film is missable, but i really want to see the oop Long Arm Of The Law II (1987), although joy sales are meant to be putting it out in the future.

Magic Crystal (1986) - super daft, but super fun. good rothrock action!

Rosa (1986) - fun, but not great.

It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad World (1987) - reasonably good fun.

Magnificent Warriors (1987) - could have been better, but worth a look.

Scared Stiff (1987) - i love this. it is balls to the wall ridiculous and has one of the greatest deaths in hong kong film history.

Thirty Million Rush, The (1987) - enjoyable caper, especially if you're a fan of maka and tsang.

Carry On Hotel (1988) - a couple of funny scenes, but poor overall.

Triads: The Inside Story (1989) - a bit rubbish.

[Mike Thomason]

Thanks for the varied feedback so far -- has given me some ideas of what to look into once I've got all the Hammer Films that I want on disc collected and out the way.