2007: The Digital Scrounge

by **Brian Thibodeau** » Sun Mar 25, 2007 1:49 am

Stopped in at one of my bargain bin haunts on the way home from work again a couple of days ago, in particular the Movie & Music Warehouse I've mentioned in earlier posts. Outside of new releases, all of their VCD titles are $2.50 (with original stickers as high as $19.99). While it may seem like I'm loading up on B-movies and also-rans at this place, they have a literal TONNE of popular movies, but the problem is I've already bought so many of them on DVD over the years, there's no point in duplicating, but when I consider I've yet to watch a great many of those DVDs, I'm almost wishing I'd waited! But then again, at the time, it might have been difficult to predict this day would ever come. Nonetheless, my wallet's thankful it has!

Did a real slow scrounge and came up with these. Comments welcome as I haven't seen any of them:

FORTUNE CHASER (1990, Chin Siu-ho, Dick Wei, Universe)
HEARTBEAT 100% (1987, Maggie Cheung, Mark Cheng, Megastar)
PERFECT MATCH (1983, Frankie Cheung, Josephine Siao, Megastar)
BEHIND THE STORM (1982, Danny Lee, Violet Lee Ying, Ocean Shores) According to the DB, this is the last film for both Violet Lee and the director Law Chun.
BB 30 (1990, Kenny Bee, Carol Cheng, Universe)
ALL MIGHTY GAMBLER (1991, Chin Siu-ho, Ellen Chan)
FATAL ENCOUNTER (1994, Lily Chung, Hugo Ng, Universe)
GAMBLING BARON (1994, Max Mok, Roy Cheung, Hugo Ng, Fitto)
PSYCHO KILLER (1993, Francis Ng, Chingmy Yau, Mei Ah)

And no purchase would be complete without a little Simon...
LAST GHOST STANDING (1999, Simon Loui, Amanda Lee, Mei Ah)
F*** OFF (1998, Dayo Wong, Cheung Tat-ming, Simon Loui, Universe)

.

by **sharkeysbar** » Sun Mar 25, 2007 5:07 am

I have been enjoying this thread, so i thought I might add my latest films purchased.
It seems I am not the only one who searches through their Chinatown precinct for old movies. This is the lot I have picked up in the last week or so;

Xian's Finest 2000 (PR China)
The Killers Love 1993
Country and Scavenger 1976
Rape and Die 1983
The Third Full Moon 1994
Fatal Needles Vs Fatal Fists 1978 (Taiwan)
Guilty or Not 2000
Top Danger 2002
Tough Guy 1997
A Man from Holland 1986
Second Class Resident 1981
Cunning Tendency 1978
The End of the Wicked Tiger 1976
Night Girls 1986
The Revenge of Angel 1990
The Brotherhood of Hero 1980 (Taiwan)

I picked up all except The Revenge of Angel for A$4 a piece. I guess some will be good, some so-so and some Aaaiyaaah, but that is the fun of it isn't it?

I have been away from HK films for a while, so I am happy (and refreshed) to jump back in again.

So many movies, so little time

by **Brian Thibodeau** » Sun Mar 25, 2007 5:35 am

I picked up all except The Revenge of Angel for A$4 a piece. I guess some will be good, some so-so and some Aaaiyaaah, but that is the fun of it isn't it?

Indeed it is, and it's even more fun when the stuff's this cheap. When I think back to the prices I used to pay for single-movie laserdiscs, I hang my head in shame. Hell, when I think back to what I was paying for VCDs in 1996 to about 2001, before HK DVD prices finally started to get reasonable, I hand my head even further in shame. At the prices I'm paying now (and even $4 would be fair!), it's so cool to finally be able to grab movies that I used to pass up because I simply couldn't find any information about them. For a lot of the stuff I'm buying, I still can't, but for a couple bucks a pop, I'll make my own information about them! :lol:

And from the looks of your list, Sharkeysbar, I've got some hunting still to do! I've only got two on the list—TOUGH GUY (that's the Yu Rong Guang one, right?) and THE KILLER'S LOVE, and those are older ones that I cost me over $10 EACH back in the day. Sigh.

