That sounds reasonable enough - I'll keep that in mind when I do the next update - thanks.

Storm Rider is based on a comic book series
A hero never die is also based on a comic book series by the same author of Storm Rider.
The Duel is based on a novel by Gu Long.

I will say Storm Rider is an important film in the Hong Kong Industry as it mark the first Hong Kong Movie on swords and CGI.

And the CGI is done by a company based in Hong Kong, which did the CGI for Stephen Chow's latest flicks Shaolin Soccer.

That's not entirely true. CTHD was a joint production between China, HK, Taiwan and the USA.

-matt

Anyone have any opinions about these movies

The Drive
Blacksheep Affair
Body Weapon

I am considering buying the DVDs (Hong Kong Legends) of these movies but have not heard anything about them.

Ok - I've done an update to this thread...

I've added most of the suggestions I hadn't already gotten to and I added a VCD store section as well as changed a bit here and there WRT formatting. Hope this is helping someone.

BTW - Drive is an american film really - and it's SUPER good! The US release is crap - the HKL release (not really on HKL, but same company basically) is fantastic - it's uncut and has tons of special features.

Blacksheep Affair - I haven't finished yet, but it seems pretty cool so far. The HK disc is just fine IMHO.

Body Weapon looked like a gay porno from the cover so I avoided.

I'm very surprised that this thread has been around for a month & no one has pointed out that when you call Media Asia a distributor, what you mean to say is Mega Star. Maybe no one in the know is bothering with it? This should definitely be changed.

& I'm sorry to see that 2 of my all time favorite movies are not on any of the lists: Chungking Express & Comrades - Almost a Love Story. These are movies that even people who think they hate HK should enjoy. The only reason to maybe not recommend them is that the discs are pretty bad.

I also nominate Comrades... One of the few movies of this type in my collection. Haven't seen Chungking Express though.

Nice Update. Looks good. Good idea adding the VCD section. That first post is turning into the "HK Movies FAQ".

The update looks good.

Thank you, Trigger -- just the kind of thread I wanted to read. Although I've sporadically seen HK films in the past ("Chungking Express" being one of my favorites), I'm only now REALLY getting into them. Just watched and really loved "The Mission", though that darn burned-in image problem on the Mei Ah DVD was REALLY annoying!

When I saw "Time and Tide" at the theatre a few months ago, it really made me want to check out more HK action films. That was sooooooo great, and I just bought the Region 1 DVD today.

Anyway, thank you!

Ok - fixed the Media Asia/Mega Star thing... I knew about it, but never remembered to fix it. It was a brain fart when I put it up and noticed after first posting this, but was too lazy to fix it... I figured people would know what it meant. But you're certainly right - Media Asia is to Golden Harvest as Mega Star is to Universe Laser.

So - I'd add those two titles you guys mention, but I've never seen or heard of them - where would they go? What films should I replace? I just want like 5 or 6 suggestions in each category really - just to keep people from being overwhelmed. I've tried to use the most commonly suggested titles - whether they're the best is subject to debate of course, but the purpose is to save people the hassle of starting redundant threads saying "what HK drama is the best?" or "What's a good Steven Chow film?"

I'm glad you're all getting some use out of this thread.

How about adding a Triad section for movies that don't primarily focus on gun-play (Chow Yun Fat stuff) but more on Triad society.

Young and Dangerous (series)
Jiang Hu: Triad Zone

If you give me a list of 5 good triad films that are "must-see" material for people interested in the genre, then I'll put it up there. Also - if you could give a brief description of what Triad films are like - ex. "HK Gangsta films" or something. I don't really know what they are like because I've been told to stay away from them as they are mostly crappy. Make the description very short and relate it to something we have in America. Or don't... I don't know...

I'm talking about films similar to US films such as Goodfellas, Godfather trilogy, and Scarface where you have a low ranking thug work his way up the criminal ladder. Basically, you have films like The Killer and A Better Tommorow that focus on gun action and have triad elements. The films I'm talking about focus on the life and inner workings of triad gangsters and may have gun action elements. I dunno, I've just always found these types of films fascinating. The following films may not have the caliber of Goodfellas, but are interesting nonetheless.


