In Shanghai in the 1880s there are four elegant brothels (flower houses): each has an auntie (called madam), a courtesan in her prime, older servants, and maturing girls in training. Read More »
Tag Archives: Taiwan
Lie ri kuang feng / Stormy Sun (1973) Min-Hsiung Wu, Yi Chang, Mi Tien, Ying Bai, Action, Drama
Lee Ta-Yen and his gang murder Hsieh Yu-Lan and her parents after raping the girl. Determined to avenge his family, Han Ching, the family’s sole survivor, goes to the city to search for Lee and his accomplices. Read More »
Bu san / Good Bye, Dragon Inn (2003) Ming-liang Tsai, Kang-sheng Lee, Shiang-chyi Chen, Kiyonobu Mitamura, Drama, Comedy
A Japanese tourist takes refuge from a rainstorm inside a once-popular movie theater, a decrepit old barn of a cinema that is screening a martial arts classic, King Hu’s 1966 “Dragon Inn.” Read More »
Shaolin Wooden Men (1976) Chi-Hwa Chen, Jackie Chan, Chung-Erh Lung, Kang Chin, Action
Jackie witnesses his father’s death by the skilled hands of a martial arts master with an unknown killing technique. Read More »
Sao ren / Young Dudes (2012) Yin-jung Chen, Edison Wang, Tsuyoshi Abe, Larisa Bakurova, Drama
Aspiring rock musician Adam (Wang Po-Chieh) is obsessed with a forthcoming apocalypse, rumoured to be on much the same scale as the biblical flood that led to Noah building his infamous ark. Read More »
Hong mei gui bai mei gui / Red Rose White Rose (1994) Stanley Kwan, Joan Chen, Veronica Yip, Winston Chao, Drama
Chronicles the love life of a man, Zhenbao. He has a steamy fling with the wife of a friend, the saucy and exciting Red Rose. Read More »
Ni na bian ji dian / What Time is it There? (2001) Ming-liang Tsai, Kang-sheng Lee, Shiang-chyi Chen, Yi-Ching Lu, Drama, Romance
When a young street vendor with a grim home life meets a woman on her way to Paris, they forge an instant connection. Read More »
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon / Wo hu cang long (2000) Ang Lee, Yun-Fat Chow, Michelle Yeoh, Ziyi Zhang, Action, Drama, Romance
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is a timeless story that takes place in QING China when miracles were credible and spirits and gods were present in man’s world. Read More »
Three Times / Zui hao de shi guang (2005) Hsiao-Hsien Hou, Qi Shu, Chen Chang, Fang Mei, Drama, Romance
There are three stories of women and men: in “A Time for Love” set in 1966, a soldier searches for a young woman he met one afternoon playing pool Read More »
Dong dong de jiàqi / A Summer at Grandpa’s (1984) Hsiao-Hsien Hou, Chi-Kuang Wang, Shu-Chen Li, Hsiu-Ling Lin, Drama
When a young brother and sister spend a pivotal summer away from home, they are changed. Ting-Ting and Tung-Tung (Wang Qiguang) are children of the city Read More »
Jiu shi liu liu de ta / Lovable You (1980) Hsiao-Hsien Hou, Kenny Bee, Anthony Chan, Ping-Yu Chang, Comedy, Drama, Romance
Wenqi Pan (FENG Feifei) is the daughter of a rich businessman. Her father arranges a marriage with Qian Ma (Anthony CHAN, aka CHAN Yau), son of another rich businessman. Read More »
Shaolin Popey / Shao Lin xiao zi (1994) Yen-Ping Chu, Jimmy Lin, Shao-Wen Hao, Ashton Chen, Action, Comedy
A high school loser dreams of winning the heart of the principal’s daughter, but his chances are slim as long as her bruiser boyfriend’s around. Fortunately, a chance meeting with a pair of Shaolin-trained kids (previously seen in DRAGON FROM SHAOLIN) gives him the fighting skills needed to come out on top. An unusual but entertaining blending of teen romantic comedy and martial arts slapstick.
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Rikisha Kuri / Da che fu (1974) Joseph Kuo, Chiang-Lung Wen, Yan-Yung Tso, Ping Lu, Action, Adventure
An action-packed film about a rickshaw boy who works to support his mother using his kung fu power to change the course of his life. This is over the top violent and a clear high point in the grimier vein of mid-70s martial arts flicks.
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Qing shao nian nuo zha / Rebels of the Neon God (1992) Ming-liang Tsai, Chao-jung Chen, Chang-bin Jen, Kang-sheng Lee, Crime, Drama
Defying his parents, Hsiao Kang drops out of the local crammer to head for the bright lights of downtown Taipei. He falls in with Ah Tze, a pretty hood and their relationships is a confused mixture of hero-worship and rivalry that soon leads to trouble.
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5 Shaolin Masters / 5 Masters of Death (1974) Cheh Chang, David Chiang, Lung Ti, Sheng Fu, Action, Drama
The story is simple (Shaolin vs. Manchu traitors), but the effect was anything but, as the screen’s most charismatic action actors team with a legendary director and revered choreographers (Liu Chia-liang and brother Liu Chia-yung) for scenes of unparalleled power.
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