Philip Kwok Movies
Directed by Giordano Gederlini and produced by the same folks who packaged Francois Ozon's 8 Women, Samourais gives martial arts movies a rarely seen French twist. Beginning in feudal Japan, a pregnant woman manages to escape persecution long enough to have her baby, Kodeni (Santi Sudaros), a human-looking demon whose bald head reveals the shape of a spider peaking up from beneath the skin. Fast forward to present day Japan, where the death of a video-game engineer is traced back to Kodeni's goons. Though Tokyo policeman Fujiwara (Yasuaki Kurata) manages to foil and temporarily kill Kodeni, he is visited by the spirit of an ancient warrior, who warns him that Fujiwara's daughter, Akemi (Mai Anh Le), will give birth to the reincarnation of Kodeni. In order to prevent Kodeni's return, Fujiwara must travel to France, where his daughter has been studying for two years, and kill her demonic unborn child -- the fate of the world depends on it. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cyril Mourali, Mai Anh Le, (more)
French legend has it that a creature known as the Beast of Gevaudan -- a huge, wolf-like monster -- was responsible for the violent deaths of over 100 persons in the mid-18th century, and this horror fantasy blends the lore of this fabled beast with a story of two men who set out to capture it. After a number of mutilated corpses begin appearing across the French countryside, naturalist Chevalier Gregoire de Fronsac (Samuel Le Bihan) is dispatched by the King to find and capture the animal responsible for the killings. Mani (Mark Dacascos), an Indian from Canada and an experienced hand in the wilds, is hired to assist de Fronsac in his work. Gregoire's assignment earns him the acquaintance of Marianne de Morangias (Emilie Dequenne), the lovely daughter of the idly wealthy Count de Morangias (Jean Yanne), but Gregoire receives a much chillier welcome from her brother Jean-Francois (Vincent Cassel), who, despite having lost an arm to a lion in Africa, is quite the huntsman himself. As Gregoire and Mani arrive in the village of Gevaudan, they're drawn to a local house of prostitution, where the animalistic allure and supernatural powers of Sylvia (Monica Bellucci) prove to have a profound effect on the naive Gregoire. Jim Henson's Creature Shop provided the special-effects expertise for the creation of the Beast of Gevaudan. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Samuel Le Bihan, Mark Dacascos, (more)
- 1997
Martial arts master/doctor Wong Fei-hung (a familiar character in Hong Kong cinema) and his gang find adventure amidst the cowboys and Indians of the American West. The sixth in the enormously popular "Once Upon a Time in China" series of Hong Kong action films that was created by director Tsui Hark in 1991, this episode takes an entirely new direction for the series; it features plenty of broad comedy in the first half (though whether or not it was intentional is debatable), eye-popping stunts and excitement. In another unusual turn, it was also shot with scenes in English as well as the standard Cantonese. Wong's adventure's begins when he and his gang sail to San Francisco to oversee the latest branch of their Bo Chi Lam. They find a country where the Chinese are exploited and despised. Soon after arriving, the courageous Wong (Jet Li) loses his memory after the daring rescue of Aunt Yee (Rosamund Kwan), Wong's long-time love, who was just about to fall from a cliff. Separated from his group, the amnesiac Master Wong ends up with a tribe of Native Americans (all of whom are obviously white), who adopt him. Though they too know martial arts (as do the cowboys Wong encounters), but are no match for Wong, who proves his skill by single-handedly braving the spears, kicks and chops of an enemy tribe. Eventually, Wong reconnects with Aunt Yee and his gang; together they go on to have more adventures and battle a number of evil villains. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jet Li, Rosamund Kwan, (more)
Following on the success of 1987's Chinese Ghost Story, Hong Kong was inundated with romantically themed tales of the supernatural. Most were awful, but Ronny Yu's The Bride With White Hair has become a classic of the genre. Based on a two-volumed 1954 novel written by Leung Yu-Sang, the film tells the story of star-crossed lovers and bloody conflict. The two meet when Lian (Brigitte Lin Ching-Hsia), a beautiful sorceress who was raised by wolves, saves young warrior Zhuo Yi-Hang (Leslie Cheung) from a pack of hungry animals. Though she disappears before he can thank her, Zhuo is entranced. Later Zhuo becomes a master swordsman with the Wu Tang Clan, a tight-knit martial arts society dedicated to the villainous Ji Wu-Shuang (played by both Francis Ng and Elaine Lui), a mutant half-man, half-woman creature who rules the land with an iron fist. Though Zhuo is more interested in quiet life of contemplation, the clan elders see Zhou as their best weapon against their evil King/Queen. Meanwhile, Lian has grown into a formidable adversary herself -- especially with the use of her trusty whip, which can slice a man in two. She has been recruited by Ji to thwart the rebels. In the midst of battle, Zhou and Lian meet. Ji -- who secretly lusts for Lian -- orders her to kill Zhuo. She refuses, much to his displeasure, and orders her tortured to within an inch of her life. Zhuo discovers Lian's semi-conscious body and nurses her back to health. The two soon fall passionately in love and vow to always trust one another. Unfortunately, Ji's black magic revenge spoils the lovers' new-found bliss. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brigitte Lin, Leslie Cheung, (more)
