BLACK CAT 2: The Assassination of President Yeltsin (HK 1992)

I just rewatched Stephen Shin's Hong Kong film BLACK CAT 2 from 1992. Not surprisingly it's a sequel to BLACK CAT (1991) also directed by Stephen Shin. The film's original cinema title is actually BLACK CAT 2: THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT YELTSIN, hahaha.

Anyhoo, while the first film is a direct remake of Luc Besson's French film NIKITA, the sequel is a film all of its own. I remember when it came out 20 years ago, nobody - as in NOBODY - had anything positive to say about the film and, uh, maybe I bought into that notion a bit. I remember watching the film many years ago and disliking it not least because I thought there were simply too many gwailos in it. LOL. 

It's been a number of years since I watched the first film so this time I was able to watch the sequel as a stand alone film and quite frankly I enjoyed it quite a bit. No, it's probably not all that well written in the plot department, and no, the main character of the film, the "Black Cat" aka Erica, isn't even really the main character in the film. She's so two-dimensional that she comes across as a cartoon character, no depth what so ever. 

What saves the film are the action scenes, the shoot-out scenes and the fight scenes. And they come aplenty. As I said the first film is a remake and maybe because Stephen Shin & Co. actually had to come up with a plot of their own this time they kinda forgot what kind of character Erica is (a hitman). Instead they turned her into almost a cyborg. If part 1 was Nikita this film is Terminator 2!!! 

The ending is terrible but, hey, that's just Hong Kong for ya. But don't worry, there's two more sequels, BLACK CAT IN JAIL (2000) and THE BLACK CAT AGENT FILES (2003). Part 3 is right out terrible and part 4 only exists on unsubbed DVD (after having owned part 4 for something like a full decade I still haven't bothered to watch it). 

I highly recommend part 1. It's a better film than the film it remakes! Part 2 is recommended for those of you who are able to accept a wild action movie with a shit plot. Forget about part 3 and 4 and watch part 1 again. 

PS: it's a old (and now stained due to being right next to the coffee machine) poster from one of the Chinese cinemas in Melbourne on my wall. I actually watched BLACK CAT there in the early 90's.

WATER WARS (Philippines/USA 2011) - trailer

Original title: Road Raiders

Cirio H. Santiago's last film.

Last MAD MAX 2 clone from Santiago now on DVD

I posted about WATER WARS, Cirio H. Santiago's last film, way back in 2011. The film is yet another MAD MAX 2 post-apocalypse rip-off (and yay to that!) from the Philippines. The initial title was Road Raiders but it was later retitled WATER WARS.

Unfortunately, Santiago passed away during production and apparently Jim Wynorski had to finish the film. It dawned on me a couple of days ago that WATER WARS is now on DVD in Thailand!! (I'm told it actually came out last year!). As far as I know, the Thai DVD is the only release worldwide. I placed my order last week but haven't received the film yet. According to the webstore in Thailand the DVD carries the English dubbing.

A few people have pointed out that WATER WARS uses quite a bit of footage from WHEELS OF FIRE, another of Santiago's post-apocalypse films that he shot in the Philippines. And that the film isn't all that great. Oh well, on this blog we (royal "we") often find great entertainment in pop-culture that the squares and mainstreamers discard as trash. Maybe it is trash but I've seen quite a few flicks in my time that delivered heaps of entertainment despite (or because of) their being trash. Let's wait and see. I knew I had to, simply haaaad to, order a copy when I found out the film had been released.

More info on the disc as I receive it. The DVD is available from eThaiCD. I've never had any problems with them and they've got free postage worldwide!

BRUNO MATTEI's best post 2000 film finally getting a release Stateside

Cover for the upcoming reg. 1 DVD

Bruno Mattei's THE JAIL: A WOMAN'S HELL is finally getting a DVD release in the US. Needless to say, regular readers of this blog know the film was released on a spiffy English friendly DVD in the Czech Republic quite a few years ago (and it was a pain to order thru a Czech language website lemme tell you!! Haha). There's a Japanese release as well. But in any case, I'm certainly happy Mattei's cool film is finally getting released to a wider audience. The label is Intervision Picture Corp which also released Mattei's two post 2000 cannibal films and his two post 2000 zombie films.

Cover for the old Czech DVD

In my opinion THE JAIL is the best film of the lot! In fact it has everything, torture, gore, nudity, girls. It is everything, WIP film, jungle film, cannibal film, gore movie. It's an Italian film but mind you it's a Filipino exploitationer as well (it was filmed entirely in the Philippines)!

By this stage Yvette Yzon had become somewhat of a Bruno Mattei regular in lead roles and she's in this one as well. Also Filipino film regulars Mike Monty and Jim Gaines are in this as well (Monty in a blink-and-you'll-miss him role. He looked ill and passed away shortly after the film was made). According to Intervision's facebook page they've done a brand new interview with Yvette Yzon for the DVD.

I uploaded this old Yvette Yzon interview five years ago but it's still pretty cool. My old channel also has a Bruno Mattei interview from the same set but it's in Italian only.



Trailer:

Update #2

Whoever uploaded the way cool RAW FORCE trailer decided to delete it again. Fortunately I had already copied the trailer and have just uploaded it again for your enjoyment! :P

Awesomeness right here.

Update

Filipino John Woo remake is back up.