Worse, I just saw REVENGE OF ANGEL...somewhere in the past few days and could've sworn I grabbed it, but turns out I didn't, and now I have no idea which store I saw it in!

Nonetheless, this thread is giving me plenty of stuff to look out for! And hey, if some of those titles aren't represented in the DB, I'm sure some screenshots of the credits would be handy around here...

--------------------------

Incidentally, and not that anyone will probably care, but in an earlier post I mentioned the following:

...but I was dismayed to learn one of my sources for $2 VCDs has been booted out of the mall they were in. Paper over the windows and even a notice on the door from the landlords. Too bad, cause they were one of the only places selling legit movies and music in the whole mall! Fortunately, they have two other locations in the city, one not too far from my apartment, so I'm hoping that onje or both of these shops might have taken on the excess stock.

So it turns out that two of the three stores in this little chain—the Wa Yi Trading Company, as it's called—are now shuttered and up for sale. Looks like the owners skipped town or something and didn't pay up the rent. Quite a shame because, as I've said before, these locations had been trusted suppliers for more than a decade, even as bootleggers flourished all around. The good news is that the third store, which was probably my biggest supplier for much of the late 90's and early 2000's and which is in downtown Toronto, is still open for business as it's owned by a different person. I was down there today and mentioned the other stores closing and he gave me some of the dirt.

Of course, his store doesn't have bargain bins per se—just a small box of 4/$20 VCDs with serious multiples in it—but I said it was good to know he's still hanging on despite the illlicit competition all around his neighbourhood. Grabbed the HK DVDS of both Japanese DEATH NOTE movies while I was there. His prices ain't the best compared to what I can get online, but since I'd taken the subway all the way down there, figured I should grab something as they've always been pretty swell folks there.

by **Mike Thomason** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 1:30 am

Blood Rain (South Korea) (DVD) (2-disc SE)
A Bloody Aria (South Korea) (DVD) (2-disc SE)
It's A Wonderful Life (Hong Kong) (DVD)
Protege (Hong Kong) (DVD) (2-disc SE)
The Twins (South Korea) (DVD)
Twins Mission (Hong Kong) (DVD) (2-disc SE)
Umizaru (Japan) (DVD)
World Of Silence (South Korea) (DVD) (2-disc SE)

by **sharkeysbar** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 10:59 am

Firstly you are correct Brian, the Tough Guy VCD I picked up the other day is the 1997 film with Yu Rong Guang.

I was near Chinatown again today, so I had to see what was on offer, I found another shop selling mostly HK VCDs at clearance prices ($4-$5 a piece, with the original 1990s prices of $12-$15 still on them). Here's what came my way today;

Red Shield 1991
Killing Lover 2000
Police Confidential 1995
Fatal Obsession 1994
Stuntmen 1992
Classmate Party 1988
Devil's Box 1984
Faces of Horror 1998
Going Up Anybody 1980 (Taiwan)
Dark Lady of Kung Fu 1981 (Taiwan)
Inugami 1999 (Japan) DVD

Again at these prices it is worth the gamble, but the girl behind the counter did warn me (out of earshot of the owner) that these are not good movies (in her opinion), except Inugami :lol:

So I guess I have been warned.

by **Bearserk** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 11:57 am

I envy you guys, personally I don't have access to shops that sells asian movies at reasonable prices anywhere near me, the only shop that sells asian movies does so at outrageous prices, about 300,- NOK, which is something like $50 US a movie, so that's out of the question, so I have to put my faith in online retailers, but sure would have been nice to go shuffle through them personally.

by **Brian Thibodeau** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 2:40 pm

but the girl behind the counter did warn me (out of earshot of the owner) that these are not good movies (in her opinion), except Inugami So I guess I have been warned.