In the year 2001, many government institutions have become privatized commercial ventures, like the men's prison where young Riki-Oh (Sui-Wong Fan) is sentenced to 20 years for manslaughter and assault. The ruthless gangsters who control the prison break an old man's face open in the prison lavatory as the film begins. The nearly superhuman Ricky trips one of the guards so his face is impaled on a spiked board in retaliation, and vows to avenge the old man when he hangs himself in despair. When the guards send the huge, Sumo-like Zorro after him in the prison shower, Ricky bloodily disembowels the man with his bare hands and apparently breaks another man in half with a single punch. Ricky is taken to the assistant warden, who has a metal hook-hand and a glass eye (he keeps mints in the socket). He impales Ricky's hand with his hook and beats him, but is quickly reduced to quaking fear by Ricky's incredible abilities. In an outrageous fight scene, a gangster named Oscar cuts Ricky's arm open with a knife and throws ground glass in his eyes, but Ricky ties his own veins together and knocks Oscar's eyeball out with a sharp cuff to the back of the head. Oscar then commits hara-kiri and tries to strangle Ricky with his own intestines before dying. There's a head broken like a vase, a saw-toothed machete to the face, people skinned alive, and the main plot -- Ricky fighting the evil opium-growing crooks running the prison -- gets somewhat lost in the flood of gore and guts, but it doesn't matter a bit. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
Hard-Boiled is the last film directed by Hong Kong action auteur John Woo before his arrival in the U.S. This 1992 thriller, along with The Killer, is widely seen as one of his best from his Hong Kong days. Every ingredient of the quintessential Woo thriller is present, including his ever-present anti-hero (Chow Yun-Fat). Yun-Fat portrays a maverick, clarinet-playing cop nicknamed "Tequila" whose partner is killed in the dizzying chaos of a restaurant gunfight with a small army of gangsters. It is soon revealed that one of the mob's high-ranking assassins is Tony (Tony Leung), an undercover cop who, despite his badge, is dangerously close to the edge. Tequila and Tony must team up in a tense partnership, and their common pursuit of a vicious crime lord results in a brilliantly elaborate climax in a hospital, where the heroes must rescue newborn babies from the maternity ward while fighting off dozens of mob soldiers. The characters Tequila and Tony are two sides of the same coin, another trademark theme of Woo's films that would later be most fully realized with Nicolas Cage and John Travolta in the American hit Face/Off. ~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chow Yun-Fat, Bowie Lam, (more)
Hong Kong filmmaker Nam Nai-choi (The Seventh Curse) returned with this science-fiction disaster film centering around the popular Asian character Wisely, portrayed here by Waise Lee as a horror writer who discovers a bizarre alien plot. Two aliens come to Hong Kong searching for a pair of ancient eight-sided objects which will destroy the gelatinous monster terrorizing the city. The aliens send their magical cat to get one of the octagons from a museum, but the monster stops it from getting the other one. Thinking that the aliens are also evil, Wisely gets a large dog to chase the cat, leading to an appalling fight between the two animals which -- despite the use of several obvious special effects gimmicks -- also includes real animal violence. The cat finally defeats the dog, although it loses its tail in the battle. When the aliens come looking for Wisely to retrieve the tail, they find that his house has been destroyed by a rogue policeman who was possessed by the blob. The monster grows ever larger, and the cat must join with the second octagon to save Hong Kong in a stupefyingly ridiculous conclusion. Gloria Yip leads a familiar cast including Christine Ng, Phillip Kwok, and the omnipresent Lau Siu-ming. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Not to be confused with Fritz Lang's 1953 classic, this film is a gritty two-fisted police drama directed by Johnny To Kei-fung and Andrew Kam Yeung-wah. John Wong (Waise Lee Chi-hung) is a grizzled cop faced with quitting the force after an injury impairs his reaction time with a gun. He changes his mind when his co-worker and buddy -- who once saved his life -- is killed in Malaysia. Aided by his partner Kam (Phillip Kwok Tsui) along with rookie Lun (Matthew Wong Hin-mung), John ventures to Malaysia and soon figures out that shady businessmen Han Ching (Paul Chu Kong) and Ho Ka-nin (Sai-kit Yung) are responsible for the slaying. It turns out that John's friend was blackmailing the two with a film of Ho engaging in homosexual sex and Han with Ho engaging in illegal activities. Desperately trying to keep his drug enterprise afloat, Han was in turn blackmailing John's dead friend. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
