The Criminals (1976)

The Criminals (1976)


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

The Criminals is an unusual film, both for the studio that produced it and its tone in relation to changing cultural standards of what is acceptable in the media. For the people of Hong Kong, television was late in coming compared to some other regions. While there had been limited ownership in the 1950's and 60's, it was not until the start of the 70's that a majority of the population had this convenience. This changed the way in which popular culture and the news was presented and there is perhaps no better example of this then the love affair with true crime dramatizations.

Television allowed many events to be broadcast live to a mass audience, this included several high profile crimes including a bank robbery. The interest in these events was so great that TV and film producers smelled a surefire profit and begun creating films and TV shows that to borrow a popular phrase, were ripped from the headlines.

This example was created by the Shaw Brothers Studio and offers an experience not at all like the majority of their previous films. Firstly, the film relied upon a series of hooks. Its three stories were each directed by a different prominent director and so varied in tone. Each story was based upon a real crime and was filmed largely on the actual locations. The Shaw Brothers had released a handful of seedy exploitation films, although they were frequently set in the past, such as many of their soft core erotica films known as fengyue.

What is unusual is the people and locations the film centers upon were rarely seen in previous Hong Kong films. The Shaw Brothers had a habit of focusing upon the affluent or a kind of idealized version of the poor whenever their films had a contemporary Hong Kong setting. The characters in The Criminals are a mixture from the middle of society instead of its two ends. One setting is a mine workings in the New Territories, one of the first times such a location is used in Hong Kong film. Then in a self reflexive act, the last of the stories is set in the Shaw studio itself and deals with criminal gangs among their stuntmen, which was a major problem of the era. The films popularity helped to spawn four sequels and more importantly would foreshadow certain directions that the Hong Kong new wave would take in films like Cops and Robbers (1979)

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Hong Kong, Directors Hua Shan, Cheng Kang and Ho Meng-Hua, Cast Chiang Yang, Terry Liu, Shih Szu, Szu Wei and Tanny Tien Ni, 92 minutes, in Cantonese with English subtitles

If You Were Young: RAGE (1970)

If You Were Young: RAGE (1970)

** Major Announcement **
The weekly screening has moved from Thursday to Wednesday


February 3rd, 7:00PM in Garland 104 (2441 E. Hartford)


Out of the chaos and destruction of the Second World War Japan emerged and began the long task of recovery. By the 1960's the economic situation had greatly improved, but for another segment of the population this had little meaning. An entire generation of young people had grown up in the ruins and shortages of Japans urban centers. Already thoroughly jaded, they then encounter a shortage of good jobs, old prejudices and a sense of utter hopelessness. This feeling was the subject of many dynamic films in the 1960's and 70's, If You Were Young: RAGE is one of these. Director Kinji Fukasaku had a varied career including his masterful anti war film Under the Flag of the Rising Sun (1972), the American-Japanese co-production Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) and perhaps most notably his Yakuza films of the 1970's including his five part Battles Without Honor or Humanity film series. Out of these RAGE has much in common with the Yakuza pictures in that they both portray a gritty, frequently depressing world of kinetic energy and bitter realities.

The plot of RAGE is simple, a group of young men decide to work for their future and pull together to save up enough for a large truck so that they can make a living as a subcontractor for a construction company. While the plot is simple, it is also virtually meaningless while viewing the film. The real substance is the inner feelings of the men as they try to create a life for themselves. The characters are not after wealth or fame, but escape from a hellish world that seems indifferent to their existence.

Japan, Director Kinji Fukasaku, Cast Tetsuo Ishidate, Gin Maeda, Choichiro Kawarazaki and Hideki Hayashi, 89 minutes, in Japanese with English subtitles

Born to Fight (2004)

Born to Fight (2004)

** Major Announcement **
The weekly screening has moved from Thursday to Wednesday


January 27th, 7:00PM in Garland 104 (2441 E. Hartford)


Thai action cinema has become world famous through individuals such as Tony Jaa with Ong Bak (2003) and Tom Yum Goong (2005) and recently Jeeja Yanin playing the autistic action hero of Chocolate (2008). But Thai action has many more flavors then this.

While the aforementioned films are more or less unarmed combat films, Born to Fight is what if you were speaking of Hong Kong cinema, you might call Gun Fu. That is, a fast paced mixture of gunplay and martial arts with the occasional car chase or explosion thrown into the mix.