Bah, she just doesn't understand you! The first time I found one of these bargain bins, the lady at the counter, who'd regularly seen me in her store over the years (albeit less frequently than now, as I lived out of town), reminded me that there were "better" movies on the new release rack. I think she'd seen me grab stuff from that rack during most of my visits and was a bit shocked to see me scrounging in the boxes on the floor! :lol:

Of course, this was one of the two stores that recently closed, so I guess I'll be scrounging there no more!

Besides, your shopgirl's only right in the sense that some of those titles may indeed not be "classics" of Hong Kong cinema, but considering how disposable Hong Kong cinema seems to be to its intended audience, I'm often surprised there are as many classics as there are!

For the record, I thought POLICE CONFIDENTIAL was a fantastic movie, probably the best of the ones on your list. RED SHIELD wasn't bad either, another decent Danny Lee police procedural as I recall. And STUNTMEN, despite being shot on video and (if I recall correctly) unsubtitled, is a lot of fun, not so much for plot or acting, but as an extended highlight reel for Bruce Law's amazing stuntwork.

Haven't heard about FATAL OBSESSION, but I will have to keep an eye out for it due to the recent abundance of "FATAL" titles in my collection: FATAL PASSION, TO KISS IS FATAL, FATAL MAPLE, THE FATALIST, FATAL TRAINING COURSE and FATAL CONTACT (the only recent one of that bunch!).

I envy you guys, personally I don't have access to shops that sells asian movies at reasonable prices anywhere near me, the only shop that sells asian movies does so at outrageous prices, about 300,- NOK, which is something like $50 US a movie, so that's out of the question, so I have to put my faith in online retailers, but sure would have been nice to go shuffle through them personally.

Considering I can't find (and want to) at least half the titles you post screenshots and portraits from in the "Additions" forum, you shouldn't be too envious! :lol:

But $50 U.S.? That's steep! Mind you, that's what the first wave of HK DVDs retailed for in Toronto's Chinese malls back in 1997, and I'm almost ashamed to admit how often I paid it! :oops:

Now, though, my mouse is hovering daily over the "Buy" button on yet another saved cart full of 40% off VCDs at Poker that I just know I should avoid, so the internet is still an important supplier.

I have to admit, though, one of the reasons I couldn't contribute much to last year's thread (which was largely Mike's impressive shopping list :lol:

) is that these often unjustly forgotten titles just weren't available in for a reasonable price (especially for old VCDs), and I was getting mostly the same new titles (but fewer reissues) as Mike was—only a few months behind, as I need to wait for the inevitable price drops—so it seemed like it would just be needless parroting, to say the least. Now, though, I'm watching so many fantastic movies for which no reviews seem to even exist on the internet because the common go-to HK movie web sites veer either to new releases or old-school martial arts (or both) with little in-between, that it's almost like starting this hobby all over again. And that's refreshing.

by **dleedlee** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 3:03 pm

Now, though, I'm watching so many fantastic movies for which no reviews seem to even exist on the internet because the common go-to HK movie web sites veer either to new releases or old-school martial arts (or both) with little in-between, that it's almost like starting this hobby all over again. And that's refreshing

I, too, am vicariously enjoying your reports from your bin-diving exploits. Thank goodness that I don't have nearby shop to tempt me. Locally, we have the occasional book and video fairs that comes through from NYC a few times a year. Mostly mainland stuff and a lot of bootlegs but a good deal for CDs.

by **Brian Thibodeau** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 3:14 pm

I, too, am vicariously enjoying your reports from your bin-diving exploits. Thank goodness that I don't have nearby shop to tempt me.

It was definitely easier to resist when these shops were three hours away and more expensive! :lol:

But at the rate these prices have dropped, I know it won't last forever. Just gotta grab what I can, while I can. Next year's thread might be rather barren, for all I know! Of course, when I'm finally done watching a lot of these titles (which could take a while, unfortunately), many of them will likely be made available to interested parties...

Mind you, a lot of those black & white classics you often write about are few and far between up here! Not that I'd even know where to start...