The YouTube channel that originally uploaded DALAWA MAN ANG BUHAY MO, PAGSASABAYIN KO, i.e. the Filipino remake of John Woo's Hong Kong masterpiece A BETTER TOMORROW, was closed down by Youtube but fortunately several other channels have uploaded the film, and I have updated the embedded link in my post. Go here

PS: unfortunately one of the YouTube channels got the film confused with another movie called BARIL KO... ANG UUSIG! I've watched the beginning of the "wrong" movie and it looks alright - but you'll be disappointed if you expect a BETTER TOMORROW remake!

In any case, the correct film is (again) embedded on this site.

EDIT: For fuck's sake!!!!! The YouTube channel that re-uploaded the film has closed down and the film is gone again. Bloody hell!!! I might upload it myself at some stage. 

W (Philippines 1978)

aka W IS WAR

One of my very first blog posts was a review of the Filipino MAD MAX 2 clone W (aka W is War on US VHS) seven years ago. And it just dawned on me that I forgot to post the trailer, hahaha. No, seriously, I spent all night last night going thru Filipino films and trailers uploaded by good people - who may or may not live in the 'Pines - and one of the cool findings was this trailer for W. I'm not sure if I've posted it here before but anyway here it is. I'm afraid it's not an original Filipino trailer but, judging by the subs, comes from a video tape from Finland.

The lead was played by Anthony Alonzo, who, according to Nick Nicholson, was a "top gay" (and later died from AIDS, also according to Nicholson). Nick talked about it in an e-mail to Andrew Leavold (about another movie called TRIDENT FORCE. Go here).

W was directed by Willie/Wilfredo Milan and three years later Milan made a sort of sequel entitled MAD WARRIOR (aka Clash of the Warlords). There's no official DVD release for W (which is insane) but there are several VHS releases. My own tape is from Japan.


My original, seven year old review:

W (aka W is War)
At first they made MAD MAX II down under. Then the Italians ripped off Max by the bucket load. And then the Filipinos followed. What am I talking about? Post-apocalyptic films of course!! LOL. Sometime in the future - after WW III. Ha ha. W (aka W is War) is from the Philippines and it's very entertaining! Gangs of futuristic bikers are controlling the land. Well, sort of. And the Filipino version of Max has to stop them. Firstly, obviously, he has to build a Mad Max wannabe car, ha ha. Very cool indeed. And the chicks look better in this one. The funny thing with W is that in contradiction to the original Aussie film and all the Italo rip-offs director Willie Milan didn't actually bother trying to make the landscape and the cities look very futuristic when he made this back in '83. However, it's totally cool anyway and as I said it's very entertaining + violent, and some of the plot-line is just... unexpected (I'll do a proper review at some later stage in my mag). There's also a sequel entitled MAD WARRIOR (aka CLASH OF THE WARLORDS) which I simply have to find now. Of course none of them are out on DVD so you'll have to see you can can find an old video release somewhere (my version of W is from Japan). Very recommended!

BLIND RAGE (Philippines, 1978) - trailer

Starring Tony Ferrer, Charlie Davao, Leila Hermosa, Carlos Padilla Jr., Max Alvarado, Subas Herrero, Jose Garcia, Val Iglesia, Rocco Montalban, Ben Dato, Romy Nario, Telly Babasa, Carlos Diaz, Belo Borja, Rey Sagum, Golay, Mande Bustamante, Fred Param, Eddie Miriaflor, Leo Fong, SOS Daredevils and Fred Williamson / Directed by Efren C. Piñon

NIGHT OF THE COBRA WOMAN - trailer

NB: No avatar but the trailer does work! 

Directed by: Andrew Meyer (USA/Philippines, 1972)
On reg. 1 DVD from Scorpion Records.

Fully uncut CHINATOWN KID found on Danish VHS

Although I usually don't post about kung-fu films this is pretty exciting. A fully uncut version of Shaw Brothers CHINATOWN KID has turned up on ex-rental VHS in Denmark.

The tape runs just under 110 minutes (PAL) while the DVD from Celestial runs a mere 86 minutes and to add insult to injury the DVD uses an alternative "happy ending". The Danish VHS is fully uncut and uses the original ending.

Big thanks to Diabolik for this info (and cover scan).

Update

I've just updated the old "Alternative Versions of Hong Kong Movies" post. The old list was from 2008 but I've found a newer version of the list from 2015. You'll find it here.

BLOOD THIRST (USA/Philippines 1971) [REVIEW]

aka BLOOD SEEKERS / THE HORROR FROM BEYOND

Director Newt Arnold
Producer Newt Arnold
Executive Producer Michael “Dupont”/Du Pont
Writer N.I.P. Dennis
Director of Photography Hermo Santos
Post-Production Supervisor Lee Osborne
Editing Supervisor “Tony”/Anthony DiMarco

Cast
Robert Winston (Adam Rourke), Katherine Henryk, Yvonne Nielson, Vic Diaz (Captain Miguel), Vic Silayan, Eddie Infante, Bruno Punzalan, Judy Dennis, Max “Rojo”/Roio, Ching Tello, Minda Morena, Isidro Francisco, Felix Marfil


by JACK J

Young, beautiful women are being bumped off by a mysterious killer in the vicinity of a nightclub in downtown Manilla. The head of police (played by a young and less plumb Vic Diaz) runs to the phone and calls an American detective friend (played by Robert Wilson Mercy) who has specialised in mysterious killers who bump off beautiful, young women. The American friend arrives and soon after goes under cover as a writer with an interest in bumped off beaut... well, you get the point.