The plot revolves around a off duty police officer (Dan Chupong) who upon visiting a small village with his sisters class trip, runs afoul of a group of terrorists. His challenge is to rescue them without causing a bloodbath.

The films name is a reference to a 1984 film of the same name and also directed by Panna Rittikrai, which is regarded as one of the seminal works in the evolution of Thai action cinema. Added to this is a healthy dose of Thai nationalism that makes the film a rousing spectacle for its domestic audience and an enjoyable action film for everyone else.

Thailand, Director Panna Rittikrai, Cast Dan Chupong, Noppol Gomarachun, Suntisuk Phromsiri and Piyapong Pue-On, 96 minutes, in Thai with English subtitles

The Asian film series will soon return on its new day

The Asian Film Series will soon return. Screenings will now be held on Wednesdays at 7:00PM, look to this BLOG for more information in the days to come.

The Dream Sword (1979)

The Dream Sword (1979)


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



Wu Xia (swordplay) films are one of China’s oldest and most popular cinematic genre. Because of internal politics during the Nationalist era of the 1930's these films were banned. This lead to boom in Hong Kong productions of this form. As the Nationalists were deposed by the Communists the ban still held, and so Hong Kong continued to carry the torch.

During the late 1950's new writers came onto the scene creating the novels that hundreds if not now thousands of films would stem from. Beginning with rather primitive productions Taiwan created its own Wu Xia boom. They could not compete with the mammoth productions of Hong Kong Shaw Brothers Studio, but they were able to take advantage of their domestic market. Most of these films were cheaply made knock offs of Hong Kong Wu Xia films, but there were a few directors such as King Hu and Cheung Paang Yik that were able to improve the quality and inventiveness of Taiwanese productions.

The Dream Sword is average by Hong Kong standards, but a solid film containing the complexity for which the genre is known. This typically includes wild plot twists, double identities and an atmosphere where nearly anything can happen. The film itself deals with the hunt for a magical sword and its unbalancing affects upon the martial world.

Taiwan, Director Li Chao Yung, Cast Chiang Ming, Chung Wa, Hu Chin and Lung Fei, 93 minutes, in Mandarin with English Subtitles

Thirst (2009)

Thirst (2008)


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



Director Park Chan-Wook’s lose adaptation of the novel Therese Raquin by Emile Zola. The plot of Thirst involves a Catholic Priest played by Song Kang-ho who falls in love with a married woman only to run afoul of a medical experiment that turn him into a modern day vampire.

Beyond horror or a thriller film, it explores ideas of desire and human psychology delving into darker subject matter. This sort of material is old hat for writer director Park Chan-Wook who’s credits include the Vengeance trilogy (Sympathy of Mr. Vengence (2002), Oldboy (2003) and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005)) and JSA - Joint Security Area (2000).

The film stars Song Kang-ho, who has gained stardom through major roles in blockbusters such as The Host (2006) and The Good, The Bad and The Weird (2008) as a comic actor that is also very comfortable with darker material making him the perfect choice for this reinterpretation of the vampire myth.

The Thirst is also a tangible example of the relative closeness of the American and South Korean film markets that has been developing over the last decade with its home video release happening simultaneously between the two countries becoming a fine starting point for someone who is becoming introduced to South Korean cinema.

South Korea, Park Chan-wook, Cast Song Kang-ho, Kim Ok-bin and Shin Ha-kyun, 134 minutes, in Korean with English subtitles

Red Cliff Part II (2008)

Red Cliff Part II (2008)


December 3rd, 7:00PM in Garland 104 (2441 E. Hartford)



Red Cliff Part II continues the events of the first part, whereby the two forces are camped as opposing sides of the river making ready for battle. For more information please see the previous BLOG entry on Part I, which has more in depth information on the overall story and more details of production.

As the first part was geared towards introducing the characters and setting up the climactic final battle, this part features the battle itself. While there was extensive use of CGI, there were also 100,000 extras in the form of Chinese soldiers provided by the PRC for the filming.

The naval sequences use twenty-four full scale ships made for the production, although through camera maneuvering and CGI, many more ships are seen onscreen. The sequences were filmed at a reservoir and during their production a stuntman was fatally burned during a fire sequence.

Mainland China, Director John Woo, Cast Song Jia, Hu Jun, Zhang Feng-Yi, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and Takeshi Kaneshiro, 140 minutes, in Mandarin with English subtitles.