My Amazon Reviews · by **Masterofoneinchpunch** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 6:46 pm

What I've picked up this week:

Showdown at the Cotton Mill: Rarescope HK (the database has this as HK, but I could have sword this was a Taiwanese film) 1978 (there are very few kickers better than dorian tan tao lian)
Choi Lee Fut Kung Fu: Rarescope HK 1979
Gorgeous (1999) HK (I got the American and HK versions)
Legacy of Rage: Fortune Star/Fox HK 1986
Shower: China 1999
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance South Korea 2002

I've already seen Shower several times but I finally got a copy. This film is one of my favorite movies from the mainland of China. Nothing flashy but interesting character studies set against a background of tumultuous and inevitable changes in a Beijing bathhouse.

I too enjoy everybody's pickups. I always playing catchup (technically I feel this way on all of the films I get; but I probably spread myself over too many genres; aka one Criterion film a week, one Asian film, one European film etc...) and probably always will :-D

.

by **Brian Thibodeau** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 1:02 am

I too enjoy everybody's pickups. I always playing catchup (technically I feel this way on all of the films I get; but I probably spread myself over too many genres; aka one Criterion film a week, one Asian film, one European film etc...) and probably always will .

Boy, do I know that feeling. It's probably good we're not posting all of our media purchases in a thread like this, or the damned thing would be 20 pages already! :lol:

The most recent Criterion I actually purchased, though, was listed in one of my posts way back on the first or second page. Turned out I got one of the defective JIGOKU discs, but I took the plunge and shipped it back to Criterion about three weeks ago and got the upgraded "second printing" in no time (to my U.S. address), plus they threw in a nice Postcard promoting the MR. ARKADIN set, which was actually the second most recent Criterion I picked up, during the last Deep Discount 20% off sale.

Speaking of that sale, it's probably gonna start again in May. I'm very worried.

Went to one of the bargain bin places tonight, but didn't really have much time to rifle the boxes (perhaps tomorrow!). I did grab some new DVD releases that were a bit more reasonably priced than usual at this place. Might have to visit them more often if that keeps up.

BATTLE OF WITS (2 disc) Deltamac $11.99
MY MOTHER IS A BELLY DANCER - IVL $9.99
WISE GUYS NEVER DIE - Joysales $9.99
KUNG FU MAHJONG III - Kam & Ronson $10.99

No tax on any of these as always, which was a bit of a help, especially considering a) it's 14% here, and b) I have a sneaking suspicion I could've waited for the latter two on VCD. They'll probably be in the bins by the fall! Oh well, at least the counter ladies won't think I'm nothing but a dumpster diver anymore! One of them actually looked at this small pile tonight at said "No VCD this time?!" and then tsk-tsked me with a smirk! :lol:

Considering the same $43 would have bought me about twenty-one VCDs, I'm really thinking I should've taken her advice!

by **MrBooth** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 3:54 am

Apparently I just ordered these...

V-WAD8048 Shaolin Heroes Fong Sai Yuk and Hung Hei Kwun (our Kung Fu Kid (1994))
V-IVL108686 Men From The Monastery (Shaw Brothers) (1974)
V-WAD8080 Fatal Termination (1990)
V-KDVD2438 Twins Mission (2 DVD Regular Edition) (2007)
V-WAD8057 House Of The Sword The (Infernal Fighter in the DB?)
V-IVL108600 Twin Swords The (Shaw Brothers) (1965)
V-IVL108594 Secret Of The Dirk The (Shaw Brothers) (1970)
V-IVL108518 Vengeance Of A Snow Girl (Shaw Brothers) (1971)
V-IVL108495 Rape Of The Sword (Shaw Brothers) (1967)

Was going to get a bunch more, but decided to save a few for next time :-)

by **Brian Thibodeau** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 5:08 am

