...the documentary does have some cool moments, as with the demonstration of the fight choreography or Jet Li’s take on the ladder fight.
One of the film´s other weaknesses is its attempt to briefly explore the Heroic Bloodshed films of John Woo. The only clips shown are from "The Replacement Killers", which Woo produced. There is little mention of "The Killer," "Hard Boiled" or even "A Better Tomorrow," which are much better, stronger and obvious, examples of his work – influenced by Hu, Cheh and others. The film also lightly touches upon the success of Ang Lee´s "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," (2000) which the documentary features some clips from, and how this is nothing new to Chinese film goers. What might have been interesting would be audience reactions to some of these films from both Eastern and Western viewers.
Nevertheless, the documentary does have some cool moments, as with the demonstration of the fight choreography or Jet Li´s take on the ladder fight. For the beginner, the film is a great jumping of point for the exciting world of Kung Fu films, and for the aficionado there is definitely some entertainment to be had.
Video
The DVD is in a Full Frame 1.33 aspect ratio. Clips are shown in various letterbox/widescreen formats in both black and white and color. The clips are rather clean and crisp, most likely taken from most of the recent DVD re-releases of many of the classic Kung Fu films by Celestial, Fortune Star and others. There is a slight jarring effect when some clips are positioned slightly higher on screen. Early film clips are worn but given a nice transfer. More contemporary clips look as if they were taken from DVD transfers.
Audio
The DVD is presented in Dolby Digital Stereo. All of the interviews are either in Cantonese or Mandarin with English subtitles. The film is narrated in English, however, seamlessly tying together the various clips, interviews and demonstrations.
Extras
The extras are on the weak side, with a few very short deleted interviews with Jackie Chan as he talks about the appeal of Hong Kong films, Jet Li, who discusses the importance of telling a good story and the measures of success, and John Woo goes over what distinguishes Hong Kong films from film from around the world and the influences on his films´ action scenes. There are also a few trailers for other New Video/Docudrama releases.
Film Value
Hong Kong cinema is easily one of the world´s most influential and exciting national cinemas. The wave of films that exploded onto the scene over the last 30 years has led to some impressive and memorable cinematic memories including the likes of Jet Li as Wong Fei Hung, John Woo and his balletic gunplay, Jackie´s Chan´s jokester style Kung Fu, and Chow Yun Fat as the epitome of gangster cool. Some people claim that Hong Kong Cinema is dead, but for an island of 9 million people, that now has an output of about 50 films a year – I´d say it´s about right, considering almost anyone with some left over pocket change could fund a film during its heyday. "Chop Socky: Cinema Hong Kong" is a reminder of what this great cinema once was and what it still can be.
Nevertheless, the documentary does have some cool moments, as with the demonstration of the fight choreography or Jet Li´s take on the ladder fight. For the beginner, the film is a great jumping of point for the exciting world of Kung Fu films, and for the aficionado there is definitely some entertainment to be had.
Video
The DVD is in a Full Frame 1.33 aspect ratio. Clips are shown in various letterbox/widescreen formats in both black and white and color. The clips are rather clean and crisp, most likely taken from most of the recent DVD re-releases of many of the classic Kung Fu films by Celestial, Fortune Star and others. There is a slight jarring effect when some clips are positioned slightly higher on screen. Early film clips are worn but given a nice transfer. More contemporary clips look as if they were taken from DVD transfers.
Audio
The DVD is presented in Dolby Digital Stereo. All of the interviews are either in Cantonese or Mandarin with English subtitles. The film is narrated in English, however, seamlessly tying together the various clips, interviews and demonstrations.
Extras
The extras are on the weak side, with a few very short deleted interviews with Jackie Chan as he talks about the appeal of Hong Kong films, Jet Li, who discusses the importance of telling a good story and the measures of success, and John Woo goes over what distinguishes Hong Kong films from film from around the world and the influences on his films´ action scenes. There are also a few trailers for other New Video/Docudrama releases.
Film Value
Hong Kong cinema is easily one of the world´s most influential and exciting national cinemas. The wave of films that exploded onto the scene over the last 30 years has led to some impressive and memorable cinematic memories including the likes of Jet Li as Wong Fei Hung, John Woo and his balletic gunplay, Jackie´s Chan´s jokester style Kung Fu, and Chow Yun Fat as the epitome of gangster cool. Some people claim that Hong Kong Cinema is dead, but for an island of 9 million people, that now has an output of about 50 films a year – I´d say it´s about right, considering almost anyone with some left over pocket change could fund a film during its heyday. "Chop Socky: Cinema Hong Kong" is a reminder of what this great cinema once was and what it still can be.
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[release]15962[/release]