He also runs into the police chief's sister (unavoidable romance ensues), local goons, scantly clad nightclub dames (relatively scantly clad anyway. The film was probably made in the 60s altho not released until '71), and eventually a monster so diabolical your blood will freeze and you'll be tossing and turning because of the nightmares you'll be getting (I'm exaggerating by a million). Half of the film is set in the nightclub, the dialogue is aplenty, and the action and horror scenes kept to a minimum.

BLOOD THIRST is by no means a great film. Not even if we only compared it to other Filipino horror films. But I liked it and thought it had its charm.

The film has a laid back obscureness to it that I though was cool. Also, the film being so old, made way before the American-Filipino coproductions we're so familiar with from Roger Corman (i.e. mostly made in the 70s), makes for an interesting watch.

The fact that the actors are unfamiliar faces (except Vic Diaz who was probably in every Filipino film made in the 60s and 70s!!!) makes it almost seem like it's from another Philippines. Bizarro Philippines. And just who was Scandinavian sounding Yvonne Nielson??

I liked the crisp black & white look as well - and not least the cool jazz score thru out the film. And with a running time of just over 70 minutes it doesn't overstay its welcome.

THE DVD:

I watched Vinegar Syndrome's release from their "Drive-In Collection" series. The film is backed with another US-Filipino film called THE THIRSTY DEAD. Both films have also been released by Something Weird Video. VS's print is from a 35mm print presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and it looks fantastic!

There's a wee bit of noise and worn print around reel ends but that's alright and if nothing else means the film wasn't shot on fucking video. The SWV dvd is presented fullscreen and it's definitely not the way you wanna watch the film once you've seen the print from VS! Neither release carries any extras related to the film.

Andrew Leavold also reviewed the film on his blog and had this piece of interesting titbit to say:

"Robert Wilson Mercy, the smug big-chinned former stuntman and bit player who plays our Ugly American hero, has made his presence felt on the net recently, leaving some outrageous claims in unsuspecting chatrooms: that he made more lost films in the Philippines with director Newt Arnold, who he describes as one-eyed and with a malformed hand; that he was offered the role of James Bond in a serious version of Casino Royale – but he was making a B-film in Manila at the time and couldn’t get out of the contract; and that he’s stalking the producers of the next Bond film offering his services as Daniel Craig’s nemesis. I say to Robert Wilson Mercy: the world may have gotten Woody Allen as James Bond instead, but we still have your career’s crowning glory, the 1971 Blood Thirst."

I'd love to find out what other films Newt Arnold directed in the Philippines and where they are now. Are they lost? Did they get finished? Have they been screened anywhere?

You'll find a better and more incisive review here.

The credits list is borrowed from Andrew Leavold's blog.

NIGHT OF THE COBRA WOMAN dvd from Scorpion Releasing

When I posted about new DVD releases of American-Filipino coproductions the other day I forgot this one, NIGHT OF THE COBRA WOMAN, - maybe because it's not released from Vinegar Syndrome (like the other five) but instead it's out on Scorpion Releasing (run by Code Red's Bill Olson's brother).

NIGHT OF THE COBRA WOMAN (1972) is yet another Roger Corman produced flick shot in the 'Pines. Until this release the film had only been released on VHS. I haven't got the new DVD yet but according to one online source the DVD is pretty good, and it's got a few great extras on it; There are new interviews with Marlene Clark, who plays the main character, and Roger Corman. The trailer is also included and the film is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.78:1.

UPDATE (2019): Scorpion Releasing has also released the film on blu-ray!

"Queen of Black Magic" director dies

According to Ekky Imanjaya over at Finding Jaka Sembung blog, Lilik Sudjio, the director of the cool Indonesian horror film QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC (starring Suzzanna) has passed away. This is sad news indeed. To read his post go here.

THE MUTHERS from Vinegar Syndrome!

A few minutes after I had just posted the previous post about the five Filipino movies from Vinegar Syndrome I check their facebook page and, lo and behold, someone just posted the news that they'll be releasing yet another American-Filipino coproduction soon!!

The film is Cirio H. Santiago's THE MUTHERS from 1976.

The film has already been released on DVD in Australia a couple of years back. It was included as a bonus on the 2-disc release of MACHETE MAIDENS UNLEASHED doc on US-Filipino coproductions (check my old post about it here). According to the post on fb the DVD is slated for March, 2015.

I would have posted the trailer here but I can't find a copy anywhere! So instead here's the way cool Japanese VHS cover! (which I found at Video Culture. Thanks, mates!).

5 Filipino cult movies from Vinegar Syndrome...

...and one of them is a blu-ray/dvd combo release of RAW FORCE!!!

The new(ish) American video label Vinegar Syndrome has put out no less than five cool American-Filipino coproductions in the last few months!!!

The first four films came out as two double DVD releases and the last one, RAW FORCE, has been granted a blu-ray/DVD combo release! (Yay!! Spiffy!!!) Needless to say, this is pretty fucken awesome.

