2007: The Digital Scrounge

[Brian Thibodeau]

Figured I'd resuscitate an idea from 2006 of the merely departed (and hopefully returning) Mike Thomason's and start another thread where people can list DVDs/VCDs they've bought in recent days AND/OR give suggestions on what's worth watching and what's worth moving to the bottom of the pile. Despite the fact that a rather small number of people contributed to last year's epic (for this forum) 6-pager, I still hold out hope that more people will chime in, even just to list recent scores, as I personally gleaned a lot of interesting titles from the previous thread and still feel the concept holds at least some potential.

Hopefully, I won't be the only one posting here, otherwise I may have to resort to regular use of the ubiquitous in Mike's honour.

I seem to recall Ed started a thread a month or so ago regarding some recent purchases, but I can't seem to find it, so feel free to add to that one if you'd prefer.

Up first is another load of cheapies I grabbed tonight from a cool little Chinese movie/music/magazine shop that's right on my way home from work and therefore a very dangerous place to enter with my wallet. Mainly because they've been slowly moving their massive VCD stock into a special $2 rack, which allowed me to grab the titles below this evening (including a nice selection of Mei Ah titles that may not be on DVD, as far as I know).

Suggestions welcome as to what should be moved up in priority, etc., etc.

DEEP IN NIGHT (Fitto) - Loletta Lee

A DANCING BOY IN UNDERWORLD STREET (Mei Ah, Cat. III) Despite the rather gay sounding title, this has a cool cast, including Shing Fui-On, Ken Tong, Dick Wei and Melvin Wong. Any good?

COP UNBOWED (Universe) Alex Fong, Yoyo Mung

HOROSCOPE I (Chinastar) Athena Chu/Pinky Cheung

THE FATERDNGERS (Profilm, Cat. III). Simon Loui, Sherming Yiu. Been curious about this one for YEARS, but that title's always put me off. It's in the DB as Faterangers (Fate Rangers?), which sounds kinda cool. Looks pretty cheap, though. Anyone seen it?

WOMAN IN LUST (Mei Ah, Cat. III) Chui Bo-lun, Yuen Man, Charlie Cho.

FIRST LOVE UNLIMITED (Mei Ah) Daniel Chan/Gigi Leung

NIGHT LIFE HERO (Mei Ah) Fennie Yuen, Max Mok. This one has a rather weak review in the DB, but looks interesting...

THRILLING STORY (Mei Ah) Carrie Ng, Stanley Fung

MIDNIGHT CONJURE (Mei Ah) Lam Ching-ying, Carrie Ng.

TOUCH AND GO (Mei Ah) Sammo Hung

SISTERS OUTLAW (Mei Ah) Mondi Yau. Sleeve says no subs, but for two bucks, I guess I can't complain.

REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (Mei Ah) Of all the ones I picked up tonight, this one has the most interesting sleeve. Nine delinquent girls standing around two racing motorcycles. Package says it has no subs, but you never know. Anybody seen this one?


The same store also has a new $3 VCD rack with newer, higher-profile titles than those listed above (plus a few DVDs). Naturally, 80% of it's stuff I already paid a lot more for, but there were some gems, like a bunch of Celestial Shaw titles

BROTHERS FROM THE WALLED CITY

MY NAME AIN'T SUZIE

COHABITATION

FAST FINGERS

YOUNG LOVERS

All in all, not a bad haul for about $46 (most of these still have original stickers on them as high as $16.95), but opinions on quality are welcome.

[cal42]

Touch and Go is the only one I've seen. Not bad, but not terribly memorable. Mine suffered from a pretty lousy Mandarin dub.

[Taijikid]

Hi Brian!

How I wish I had your opportunities to pick up VCD/DVDs for a song on my way home. I live in a big city in the midwest US; but my local Chinese grocery only stocks a few pirate DVDs, which I refuse to touch. So it's the internet for me.

I used your link to purchase a sizeable shipment from Poker, so I may post once I have had a chance to watch a few. Last night I looked at Still Life, a yesasia purchase, which is not HK but mainland Chinese. It is an understated and beautifully shot look at China as she copes with preserving her cultural integrity while trying to move into the 21st century. And the DVD is under 10 dollars US--a bargain.

The only movie I've seen on your list is Brothers from the Walled City. I bought the movie chiefly for the opportunity to see the famed Walled City of Kowloon. Unfortunately there are not a lot of shots featuring the setting, but it was enough to satisfy my curiosity. The players are very good--Philip Ko, Chin Siu Ho, and Johnny Wang Lung Wei--but be warned that the story is a real downer. I heard that the ending was changed for the Celestial release, which is disconcerting. Still, overall the movie is certainly worth a watch.

Vicki

[dleedlee]

Touch and Go is the only one I have too, on LD, and I'm not sure if I ever watched it or not.

I loved My Name is Suzie on your Celestial list. Anthony Wong looks like Lou Diamond Phillips.

And I too, have been catching up on my mainland films:
Jasmine Women - see it for Joan Chen not Zhang Ziyi
The Road - I <3 Zhang Jingchu - a decades spanning love story between three people, a doctor, a bus driver and his young assistant.
Peacock - rewatched this one, again with Zhang Jingchu, to add caps for our db
One and Eight- the famous Fifth Generation's final class project finally with English subs
Special Operating Room/Unforgettable Life (?) - a newly released, and previously unknown to me, Tian Zhuangzhuang film - a woman TV news reporter has an abortion and then decides to do an investigation on other women and their stories with the help of her female doctor.
When Ruoma Was Seventeen - also from the director of The Road, a young girl of ethnic minority in Yunnan meets a struggling big city photographer. Both have unfulfilled dreams. Meanwhile, they partner together to make a little money off tourists and gradually love develops.


Also been watching my usual diet of Cantonese b/w oldies.
- Dark Heroine Muk Lan-Fa- a James Bond inspired action film with Suet Nei as the heroine and Kenneth Tsang as a rival both trying to obtain a secret weapon disguised as a pocket watch
- How Master Cute Thrice Saved the Idiot Ming - Master Cute and the Big Yam help their pal Yue Ming who suspects his wife Ha Ping is cheating on him.
- Time Flows Like a Stream - classic film making by master Cho Kei, student Cheung Ying hides his country boy roots and gets corrupted at the big city college but finally finds redemption.

