time to learn something!

Welcome to Kung Fu University of the Air. As I work on the introduction note for the poster exhibit at the Cinémathèque Québécoise, I came across this site for RMIT University inMelbourne, Australia that has recorded a key note lecture by Dr. Stephen Teo, the author of the valuable reference book on the history of Hong Kong cinema, Hong Kong Cinema: The Extra Dimensions. The lecture is a bit more academic than what I usually prattle on about here, but is a fascinating discussion about what exactly is "Asian Cinema". You can watch it in an embedded flash player or it is also available as a MP3 download.

About the lecture

The lecture considers the question of Asian cinema and whether such an entity exists as a valid cinematic paradigm in comparative terms. Dr Teo explores the notion of a theory of Asian cinema arising from arguments of national cinema and Hollywood as fundamental practices of film theory. Can a theory of Asian cinema be self-sustaining? Or is Asian cinema basically a series of national cinemas that are too diverse to cohere, with each national cinema striving to transcend Asian-ness even as it seeks to incorporate a certain view of shared cultural values? The lecture examines questions of identity and transculturalism in relation to the proposed concepts of Asian cinema and Asian cinematic practices.

About Dr Stephen Teo

Dr Stephen Teo is a research fellow at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, and a senior associate of RMIT University. He is currently conducting research into Asian cinemas, and is the author of Hong Kong Cinema: The Extra Dimensions (London: BFI, 1997), Wong Kar-wai (BFI, 2005), King Hu’s A Touch of Zen (Hong Kong University Press, 2007), and Director in Action: Johnnie To and the Hong Kong Action Film (HKU Press, 2007). He is now working on his next book, The Chinese Martial Arts Cinema: The Wuxia Tradition, to be published by the Edinburgh University Press.

tiger balm

Tony Jaa cracks the bones!

The OB2 promo flyer from the Cannes Film Market 08

Be sure to zip on over to Twitchfilm.net where the saviour of film fanboys, Todd Brown, has been able to get the amazing extended promo for ONG BAK 2 that was dazzling folks in Cannes up on his site. Three cheers for Twitch!

Bey Logan Gets Carter

Chuck Norris drops by the set of HAPKIDO to spar with Carter Wong

Spent a rainy afternoon checking a number of websites and blogs that I have had bookmarked and over a the always knowledgeable Bey Logan's Dragon Dynasty blog is a sneak peak at an interview with kung fu icon Carter Wong (HAPKIDO, BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, THE 18 BRONZEMEN) for their upcoming release of HAPKIDO. Perfect excuse to post some pics from my collection of HK movie posters that feature Wong. Sure I have more posters of films that he starred in, but this is all I have photos of right now.

Kung Fu, Gangsters, etc.

So its official! If you happen to be in Montreal for Fantasia, be sure to check out the exhibit of 50 posters from my collection of Hong Kong movie posters at the Quebec Cinematheque. Choosing 50 from my collection of over 1000 is going to be a difficult task to say the least, but luckily the base theme of the exhibit's title narrows things down. I spent most of Friday taking photos of some of the choice titles in my collection and I have just uploaded a gallery of of 70 images that are the first round of picks. It will only be up for short time, so check it out while it is around!

stars on 45

clown yun fat

Another vintage HK TV ad for fancy new model of a Philip's television featuring Chow Yun Fat.

The business of personal banking, is like a sword fight

What a discovery! Adam Cheng (ZU: WARRIORS OF THE MAGIC MOUNTIAN, FONG SAI YUK) in a HK TV ad for banking machines!



Thanks to Jesse for sending this to me and thanks to Jeff for coming up with the snappy comment!

"The business of personal banking, is like a sword fight. *sword sounds* You must think first *HAI*, before you spend."

sparrow soundtrack

This just in - the soundtrack for Johnnie To's SPARROW which was selected for the 2008 Berlin Film Fest.

http://www.myspace.com/sparrowsoundtrack

the trouble with three (posters)

no trouble at all, really. just trying to find decent images to scan...

