The Private Eyes (1976)

The Private Eyes (1976)


March 17th, 7:00PM in Garland 104 (2441 E. Hartford)



The 1970's saw a transformation in all levels of Hong Kong cinema. This had to do with the shifting of the Mandarin dialect cinema which evolved through the 1950's and possessed great sense of connection to the pre-Civil War Mainland cinema to a domestic Cantonese dialect industry that fully embraced Hong Kong and its people. A major player in this change are the Huo brothers whose English names are Michael, Sam and Ricky. They found great fame in a TV variety program that they headlined which in tone and impact can be compared to the Smothers Brothers in the United States. In it they looked at aspects of everyday Hong Kong life including its hypocrisies with an eye towards irony.

Michael was the first to move into cinema, starring in four films at the Shaw Brothers studio under director Li Han Hsiang. They were major hits and allowed all three brothers to have creative freedom in producing their own film, this time under the Golden Harvest studio. The films they made were tremendous hits, becoming some of the most popular productions of the decade and making them the preeminent force in Hong Kong comedy.

Co-directed by Michael Hui and John Woo, The Private Eyes has becomes one of the most popular comedies rating number thirteen on the Hong Kong film awards list of the 103 greatest Chinese films. Woo, who had been working for the Shaw Brothers moved to Golden Harvest in the 1970's and became known as a successful comedic director years before his pioneering work in the Heroic Bloodshed film. The story deals with two everyman played by Ricky and Sam Hui who come to work for an abusive boss, played by Michael at a detective agency. The ideas that it deals with include the viewpoint of the average person who aspires to great wealth and power but also wishes to avoid any kind of honest labor.

Hong Kong, Directors Michael Hui and John Woo, Cast Michael Hui, Sam Hui, Ricky Hui, Richard Ng and Sek Kin, 94 minutes, in Cantonese with English subtitles

No Screning this Wednesday

No screening this Wednesday (March 24). The series will return next week with the classic Hong Kong comedy The Private Eyes.

Virgins From Hell (1987)

Virgins From Hell (1987)


March 17th, 7:00PM in Garland 104 (2441 E. Hartford)



The late 1970's opened up a golden age for Indonesian cinema, as government grants helped local producers make films for their domestic market. But instead of more conventional fair, they wisely choose to create a cinema filled with all types of strangeness. From vampiric flying heads that stalk the countryside at night to mythological super-heroes, super villains and mounds of gore.

In the 1980's the age of the home video market further expanded this trend, sending waves of strange genre mixing films out into the Western world. This resulted in some very odd hybrids such as 1988's Lady Terminator which mixed the Western original with folk tales leading to an insane spectacle of one over the top set piece after another.

Virgins From Hell is one of the strangest of these Indonesian exploitation films. It appears that it was produced principally for its domestic market given the absence of Western actors, a common device to allow for ease of international video sales.

Its story is a mix of women in prison, mercenary jungle action and biker gang elements and in all cases these are taken to excess. While Indonesian exploitation cinema is not for everyone, it is virtually unbeatable when it comes to those who like their cinema on the wild side.

Indonesia, Director Ackyl Anwari, Cast Enny Beatrice, Yenny Farida, Nina Anwar and Dicky Zulkarnaen, 93 minutes, in English

Pulgasari (1985)

This screening has been postponed owing to scheduling issues.


Pulgasari (1985)


March 10th, 7:00PM in Garland 104 (2441 E. Hartford)

North Korea, Directors Shin Sang-ok, Chong Gon Jo, Producer by Kim Jong-il, Cast Chang Son Hui, Ham Gi Sop, Jong-uk Ri and Gwon Ri, 95 minutes, in Korean with English subtitles