Way Down East
After watching Ang Lee's martial arts epic, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, I find myself craving more Far East action.
Luckily, a stack of videos is waiting. The anime adventures Sword for Truth and Patlabor 1 continue the tradition of adult Japanese animation in rousing fashion. Ronny Yu's The Phantom Lover puts an Asian twist to a classic horror story. Chow Yun Fat, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon's male lead, reappears in two of his early Hong Kong gangster films, Rich & Famous and Tragic Hero. Compared to the mythic poetry of Lee's masterpiece, these early Chow Yun Fat films are little more than Chop-Socky actioners. Then again, sometimes a little Chop-Socky is just what I crave.
AnimePatlabor 1Unrated
1995, MangaBased on the cult fave TV series Patlabor Mobile Police, director Mamoru Oshii's breathes colorful life into this sci-fi actioner about Tokyo's Mobile Police and their robot assistants called "Labors." Patlabor 1 possesses all the visual pizzazz we've come to expect from anime adventures. Scenes involving a giant construction project in Tokyo Bay are breathtaking to watch. More importantly, Patlabor 1 builds a smart thriller around its graphics with a suspenseful plot involving the infection of the robots with a deadly virus. -- SR (Grade: B)
Fists of FuryThe Phantom LoverUnrated
1995, Tai SengBefore veteran filmmaker Ronny Yu (The Bride with White Hair, Warriors of Virtue, Bride of Chucky) went Hollywood, he adapted The Phantom of the Opera into a lush costume drama. Under Yu's stylish guidance, The Phantom Lover represents Hong Kong cinema at its visual best.
Sung Danping (Leslie Cheung), an opera star who's presumed dead from a fire, lives among the shadows of a decrepit opera house. But a chance meeting with a theatrical troupe singer (Huang Lei) offers Danping the chance to emerge from hiding and reclaim his long-lost love. Cheung makes an enthralling phantom. Still, the spotlight belongs to Yu: In his hands, every scene in The Phantom Lover is breathtaking. -- SR (Grade: A)
AnimeSword for TruthUnrated
1990, MangaThis animated short follows the adventures of master swordsman Shuranosuke Sakaki in rousing fashion. Granted, its story is familiar. Shuranosuke is hired by a powerful Shogunate to rescue pretty Princess Mayu from outlaw ninjas. Of course, like most anime adventures, plenty of bloodletting, supernatural obstacles and explicit sex will occur before Shuranosuke's mission is complete. Anything less would be a letdown. -- SR (Grade: B)
Fists of FuryRich & FamousUnrated
1987, Tai SengChow Yun Fat is Triad leader, Li Ah-Chai, in a gangster drama that fails in its attempt to be a Hong Kong Godfather. When two brothers enlist Chai to help them settle a gambling debt, they find themselves caught in a violent gang war. Chow commands the screen with his usual flourish. Unfortunately, he's handcuffed by derivative storytelling. -- SR (Grade: D)
Fists of FuryTragic HeroUnrated
1987, Tai SengChow Yun Fat returns as Triad leader Li Ah-Chai in this gangster follow-up to Rich & Famous. Like Michael Corleone, Chai wants to become a legitimate businessman. In Godfather-like fashion, his violent past keeps pulling him back into crime. Tragic Hero unfolds its gangster drama in uneventful fashion. A climactic showdown flashes the high-energy firepower we've come to expect from the best Hong Kong actioners. But it's too little too late. -- SR (Grade: C )