Only two of the films have had official DVD releases in the past (BLOOD THIRST and THE THIRSTY DEAD came out from Something Weird Video), the latter three have so far been VHS releases only (yes, you'll find DVDs if you look for 'em but they are ALL bootlegs taken from old video releases!). 


THE FILMS:
(I haven't got hold of any of these releases yet and all info is from the Vinegar Syndrome website)

DEATH FORCE
- aka Vengeance is Mine
(directed by Cirio H. Santiago, 1978)

Presented uncut and under its original title, VENGEANCE IS MINE!
110 minutes / Color / AR: 1.85:1


VAMPIRE HOOKERS
(Cirio H. Santiago, 1978)

79 minutes / Color / AR: 1.85:1
+ Dual Layer DVD-9 | Region Free | 16:9 Anamorphic | 1.85:1 AR | MONO
+ 2k scan from 35mm IPs
+ Original trailer VAMPIRE HOOKERS


BLOOD THIRST
(Newt Arnold, 1971)

74 minutes / B&W / AR: 1.85:1


THE THIRSTY DEAD
(Terry Becker, 1974)

88 minutes / Color / AR: 1.85:1
+ Dual Layer DVD-9 | Region Free | 16:9 Anamorphic | 1.85:1 AR | MONO
+ 2k scan from 35mm archival elements


RAW FORCE
(Ed Murphy, 1981)

86 minutes / 1981 / Color / 1.85:1
Newly restored from the original camera negative and on blu-ray for the first time.
+ Blu-ray & DVD Combo Pack | Region Free | DTS-HD Master Audio
+ Restored from 35mm camera negative
+ “Destination: Warriors Island” (The Making of RAW FORCE) w/ Director Ed Murphy and Cinematographer Frank Johnson
+ Audio interview w/ Finishing Editor Jim Wynorski
+ Original theatrical trailer

You'll find Andrew Leavold's review of RAW FORCE here.


DEATH FORCE 
- German Vinegar Syndrome licenced blu-ray

In addition to Vinegar Syndrome's own DVD release of DEATH FORCE the German label Subkultur Entertainment has licenced the VS print and released it as a blu-ray/DVD combo! As a bonus feature the full MACHETE MAIDENS UNLEASHED (2010) documentary film has been included!!

Unfortunately, the German release omits VAMPIRE HOOKERS so you'll still need the Vinegar Syndrome DVD for that. Also, it's limited to a 1000 copies! The VS site quotes the German info from Amazon.de so check there if you want this release.

Specs for the German DEATH FORCE release:

Both German and English tracks
German subtitles
Bonus feature length doc: MACHETE MAIDENS UNLEASHED (2010)
Grindhouse Trailershow
Filipino Exploitation Trailer Reel
Gallery
Trailer for DEATH FORCE
Booklet
Behind the Scenes Gallery


BLOOD THIRST + THE THIRSTY DEAD [VINEGAR SYNDROME DRIVE-IN COLLECTION TEASER]




DEATH FORCE (aka VENGEANCE IS MINE) + VAMPIRE HOOKERS [VINEGAR SYNDROME DRIVE-IN DOUBLE FEATURE]




RAW FORCE - Destination: Warrior's Island [VINEGAR SYNDROME TEASER TRAILER]

Cinema trailer:

Mattei's FILIPINO CANNIBALS come to reg. 1 dvd

We are indeed squatting in exciting times and so it is time to put on the skull-mask and ride that flaming ghost-horse once again, uh, I mean... re-animate this slumbering blog!

Hey there, how y'all doing! "Exciting times" at least in regards to new releases of foreign films shot in the Philippines!

There's no less than five cool Filipino films on dvd (and one blu-ray) from Vinegar Syndrome, and Severin/Intervision has just released Bruno Mattei's two post 2000 cannibal movies, LAND OF DEATH and CANNIBAL WORLD, on reg. 1 DVD in the US.

The new DVDs are retitled In The Land of the Cannibals and Mondo Cannibal. They've previously been out on DVD and VHS in Japan (check my old post and see way cooler Japanese covers here).

Check Steven Ruskin's review and DVD info on AVMANIACS here. And yeah, I'll agree with Steve on the films. They're not great by anybody's standards but if you like your entertainment trashy you know what you'll get with these two films, entertaining trash. I do however think Bruno's two post 2000 zombie films and THE JAIL: A WOMAN'S PRISON are way better (they were shot in the 'Pines as well).

Arizal - RIP

Unfortunately, I've learnt today that Indonesian film director extraordinaire ARIZAL passed away this morning. He was 71.

Arizal was an important film director to anybody who loves wild no-holds-barred world-weird action films.

He made tons of films that never made it to international shores but some of his well known films ("well known" to fans like us anyway) that were released on VHS in English dubbed form are: SPECIAL SILENCERS, FINAL SCORE, THE INTRUDER (aka Rambu), STABILIZER, and LETHAL HUNTER.

Here's an article by EVIETA FADJAR about his passing from the Indonesian online newspaper Tempo.co. I translated it with Google so don't expect a proper translation nor proper grammar. My Indonesian readers (yes, I have some) can check the original version at the bottom of the page, or you can check the original newspaper post here.

TEMPO.CO , Jakarta - Directed by Arizal , 71 years , died on May 18, 2014 at 11:00 pm . Men born Indragiri Hulu Indonesia is known as a director who is able to make films and soap operas from a variety of genres .