Can't remember but weren't the Long Arm of the Law films shot in the Walled City?

And I've always wondered what a Faterdngers was too.

[ewaffle]

I recently stumbled into 1970s Japanese sexplotation "Pinky Violence" movies

Female Yakuza Tale with Reiko Ike

Girl Boss Guerilla with Reiko Ike and Miki Sugimoto

Terrifying Girls' High School: Lynch Law Classroom also with both Reiko and Miki

Sex & Fury with Reiko and Christina Lindberg.

Plus

Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs with Miki.

I have watched the first four--from what I have read "Zero Woman" seems at least as insanely over the top as they. For those interested the recent re-issues by Panik House are beautifully remastered.

A motorcylce scene from "Girl Boss Guerilla" and a swordfight between Reiki Ike (nude) in and a bunch of yakuza "Sex and Fury" show up in "Kill Bill".

[Brian Thibodeau]

How I wish I had your opportunities to pick up VCD/DVDs for a song on my way home. I live in a big city in the midwest US; but my local Chinese grocery only stocks a few pirate DVDs, which I refuse to touch. So it's the internet for me.

I used to live about three hours away from Toronto, so I'd come down here to visit a pal of mine a few times a year, largely to hang out and watch Hong Kong movies. But because my visits were infrequent, I always felt I had to load up on movies before I went back in case the next visit wasn't for a long time. I tended to roll my eyes when I'd get back home and unbag everything and realize just how much I'd spent. Luckily, though, the prices of legit Asian stuff in Toronto was always favourable when compared to the average price of an American DVD in this country, so that helped.

But the internet was and still is a MAJOR source of materials. A month or so ago, I finally completed the TROUBLESOME NIGHT series with a shipment from DDDHouse in Hong Kong (still not sure why, really), and Deep Discount DVD's semi-annual 20% off sales are too phenomenal to pass up. Luckily, another friend and myself maintain a U.S. postal box for just such occasions!

But finally being able to live in Toronto after all these years does have some advantages over my old existence, especially with such a large Chinese population that virtually owns the upscale northern boroughs of the city (areas called Markham and Richmond Hill, if any of you are ever in the area!). Plus the bootlegging activity that goes on here has, sadly, driven some of the legit people either out of the business of selling DVDs and/or VCDs altogether (thus the bargain boxes), or at least forced them to be more selective in what new titles they carry and for how long.

Sadly, Toronto crawls with bootlegs. Asian stuff, Indian stuff, Euro stuff, American stuff (the latter the main reason for a fairly constant string of police raids). There's been just the slightest decline in the last year or so, but not enough. The pal who used to live here now lives in Vancouver, which I believe has a larger per capita Chinese community, and he says the bootleg "thing" isn't nearly as bad there as it is here.

It's tough to avoid the fakes, but the store where I bought these VCDs is one of three in a small chain that have never given in to stocking the illegal stuff, and thus one of the few places here NOT to get busted by the police on a regular basis! Nearly ten years ago, I was buying VCDs from these good folks at $9.95, $13.95 and $16.95 a pop, so it's cool but kinda sad that they're practically giving them away now. Mind you, a lot of this stuff, as both the titles and the original price stickers attest, has been sitting there for ten years, so in reality they're just moving out stuff that no one besides me probably wants (the whole disposable nature of Hong Kong Cinema to the Hong Kong people thing and all), so there is a silver lining...

I used your link to purchase a sizeable shipment from Poker, so I may post once I have had a chance to watch a few.

Glad to see somebody's benefitting from that link! I'm still rather surprised no one's mentioned it at places like Mobius or Asian DVD Guide or even DVDTalk (at least not the last time I looked, which isn't often, I suppose). The deal is pretty sweet, even if free shipping doesn't kick in until you get to $100. Poker's prices are usually competitive, but kinda average, so perhaps most people don't use them as much anymore and fewer people get the email announcements.

Nonetheless, I've got a shopping cart of items saved over there, and should really give it a check to see if everything is still available!

The only movie I've seen on your list is Brothers from the Walled City.

It's funny, at least three of those Shaw VCDs on my lists above are part of the saved shopping cart at Poker! Price worked out to be around the same, probably a little less in Canadian dollars, so I guess those will have to be deleted. I've bought enough doubles over the years by accident, don't need to start doing it on purpose because of the price!

[Brian Thibodeau]

I loved My Name is Suzie on your Celestial list. Anthony Wong looks like Lou Diamond Phillips.

And I too, have been catching up on my mainland films:

Also been watching my usual diet of Cantonese b/w oldies.

I've seen quite a bit of this stuff floating around down here, including some in the $2 racks at this store I frequent, but I'm not always sure about subtitles. I've seen some of your posts at Mobius in relation to these films, but it seems like many of them come out sans English subs. Which I suppose is no biggie if you speak the language...

With HK stuff, I can usually trust the VCD sleeves in this regard, and I know which characters to look for to confirm it, but some of the mainland stuff seems like it might not be subbed. With an unsubtitled Hong Kong movie, I'm amazed how much I can still enjoy and understand the film even without the subs, but that probably has something to do with the sheer volume of HK stuff I've watched over the years, but mainland movies seem much more dialogue driven than activity- and situation-driven, so that probably holds me back (unneccessarily?)

Can't remember but weren't the Long Arm of the Law films shot in the Walled City?

I'm certain the first one was, which is why it's so unbelievably cool. Not so sure about the second. I think CRIME STORY was filmed there too, just before they tore it down, wasn't it?

And I've always wondered what a Faterdngers was too.

For whatever reason, it always sounded dirty to me.

[Brian Thibodeau]

I recently stumbled into 1970s Japanese sexplotation "Pinky Violence" movies

Me too!!! I'd only seen the occasional downbeat "Pinky film" over the years, usually without subtitles or badly dubbed, but Panik House's PINKY VIOLENCE COLLECTION box set absolutely floored me! I grabbed it in one of Deep Discount's 20% off sales on a whim, figuring I'd be lucky if I liked even half of the four films in the set. But they were ALL so wild!

I enjoyed, but didn't love FEMALE YAKUZA TALE and SEX & FURY, the Reiko Ike films. I think I'm just not that into Japanese period films so much as those with contemporary settings (70's and beyond), which means the films themselves are still recommended to the curious!

Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs with Miki.