The real ringer in that bunch has got to be FATAL TERMINATION. Outside of a brief thread over at AsianDVD guide, there doesn't seem to be much out there on this release, but then again, it's been off the radar for soooooo long, and this disc sounds pretty bare bones, so it'll have to do. Besides, if it's really in fullscreen, thats liveable: I recall my cherished LD being fullscreen as well, but the film was too amazing to suffer for it. Hopefully I can find it around town; otherwise, it's time for another online order :roll:

. There are so many movies like FATAL TERMINATION out there just waiting to be re-discovered. Here's hoping...

by **Bearserk** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 7:35 am

Just had to have a few more as well, had a bit to much Yoyo cash laying around

Chao Yin Te Gong Dui - Since we where talking about Maria/April Tung Ling, I just had to bolster my collection with one more

My Secret Private Virgin - Sophie Ngan Chin-Man, Grace Lam Nga-Si
Horror Trip [HKMDB]- Sophie Ngan Chin-Man, Emily Kwan Bo-Wai
Bones - Sophie Ngan Chin-Man, Emily Kwan Bo-Wai
Resort Massacre [HKMDB] - Sophie Ngan Chin-Man, Lam Suet (1)
Untouchable Mania [HKMDB] - Sophie Ngan Chin-Man, Danny Lee Sau-Yin
Kill the Vnfor Ziven - Charlie Cho Cha-Lee, Dick Wei, William Ho Ka-Kui
I Like It - Charlie Cho Cha-Lee
Mysterious Hole [HKMDB] - Oscar Lam Wai-Kin, Ku Feng
An Evil Lover - Mark Cheng Ho-Nam, Lily Chung Suk-Wai

by **MrBooth** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 7:43 am

More support for "April Tung Ling" being the correct English name by clicking her name in the cast (but, you might not want to do that at work!).

by **Bearserk** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 10:07 am

Most certainly do, and as I said in the other thread, the name Maria is not present in the credits of any of the 5 movies she stars in which she has been assigned the name Maria, so should be safe to move them over to April Tung Ling, and remove the numbering of Maria Tung Ling (1) IMHO

by **Brian Thibodeau** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 12:36 am

Wow, somebody's got a thing for Sophie Ngan. Well, I mean, besides myself.

Nice choice with BONES, Bearserk. Great minds apparently think alike! :lol:

Believe it or not, I just picked that up moments ago at my favourite 7/$10 VCD haunt. The actual title of that is CRAZY FOR PIG BONE IN POT, by the way. Buyoyo's listing titles are strange sometimes.

As for the other 28 discs I got today (for a total of 29; the lady screwed up her math and gave me the extra one for only 70 cents!), not much from the Category III department (damn you Bearserk, damn you all to hell!), but I did get one:

LOVING GIRL (1999, Diana Pang Dan, Elvis Tsui) Winson

and then the non-Cat. III titles:

BIG MAN LITTLE AFFAIR (1989, Simon Yam, Michael Wong) Widesight
MONEY LAUNDRY (2000, Ken Wong, Jade Leung, and—wait for it— Simon Loui!) Widesight
DEALS WITH THE DARK (Sam Lee, James Ha, Helena Law Lan, NOT in the DB!) Optical Media
DANGER ZONE (Jade Leung, Theresa Mak, first sequel [of two] to BRUSH UP MY SISTERS) Panorama

More Deltamac/Fortune Star VCD reissues:

GOODBYE DARLING (87, Raymond Wong, Cherie Chung)
CHASING GIRLS (81, Dean Shek, Sammo Hung)
THE BIG BROTHER (87, Alex Man, Emily Chu, Simon Yam
CHAOS BY DESIGN (88, Alex To, Cecilia Yip, Cherie Chung. Directed by Angela Chan,whose name came up recently in a thread regarding HONG KONG '73., so figured I might as well have all three of her movies, at least the ones in the DB so far!)
AFFECTIONATELY YOURS (85, Alan Tam, Maria Chung, Atsuko Yamazaki)
WALKING BESIDE ME (86, Joey Wong, Louis Kong)
FOR YOUR HEART ONLY (85, Leslie Cheung, Loletta Lee)
MUSICAL SINGER (85, Anita Mui, Russell Wong)

