Category: Chinese Movies&TV

Drunken Tai Chi笑太极(1984)

Today, we are going to talk about a 1984 movie named Drunken Tai Chi (笑太极xiào tàijí),which is Yen’s first starring role after his discovery by Yuen Wo-ping. It is perhaps the last traditional martial arts movie made in Hong Kong, both a period piece and a comedy. Yen plays Chin Do, an orphan taken in by a puppeteer/drunken Tai Chi master and his savvy wife after the deaths of his father and brother. Before their deaths, the father favors his younger son over the elder while the big brother willingly sacrifices for Chin Do. Actually, the son of a wealthy villager throws his weight around and challenges Chin Do; Chin Do and his brother turn the tables on him by setting off the firecrackers he’d intended to use against them. The poor sap goes crazy as a result, and his powerful father hires an assassin, Killer Bird, to take revenge. Meantime Chin Do befriends the child of the assassin, even foiling a kidnapping attempt. It’s only a matter of time before Chin Do discovers that his father and brother have been viciously murdered. He’s puzzled when he too is hunted down by the assassin. The drunken Tai Chi master and his wife refine Chin Do’s martial arts skills, and part of the narrative follows his exact training. Finally, Killer Bird makes his way to the cottage where Chin Do’s surrogate family resides, and the ultimate showdown occurs. In the end, Chin Do returns to care for the orphaned child of the assassin. 

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Crystal Hunt怒火威龙(1991)

Today,we are going to talk about a 1991 film named Crystal Hunt (怒火威龙nùhuǒ wēilóng).This movie features much of the same cast as Cheetah on Fire (猎豹行动lièbào xíngdòng) and was likewise shot in Thailand (泰国Tàiguó). Here the Indiana Jones-like adventure plot involves a magical gold crystal with healing powers. Wealthy Lisa (Carrie Ng) wants it to cure her ill father while treasure hunters are after it as well. Joyce (Fujimi Nadeki) wants to find her archaeologist father who disappeared in search of it while the cops are trailing the treasure hunter/smugglers. Yen plays Chi Liang, a former cop who has working woes. He joins his former partner (Sibelle Hu) to help his ex-girlfriend find her father. Yen and Hu appear in several club scenes in which their rapport onscreen is strong. There’s humor and fun stunts and lots of brutal fights. And this movie earned bad guy Michael Woods celebrity status in Asia, Europe and Africa. 

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Butterfly and Sword新流星蝴蝶剑(1993)

Today,we are going to talk about a 1993 film named Butterfly and Sword ( 新流星蝴蝶剑 xīn l iúxīng húdiéjiàn ),  which is d erived from a popular Gu Long novel and a remake of an early 1980s Shaw Brothers flick called Killer Clans   (流星蝴蝶剑liúxīng húdiéjiàn)  and originally directed by Chu Yuan. Here Michael Mak Tong-kit   (麦当杰Mài Dāngjié) directs. 

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New Dragon Inn新龙门客栈(1992)

Today,we are going to talk about a film named New Dragon Inn (新龙门客栈xīn lóngmén kèzhàn). A remake of and homage to King Hu’s 1967 swordplay classic. Produced by Tsui Hark (徐克Xú Kè) , directed by Raymond Lee Wai-man, with  choreography by Ching Siu-tung   (程小东Chéng Xiăodōng) . It’s an Eastern Western which anticipates Wong Kar-wai’s Ashes of Time, but without the latter’s deliberate slowness. Set  in the Ming dynasty   (明朝Míngcháo)  during a time when eunuchs vied for power at court, the movie features Donnie Yen convincingly playing the chief eunuch Cao Shao-qin.  After sadistically torturing the imperial military commander to death before his children, Cao chooses as his next target Zhou Huaian (Tony Leung Ka-fai),  another military man. Zhou has organized a group of resistance fighters against the corrupt eunuchs, and Cao uses the deceased commander’s children to bait  the trap to ensnare Zhou. other heroes Yen’s character is pitted against include Brigitte Lin as Zhou’s lover and comrade, and Maggie Cheung as the  innkeeper who serves up dumplings stuffed with the meat of former complaining customers to newly arrived guests. 

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