I've wanted to get this for ages, but I once heard a rumour that Asian Cult Cinema "Author" Thomas Weisser was somehow connected with the company that released the ZERO WOMAN disc, Diskotek. I'm hardly a principled man, but that guy did more in the "early years" to harm Asian cinema's reputation in North America, and then profited just the same selling bootlegs via Video Search of Miami. So I've always been on the fence with this one.

But then what do I go and do? I order up a copy of the company's THE WAR IN SPACE (Japan, 1977)—which was rather dull—at the most recent Deep Discount sale. I'm such a hypocrite.

[Brian Thibodeau]

Touch and Go is the only one I've seen. Not bad, but not terribly memorable. Mine suffered from a pretty lousy Mandarin dub.

Interesting. The VCD I bought indicated only one language track (with English subs, thankfully). I wonder if it's the same deal?

[cal42]

Quite possibly. If so, be prepared for the soundtrack to sound a bit "dead" - i.e. all of the sounds seem to have been recorded in a tiny little bedsit - even for scenes set in the open air.

I've always wanted a better version, but none seems to be forthcoming, sadly.

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

recently bought this:

Jigoku (1960) Criterion ***½/****: Classic J-Horror film that has influenced much of later Japanese genre films. The last act is a classic visual metaphorical tour-de-force. Though I think some of the logic was missing (esp with the Tamura character who was symbolic of a Luciferian character yet was tortured at the end; I know a possible duel existence but I found it a bit confusing). Looking forward to other Nakagawa and Shintoho films.

Extras are great where they show the influence on all Japanese horror this film has.

Get the second printing not the first because of bug issues (though the second printing does have some lesser bugs in it in the menu selection).

Looking forward to Mikio Naruse's new Criterion: When a Woman Ascends the Stairs.

Also bought and watched recently:

7 Grand Masters (1978): ***½/****: Awesome martial art film by Taiwanese Director Joseph Kuo. I was completely surprised by the martial art ability of the actors (Corey Yuen does do the MA choreography). Well I guess there was a plot too. Of course being a Taiwanese film from the 70’s Lung Fei is in it. Pretty good copy by Tokyo Shock. Why is it on the Tokyo Shock label; I have no idea but it's a good film.

Watched a few Dragon Dynasty films too recently (Police Story and Tom Yum Goong) . I wasn't too upset about those copies but the print could be better for PS.

Good thread Brian.

[Brian Thibodeau]

Jigoku (1960) Criterion ***½/****: Classic J-Horror film that has influenced much of later Japanese genre films. The last act is a classic visual metaphorical tour-de-force. Though I think some of the logic was missing (esp with the Tamura character who was symbolic of a Luciferian character yet was tortured at the end; I know a possible duel existence but I found it a bit confusing). Looking forward to other Nakagawa and Shintoho films.

I picked this up at the last Deep Discount sale, but ever since I read about the disc flaw, I've been leery of watching it. I probably should send it back for an exchange, as it sounds like the footage that goes "missing" because of the time code error (or whatever it's called) is fairly important. Is there any way to distinguish second printings from first printings, in case I've actually got a good one?

7 Grand Masters (1978): ***½/****: Awesome martial art film by Taiwanese Director Joseph Kuo. I was completely surprised by the martial art ability of the actors (Corey Yuen does do the MA choreography). Well I guess there was a plot too. Of course being a Taiwanese film from the 70’s Lung Fei is in it. Pretty good copy by Tokyo Shock. Why is it on the Tokyo Shock label; I have no idea but it's a good film.

This sounds promising! I found this as part of a budget Tokyo Shock/Media Blasters 3-pack from Best Buy in the U.S. several months ago. The other films are RED WOLF (which is hardly deserving of the 2-disc treatment it gets) and the fullscreen retitling of Donnie Yen's LEGEND OF THE WOLF (which does deserve a 2-disc special edition, but doesn't get one! )

Link to the box set:
http://www.amazon.com/Martial-Art-Package-Triple-Feature/dp/B000FKPE4C

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

I picked this up at the last Deep Discount sale, but ever since I read about the disc flaw, I've been leery of watching it. I probably should send it back for an exchange, as it sounds like the footage that goes "missing" because of the time code error (or whatever it's called) is fairly important. Is there any way to distinguish second printings from first printings, in case I've actually got a good one?

This sounds promising! I found this as part of a budget Tokyo Shock/Media Blasters 3-pack from Best Buy in the U.S. several months ago. The other films are RED WOLF (which is hardly deserving of the 2-disc treatment it gets) and the fullscreen retitling of Donnie Yen's LEGEND OF THE WOLF (which does deserve a 2-disc special edition, but doesn't get one! )

Link to the box set:
http://www.amazon.com/Martial-Art-Package-Triple-Feature/dp/B000FKPE4C

Check the back of it; far right in the middle for printing; Criterion I believe should replace it for you: http://www.criteriondvd.com/popup_image ... tem_id=417

Funny I got the same box set too. I have not seen the other two yet though. I was surprised how good the martial arts were in that film. It actually has a decent insert too with info about Kuo.

[MrBooth]

I just placed my first order with DDDHouse in years a week or so ago... still not quite sure, since I've all but given up watching movies in the past 4-6 months, but the urge came upon me and I could not resist :-p

MSV968-MSD577 ... Exiled (Regular Edition) (2006) ... 96.00
V-IVL108150 ... Dragon Creek The (Shaw Brothers) (1967) ... 85.00
V-IVL108112 ... Bare Footed Kid (Shaw Brothers) (1993) ... 85.00
V-IVL108037 ... Duel For Gold (Shaw Brothers) (1971) ... 85.00
V-JSDVD768 ... Lethal Ninja (The Wild Ninja) (2006) ... 75.00
V-JSDVD4010 ... Sex and Zen (Fortune Star Digitally Remastered) (1993) ... 93.00
V-JSDVD3005 ... Bless This House (Fortune Star) (1988) ... 40.00
V-JSDVD3001 ... Her Fatal Ways (Fortune Star) ... 32.00
V-JSDVD3002 ... Her Fatal Ways II (Fortune Star) ... 32.00
V-JSDVD3003 ... Her Fatal Ways III (Fortune Star) ... 32.00
V-MSD564 ... Fortune Code The (Mega Star Collection) (1990) ... 40.00
V-MSD561 ... Lung Fung Restaurant (1990) (Mega Star Collection) ... 40.00
V-MSD560 ... Last Blood The (1990) (Mega Star Collection) ... 40.00
V-JSDVD3015 ... Broken Oath (Fortune Star) ... 40.00
V-JSDVD780 ... Heavenly Mission (2006) ... 90.00
V-IVL150265 ... Sailor Suit and Machine Gun (1981) ... 70.00
V-PAND520538 ... World Sinks Except Japan (2006) ... 85.00

[Brian Thibodeau]

EXILED might be a good place to start in that pile!

