Post by josephkuby on Jan 25, 2010 16:08:02 GMT
Groundbreaking New Wave Classic! ;D
The Chinese Stuntman is a lot more than being some typical Bruceploitation flick. It's actually one of the most important films to be made during the New Wave era of Hong Kong cinema - it brings over a surprising level of realism and maturity that previous films had lacked and which, at best, was rarely seen.
Certainly in the martial arts genre, the film brought a new level of realism and maturity (unlike the surrealism and overly comic undertones which permeated previous offerings).
So this film should really be taken seriously on first viewing and its prominence should be noted. This film is wonderfully satirical and with Bruce Le as the assistant director, I think it's fair to say that the less-inspired moments may have come from him and whoever else was assisting the director.
In fact, the only reason why the film is referred to as a Bruceploitation film is because on the U.K. DVD cover the film's star (and director), James Ho Chung Tao, is advertised as Bruce Li - his original star name and one he applied to the previous film's he appeared in (not that he ever intended to use it since he respects Bruce). Really, the only comparison he shares with Bruce is what other Chinese actors at the time shared with Bruce - they all wear a Chinese afro.
Additionally, the film features Bruce's friend, teacher, student and actor Dan Inosanto, Dan's Jeet Kune Do student John Ladalski (who can be seen in Jackie Chan's Armour of God), Paul Wei Ping Ao (the actor who played the Chinese interpreter for the foreign villains in Fist of Fury and The Way of the Dragon) and there are plenty of Bruce Lee posters along with magazines which can be seen in the apartment of Ho Chung Tao (which brings to mind a scene in Sammo Hung's Heart of Dragon where we see this person's apartment which prominently displays a poster of Bruce Lee) as well a verbal reference to the man himself.
The Chinese Stuntman is significantly better than the similarly themed and titled The Stuntwoman directed by Ann Hui. Despite the fact that the latter starred Michelle Yeoh and Sammo Hung, it outstayed its welcome (in spite of starting out promisingly) and it became an utter bore. That is saying something because the good performances which came from the two leads should have been enough to make The Chinese Stuntman look silly (in theory ).
The Stuntwoman lost its way when we were introduced to this comical looking Triad villain and the look of the action sequences (which came from the aforementioned plot-point) took away from the realism and emotional power of the film. There was an annoying kid actor with a dated Elvis hairstyle and despite some moments of poignancy , The Stuntwoman was very ponderous (it was slow-paced, meaningless and lethargic ).
The story of The Stuntwoman became cliche as she fell in love with a film producer (or some millionaire type) who turns out to be a playboy and who eventually two-times on her.
Just like The Chinese Stuntman, The Stuntwoman has this room-mate who lives with her though it's not as explored well as in this film. The Stuntwoman may have been directed by Ann Hui but that doesn't mean to say that her movie was better.
The Chinese Stuntman explores more into the insights of the Hong Kong film industry, something which Ann Hui didn't do with her movie. Moreover the film ends with delicious irony as we see these two contemporary-dressed Kung Fu actors fighting on a period Kung Fu movie set.
The action is innovative such as the way the camera tilts side to side as Ho and John exchanges hooks (punch-wise) that hit the other to tilt to their side. Their relationship is filmed (i.e. acted, scripted and directed) in a more realistic manner than the overly stylistic (perhaps...stilted) manner present in previous Hong Kong films.
Overall, a classic which makes one wish Ho had stayed to make more films. On the strength of The Chinese Stuntman and The Gold Connection (U.S. title: Iron Dragon Strikes Back), he would have easily made films with Tsui Hark, Kirk Wong, John Woo, Johnnie To, Ringo Lam, Ronnie Yu and others. Perhaps making a name for himself in a genre outside martial arts (e.g. like how Danny Lee went from Bruceploitation actor to the obligatory cop and how Lam Ching Ying went from Kung Fu player to ghost buster ).
Ho left because he was tired of being associated with the Bruceploitation genre and being marketed as Bruce Li (though this film has him credited by his real name). In addition, his wife had died and prior to that she had made him promise not to make any more films (whether this was a dying wish or one that was done with no foresight of her death is not as important as the fact that it was a marital vow). Ho is now an owner of a Singaporean gym teaching students gymnastics and the ins & outs of film production.
A truly great film! ;D
As a footnote, from this point on I will refer to Bruce Li as James Ho, out of respect, since that's what he preferred to be referred to as. The guy deserves it!