He has been the director of high school and Gita Love Puspa Indah Taman Hati starring Rano Karno and Yessy Gusman . Arizal also made films starring Warkop humor and became the best-selling films in the 1980s and 1990s .

After graduating from high school in New Week , Arizal continuing higher education at the University of Indonesia and then West Coast Institute of Management & Technology , Perth , Australia .

Arizal also known as a journalist . He began his career as a caricaturist in magazines Selecta . He later he joined the editorial staff at the magazine Mayapada and Panorama .

Film career began when he became assistant artistic Walt Disney cartoon at Universal Studios , Los Angeles , United States . After that in 1971 he became an assistant director on the film Hell to the chase .

In 1974 he was appointed as director of children's film Smiles and Tears . This film won the Citra award as best children's film . In the late 1970s , he made many dramatic movies .

The film Arizal , Gita Love from high school and Puspa Indah Taman Hati be one much-loved film community . In the 1980s , Arizal also working on comedies . Together Warkop group , Arizal successfully made films humor when it has not been appearing .

Some films such as smart - smart comedy Dumb and Forward Backward Kena Kena become the best-selling movie in Indonesia . Thanks to his success in comedy , director Arizal be one of the most expensive in Indonesia . His ability to make films in various genres , such as drama , comedy , and action , the lifting popularity.

In soap operas or glass screen , working Arizal Because of PT Multivision Plus in 1992-1993 with Lydia Kandouw player , Jimmy Gideon , Gideon Zion , Pitrajaya Burnama and Nani Wijaya . Then , the soap opera nonsense of PT Multivision Plus in 1993-1995 with players Nurul Arifin , Rudy Regards , Kiki Fatmala and Fuad Alkhar .

He also directed soap operas and Jun Jin from PT Multivision in 1996-2001 with players Syahrul Gunawan , Mira Asmara , Misye Arsita , Baraja and M. Fuad Amin . There are also soap operas and Miss Yul Toyol in 1997-2002 with 270 episodes Onny players all, being Slamet Joyo and Dominiq Sanda .

He also made a television commercial for Unilever soap Lux 1978 Citra Jakarta Traffic with Widyawati models . In addition, the Arizal also known as the author of the song . His work is Unread You Goda - Ernie Djohan , 1967, Why - Alfian in 1967 , the song Smiles and Tears , starring Rano Karno , 1974, the song in the movie as sincere Heart , starring Elly Tanty Yosepha & S in 1975 and the song Main Movie , starring Benjamin S in 1975.


ORIGINAL VERSION OF THE ARTICLE IN INDONESIAN:

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Sutradara Arizal, 71 tahun, meninggal pada 18 Mei 2014 pukul 11.00 Wib. Pria kelahiran Indragiri Hulu ini dikenal sebagai sutradara Indonesia yang mampu membuat film dan sinetron dari berbagai genre.

Ia pernah menjadi sutradara Gita Cinta dari SMA dan Puspa Indah Taman Hati yang dibintangi Rano Karno dan Yessy Gusman. Arizal juga membuat film-film humor yang dibintangi oleh Warkop dan menjadi film-film laris di tahun 1980-an dan 1990-an.

Setelah menamatkan SMA di Pekan Baru, Arizal melanjutkan pendidikan tingginya di Fakultas Ekonomi Universitas Indonesia dan kemudian West Coast Institute of Management & Technology, Perth, Australia.

Arizal juga dikenal sebagai wartawan. Ia memulai kariernya sebagai karikaturis di majalah Selecta. Ia kemudian ia bergabung menjadi staf redaksi di majalah Mayapada dan Panorama.

Kariernya di dunia film dimulai ketika ia menjadi asisten artistik kartun Walt Disney di Universal Studio, Los Angeles, Amerika Serikat. Setelah itu pada 1971 ia menjadi asisten sutradara pada film Pengejaran ke Neraka.

Pada 1974 ia dipercaya menjadi sutradara film anak-anak Senyum dan Tangis. Film ini meraih penghargaan Piala Citra sebagai film anak-anak terbaik. Di akhir dekade 1970, ia banyak membuat film-film drama.

Film garapan Arizal, Gita Cinta dari SMA dan Puspa Indah Taman Hati menjadi salah satu film yang banyak digemari masyarakat. Pada tahun 1980-an, Arizal juga menggarap film-film komedi. Bersama kelompok Warkop, Arizal sukses membuat film-film humor yang ketika itu belum banyak muncul.

Beberapa film komedinya seperti Pintar-pintar Bodoh dan Maju Kena Mundur Kena menjadi film terlaris di Indonesia. Berkat kesuksesannya dalam film komedi, Arizal menjadi salah satu sutradara termahal di Indonesia. Kemampuannya membuat film dalam berbagai genre, seperti drama, komedi, dan laga, semakin mengangkat popularitasnya.

Di sinetron atau layar Kaca, Arizal menggarap Gara-gara dari PT Multivision Plus pada 1992-1993 dengan pemain Lydia Kandouw, Jimmy Gideon, Sion Gideon, Pitrajaya Burnama dan Nani Wijaya. Lalu, sinetron Ada-ada Saja dari PT Multivision Plus pada 1993-1995 dengan pemain Nurul Arifin, Rudy Salam, Kiki Fatmala dan Fuad Alkhar.