CRACK!

working on putting together a gallery exhibit of my posters and scanned this today. more to come.

the news is true

Over at Hollywood Reporter:

Cerenzie-Peters eyes 'Devil'

Over at Bloody-Disgusting.com:

Thai Horror Franchise 'Art of the Devil' the Next Remake

Over at Twitchfilm.net:

Thai Ultra-Gore ART OF THE DEVIL 2 Getting The Remake Treatment …

and lastly and most lovingly, over at Kaiju Shakedown:

Are American teens ready for the awesomeness that is ART OF THE DEVIL 2?

action grip dragon

i love her magic.

Been sitting on the link to this trailer for QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC for some time now and lo and behold, those swanky fellas at Mondo Macabro have just released it on DVD! Three cheers for Mondo Macabro! Read more about it over at Twitch Film.

comic book carnage translated!

Also from the pages of Esquire back in 1973 is this translation of one of the rough and raw manhua aka HK comic books. Not sure which one it is, but it does have the same feel as the Tony Wong's early Little Rascals comics (aka Oriental Heroes) which I posted some early covers of here. For more info, pick up a copy of Wendy Siuyi Wong's "Hong Kong Comics" which covers the little known world of the HK comic pulps. Click to enlarge.


And big thanks to Groovy Age of Horror for posting the link to Blonde Zombies (via Tomb It May Concern), my new fave blog, which as I browsed it for the first time, was delighted to see they posted and linked to my original Little Rascals cover postings.

Esquire August 1973

Strange week. I am supposed to be in Hong Kong, but am stuck amongst the mountainous melting ice and snow drifts that cover Toronto. Went to the airport on Saturday at 7am for my flight to HK only to be turned away. I was only staying in HK until March 22nd and my passport was valid until April 2nd, but it turns out entry into HK requires a passport that is valid for 30 days. Bah! At least it was tagged when I checked my bags and not after a 15+ hour flight...

Some friends suggested that I eat Chinese food and watch HK movies all week, but that would just depress myself and I have been pretty calm about the whole thing. Instead of that suggestion, on Saturday night I dove into a pool of RockStar and gin and tonics til 7am Sunday morning.

Here are some scans of something I found at Orion Books, one of the skizzy used book/porn mag places that used to little Yonge Street that are now slowly closing as that strip gets duller and duller. A flash back to the day when "kung fu" first hit the mainstream vernacular.

This Hit Man Is Not As Cold As He Thought

Check out this look at the renaming of Western films in the Asian market over at the HK paper The Standard:

Did you see that brilliant Julia Roberts comedy movie The Sparrow Becomes the Empress?
No? Never heard of it?

Well, it may be a surprise to you, but you've probably seen it. Although it would likely have been under the lame, generic original title Pretty Woman.

It's the 85th anniversary of the first ever "talkie" film camera, so let's talk movies.

In Asia, we don't just chuck Hollywood movies up there on our screens.

No; we enhance them, invigorate them and gloriously reinvent them with eye-catching new names.

Come on, admit it: which is the most intriguing title? The English Patient? Or, the same movie as it was renamed in Hong Kong: Don't Ask Who I Am?

The Professional became This Hit Man Is Not As Cold As He Thought.

Bladerunner (which had nothing to do with blades or runners) became Silver Wing Killer.

Few Asians have any idea what the phrase The Full Monty means. But the Chinese title of the film was the wonderfully clear and unsubtle Six Naked Pigs. (I'm sure the stars were thrilled.)

Click here to see the film article.

I am looking for my countess...

the original dragon tiger gate

I LOVE THESE COVERS!

bring on the creepy girls

Hollywood loves to remake Asian horror movies - and ruin them in the process. Joe Queenan on how terror gets lost in translation

Good broad piece on the Asian horror remake trend written at the Guardian