9/10
The Chinese Stuntman is a lot more than being some typical Bruceploitation flick. It's actually one of the most important films to be made during the New Wave era of Hong Kong cinema - it brings over a surprising level of realism and maturity that previous films had lacked and which, at best, was rarely seen.
Certainly in the martial arts genre, the film brought a new level of realism and maturity (unlike the surrealism and overly comic undertones which permeated previous offerings).
So this film should really be taken seriously on first viewing and its prominence should be noted. This film is wonderfully satirical and with Bruce Le as the assistant director, I think it's fair to say that the less-inspired moments may have come from him and whoever else was assisting the director.
In fact, the only reason why the film is referred to as a Bruceploitation film is because on the U.K. DVD cover the film's star (and director), James Ho Chung Tao, is advertised as Bruce Li - his original star name and one he applied to the previous film's he appeared in (not that he ever intended to use it since he respects Bruce). Really, the only comparison he shares with Bruce is what other Chinese actors at the time shared with Bruce - they all wear a Chinese afro.
Additionally, the film features Bruce's friend, teacher, student and actor Dan Inosanto, Dan's Jeet Kune Do student John Ladalski (who can be seen in Jackie Chan's Armour of God), Paul Wei Ping Ao (the actor who played the Chinese interpreter for the foreign villains in Fist of Fury and The Way of the Dragon) and there are plenty of Bruce Lee posters along with magazines which can be seen in the apartment of Ho Chung Tao (which brings to mind a scene in Sammo Hung's Heart of Dragon where we see this person's apartment which prominently displays a poster of Bruce Lee) as well a verbal reference to the man himself.
The Chinese Stuntman is significantly better than the similarly themed and titled The Stuntwoman directed by Ann Hui. Despite the fact that the latter starred Michelle Yeoh and Sammo Hung, it outstayed its welcome (in spite of starting out promisingly) and it became an utter bore. That is saying something because the good performances which came from the two leads should have been enough to make The Chinese Stuntman look silly (in theory ).
The Stuntwoman lost its way when we were introduced to this comical looking Triad villain and the look of the action sequences (which came from the aforementioned plot-point) took away from the realism and emotional power of the film. There was an annoying kid actor with a dated Elvis hairstyle and despite some moments of poignancy , The Stuntwoman was very ponderous (it was slow-paced, meaningless and lethargic ).
The story of The Stuntwoman became cliche as she fell in love with a film producer (or some millionaire type) who turns out to be a playboy and who eventually two-times on her.
Just like The Chinese Stuntman, The Stuntwoman has this room-mate who lives with her though it's not as explored well as in this film. The Stuntwoman may have been directed by Ann Hui but that doesn't mean to say that her movie was better.
The Chinese Stuntman explores more into the insights of the Hong Kong film industry, something which Ann Hui didn't do with her movie. Moreover the film ends with delicious irony as we see these two contemporary-dressed Kung Fu actors fighting on a period Kung Fu movie set.
The action is innovative such as the way the camera tilts side to side as Ho and John exchanges hooks (punch-wise) that hit the other to tilt to their side. Their relationship is filmed (i.e. acted, scripted and directed) in a more realistic manner than the overly stylistic (perhaps...stilted) manner present in previous Hong Kong films.
Overall, a classic which makes one wish Ho had stayed to make more films. On the strength of The Chinese Stuntman and The Gold Connection (U.S. title: Iron Dragon Strikes Back), he would have easily made films with Tsui Hark, Kirk Wong, John Woo, Johnnie To, Ringo Lam, Ronnie Yu and others. Perhaps making a name for himself in a genre outside martial arts (e.g. like how Danny Lee went from Bruceploitation actor to the obligatory cop and how Lam Ching Ying went from Kung Fu player to ghost buster ).
Ho left because he was tired of being associated with the Bruceploitation genre and being marketed as Bruce Li (though this film has him credited by his real name). In addition, his wife had died and prior to that she had made him promise not to make any more films (whether this was a dying wish or one that was done with no foresight of her death is not as important as the fact that it was a marital vow). Ho is now an owner of a Singaporean gym teaching students gymnastics and the ins & outs of film production.
A truly great film! ;D
As a footnote, from this point on I will refer to Bruce Li as James Ho, out of respect, since that's what he preferred to be referred to as. The guy deserves it!
9/10