Kin (Tony Leung Ka-Fei) is up to his neck in gambling debts. When he asks his wife May (Brigitte Lin) to embezzle funds from her employer to pay them off, she refuses-but Kin doesn't take no for an answer. He plots to kill her and make her death look like a suicide, but things don't go as planned. May survives, and now she is bent on having her revenge. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brigitte Lin, Tony Leung Kar-Fai, (more)
Soon after the legendary Shaw Brothers Studio stopped producing kung-fu flicks, director and martial arts master Philip Kwok Tsui raised money from Taiwan to make this spirited period kung-fu flick. Set during the Ming Dynasty when Japanese pirates were looting, raping, and ransacking towns along the Chinese coast, the imperial authorities grow increasingly alarmed when a band of ninja show up looking to take out General Chi (Ti Lung), the head of the Chinese military. The only person who could save the general is the Master of the Three Arts, who possesses a rare book on the deadly ninjitsu techniques. He offers his three crack students -- Chau (Chiang Sheng), Mao (Philip Kwok Tsui), and Tung (Lu Feng) -- to take on the fight. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chiang Sheng, Yasuaki Kurata, (more)
- 1980
Following up on his masterpiece Five Deadly Venoms, Chang Cheh directs this period kung fu flick about a band of trident-wielding villains who hide their identities with golden masks and who at the film's outset massacre a family of 29. Looking to avenge the murders, the bereaved congregate in an inn run by kung fu master Lin (Lu Feng). That night, the thugs attack the inn, killing Lin and another member of the victims' family. But the criminals are dispatched with by ace fighter Cheng Chuen (Chin Suit Ho) and Kau (Philip Kwok Tsui), the inn's enigmatic cook. Later, as the battle between the two camps become ever more heated and violent, Kau's reasons for wanting to destroy the Masks are made clear. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philip Kwok, Lu Feng, (more)
- 1980
Chang Cheh directs this period action flick about a band of half-starved kung-fu aces who are fleeing a murderous band of thugs. All hailing from the same province, the martial arts masters soon become blood brothers while at the same time getting deeper and deeper embroiled in the political turmoil of the place where they have taken refuge. Accused of plotting an assassination, they are saved by the founder of a martial arts school only to be betrayed. Fleeing once again from their enemies, the group decides to join the rebel guerrilla group in order to clear their names. Shaw Brother veterans Phillip Kwok Tsui, Lo Meng, and Chiang Sheng star. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
Master kung-fu director Chang Cheh delivers this straight-ahead period martial arts saga. Tung Chien-chen (Lo Mang) was accepting into the hallowed Shaolin Temple even though he is Manchu, because his parents were both killed by the same. Shaolin has been locked in a fierce rivalry with the Wu Tang clan, which is allied with the Manchu born Ching emperor. When Tung is wounded in a skirmish with a group of Wu Tang's men, he is given safe haven from a master of knife throwing named Chin Tai-lei (Sun Chien) and his sister, Pei. Tung soon learns the finer points of their art and eventually, along with fellow kung-fu master Hu Wei-chen (Chiang Sheng), strikes revenge against the Wu Tang. Later, Tung proposes to Pei, but during the reception, the Wu Tang attack, kidnapping Tung and killing Pei and her brother. Will Tung get out of this ugly situation and find justice? ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lo Meng, Chiang Sheng, (more)
- 1980
Three top martial arts instructors star in this kung-fu action film set during a period when China was divided up among local warlords. The three heroes, Wang Xui (Philip Chun-fung Kwok, aka Kuo Chui), Yu Hansheng (Chiang Sheng), and Jin Zhengbing (Lo Meng) make a blood pact early on to help each other in their battles against despots. They leave their southern homes for northern China, and their ultimate objective is to eliminate a particularly evil general. There is plenty of spectacular martial arts action using everything from "empty hands" (kung-fu) to hands wielding swords, benches, clubs, chains, spears, and just about anything necessary to win a fight. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philip Kwok, Chiang Sheng, (more)
When a loyal member of a crime syndicate volunteers to take the heat off his gang and go into temporary exile after a volatile conflict with a rival clan, the young warrior finds that his sacrifice isn't honored in this historical kung fu epic. Upon returning from his stint as a scapegoat, Iron Panther finds that his gang has joined with the enemy gang his comrades were fighting when he left. With the help of two other fighters, Iron Panther must now mount a fearless effort to win back the honor that was lost, culminating in a fantastical display of skill in a battle fought with flag-draped spears. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
Long segments of dialogue, sword fights, and martial arts are the three distinguishing features of this Hong Kong kung-fu film from director Chang Cheh. The fighting begins with three different clans all trying to kill each other off. After a few treacherous betrayals and underhanded dealings, the last of the parents in one clan is cruelly eliminated. Unknown to the killer, a baby boy has survived the bloodshed, and he is destined to pick up the sword when he becomes an adult and avenge the death of his parents. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chin Siu Ho, Chiang Sheng, (more)