Speaking of WORLD SINKS EXCEPT JAPAN, I noticed it's inspiration, THE SINKING OF JAPAN is also out now on DVD in HK. I'm really anxious to get that one soon as the trailers looked great, and, having just watched the documentary AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH tonight, one has to wonder if there's perhaps a small dose of reality in the concept!

[MrBooth]

lol, from what I hear, SINKING OF JAPAN is a rather dumb, nationalistic, big-budget disaster movie in the style of ARMAGEDDON or DEEP IMPACT (I assume, having seen none of the above). THE WORLD SINKS EXCEPT JAPAN sounds much more fun to me

Speaking of Inconceivable Truth (and to a Canadian at that), I saw Michael Brook in San Francisco last week - terribly talented fellow

Looks like I'm about to start with LETHAL NINJA actually

[Brian Thibodeau]

Speaking of Inconceivable Truth (and to a Canadian at that), I saw Michael Brook in San Francisco last week - terribly talented fellow

Now that must have been cool. A buddy of mine down here is a moderately well-known soft jazz musician who actually met Brook many years ago for some thing or another, and actually started utilizing some of Brook's ideas in his music for a time, which was an interesting mix, to say the least. Not sure if any of it made it to his albums or not (which are infrequent as he usually does corporate gigs 'cause they pay better). He actually loaned me a live album called (I think?) The Aquarium many years ago that I immediately "backed up" for my own collection since the city I used to live in was not known for having much variety in the local record shops. I haven't heard much beyond that, but the name did ring a bell when I saw it in the credits of TRUTH.

I'm curious to know more about LETHAL NINJA as well. Looks pretty kooky.

[dleedlee]

HEAVENLY MISSION, the single disc is said to have really bad subs, according to a poster at another forum.

I've seen some of your posts at Mobius in relation to these films, but it seems like many of them come out sans English subs. Which I suppose is no biggie if you speak the language

I don't, I'm juk sing , but I can muddle through enough Cantonese.
Most of the b/w Cantonese films are subless but dramas/melodramas/comedies are pretty simple to follow, the mo hup/martial arts are a bit complicated at times, the operas...well I just find a plot summary and then enjoy the music. The mainland DVDs all have English subs, I usually get them at yesasia, and occasionally sensasian.

[Mike Thomason]

In honour of Brian honouring my memory, just for posterity and maybe even a little nostalgia, here's what I've bought since the beginning of the year (things will slow down a LOT shortly, as I'm literally three days away from flying overseas again and won't be back 'til late February...with the wife! Yay!). Anyhow, soak up the insanity of it all...

Takeshis' (Japan) (DVD)
Sex & Zen (Hong Kong) (DVD) (dts)*
Rain Dogs (Malaysia) (DVD)
My Scary Girl (South Korea) (DVD)
My Mother Is A Belly Dancer (Hong Kong) (DVD)
The Millionaire's Express (Hong Kong) (DVD) (dts)*
Love Story (Singapore) (DVD)
Eastern Condors (Hong Kong) (DVD) (dts)*
City Hunter (Hong Kong) (DVD) (dts)*
Woman Is The Future Of Man (South Korea) (DVD)
This Charming Girl (South Korea) (DVD)
S Diary (South Korea) (DVD) (2-disc)
Rules Of Dating (South Korea) (DVD) (2-disc)
Out Of Justice (South Korea) (DVD)
A Tale Of Two Sisters (South Korea) (DVD) (2-disc) (dts-es)**
Saving My Hubby (South Korea) (DVD)
R U Ready? (South Korea) (DVD) (dts)
R-Point (South Korea) (DVD) (2-disc) (dts)
Oh! My God (South Korea) (DVD)
My Brother (South Korea) (DVD)
Harmonium In My Memory (South Korea) (DVD)
The Ghost (South Korea) (DVD) (2-disc) (dts)**
Chihwaseon (South Korea) (DVD)
Calla (South Korea) (DVD)
Blue (South Korea) (DVD) (2-disc) (dts)**
Lifeline (Hong Kong) (DVD) (dts)*
Exiled (Hong Kong) (DVD) (dts-es)
Kick The Moon (South Korea) (DVD)
Funny Movie (South Korea) (DVD)
The Foul King (South Korea) (DVD)
Volver (Spain) (DVD) (dts-es)
Now And Forever (South Korea) (DVD) (3-disc) (dts)
Lethal Ninja (Hong Kong) (DVD)
Conduct Zero (South Korea) (DVD) (2-disc) (dts)
Wet Dreams (South Korea) (DVD) (2-disc)
She's On Duty (South Korea) (DVD) (2-disc) (dts)**
The Legend Of Seven Cutter (South Korea) (DVD)
Fearless: Director's Cut (China) (DVD) (dts-es)
Citizen Dog (Thailand) (DVD)
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring (South Korea) (DVD) (dts)
Spin Kick (South Korea) (DVD)
Sirens (Australia) (DVD)
Mr. Housewife (South Korea) (DVD)
Bloody Tie (South Korea) (DVD) (2-disc)
Samsara (Tibet) (DVD)
Heavenly Mission (Hong Kong) (DVD) (dts)
Final Victory (Hong Kong) (DVD) (dts)
Barking Dogs Never Bite (South Korea) (DVD)
Some (South Korea) (DVD) (2-disc) (dts)
Silver Knife (South Korea) (DVD)**
Ghost House (South Korea) (DVD) (2-disc) (dts-es)
Boss X File (South Korea) (DVD)**
Naked Killer (Hong Kong) (DVD)*
Joint Security Area (South Korea) (DVD)
Natural City (South Korea) (DVD) (2-disc) (dts)
Mr. 3 Minutes (Hong Kong) (DVD)
The Diary Of A Big Man (Hong Kong) (DVD) (dts)*
Plastic Tree (South Korea) (DVD)
One Missed Call 2 (Japan) (DVD) (dts-es)
One Missed Call Final (Japan) (DVD) (dts-es)
Jan Dara (Thailand) (DVD)
My Wife Is A Gangster 2 (South Korea) (DVD) (2-disc) (dts)**
My Mother, The Mermaid (South Korea) (DVD) (2-disc)
Ichi The Killer (Japan) (DVD)*
Bizarre Love Triangle (South Korea) (DVD)
Hot For Teacher (South Korea) (DVD) (2-disc) (dts)
Dorm (Thailand) (DVD) (dts-es)
Peking Opera Blues (Hong Kong) (DVD) (dts)*
Marrying The Mafia (South Korea) (DVD) (2-disc) (dts)**
Mr. Butterfly (South Korea) (DVD) (2-disc) (dts)
Family: Action Vs Love (South Korea) (DVD) (dts)**