OTHER VCD TITLES:

DAYS OF TOMORROW (93, Andy Lau, Jay Lau) Universe
AND I HATE YOU SO (2000, Aaron Kwok, Kelly Chan) Universe
LEAVING ME LOVING YOU (04, Leon Lai, Faye Wong; I think I have this on DVD already, but the piles are so big, it was easier just to grab it and check later! :oops:

Better not make THAT a habit!) Widesight
LONG GOOD-BYE (82, AKA THE HEAD HUNTER, Chow Yun-fat, Rosamund Kwan). Mei Ah. Since there's little about this in the DB, I'm wondering if this VCD may prove to have the film's original titling, with HEAD-HUNTER a possible retitling from later on (???)
MOMENTS OF LOVE (05, Race Wong, Macy Chan) Universe
MOTHER OF A DIFFERENT KIND (95, Petrina Fung, Lau Ching-wan) Mei Ah
MY DREAM GIRL (03, Ekin Cheng, Vicki Zhou Wai) Universe
WOMEN FROM MARS (Ekin Cheng, Louis Koo, Shu Qi) Universe.
CITY KIDS 1989 (89, Max Mok, Andy Lau) Media Asia
AFRAID OF NOTHING, THE JOBLESS KING (1999, Gallen Lo, Gigi Leung) Mei Ah

Last but not least, we have Michael Wong.

Considering the three good reviews afforded THE NEW OPTION in the database, and considering how long the following titles have been available, I'm thoroughly surprised none of them are in the system! I found five (of at least NINE) sequels today. I used to think these must have been TV movies or something, but my scrounging of the past year or so has turned up so many decent quality DV productions (and a lot of s**t, too!

), I'm now leaning towards these being upscale DV flicks, especially with Gordon Chan producing. Anyways, after eyeballing these in the stores for nearly four years now, here's the five I finally got today:

THE NEW OPTION: THE REVENGE
THE NEW OPTION: SAVIOUR
THE NEW OPTION: CONFRONTATION
THE NEW OPTION: THE CAMPAIGN
THE NEW OPTION: THE SYNDICATE

All of these, and at least four others I'm now on the hunt for (TEAHOUSE MURDER [aka RUN AND SHOOT], PUPPET HON, GOLD RUSH and THE FINAL SHOWDOWN, all of which I've seen floating around town), feature Michael Wong, in the role he was born to play, Capt. Stone., as well as Raymond Wong and Suki Kwan

by **Bearserk** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 7:41 am

Brian Thibodeau wrote:Wow, somebody's got a thing for Sophie Ngan. Well, I mean, besides myself.

Nice choice with BONES, Bearserk. Great minds apparently think alike! Believe it or not, I just picked that up moments ago at my favourite 7/$10 VCD haunt. The actual title of that is CRAZY FOR PIG BONE IN POT, by the way. Buyoyo's listing titles are strange sometimes.

hehe

They certainly do

Yeah, Buyoyo can be a bit tiresome that way, makes it that much harder to find movies one are looking for.

Brian Thibodeau wrote:not much from the Category III department (damn you Bearserk, damn you all to hell!), but I did get one:

LOVING GIRL (1999, Diana Pang Dan, Elvis Tsui) Winson

And one with the king himself

But they do get harder to find these days, at least ones that seem interesting.

by **cal42** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 11:20 am

Just ordered:

Men from the Monastery
Brothers Five
Sons of Good Earth

Never seen any of those, but they look good.

by **MrBooth** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 6:43 am

Well, DDDHouse let me know that my order shipped without 'Rape of the Sword' and 'Vengeance of a Snowgirl' because they were out of stock, so I was compelled to order them from cd-wow.. and clearly it would be rude not to add a few more!

