A documentary concerning the violent Italian ‘poliziotteschi’ cinematic movement of the 1970s which, at first glance, seem to be rip-offs of American crime films like DIRTY HARRY or THE GODFATHER, but which really address Italian issues like the Sicilian Mafia and red terrorism. Perhaps even more interesting than the films themselves were the rushed methods of production (stars performing their own stunts, stealing shots, no live sound) and the bleed-over between real-life crime and movie crime.
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Action
Kraftidioten / In Order of Disappearance (2014) Hans Petter Moland, Stellan Skarsgård, Bruno Ganz, Pål Sverre Hagen, Action, Crime, Thriller
Nils ploughs snow in the wild winter mountains of Norway, and is recently awarded a Citizen of the Year Award. When his son is murdered for something he did not do, Nils wants revenge. And justice. His actions ignite a war between the vegan gangster “the Count” and the Serbian mafia boss “Papa”. Winning a blood feud isn’t easy, especially not in a welfare state. But Nils has something going for him: Heavy machinery and beginners luck.
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ATOR The Fighting Eagle / Ator l’invincibile (1982) Joe D’Amato, Miles O’Keeffe, Sabrina Siani, Ritza Brown, Action, Adventure, Fantasy
The son of Torren learns of his heritage, goes to avenge the deaths of his fellow villagers, and rescue his sister/love interest from the evil Dakkar and his spider cult. Ator battles giant spiders, swordsmen cloaked in shadow, re-animated dead warriors, and horribly hideous witches.
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Godfather’s Daughter Mafia Blues / Lit foh ching sau (1991) Hark-On Fung, Alex Man, Yukari Ôshima, Mark Cheng, Action, Comedy, Drama
Fish farm workers Wai (Mark Cheng Ho-nam) and Nan (Benny Lai Wai) inadvertently insult some local gangsters, leading to a string of events that get them deeper and deeper in trouble. They are rescued by triad boss Li Hwa-yu (Alex Man Chi-leung) who, impressed with their fighting abilities, decides to recruit them into his gang.
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Moon Over Tao / Tao no tsuki (1997) Keita Amemiya, Toshiyuki Nagashima, Hiroshi Abe, Yûko Moriyama, Action, Fantasy
A retired warrior comes to see his former lord and learns that someone is making indestructible swords from some unknown metal. He is sent together with a swordsman to investigate the source. Along the way they meet a young girl working as a beekeeper. She is later witness to the appearance of three strange females from another dimension.
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The Eagle Shooting Heroes / Se diu ying hung ji dung sing sai jau (1993) Jeffrey Lau, Leslie Cheung, Brigitte Lin, Maggie Cheung, Action, Comedy, Fantasy
A parody of Louis Cha’s novel The Eagle Shooting Heroes (thats the literal translation). Story begins with the Queen of Golden Wheel Kingdom had an affair with her cousin West Poison, and they planned to take over the Kingdom. The 3rd Princess discovered their treason, but she was defeated by West Poison.
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Curry And Pepper / Ga lei laak jiu (1990) Blackie Shou Liang Ko, Stephen Chow, Jacky Cheung, Ann Bridgewater, Crime, Action, Romance
Two cops–both best friends and partners–both become the subject of a beautiful news reporter’s documentary. The two soon find themselves competing for screen time as well as the love of the reporter while after a murderous arms dealer.
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Love on Delivery / Poh wai ji wong (1994) Lik-Chi Lee, Stephen Chow, Christy Chung, Man-Tat Ng, Action, Comedy, Romance
Ho Kam-An is a love struck dim-sum delivery boy who falls for a beautiful judo student. After being humiliated by her boyfriend, Ho Kam-An goes out and seeks the services of an aging kung-fu master who teaches him a half ass style of kung fu “Karate Kid” style. After actually learning how to fight using this style (much to the master’s surprise) he dresses up like Garfield and beats up the boyfriend of the beautiful judo student. But he’s challenged to a fight by the master’s former foe. Is Ho Kam-An up to the challenge?
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Mutant War (1988) Brett Piper, Cameron Mitchell, Matt Mitler, Deborah Quayle, Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
The sequel to ‘Galaxy Destroyer’ which finds our hero Harry Trent wandering Earth’s post-apocalyptic landscape full of mutants, monsters, and fragmented human tribes. Harry’s attempt to help a young girl rescue her sisters, leads him to a group of armed mutants led by a human madman attempting to breed them and take over the world.
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Supreme Sword (1969) Action
The film is laced with quite a few good extended action scenes and more violent that usual. There’s an arm lopped off and two men get speared by two halves of a broken staff. In addition, there’s an ‘eat the rice’ scene and the end fight with the underground tunneling certainly reminded me of the end of Tsui Hark’s Dragon Inn, except this time it’s a beach not a desert. Early in the film there is a Sam the Seed-like scene where Fang, sleeping outdoors on a beam has it cut out from under him, but his skills are such that he remains undisturbed asleep cross-legged.
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