...and before I leave I've pre-ordered, for our return, the following...

Confession Of Pain (Hong Kong) (DVD) (2-disc) (dts-es)
Curse Of The Golden Flower (China) (DVD) (dts-es)
The Host (South Korea) (DVD) (dts)
Metrosexual (Thailand) (DVD) (dts)

* these titles I already had, but it was time to upgrade them to spanky new remastered editions (and in the case of Ichi, an uncut version)
** once again, already had these titles, but in inferior HK variants; thusly I upgraded to the much swankier Korean original editions!

Since you all last read me, I have upgraded my home theatre system and also got promoted at work (hence the extremely limited visibility) so I now have a lot more money to play with -- so I saved heaps for the trip, bought a heap of DVDs that were on sale, addressed my lacking wardrobe, and am looking forward to Wednesday night when I fly out to both spend Chinese New Year with my in-laws and bring my wife home at month's end. And yes, from the above list you all will have probably guessed by now...I have pretty much defected to South Korean cinema.

Anyhoo...gotta scoot as there's lots of washing and packing to be done!

Cheerio kids!

NB: I luuuuurve DTS!

[Brian Thibodeau]

Since you all last read me, I have upgraded my home theatre system

NB: I luuuuurve DTS!

For years I've had a reasonably decent HT setup, but it was lacking one crucial piece—a subwoofer! My system could decode DTS signals nicely, but for the deep base, the best it could manage was pumping a little extra "thump" to the left and right front speakers. Just this past holiday season, I found a too-good-to-pass-up "Boxing Week" special on a killer set of Athena speakers with a powered subwoofer. Didn't need the speakers, per se, but the total price was less than the subwoofer's individual price. Now, when the new neighbours crank up their awful kareoke parties on the occasional Saturday night, I'm prepared to give them a little something in return!

And yes, from the above list you all will have probably guessed by now...I have pretty much defected to South Korean cinema.

Probably a good time to do it, too, what with the falling prices on Korean DVDs these days and the uneasy state of the domestic Korean DVD market. It looks like you've picked up the vast majority of the "keepers" I've found in my seven-year-plus Korean DVD collection in one fell swoop! I can remember paying full price for a lot of the stuff on your list, and in some cases, sadly wishing I'd waited until now. Still, the good outweighs the bad, but lately, and probably because I went through an extended period of watching mostly K-stuff, the overwhelming homogeneity of much of it (excluding, interestingly enough, many of the films on your list, which are new classics) has finally pointed me back into the gonzo realm of the movies that started it all for me—those from Hong Kong! But I've still got a Rubbermaid tote full of unwatched K-movies for when the mood strikes me!

One Korean film I always recommend to people, and which you may or may not already have, is SINGLES, one of a precious few Korean romantic comedy/dramas that goes against the traditions of overreaching melodrama and covert reinforcement of conservative values (i.e. parents ultimately know best; status and appearance are paramount, etc. etc.) that plague so many films in the genre and make them feel derivative of each other. SINGLES is far more realistic in its depiction of the love lives of some young, independent 20-somethings in Seoul, yet ultimately as upbeat and optimistic in its overall treatment of sometimes difficult contemporary relationships as anything I've seen from that country—and I've seen a lot of it over the years.

Good to see you haven't totally abandoned HK cinema though, Mike!

[Mike Thomason]

Good to see you haven't totally abandoned HK cinema though, Mike!

I don't think I ever could. But for me, personally, I just think the last quarter of last year shone new light on the various online communities dedicated to the medium and that, in retrospect, has been enough for me to make the decision to largely turn my back on the majority of it. There is a very vast division between constructive criticism and out and out belligerent whining. And that's something I can do without in my life.

My only major criticism of a large percentage of modern HK cinema these days is, like its American contemporary, that it's being manufactured and targetted at select demographics (in this instance teenagers and the Mainland market). There are very few films being engineered towards "adult" audiences anymore -- action films seem geared towards teenage boys, and everything else seems to be being made with teenage girls and young couples in mind. Once in a blue moon you'll get an Election 2 or Re-Cycle made with a broader audience in mind, but predominantly you'll get a half dozen Dragon Tiger Gate's or Love Undercover 3's as a trade-off.

This is where South Korean cinema has picked up the slack for me; though it still also panders towards a certain demographic it does create films with adults in mind (as an example, last year there were 26 films released in the ROK that received the 18+ classification). It's one of the few Asian territories that understands there's an adult audience out there that wants to see films about adult subjects handled in an adult manner...and for that I will continue to favour it as well as lend my support. Being almost 39, consistently watching films made by commitee for a target (teenage) demographic does get tiresome.

But I do have to say, Andy Lau's Focus Films, and their First Cuts offshoot, was perhaps one of the best things that originated out of HK last year - HK-produced Panasian films, shot cheaply on HD and executed indie-style with new and/or exisiting talent from various regions with some fresh ideas. Those films were perhaps the best, and most creative, titles I saw out of SE Asia last year!

PS: I've always been able to playback DTS (it was an integral element of my original HT set-up when I was putting it together some years ago); updating my surround speakers just improved the fidelity of it all. Plus, it's nice to comment about your own HT when so many across so many forums complain about DVD audio...while watching their discs in the basement of their parents' house, listening through a pair of $2 Kmart headphones.