Dia juga menyutradarai sinetron Jin dan Jun dari PT Multivision pada 1996-2001 dengan pemain Syahrul Gunawan, Mira Asmara, Misye Arsita, Fuad Baraja dan M. Amin. Ada juga sinetron Tuyul dan Mbak Yul pada 1997-2002 sebanyak 270 episode dengan pemain Onny Syahrial, Slamet Joyo dan Dominiq Sanda.

Ia juga membuat iklan televisi sabun Lux untuk PT Unilever 1978 Jakarta Citra Lintas dengan model Widyawati. Selain itu, Arizal juga dikenal sebagai pengarang lagu. Karyanya adalah Usah Kau Goda-Emie Djohan 1967, Mengapa-Alfian 1967, lagu Senyum dan Tangis, dibintangi Rano Karno 1974, lagu di film Setulus Hatimu yang dibintangi Tanty Yosepha & Elly S pada 1975 dan lagu Main Film, dibintangi Benyamin S pada 1975

Almarhum disemayamkan di Perum Kranggan Permai, Jalan Borobudur, Jati Sampurna, Bekasi.

CODE RED to release Filipino post-apocalypse films

Bill Olsen has recently announced Code Red is going to release two of Roger Corman's post-apocalypse films. Great news indeed!!!

The two titles are Cirio H. Santiago's WHEELS OF FIRE (USA/Philippines, 1984) and EQUALIZER 2000 (USA/Philippines, 1987).

When the initial announcement came Bill Olsen only released info about the first film but not the second. I'm not the only one who basically creamed himself over the news that the latter is EQUALIZER 2000.
Wauw. Just fucken w-a-u-w!!! 

There is no release dates yet, nor any info on whether the films will be DVD only or Blu-ray as well. Blu-ray was mentioned on Code Red's facebook page but nothing in cement.

There's been a bit of worry among fans about which print Code Red are going to release in regards to EQUALIZER 2000, as there are cut versions out there, but Bill Olsen has stated on the CR facebook page that it is indeed the fully uncut print we'll be getting. Yay!!!

And also good to see the upcoming cover for this film is (like with WHEELS) basically the old poster art. Good on ya, Bill'o!!! 

Bill Olsen shaking hands with Roger Corman (December 7, 2013)

Hiatus...

I've been doing blogs for the past 6 years, and before that I did fanzines for much longer, and I feel the metal fatigue. Even with the less than frequent posts on this blog I've actually kept this place afloat much longer than my other blogs. They've been floating aimlessly in Cyberspace for quite a while now and it's time to take a breather with Backyard Asia as well. Do people even read blogs any more? Hardly anybody comments on posts anymore on any of my blogs. Anyway, not the end but a breather. Be seeing you.

PS: I'm gonna turn the comments option off as I don't wish this place to be spilling over with spam. It really annoys me when that happens (I'm looking at you Worldweird Cinema blog!).

PS: Roeg Camel you're not forgotten. I'll get back to you at some stage.

Trailer for Vinegar Syndrome's upcoming dvd release of Filipino BLOOD DRINKING films

Vinegar Syndrome has just posted this trailer on their YouTube channel. The trailer for their upcoming dvd release of the two Filipino films BLOOD THIRST (1971) and THE THIRSTY DEAD (1974). I figured you'd like to see it. ^_^



Specs from Vinegar Syndrome's YouTube page:

DVD release date = 9/10/13!

Two blood drinking B-movies made by Americans in Manila!

Blood Thirst (1971)
After a series of brutal killings, an American investigator probes the violent goings on and discovers a horrifying secret.
Director: Newt Arnold
74 minutes / B&W / AR: 1.85:1

The Thirsty Dead (1974)
A sinister cult kidnaps beautiful women to use in their ghastly blood rites. Featuring Jennifer Billingsley and John Considine.
Director: Terry Becker
88 minutes / Color / AR: 1.85:1

Features Include:
+ Dual Layer DVD-9 | Region Free | 16:9 Anamorphic | 1.85:1 AR | MONO
+ 2k scan from 35mm archival elements

Up north...

The penguins and polar bears have left for cooler climates. The frozen fish have defrosted. And the snowmen are nothing but a memory. All that is left is broiling heat and melted icy poles. So here's a reminder of what life is usually like in these Nordic parts of the world. Ice. Snow. Frost (and, uh, vampires).

99 shiny pennies...

I won another copy of Rick Baker and Toby Russell's book "The Essential Guide to Hong Kong Movie" yesterday. Winning bid: 99 pence!!!

The seller described the book as being in a good condition. I've already got another copy but half of the pages have come loose so this was an excellent chance to get another copy in a proper condition. This new one probably won't have been signed by one of the authors like my old one is but I'll just see if I can survive that bit of misfortune (if you think you might detect a level of sarcasm here you're in the right. I really don't give a rat's arse about anybody's hand-scribbled autograph, no matter who they are - unless it's on a cheque made out to yours truly, lmao).

Hmm, now that I think of it I also bought another 99p book a couple of months ago, a hardcover edition of a James Ellroy crime book, and it had been signed by Ellroy!! Like I said, I don't care much for autographs but that incident was kinda fun cos you kinda get the idea that the seller really didn't give a shit about James Ellroy, hahaha.