- 1979
Chang Cheh spins this lightly comedic martial arts saga about Ying (Philip Kwok) and Chun (Lo Mang), two bored restaurant workers who long for a chance to use some of their formidable kung-fu skills. The two meet and soon become fast friends with Chu Tsai (Sun Chien), another martial arts master. Meanwhile, Pai Mei -- the treacherous priest responsible for the torching of the Shaolin temple -- and his henchmen kill such legendary figures as Chi San and Fong Sai-yuk, hoping to destroy the last vestiges of Shaolin. Pai then tracks down Hung Hei-kwun, injuring him. Ying, Chun, and Chu Tsai happen upon the fallen master and nurse him back to health. When Pai learns that his enemy is still alive, he rallies his thugs and plots an attack against the three friends. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lo Meng, Philip Kwok, (more)
Jin Yong's historical novel The Eagle Shooting Heroes has been adapted into countless Asian television series as well as several films including Ashes of Time and this lengthy and involved Shaw Brothers effort directed by prolific Hong Kong filmmaker Chang Cheh. During the Sung dynasty, a young man named Kuo Ching (Alexander Fu Sheng) is raised and trained by a group of kung fu experts following his father's murder. One day, Ching sees one of his instructors murdered by the Skeleton Claw move, in which the killer straightens his fingers, making them rigid enough to penetrate both flesh and bone. Ching defeats the assassin, then encounters a titled noblewoman named Yung-er (Tien Niu) who is disguised as a pauper. They are subsequently taught by Hung, the Nine-Fingered Beggar (Ku Feng), who can smash a tree into splinters with a single chop of his hand. Ching gains still more knowledge from the master Cho (Phillip Kwok) which prepares him for the three tests he must face and overcome in order to win Yung-er's hand in marriage. The all-star cast includes Danny Lee, Dick Wei, Johnny Wang, and Ti Lung, but most viewers will want to watch for the energetic star turn by Alexander Fu Sheng, whose international stardom was just starting to peak when, ominously, he moved into a house once owned by the late Bruce Lee and known for its negative feng shui. Shortly thereafter, Fu Sheng died tragically young when he crashed into a cement wall in a vehicle driven by his older brother. This film remains one of Fu Sheng's best-known efforts, and led to three sequels. His ghost is still rumored to walk the Shaw Brothers backlot, and his makeup cubicle was left empty for years to appease his spirit. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
Five Deadly Venoms tells the tale of a martial arts master who commands a student to track down some of his other students and get them to stop those that have used their skills for nefarious ends. The Centipede, The Snake, The Scorpion, The Lizard, and The Toad must decide if they will join together to obey their old master's wishes. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
In this martial arts film, two members of rival Shaolin temples team up to stop the wicked warlord who began the fight between them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1977
This delightfully dated Hong Kong martial arts film from Shaw Brothers Studios stalwart Chang Cheh is a visual feast for fans of polyester, funky music, and bad haircuts. The main reason for less camp-oriented genre devotees to watch is another outstandingly charismatic performance from the late Alexander Fu Sheng as Tan Tung, an ambitious young man who falls under the influence of the triad crimelord Chu Ho (Johnny Wang). Chu Ho is impressed by Tung's martial arts skills and also realizes how easily he can be manipulated. Tung, however, betrays Ho by helping one of the kingpin's hookers escape from captivity, so Ho has the young man framed for drug possession. Tung flees to America, where he meets a college student from Taiwan named Yang Ching-wen (Sun Chien). The pair get a room in San Francisco's Chinatown and work illegally in a local restaurant, where the brash young Tung soon crosses paths with the leader of the Green Tiger gang (Lo Mang). Tung beats up most of the gang in the street, impressing their competitors, the White Dragon gang, whose boss (Phillip Kwok) quickly enlists his aid in wiping out the Green Tiger completely. As the White Dragon grows in power, Tung grows in status, at least until he discovers that Yang has become a hopeless drug addict, and begins to have second thoughts about his participation in the White Dragon's narcotics trade. Tung's efforts to end the gang's drug business mark him as a target for elimination, setting up the climactic final battle between the principled young fighter and his ruthless employers. Ha Ping co-stars with Kara Hui and Dick Wei. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alexander Fu-Sheng, Shirley Yu, (more)
- 1976
When a Shaolin temple finds itself under siege, it relents and allows a number of young newcomers to participate in its exclusive martial arts training. The eager students then come to the defense of the temple in this action-packed martial arts drama. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ti Lung, David Chiang, (more)