[Brian Thibodeau]

I don't think I ever could. But for me, personally, I just think the last quarter of last year shone new light on the various online communities dedicated to the medium and that, in retrospect, has been enough for me to make the decision to largely turn my back on the majority of it. There is a very vast division between constructive criticism and out and out belligerent whining. And that's something I can do without in my life

I can certainly sympathize with your ongoing distaste for many of the online forums devoted to this stuff (though perhaps not at your levels! ), which is probably why I only contribute here and save the stress of debating the umpteenth remastered and spit-shined DVD release of some already-famous, 20-year old Hong Kong movie plus all the attendant hair-splitting and splice-spotting that inevitably accompanies it. The whining, as you call it. Fascinating to read, but I can imagine it would drive one nuts to participate with regularity.

For me, most forums beyond this one are "read-only" simply because I can't offer anything more "constructive" than the experts (both real and imagined) installed in them. Here, at least, there's a genuine sense of the "constructive" in the form of the constant contributions to the database, and while I know you (and others I've read on occasion at other forums) can easily find fault with various aspects of the HKMDB and its ideology, it's still one of the few places I know of where such a small group of people are actively attempting to make an once-flawed resource into something far better than it ever was.

My only major criticism of a large percentage of modern HK cinema these days is, like its American contemporary, that it's being manufactured and targetted at select demographics (in this instance teenagers and the Mainland market). There are very few films being engineered towards "adult" audiences anymore -- action films seem geared towards teenage boys, and everything else seems to be being made with teenage girls and young couples in mind. Once in a blue moon you'll get an Election 2 or Re-Cycle made with a broader audience in mind, but predominantly you'll get a half dozen Dragon Tiger Gate's or Love Undercover 3's as a trade-off.

I certainly can't argue this, and it brings up something that's interested me about a lot of the people I've read online in regards to Hong Kong cinema: what about the stuff you missed? Not you, personally, Mike, just everyone who actually watches this stuff, debates it online, writes reviews, etc. When I visit some discussion forums, I see endless discussions of reissues, which is fine and necessary in and of itself, but when such discussions form the majority of the threads in a given forum, I lose interest, and largely for one BIG reason: the sheer volume of lesser-known Hong Kong movies I've been finding on my recent "scrounges," films that not only can't be found in the HKMDB, but frequently can't be found in the HKFA archive—which one could be lead to believe, by those in some circles, was superior to this one—or anywhere else for that matter.

The best I can do for many of these flicks—and they range from shitty to sublime—is watch them for posterity, and post some screen grabs here so I can fill in the credit holes in any reviews I might write.

I guess my point is there are so many undocumented, or barely documented, Hong Kong movies out there that I keep hoping will pop up in discussions, if only because they count in the bigger scheme of things, but visit so many forums these days and you'll be treated to yet another pedantic debate about tweaked subtitles or cleaned up frames. While I find that info valuble, my recent purchases have shown me that there's a LOT of older stuff out there—for adults, for women, for teenagers, for perverts, what have you—that has fallen by the wayside.

This is where South Korean cinema has picked up the slack for me; though it still also panders towards a certain demographic it does create films with adults in mind (as an example, last year there were 26 films released in the ROK that received the 18+ classification). It's one of the few Asian territories that understands there's an adult audience out there that wants to see films about adult subjects handled in an adult manner...and for that I will continue to favour it as well as lend my support. Being almost 39, consistently watching films made by commitee for a target (teenage) demographic does get tiresome

Oddly enough, I think Korean cinema (and to a lesser extent, Japanese cinema) picked up the slack for me just as it did for you (though at a somewhat younger age), at least until Toronto's Chinese video stores started surrendering all these lesser-known films on VCD at closeout prices.

Korean cinema, without a doubt, showcases a consistent production quality that you don't often find in Hong Kong cinema (and that rivals Hollywood), and certainly a more subtle approach to storytelling, but beyond the Korean movies I've been noticed you've picked up in your Odyssey thread, and those you've listed here in the Scrounge thread (which are some of the best, thank goodness), there are a LOT of well-intentioned duds coming from Korea these days (TO SIR WITH LOVE, RED EYE, HE WAS COOL, TUBE, OH HAPPY DAY, MR. HANDY, WINDSTRUCK, MY BOYFRIEND IS TYPE B, R U READY, YESTERDAY, SPY GIRL and on and on...).

Now obviously, these are just my subjective opinions after having watched said films (and far too many others to remember), and I wasn't surprised that none of them was a box-office smash on its home turf (save for WINDSTRUCK? not sure), but I think films like these and the seemingly endless stream of cookie-cutter rom-coms are indicators of a somewhat disturbing trend towards homogeneity in Korean cinema that, I think, is slowly killing the DVD industry and will likely reduce the number of films coming from the country this year. Of course, if that means less films of higher quality, then maybe it's a good thing!

In fact, I often wonder if the derivativeness that I both (sometimes) love and (sometimes) loathe about Korean cinema isn't simply a natural byproduct of an industry that panders, in a sense, to one giant demographic only: Koreans! Maybe I've just got to learn to live with that.

It's just that a little bit of overwrought melodrama goes a loooonnng way.

PS: I've always been able to playback DTS (it was an integral element of my original HT set-up when I was putting it together some years ago); updating my surround speakers just improved the fidelity of it all.

Oops, I hope I wasn't implying otherwise!

Plus, it's nice to comment about your own HT when so many across so many forums complain about DVD audio...while watching their discs in the basement of their parents' house, listening through a pair of $2 Kmart headphones.

[Brian Thibodeau]

Getting back to the subject of cheap goodies, I picked up the Image DVD of BOXER'S OMEN on the weekend from a postbox I keep in the U.S. I won it for $1.76 ( ) on eBay and was pleasantly surprised to find it was still factory-sealed, when I'd been expecting a pre-viewed copy. I've read quite a bit about this one, and don't mind hearing more (minus spoilers, of course). Is it really as gonzo as so many have said?

[Mike Thomason]

I can certainly sympathize with your ongoing distaste for many of the online forums devoted to this stuff (though perhaps not at your levels! ), which is probably why I only contribute here and save the stress of debating the umpteenth remastered and spit-shined DVD release of some already-famous, 20-year old Hong Kong movie plus all the attendant hair-splitting and splice-spotting that inevitably accompanies it. The whining, as you call it. Fascinating to read, but I can imagine it would drive one nuts to participate with regularity.