Young and Dangerous series - I believe there are about 6 or more in this series. The first two are the better ones.

Jiang Hu:The Triad Zone - Despite some problems with plot elements, I actually enjoyed this film.

Triads - The Inside Story - Starring Chow Yun Fat. Pretty good.

I can't think of any more at this moment (seen too many and forgot which were good or bad). When I have more time, I'll review my VCD collection and give an update.

Others that I haven't seen yet but have heard were pretty decent:

Beast Cops
Shanghai Triad
The Mission (just bought the VCD and waiting for it to arrive)
Once Upon a Time in Triad Society I and II

Further information and reviews can of course be found at
http://www.asiandvdguide.com

As a side note, some actors who are particulary well known in the triad genre are Francis Ng (usually the bad guy-one of the better HK actors IMO), Roy Cheung Yiu-Yeung (I didn't like his early performances but he's gotten better)

If I remember correctly, there's 7 Y&D films. One being a prequel.

Quote:

Beast Cops

Definitely a must buy! If you're an Anthony Wong fan, this is must-have material. Arguably his best performance to date. The climax is... intense.

-matt

Young and Dangerous 1,2,3,4,5
Young and Dangerous - The Prequel
Born to Be King (Y&D 6 - The last one thus far)
Portland Street Blues (offshoot w/ Sister 13)
Those were the Days (story of Chicken)

That's Nine.

Y&D 5 is the worst of the lot IMHO

There are other very loose off-shoots that don't qualify (Such as Once upon a time in a triad society, City of Desire etc.)

I'd like to take Miracles and Project A off the Jackie Chan list because I don't think they are good representative films. They both had some decent action in them, but waiting for it was so boring. I personally hated these films - Miracles had a decent plot I suppose, but was so boring cuz I was waiting for something to happen. Much of the acting was sh*t too. Anybody have a reason why I should leave them up there? Perhaps you feel the same way I do about Gorgeous?

I'm not trying to list every film by these people just a handfull that are a good place to start.

I think a lot of people are going to be disappointed with Miracles and Gorgeous if they're going into the films with the impression that they'll be seeing something along the lines of Legend Of Drunken Master or Operation Condor. That being said, while the former may not be representative of Jackie Chan on a whole, I thought both movies were charming and I'm happy they're in my collection.

Would I deem them to be titles that are "must see" for HK newbies? Nahh... but then again, not everyone may like Jackie's normal stuff.

I dunno... there's a case for them to be there, and a case for them not to be there. Ultimately, it's your list!

Cheers,

-matt

PS: As far as I'm concerned, anything with Shu Qi (Gorgeous) is a "must have". SIGH... DROOL...

(waiting impatiently for an R1 release of Sex And Zen 2 )

As already said, it is in the end, your list.


here is my US$0.02...
(and this could easily apply/be adaptable to all the 'recommended films')
What are the criteria you wish to use to make the list of recommended films?
To me you could use a combination of the following:

1) Representative of the largest percentage of films by that particular actor, i.e. the films "typical" of that actor.

2) The "Best" films by that particular actor. These would be films that are generally agreed upon by fans of that particular actor/actress/genre to be ones that best display the (varied) talents of the actor/actress/genre. Can also apply to movies generally regarded by fans as 'classics' by the particular performer/in particular genre.

3) Those films that would be most likely to convince people to buy more films belonging to the particular genre and/or starring a particular person.

Note that none of these three conditions are automatically related. Just because a movie is a particular fan favorite doesn't necesarily imply that it is a "typical" film. Further, a particular "typical" film might not be a film that best "sells" a particular performer/genre and would make people run out and buy more.

Now how you would "weight" the above criteria to come up with whether a particular flick should appear on a recommended list is completely up for grabs.

All of the above being said, if you were to only allow "typical" films of Jackie Chan, then Miracles, and Gorgeous would both be out faster than Jackie can flip.

If you want JC films that IMO best exemplify the above criteria, I submit the following lists (note that these are all the Hk versions, NOT the crappy, butchered US ones):

most "typical" (and by "typical" I mean intricate fight choreagraphy and/or stunts)
DM2
Project A
Police Story
Rumble In The Bronx
Drunken Master
First Strike
Young Master
Armour of God
Armor of God Part 2 : Operation Condor
Who Am I?

