Synopses & Reviews
Far from the orbit of Planet Hollywood, the new cinema of Hong Kong beckons. andlt;BRandgt; Gone are the flying pigtails and contrived fist-thuds of your father's favorite chopsockies. These are punch-straight entertainers, movies juddering with the excitement that put the "motion" in motion pictures. Dodge a thousand bullets as you contemplate the heroic gangster-knights of Master Director John Woo. Watch international superstar Jackie Chan perform action-comedy on the edge of peril. Wrap your imagination in the fantasy of director Tsui Hark, who proffers comely ghosts floating on silk, otherworldly romance, and no-joke witches and demons. And there's much more! Fighting femme flicks featuring fatales hiking up their designer dresses and bouncing spike heels off the bad guy's forehead. Stylish tragedies rivaling the best of Hollywood noir. Brain-boiling monster weirdies to delight the grindhouse faithful. Subtitles that mangle the English language into fabulous new mutations.
Review
John Woo Very informative and enlightening. A must for any serious film buff.
About the Author
andlt;/Bandgt;Authors andlt;Bandgt;Stefan Hammondandlt;/Bandgt; and andlt;Bandgt;Mike Wilkinsandlt;/Bandgt; (co-author of andlt;Iandgt;The New Roadside Americaandlt;/Iandgt;) met in the front row of San Francisco's now-shuttered Pagoda Palace Theater in 1987, where both had gone to watch andlt;Iandgt;The Ghost Snatchers.andlt;/Iandgt; Now they share the results of their long devotion to the form. They give you their picks for which movies to rent, where to rent them in North America, what to look for once you do, and even film titles in Chinese characters. Zealously written and incredibly entertaining, andlt;Iandgt;Sex and Zen andamp;amp; A Bullet in the Headandlt;/Iandgt; is the perfect companion to the over-the-edge mayhem of Hong Kong film.