Here's the thing: the distaste stems from a singular thing. That's that none of these people anymore, it seems, can discuss these films without resorting to suddenly erupting into minutiae, completely unrelated tirades about the home video mediums said films are presented on or simply equating ANY film AS a product of it's home video medium -- irrespective of whether or not it's a DVD discussion forum (where such a thing is expected) or a film discussion forum. And you know what? That kind of agenda is boring as hell for me.

I am yet to find a discussion forum that can engage film discussion, pertaining solely to the merits of the films themselves, without degenerating into all of the above boring and uninteresting crap. It almost always ends up descending into redundant discussions concerning the home video medium the film is presented on or some equally train-spotterish rubbish...like the film itself is of negligible concern. To see said self-indulgent and hopelessly rhetorical (and redundant, as it's repeated year in year out by the same old useless voices) s**t take the place of active film discussion is a crime, to me and IMHO. I'd love to see people actively discuss these films on their own merits, but whilst the bullshit brigade reign supreme I can't ever see myself being particularly interested in the whole online scene much anymore...and I can see others adopting your approach, Brian -- read but don't participate.

In many ways, the combination of the internet and home video mediums has near on ruined decent film discussion; many people I encounter and read on a weekly basis aren't cognitive enough to comprehend that films live, breathe and exist outside of home video mediums. You can't have a discussion about the merits of a film as a standalone entity anywhere on the internet anymore without some idiot interjecting into the discussion about X version of said film on some obscure video label and all of the flaws and inconsistencies of that version. I mean, who gives a damn when you're discussing the film itself? Really...who cares?

To be honest, I don't think the majority of people posting on internet forums about Asian cinema know HOW to have a discussion without involving the home video side of the equation*...perhaps because they simply can't articulate themselves much beyond "liked" or "disliked" a film, so they have to resort to an alternate page-filler? And what better page filler than boring as bat s**t technobabble-jargon that essentially means nothing, other than exposing that they really don't invest too much time in garnering enjoyment from the film itself...

* it even occured on these very forums in the last day or so where a new member asked a question about what three Chinese characters meant onscreen in a film, and their answer from someone here was..."that film needs a decent DVD release" -- completely OT and completely useless to the member posting their question. But that's what it's boiled down to, I'm afraid...

[Brian Thibodeau]

Interesting points Mike. I have to admit, the seemingly endless discussion of the merits of technical media on which these films are released can be numbing after awhile—how do people find the time? While it's not enough to make me stop perusing some forums on occasion—probably because I do glean some useful info for when it comes time to purchase a particular title—it does make me yearn for a place where the film is the thing. And there is at least one site that's OK for that, although the discussions tend to revolve around newer and/or classic and well-known films.

As you can see by my recent purchases (or the ridiculous "Bond's Angels" series in my blog), there's a lot of stuff out there that has rarely if ever been discussed on any forum that I've yet found, and likely never will be (hell, they don't even rate a mention in the film books! ), and while I know the discussion of these films will probably be slight even here, I'm just happy to read the little moments of illumination when someone recommends (or slams) something from the heart, and not just based on the quality of the latest DVD release. At the same time, though, some forums (say, like HTF for example, although I haven't seen it in ages), while by necessity liberally peppered with tech talk, still showcase voices that are almost solely interested in the content above the fineries of presentation. So it's out there in small doses, but is it worth hunting down? Maybe, mabye not.

I think threads like this one and yours from last year, though, are decent enough at providing people with a better idea of what's truly out there, and possibly worth seeing, new stuff and old, without getting bogged down in semantics. I guess for me, it's just a good way to find out what I might be missing, but without the one-title-a-day speed found at other sites. So I'm hoping folks will continue to list their purchases (or theatrical screenings!) and comments from time to time.

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

I agree media should be a small equation when discussing the merits of a film (I do have interests in getting the best possible copy to enjoy a film). The biggest problem I've had with sites discussing film has been Ad Hominem attacks (on a director, actor etc...) and one line explanations (or any mention that this is the worst film or best film they have seen). I've even had hostile reaction when I've asked for more explanation (Ran).

I've never had difficulty finding films to interest me. In my search to increase my movie acumen I either choose new countries (my knowledge of French film has increased tremendously) or watching older film from various countries (I really like pre-explotation Japanese film, esp. jidai geki, and a lot of pre-60 American film). Of course I always feel my HK knowledge is way behind the Titantic knowledge of the regulars here (which is why I visit much more than commenting).

Brian, I bought the Korean film Yesterday (I didn't like Tube either) in a blind buy. Can you give a small explanation on what is wrong with this film and whether I should drop it down on my Asian watch list (Red Wolf, Harikiri, Seven Swords is also in my queue).

[Brian Thibodeau]

YESTERDAY is a beautiful thing to look at, but it's saddled with a screenplay seemingly OVERwritten to compensate for a remarkably simple story that really wouldn't have justified two solid hours of running time on its own.

On the plus side are the smoothly integrated visual effects. On the downside are the confusingly filmed action sequences. I've read a couple of thoughtful online reviews (including one at koreanfilm.org) that say the action in YESTERDAY far surpasses that seen in 2009 LOST MEMORIES or SHIRI, but I strongly disagree. They're loud and jittery, which is OK, but it's consistently difficult to get a feel for the geography of the sequences and the positioning of the characters in relation to one another as they volley their bullets to and fro. The makers of SHIRI and LOST MEMORIES (both a couple of favourites!) clearly designed and cut their action sequences for maximum clarity. YESTERDAY fairly reeks of bad action construction. Plus, characters often run IN FRONT OF objects (rubble, cars, etc), randomly firing their big guns, while the villains return fire with souped-up room brooms that apparently can't hit the air they're firing into!!

To top it all off, the filmmakers clearly think the piece is building to a big twist regarding the three leads (heroes Kim Seung-woo and LOST's Kim Yun-jin, and villain Choi Min-su, whose mission in the film only half makes sense), but I'd be gobsmacked to meet anyone who could tell me they hadn't figured it out by the midpoint, save maybe the screenwriters. On the positive side, Kim Yun-jin demonstrates her sultry cigarette rasp and the flawless command of English that probably landed her the gig on LOST, while Kim Seon-ah (sp??) looks absolutely yummy-yum in her figure-clinging black ass-kicking costume.