DVD Region 3 Dragon Lord: Remastered (DTS)
DVD Region 3 Shanghai Shanghai: Remastered (DTS)
DVD Region 3 The Shaw Brothers Collection: Rape Of The Sword
DVD Region 3 The Shaw Brothers Collection: Vengeance Of A Snow Girl
DVD Region 3 The Shaw Brothers: Five Superfighters

by **sharkeysbar** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 5:58 am

Everytime I visit this thread, I see so many films that need to be added to my list, hehe

I also see Men from the Monastery on Cal42's post, a great Chang Cheh film and one of the first VHS videos I bought way back, I still have it, I hate to think what I paid for it 20 odd years ago.... maybe better not to think about the price back then, :roll:

I have picked up a few more in the last week or so, from all over the place;

Fingers on Triggers (HK)
Haunted Resort (HK)
The Eagle's Killer (HK)
Cyber War (HK)
Infection (Japan)
Chang (South Korea)
Samaria (South Korea)
Invisible Waves (Thailand)

With winter coming I better stock up on a few more.
:lol:

by **Brian Thibodeau** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 6:06 am

I hate to think what I paid for it 20 odd years ago.... maybe better not to think about the price back then

When I think back to what I paid for VHS tapes and, especially, laserdiscs of Hong Kong movies back in the day (back when Tai Seng and their Canadian counterpart, Bravo Communications, were virtually the only accessible, non-rental source in this region), it's probably good that my budget prevented me from stockpiling like I can now with all these price reductions. If I'd bought even half what I've listed in this thread 10 or 12 years ago (well, the ones that were even out then), my descendants would be paying off the debt! :lol:

My Amazon Reviews · by **Masterofoneinchpunch** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 10:50 pm

In my continuous quest to catch up I have picked up:

Oldboy (South Korea) – yes my SK viewing is quite behind.
Lady Vengence (South Korea)
Medallion (HK) – another Jackie Chan for my collection
Water Margin (HK) – I got the Image/Celestial R1 release and would like to hear if anyone else has obtained and watched any of these releases.

My Neighbors The Yamadas (Japan) – I actually got to watch this. I do enjoy the Studio Ghibli films and enjoyed this series of vignettes though the animation is quite sketchy compared to the normal sublime drawings of many other Ghibli films esp. Miyazaki. Do not look for a continuous plot though.

Watching notes:

After watching The Burmese Harp (Japan 1956 Criterion) I would definitely recommend this to fans of Japanese classical films. Not as much character development as the strength of Buddhist ideals (ultimately the ending is fantastical instead of realist but still interesting in it’s treatment of Japan’s mindset during 1945). I cannot write too much on it without giving away the latter half of the film. Has anyone seen Ichikawa’s Fires on the Plain (1959)?

I also finally got to watch Gojira (Toho 1954 Japan). A recommend for men-in-monster suits genre fans. I’m not the biggest fan of this sub-genre though. Watch this after Ikiru to see Takashi Shimura go from one of his best roles to a much more subdued performance :-D

(he was also in Seven Samurai the same year).

by **dleedlee** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 11:30 pm

Has anyone seen Ichikawa’s Fires on the Plain (1959)?

Yes, I saw it many years ago on my local public TV station. I don't think you'll be disappointed, especially, if you liked The Burmese Harp.

by **Brian Thibodeau** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 12:32 am

I also finally got to watch Gojira (Toho 1954 Japan). A recommend for men-in-monster suits genre fans. I’m not the biggest fan of this sub-genre though

I'm kinda the same way on these. I find most of them tremendously boring, but there are a few that I kinda like—including the first GODZILLA/GOJIRA (that new special edition is phenomenal!), GODZILLA VS. MONSTER ZERO (not sure the Japanese title, but it's the one with Nick Adams), GODZILLA VS. BIOLLANTE and ALL OUT MONSTERS ATTACK. The rest generally leave me cold and kinda sleepy in spots, and that last one, FINAL WARS, what a headache! Of course, once I saw Kaneko's GAMERA films in the 90's, I just couldn't see Godzilla movies in the same light. They all have their moments, but when they set to talking, they really crawl....

