Favourite Asian Films

Another superb piece of cinema from a director that never fails to impress me. Following on from the erotically charged Onibaba, Shindo produces yet another piece of otherworldly cinema.

Whilst hindered a little by some repetitive scenes and perhaps not as potent as Onibaba, Kuroneka still benefits from some wonderful black and white cinematography and intense atmosphere. If you are looking for a ghost story with style and grace, then I highly recommend this.

In order to obtain the powerful fish sword (?), the Jiuxian witch (Lee Ga Sai) and her Bloody Ghouls clan first have to steal two magical mirrors from rival clans. In order to achieve this, a traitor is working amongst Chief's Wen (Ching Miao) and Bai in an attempt to push the families into destroying each other. However, the two young clan heirs (Shu Pei-Pei and Lau Dan) smell a rat and join forces to prevent the powerful objects from falling into the wrong hands.

Being a relative new comer to the world of Wuxia cinema I am not really in a position to make comparisons with other films of the genre but from what I have seen this one stands up well. The plot is confusing to say the least and the heroes are rather bland but it is energetic, colourful and, most importantly, crammed full of blood gushing sword fights.

This was the cinematic debut for director Sun Chung who later went onto direct the Asian exploitation classic SEXY KILLER. He manages to keep things moving at a decent pace and whilst some of the fight choreography is a little untidy (the wire work is particularly sloppy) the action comes at you thick and fast. Subtle it is not (check out the decor in the witch's lair and her trowel applied make-up) but then with swirling blades and a high body count will mean most fans will go away happy.

A fun piece of martial arts cinema with some oddity thrown in for good measure. Recommended.

Watanabe (Takashi Shimura) is a long time servant of City Hall; he spends his day rubber stamping departmental papers and keeping his head down, avoiding making any decisions that will create more work for him. He then discovers he is dying from stomach cancer (tellingly this comes not directly from a doctor but rather indirectly from a waiting patient who deciphers the medical speak) and it slowly dawns on him that he has let life slip through his fingers. At first he throws caution to the wind and begins to gamble, drink and party away his remaining days. However it soon dawns on him that maybe he should make the most of his fading life and give something back to the people he so poorly served.

If there was any director deserved the accolade of Master of Cinema then surely Akira Kurosawa would be a prime candidate. From his sweeping military epics to his small-scale humanistic efforts, one can not help be mesmerised by the great man's talent for crafting such beautifully powerful pieces of film. Ikiru focuses on a drone-like bureaucrat, a man who is barely audible when he speaks and leads a life so staid, so uninteresting that his only achievement is not to have missed a day's work for 25 years. Yet he is the film's hero. The fact that you will be close to tears by the end of the film over such an unremarkable figure is tribute to the remarkable directorial skill Kurosawa possesses.

Of course one man a film does not make and one should also heap praise on the film's other key players, in particular the performance given by Takashi Shimura. Despite the apparent lack of any discernable personality, Shimura is able bring a great deal of warmth and compassion to his character, even when he does not speak he is able express an array of emotion just through subtle facial expressions. The scene when he is singing in the park will bring a lump to the throat and a tear to the eye of even the most hardened of cineophile.

On top of this you have some fantastic cinematography provided by Asakazu Nakai (although the current prints available are unfortunately a little on the worn side), a wonderful score by Fumio Hayasaka and a powerhouse of a script provided by Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni and Shinobu Hashimoto. The last segment of the film is unfurled cleverly by a series of flashbacks which actually adds weight to the film's ending rather than detracting from it which it can so often do.

I highly recommend this film and urge you to do so if you have not. Perhaps this film has more resonance with me as I too am a Civil Servant drifting through life. I would be lying if I said the film changed my life but it damn well give me a good kick. Watch this film and immerse yourself in 2 and a half hours of cinematic gold.

The rotund butcher student of Wong Fei Hung (Kwan Tak0Hing), Lam sai-Wing (Sammo Hung) finds himself in trouble with Master Ko (Lee Hoi San), head of the rival Five Dragons School, after he inadvertedly beats up one of its members. At first this results in little more than tit-for-tat skirmishes with Ko's son, Foon (Yuen Biao) but when his Goddaughter is kidnapped, an all out conflict erupts between the two houses.

Combining slap-stick humour with agile fight scnes, director Yuen Woo-ping serves up a generous portion of highly entertaining Kung Fu cinema. Starring two of the legandary "Three Brothers" ( the other being Jackie Chan), both Hung and Biao are mesmorising as they chop, kick and slap their way through the numerous set-pieces. The choreography throughout is executed with style by all cast members and mixes amazing athleticism with cheeky (albeit cheesy) gags. The play may take something of a back seat at times but then when you are watching martial arts performed at such a high level you tend not to notice. Even the over-exuberant cracking sound-effect that accompanies every high speed move seems somehow appropriate.

Magnificent Butcher will never be mistaken for high art but then the sole purpose of titles like this is to showcase the deft skills of those performing and to draw a chuckle or two from its audience. Thankfully it achieves both and should leave fans of Asian cinema seeking out more of Sammo and all's back catalogue. Highly recommend.

When a local girl enters a relationship with a man of "mixed" race (the term "half-breed" is used in the film), Eagles gang boss Baron (Tasuya Fuji) becomes enraged and decides to purge his territory from those not of "pure" Japanese blood. A possible motive for this hatred comes in the form of a flashback to a scene of his sister being raped with the suggestion that US servicemen were the perpetrators. As the attacks mount and more men fall prey to their racist violence, Mako (Meiko Kaii), leader of a girl gang decides to set in after the target someone she has falling in love with.

Colourfully shot and peppered with pop icongraphy, this third instalment in the five strong Stray Cat Rocker series is a vibrant piece of Japanese girl gang cinema. Compared to later Girl Gang/Pinky Violence titles this is a rather muted affair with little nudity and restrained violence which may disappoint some fans. However, there is still much to relish including another poised performance from Kaii - see Female Convict Scorpion and Lady Snowblood for other prime examples.

The biggest draw here though is the Seijun Suzuki influenced visuals (Hasebe was an understudy of his) and upbeat pop score. The plot itself is also interesting through its examination of Japanese identity and the influence of Western culture on it.

Overall this is a highly entertaining piece and I recommend it to fans of both Asian cinema and pop culture in general.