From Shaw to Shining Shaw: The Shaw Brothers Classics, Vol. 1 Boxset - Ranked List (Shout Factory)

Although I’ve spent a solid amount of my time as a writer digging into the massive Shaw Brothers martial arts catalog of films, the current onslaught of Blu-Ray releases from boutique labels like Arrow Video or 88 Films has seen a lot of renewed interest in the classic Hong Kong studio and their output. Yeah, that’s fuckin’ great cause it’s only one more reason for me to revisit them and write about some of the classics that far too many cinephiles overlook. 

 

Just recently, Shout Factory revealed their own box sets, bringing together large swaths of the filmography of the Shaw Brothers studio. After announcing a Brave Archer set that contains the original three Brave Archer films and the two unofficial sequels, they dropped this gorgeous set on fans. Titled The Shaw Brothers Classics, Vol. 1, this set brought together 11 classic wuxia flicks from the golden age of the studio and it’s one of the year's best releases. 

 

With a handful of films new to me and a ton of classics that were available previously (either in digital form or from previous DVD releases), here is my official ranking of each film included - with a few additional comments of why each film deserves to be seen. 

 

11. The Thundering Sword (1967) [dir. Hsu Tseng-Hung]

 

The Thundering Sword suffers mostly from just being very bland. Despite an intriguing romantic throughline for its lead characters, one of which is played by Cheng Pei Pei - an incredible actress that will be referenced quite a bit throughout this article, this film stumbles into mediocrity at most turns. Lo Lieh pops up early as a bright point to be sidelined for most of the film, and its plot gets widely convoluted by its third act despite its strong set of Shaw stars. For fans, it’s more of a curiosity than a gem from the earth. 

 

Pour Another Round: Come Drink with Me (1966) Review Update

Similar to my updated review for King Boxer, I have spent a considerable amount of time in my career singing the praises of Come Drink with Me as a cornerstone to martial arts cinema - and in my opinion, all of action cinema. Enough so, that I assume I sound like Drunk Cat, the mysterious vagabond in the film, when he sings for the bar in an attempt collect some tips. I'm just singing the praises of martial arts cinema classics. 

 

There is already a full review for the film here on the website that you can read at the following LINK which I wrote some seven years ago. more recently I included the film in an article about King Hu’s Inn Trilogy - a piece that can be found HERE. So, yes, I have been spending some time already writing about this film. Yet, with the latest Arrow Video Blu Ray due to hit shelves this month, I felt inclined to pipe up once again with my warblin' singing voice.

 

Hammered in the Neck: Hammer's Dracula Franchise Part III

There is a beauty, style, and look to classic Hammer horror films that only that studio contains. There are only a handful of times in the history of cinema that a studio has defined themselves so steadfast, even when they experiment, one can immediately tell who made it by the style and tone. Hammer is one of those. For this latest franchise article, we were asked to cover some of the major Hammer studio releases and it seemed only fitting to start with the one that most people recognize: Dracula. Spanning multiple decades, the Dracula series is often times as iconic as the original Universal series and it certainly helped solidify both Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee as genre cornerstones. Truthfully, it was a pleasure to be asked to go back and watch this franchise once again and write this series of articles. Not that my words do it much justice, but even if I can inspire one to revisit the films, then I will have done my duty.

Due to the length of this franchise, it only made sense to split it up into multiple articles to prevent having one massive piece that people will tire of reading by the time they reach the third or fourth film. Since there are nine entries, it made sense to evenly split the articles into three films each. For this third and final part of the article, we will be covering the seventh, eighth, and ninth entries into the series.

Master Z: Ip Man Legacy (2019)

Director: Yuen Woo Ping

Notable Cast: Max Zhang, Michelle Yeoh, Dave Bautista, Kevin Cheng, Chrissie Chau, Yan Liu, Xing Yu, Brian Thomas Burrell

Let’s be honest here. I’m a sucker for the Ip Man movies. I know that, despite their popularity, that there are people out there that do not buy into them and that’s just fine. I’m someone that simply loves the blend of modern elements in what could easily be old school kung fu films. In particular, the “villain” of Ip Man 3 is one of the highlights of the series. Played by the now A-list Chinese megastar Max Zhang, he stole that film in a lot of ways and his final three-part one-on-one fight with Donnie Yen is phenomenal. Turns out I wasn’t the only person that thought he was great because now he has his own spin-off film, Master Z: Ip Man Legacy. Fortunately, this first – of probably many – spin-offs is a great continuation of the series that has the same blend of modern and old but does it with a sense of style that director Yuen Woo Ping brings to the table. It’s not going to be knocking off socks with its reliance on traditional kung fu tropes and the occasionally muddy script, but it’s going to highly entertain and keep the story and character moving forward. Master Z is a blissful modern martial arts flick with enough heart to power its bigger than life action.

The Empty Hands (2017)

Director: Chapman To

Notable Cast: Stephy Tang, Chapman To, Yasuaki Kurata, DaDa Chan, Stephen Au

OSAKA ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL 2018:

One of my absolute favorite guys in Hong Kong, funny man (typically) Chapman To, continues his directing career with his sophomore effort, the karate focused arthouse drama, The Empty Hands, an uneven but ultimately satisfactory film about a downtrodden woman who rises back to strength through her martial arts outlet after her father (Kurata) passes away and an estranged man (To) shows up to challenge her in ways she never expected.

Right off the bat, to shine on the positives, The Empty Hands has a lot going for it: martial arts, sleek cinematography, a very unique sounding score throughout, and a very strong performance by Stephy Tang, who will win over some naysayers after this one. I really enjoyed (most) of Chapman To's direction and choices, but where the film shines more or less it also fails in the same departments: overstated symbolic shots, melodramtic orchestral swellng to sell emotionl beats and a few cartoonish acting bits throw this one off-kilter too many times to count.

It is sort of mind boggling to see the film show such skill in craft while simultaneously being jarred by some amateurish editing and fight choreography. In the same fight scene, I'd be wowed one moment and shake my head in embarrasment the next. It was a really odd mixed feeling felt througout the entirety of its short ninety minute runtime. I felt is if I knew as much about the characters as I did as little as well. Again, it's good, but so up and down with its quality.

Another great performance is by Yasuaki Kurata, who is able to deliver his entire performance in Japanese, as he is Japanese and the character of Stephy's is of Japanese ethnicity in the movie. The two shared some truly quiet and beautiful moments together. I also really enjoyed the element of karate and how serious the film took its philosophy, although a much better film on such a topic comes to mind, but that is for another discussion.

Ultimately The Empty Hands left me feeling mixed as I repeat myself here, but I did enjoy my time with the film. I think it could have used a little better craft and the screenplay could've been fleshed out to a stronger degree, but where it stands, the movie falls a little more than it stands and that's a real shame. I am still quite excited to see where To goes next as a filmmaker, as he most certainly has the potential to be great.

Written by Josh Parmer