Picked up an interesting title last night:

BLACK MAGIC 2 (Hong Kong)

Finally decided to give the Jaman service (http://www.jaman.com) a proper try, and when I noticed this was a free rental (of the three I received when I joined), figured it would be worth a try, especially considering it's the only Shaw movie they've got that isn't already on DVD and in my collection. :oops:

Took just under 3 hours to download on high-speed, which could probably be faster. I guess I've got seven days from last night to watch it or a girl crawls out of my TV or something, so I guess I better grab the first one off the shelf so I can at least say I watched them in order! :lol:

by **Bearserk** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 10:18 pm

Needed to use some more unspent yoyo cash

Twist - [HKMDB] - Danny Lee, Simon Yam, Suki Kwan - Had to start with some Cat.3 title

Gambler Series - Rake Gambler - Missing from the DB, great theme, and hopefully a good movie

Gambler Series - invincible Gambler - Missing from the DB as well it seems, looks great

Shaolin Popey 2 - Messy Temple - [HKMDB] - Kok Siu-Man, Sik Siu-Lung, Ng Man-Tat - Hopefully just as good as the first one

Happy Ghost 3 - [HKMDB] - Raymond Wong, Maggie Cheung, Fennie Yuen - Loved the first one, so looking forward to checking this one out

by **Brian Thibodeau** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 11:39 pm

Twist - [HKMDB] - Danny Lee, Simon Yam, Suki Kwan - Had to start with some Cat.3 title

TWIST is one of the greatest (and most underrated) Cat. III movies ever! Not many reviews here (or elsewhere) but it's one of those titles that never fails to please on so many levels. It boasts what I'd have to say are some of Danny Lee's nastiest police-interrogation-wish-fulfillment fantasies to date: when Simon Yam's smug, greaseball lawyer Melvin Wong (who's fantastic in this) warns the cops not to indulge their usual brutality on his client, Danny's team practically invents new ways to torture Simon (and later Suki) so they won't leave any visible wounds! :lol:

Suffice it to say, orifices are not pleased.

As for those GAMBLER SERIES discs, something just doesn't seem right. There's NO Simon Loui on the cover! Therefore, they will probably suck.

So the SHAOLIN POPEY movies are worth watching? They've got stacks of both of them at one of the local shops, but I've avoided those titles like the plague for years now because I simply hate—HATE, I say, with every fibre of my being— those precocious little snots who play the leads. I've had the misfortune of watching at least two other films in which they starred and I never felt so irritated by the time they were over!

by **Bearserk** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 7:38 am

Yeah, I read the review mentioning their rather "inventive" torture to get them to confess, not that it made the sale for me, I'm a sucker for those Cat.3 titles anyway

And the gambler series movies will probably rock due to the fact that I've seen so much real crap lately, mostly without subs, that a movie with subs will be a blessing in itself, as for the other, welll, don't really know what to say, dubbing is evil, but at least I can understand it that way

And you know I'm a sucker for those silly comedies

by **cal42** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 4:54 pm

Brian Thibodeau wrote:

Picked up an interesting title last night:

BLACK MAGIC 2 (Hong Kong)

Is this the Shaw horror flick from the 70's? If so, could you post a review as my friend's quite interested in seeing that one?

by **Brian Thibodeau** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 5:31 pm

Is this the Shaw horror flick from the 70's? If so, could you post a review as my friend's quite interested in seeing that one?

It is. I will post a review at some point, though I'm no expert in 70's Shaw stuff, so keep your expectations low! :lol:

I had no problems downloading the player and the movie, so my fingers are crossed that it will be a smooth view. I actually loathe watching movies on my laptop, but considering the rarity of this title on DVD, and my lack of proper cabling to hook the computer up to my TV, I'll make an exception! Plus, the clock's winding down on my viewing window, so I guess I better get crackin'...

2007: The Digital Scrounge

Who is online