Other than that, consider this another one down the TUBE. Unless, of course, I've lowered your expecations now, in which case it will probably seem quite good!

[Mike Thomason]

I agree media should be a small equation when discussing the merits of a film...

I'd go so far as saying that it shouldn't be ANY part of discussing the merits of a FILM; as far as I'm concerned, if you can't separate a film from the medium it was delivered to you through when discussing it then you aren't really in it for "the film". And that's where the trainspotter mentality kicks in and ruins the conversation...

The parallel thread of this equation is that, by and large, the very same trainspotters who invest more time in analysing the home video format that they saw a film on will often squawk loudly that they "don't understand" a film or "couldn't follow" it; in other words, their geekery extends predominantly to the technical side of the viewing experience and not the actual viewing experience itself. Some type out endless professions of admiration for X actor or director or whatever, but invariably confuse Asian actors/directors/filmmakers with one another or alternately can't identify them at all...but they can tell you how many Gig of the DVD was used, its average bitrate and so on.

If I put a question out there like "Was that Ellen Chan in Exiled?" or "I never knew Leslie Cheung was gay?" (for example, and these things I already knew) I don't expect to be beseiged by responses that crap on ad infinitum about the DVD of the film, what was right/wrong with it, or other similar insignificant technobabble trivia -- I expect my question/discussion topic to be answered. If I throw out there "Hey, anyone looking forward to Twins Mission?" I don't expect people to reply with "Can't wait for the DVD! Hope it's a two disc set! Hope [insert company name here] get it right and don't foul up the transfer/mastering/authoring/audio!". But it just doesn't happen anymore...all you see, enmasse, is endless and incredibly boring techno-jargon in place of ordinary, normal, well-adjusted FILM discussion. Even on these forums, people succumb to it here and there...

As a FILM fan, the whole mentality of it all bores me to tears...

[Brian Thibodeau]

Even on these forums, people succumb to it here and there...

...and I've been one of them on occasion , though my only real beef of late in regards to Hong Kong cinema on DVD is the one guy they keep getting to do audio commentaries for the Region 1 re-re-re-re-releases of certain popular Hong Kong/Asian films. But since I don't actually buy that many re-issues as I've either already seen the movies or owned them for several years in perfectly acceptable versoins, I probably shouldn't complain. But since this is the only Hong Kong cinema related forum to which I contribute, it's also the only place I care to vent!

Seriously though, I don't think any internet discussion forum will ever be completely devoid of the techno-talk. If you know of a forum where folks only discuss film as film, I'd love to see it!

The parallel thread of this equation is that, by and large, the very same trainspotters who invest more time in analysing the home video format that they saw a film on will often squawk loudly that they "don't understand" a film or "couldn't follow" it; in other words, their geekery extends predominantly to the technical side of the viewing experience and not the actual viewing experience itself. Some type out endless professions of admiration for X actor or director or whatever, but invariably confuse Asian actors/directors/filmmakers with one another or alternately can't identify them at all...but they can tell you how many Gig of the DVD was used, its average bitrate and so on.

I know exactly what you're talking about. You can read forum threads like that just about everywhere these days, and it seems there are a lot of home theatre enthusiasts who blow a lot of money on just about anything that's been reissued, remastered, double-disced, and aurally enhanced, often (and seemingly regularly) because someone else in the forums recommended it! Oh, to have that kind of dough. Sometimes I wonder if I'm the weird one as I trawl through yet another box full of $2 VCDs at the nearby Chinese malls, happy just to see these movies in the first place!

Conversely, one of the most annoying places in Toronto (and I'm sure those of you who live in cities have seen such places) is actually a cool, independent video store downtown that stocks just about everything that comes out on R1 DVD, for both sale and rent. There's plenty of places like it around here, but this one's probably the biggest. The prices range from just OK to ridiculous (e.g. they still charge over $30 CDN for a Hong Kong "Import" they probably sourced in Chinatown for ten bucks), so it's a great place to build up a wish list for Amazon or eBay and then pay what the stuff's really worth.

But the people who work there are film buffs first (I think that's how you get hired), discophiles second, and the conversations that I overhear while browsing, both between staff members and between customers and staff members are enough to make me wretch. Much high-minded nitwittery and pseudo-philosophical pretense over the same list of "classics" from neurotic-looking, awkwardly-dressed faux-hipsters who don't look like they've ever been laid...it just irks me. I'm a film junkie, and I can't hide that, but somehow, I just can't dig the need for people to open up debates with the you-know-who wannabe behind the counter at a video store, instead of just buying some really good books about the meaning of it all or, better yet, just watching as many movies as is humanly possible, if that be your thang.

Anyhoo, I used to go into this place with a college buddy I'd hang out with when I was a visitor to this city, and sometimes I'd actually worry that people might mistake us for yet another pair of unattached social rejects (film geeks often travel in pairs around here) supplanting their loneliness with reams of whatever Criterion told them was important and a secret stash of porn. Well, who doesn't have a secret stash of porn, but the truth is, we were constantly and almost exclusively hunting for a different kind of cinematic kick: dingy old films noir long before the current resurgence, social engineering and Christian scare films from the 50's and 60's, Euro-trash galore, Corman galore, AIP galore, anything produced by the PM Entertainment Group during their late period (when the cars flew higher), and pretty much everything put out by Something Weird. And of course, mountains and mountains and mountains of Hong Kong cinema, of which Toronto has provided a cornucopia of goodness to this very day! But could the film geeks endlessly discussing Godard up by the register deign to widen their sphere of experience? I've been in there enough times—even just last week—to confidently say "no." And frankly, I'm glad they didn't, or they'd actually wanna talk about the stuff I bring to the till.

Call me a cynic, but perhaps it's a lost cause, really, this quest to find intellectual discussion of the cinema outside of, I don't know, a good library or bookstore or a university film studies course, and even then, I'm certain I can thank that milieu for the high-brow thinkers that staff this city's independent video stores.

The pedants aren't just online, and they don't just monitor bitrates.

[Brian Thibodeau]

Check the back of it; far right in the middle for printing; Criterion I believe should replace it for you: http://www.criteriondvd.com/popup_image ... tem_id=417

Geez, I finally got around to checking the fine print on my JIGOKU. Looks like I got a dud. Might have to make some time this week to figure out how to exchange it.