Notable Cast: Willie Chi, Carman Lee, Wong Kam-Kong,
Yamson Domingo, Maggie Lam Chuen, John Ching Tung, Kam-Fai Yuen, Ng Hey-Sin,
Lee Chi, Chris Lee King-Sang
Wuxia films from the 90s, particularly the early 90s, are
their own breed. After the genre lost some favor with audiences throughout the
80s as urban and modern action films started to dominate the box offices, Tsui
Hark rekindled the genre with his epic Once Upon a Time in China series,
and a new age of wuxia was born. In the wake of the success of that franchise,
a lot of studios and filmmakers took their own stab (swing? slice?) at the
genre but with slightly updated tones and style for the 90s.
One of the most intriguing gaps in my own experience of
working through the bigger titles from this decade was Burning Paradise.
Directed by the iconic Ringo Lam, only two years before he would exit the Hong
Kong industry to make his attempt at breaking into Hollywood, Burning
Paradise was the only time he would dabble in the wuxia genre.
And while the film had its own cult reputation through
bootlegs, it’s only just recently did the film find a fantastic home video
release via Vinegar Syndrome for fans, like me, to finally experience.