"Best" Films (No Particular Order)
Miracles
DM2
Police Story
Project A
Drunken Master


Films Most Likely To "Sell" JC (IMO)
DM2
Rumble In The Bronx
Drunken Master
Police Story
Snake In The Eagle's Shadow
Armour Of God Part 2 : Operation Condor
First Strike
Police Story 3 : Supercop


Now, since you only need a total of 5-7 movies, the fun part is going to be to use the above suggestions along with any of your own criteria and preferences to come up with those 5-7. Being a big JC fan, If I had to pick a few for your list, they would be (in no particular order):

1) DM2
2) Police Story
3) Rumble In The Bronx
4) Project A
5) Miracles
6) AOG 2 : Operation Condor
7) First Strike

The above provide a good overall sampling of JC's flicks. Top notch choreagraphy is showcased in DM2, Project A, Rumble, First Strike, and AOG2 (but is actually present in all of them). Incredible stunts are illustrated in Project A, Police Story, DM2, and Rumble. Finally, a very highly regarded atypical film in Miracles.

My apologies if it seems like I am making too much of the recommended films category. That was not and is not my intention. Everybody will always have their own personal favorites. I just figured some discussion about concrete criteria that can be applied to all the recommended films might be interesting and fruitful.

how is CTHD a hk movie when they speak mandarine in the movie and it was nominated as a taiwanese movie at the oscars. they didnt mention anything about it being a hk movie at the oscars. CTHD is rather a taiwanese or usa movie, nothing to do with hk except the fact that chow yun fat and michelle yeoh are in it, who are hk artists.

What's your point? Who said CTHD was a HK film?

According to information I've read, CTHD was a joint project between China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the USA.

-matt

i'm just trying to clear it up cus some people think CTHD is a hk film (i'm not sure why...probably cus cyf and michelle yeoh are in the movie?). if you're expecting hk films to be like this, dont be cus you might not be satisfy since CTHD had a pretty big budget for its production.

I thought I'd made that clear in the first post... if you read it and see a way I can make it any clearer, feel free to suggest something.

I haven't previously commented about Naked Killer because it wasn't in the list, but now that it has been added, I should mention that I thought it was distinctly mediocre.

Sex and Zen was significantly better, and in fact, it was funnier than either of the Stephen Chow movies I've seen. I saw God of Cookery on the recommendation above and it was better than his film about acting, but still not particularly funny - especially prior to the last third of the film.

Possibly, you need to have some sort of Chinese background (Chinese-American family or some such) in order to consider the references funny, or perhaps it is just personal differences in humor.

For example, I would find it odd if an "American films" thread only listed Jim Carey movies in the comedy section, since some people don't find him funny.

BTW, watch out - there are some "painful" sections to Sex and Zen, and it is definitely "kinky" at times.

Personally - I agree that Naked Killer wasn't very good - and Robotrix was godawful... but those are just my opinions and others like them, so to each his own. It's not my list - I put up what people suggest commonly. I haven't even seen all the films in the list.

Steven Chow - I think he's hilarious and some people don't. I guess it's like how some people like Jim Carey and some hate him. I don't think he's very funny, but I can laugh at him sometimes - while other people just crack up thinking about him. I crack up to myself just thinking about Steven Chow - so I imagine if you didn't like God of Cookery, you probably won't dig most of his other films. If you like period films - he has some excellent period movies with some decent kung fu in them - probably worth checking out. Royal Tramp would be a good suggestion and a few others I'm sure - just check out the Steven Chow thread if you feel there's still hope for you to like him. I've tried to give reviews of every film I've seen of his (mostly just my basic thoughts) and others have given their opinions as well.

Sex and Zen - I liked the US dub of it I saw on a Tai Seng VHS which was cut heavily. I could do without all the extended sex scenes really - I was more interested in the story and the humor. It's also a very funny dub. The subtitled uncut version seemed too long and was kinda boring in comparison. I don't think this is a film you want to invest that much time in - just a short hour and a half or less, get your laughs, and move on.