When wonder women and the thirsty dead ones turn up at your doorstep

The Retromedia dvd of WONDER WOMEN has finally arrived at the Backyard Asia headquarters!!! If you've followed my posts about the release you'll know that the dvd has (most likely) been pulled back. At least it's gone from Amazon and taking Retromedia's dispute with Code Red into account I wasn't gonna postpone ordering the dvd any longer. I received it today and although I haven't watched the film in full yet the print does look heaps better than the old Something Weird Video dvd-r. And the extras look great.

A couple of days ago I posted about a new upcoming dvd release (from Vinegar Syndrome) of the Filipino film THE THIRSTY DEAD. However, the film is already out on dvd also from SWV and I wanted it for the collection (see picture #2). The second feature on the disc is the old Spanish horror film SWAMP OF THE RAVENS. A pretty good film but don't get the dvd for this film; The SWV print is cut! You're better off getting the fully uncut VCI dvd (which also contain a fully uncut and good looking print of I EAT YOUR SKIN - which SWV also released a crappy print of with noticeable missing footage).

Four Filipino films from Vinegar Syndrome

While other labels have difficulties putting out one Filipino film John Lyons' new(ish) video label Vinegar Syndrome have announced the upcoming release of no less than four Filipino films!

The films are Cirio H. Santiago's two films VENGEANCE IS MINE (aka Death Force, 1978) and VAMPIRE HOOKERS (1978). The version of VENGEANCE is the rare uncut 110 minute edit!

The just announced last two films are BLOOD THIRST (aka Blood Seekers/The Horror from Beyond, Newt Arnold, 1965/71) and THIRSTY DEAD (aka Blood Hunt/The Blood Cult of Shangri-La, Terry Becker, 1974). The latter two have previously been released on dvd from Something Weird Video.

All four films are slated for release on September 10.


John Lyons of Vinegar Syndrome said this about VENGEANCE IS MINE and VAMPIRE HOOKERS on DVDManiacs forum:

"Since it was brought up on facebook, VENGEANCE IS MINE will not be going blu. We acquired rights + negs for both Santiago films made for Robert Waters, so VENGEANCE and VAMPIRE HOOKERS (Waters had originally released both through his own company but then licensed them to 21st Century, a license which expired in 1998, after which he sold them again).
So we're gonna recreate the double feature with new transfers from 35mm IPs for both. Unfortunately, Waters kept the OCN for VAMPIRE HOOKERS in poor storage conditions as he did with the VENGEANCE CRI so we went from the IP for HOOKERS, which looks amazing and from the moisture damaged CRI for VENGEANCE. There was also an interneg for the DEATH FORCE cut but it was missing a couple reels so we just decided to go with VENGEANCE as a whole rather than trying to assemble it from bits of DEATH FORCE.
We have over 100 rolled 1-sheets for each film as well, stored in giant tubes. We also found what appear to be trailer negs for both the HOOKERS and GRAVEYARD titles and the GRAVEYARD and DEATH FORCE insert title cards.
So, we're going to be doing this one as a drive-in double."

Specs from DVDManiacs:

Two blood soaked epics from the king of Filipino exploitation, Cirio H. Santiago!

Death Force (1978)
Presented uncut and under its original title, VENGEANCE IS MINE!
Director: Cirio H. Santiago
110 minutes / Color / AR: 1.85:1

Vampire Hookers (1978)
Director: Cirio H. Santiago
79 minutes / Color / AR: 1.85:1

Features Include:
+ Dual Layer DVD-9 | Region Free | 16:9 Anamorphic | 1.85:1 AR | MONO
+ 2k scan from 35mm IPs
+ Original trailer VAMPIRE HOOKERS


Trailer for the VENGEANCE IS MINE/VAMPIRE HOOKERS dvd:

The continued WONDER WOMEN case - close to SOAP proportions!

Do you remember the old American tv-series "SOAP"? If you do then... the following is basically on level with the insanity of that show.

A couple of years back I posted about how I'd bought Something Weird Video's dvd-r bootleg copy of the fun and wild Filipino film WONDER WOMEN (1973).

Then I posted about how Code Red was going to release the film.

This was followed by the news of Fred Olen Ray and his label Retromedia also having planned a release.

Bill Olsen of Code Red went out and said he was going to get his release out as quickly as possible [in order to beat Retromedia to it]. But he didn't (release it).

And THEN came the news of Bill Olsen and Fred Olen Ray getting into a legal dispute due to their both claiming to have the rights for releasing the film.

Then - after this looong wait - Retromedia finally released their dvd.

And now ... it's gone again (i.e. the Amazon page has been deleted).

Latest piece of news is that Bill Olsen has stated he isn't even interested in releasing the film any longer (I assume he figures so many people will have bought the Retromedia disc during its one month availability that nobody's gonna buy a Code Red release of the film).

However, Olsen also mentioned (on Latarnia forum) that he's obligated to release the film and that it's gonna come out as part of a double bill (no news on when this may happen but knowing the pace of CR this could very well take another long while).


PS: there are online stores that still stock copies of the Retromedia dvd so if you want a copy I would recommend you get your skates on. I've ordered a copy and am crossing my fingers it's gonna get here. Who knows how long stocks are gonna last. The dvd is loaded with extras that are surely NOT going to be included on the Code Red dvd!


Extras on the Retromedia release (info from Fred Olen Ray's Facebook page):

"Commentary Track with director Robert V. O'Neil
On set Super 8mm Home Movies
Radio Spots, TV Spots, Theatrical Trailers
Missing Scenes from European Version
Video Interview with 2nd Unit Director Erik Cord
Scenes from the uncompleted sequel, WARRIOR WOMEN (1983)
Still Gallery from the original color Slides and BW negatives
Media Gallery and maybe a few more surprises"

Wikipedia - for that thar info on Asian backyard cinema!

My gawd! I just noticed there's now being linked to BACKYARD ASIA from Wikipedia! Cool!! ^_^

Shopping tip: THE BEASTS

Gee, whiz! There's another copy of the very rare UK pre-cert video release of THE BEASTS on eBay.

The auction runs for another four days. If you have any interest in HK New Wave film or just plain video nasties then ... get this film!

Auction here.

EDIT: The auction ended at £35.

NB: I'm not the seller nor do I profit from the auction in any way. This is strictly a tip to fellow collectors of rare HK films.

TAXI HUNTER - Hong Kong vhs

I won the Hong Kong VHS release of Herman Yau's very cool film TAXI HUNTER a few days ago on eBay UK. The film stars Anthony Wong who is no stranger to fans of Hong Kong horror cinema. EBOLA SYNDROME. UNTOLD STORY. Need I say more. As quite a bit of a surprise I was the only bidder on the tape but, hey, who's complaining. Certainly not me. ^_^

TAXI HUNTER is also released on DVD in the USA (and Malaysia!) so there's no need to try and track down another copy of the rare VHS if you wish to watch the film.

WOMAN PRISONER NO. 407 part 2 - rare English dubbed version on Greek VHS

aka YEOSU 407HO 2 (org. title) / PRISONER 407 - part 2 / GIRLS IN THE TIGER CAGE 2 / RETURN TO TIGER CAGE / IM CAMP DER GELBEN TIGERINNEN

Director Sin Sang-Ok (S-Korea/Taiwan 1977)

I've just won this very rare Greek VHS release of WOMAN PRISONER NO. 407 - PART 2 at an eBay auction. There is ONE dvd release of the film but according to the German dvd comparison website Schnittberichte.com the German dvd is pretty awful. It contains two versions of the film, the completely censored German cinema print (missing a whooping TEN minutes) in the correct aspect ratio, and a fully uncut version in an over-matted aspect. Go figure!

And although the disc is English friendly in that it has English subs it only carries the German dub. The Greek VHS is fullscreen so hopefully at least it won't be missing picture info top and bottom, and it is dubbed into English. It should be uncut as well. I have NO idea of where to get the first film. I think it was released on a Chinese video tape of some kind.

Angels, guns, virgins, the apocalypse. It's here!!

"ANGELS, GUNS, VIRGINS, THE APOCALYPSE? WHAT A MESS!!" I HEAR YOU SAY. WAIT TILL YOU SEE THE FILM!!!

The new German dvd release of ANGELS WITH GOLDEN GUNS (aka Virgin Apocalypse / Scharfe Katzen hinter Gittern / Terror im Frauenlager) has finally been released! Actually... it came out two weeks ago but I wanted to make sure I got hold of the limited "Cover A" before I told y'all about it, haha (sorry, but there's only a 100 printed!). But in any case, here it is!

I received it this morning and haven't had time to check it properly yet. The film is a wild mix of Girls With Guns/WIP/Girls Kick Ass And Look Cute/and-what-have-you film from Hong Kong 1981. I've previously watched it via a raw fullscreen copy off a vhs and I don't know what director ANG SAAN was on but he must have popped a lot of it to make the result so totally over the top wild and crazy as he did - while making absolutely no sense at all. Well, I kinda thought I had figured out what the hell the film is about but maybe I got the plot all wrong as other people (IFD expert Jesus Manuel being one) have watched it repeatedly and still don't know what it's about, haha.

ANGELS WITH GOLDEN GUNS has never been out on official dvd before and old vhs releases suffer from crappy fullscreen formats and/or having been dubbed into languages only spoken by little people in hidden away places. The new German dvd has been taken from a 35mm German print that I'm told was missing 1 minute of footage, however, the missing footage has been reinserted into the film from a German vhs (luckily the vhs was also in the right picture format). And don't worry, fellow English speakers, the dvd does indeed come with both German AND English dub.

Spannick, who provided me with the info via Cinehound forum, told me the German dub has totally cool music that isn't in the English version. So it would probably be fun to watch it in that version as well (maybe for the second viewing if you don't understand Deutsch). I'll repost the scene Spannick uploaded which is off the German print and definitely has a cool score. I do remember the music in the old vhs version as being pretty boring. Hmmm, come to think of it I don't even think it HAS any music in this scene. :/

The dvd also has a full extra film, COMMANDO FURY (original English title: Training Camp aka Girls in the Tiger Cage / Aufstand im Frauenlager). The film is listed on various sites as being from HK 1986 but the HKMDB lists it as being from Taiwan 1983. The old German vhs release is heavily censored (check screen grabs of cuts here) but the new dvd is uncut. Unfortunately, the film is owned by IFD in Hong Kong and they didn't even have a proper print! All Joseph Lai could offer was a crappy fullscreen master with massive frame cuts. I'm told that most of their film stock consist of old crappy fullscreen video masters that were used for the old original video releases!

They don't even have 35mm prints in the correct aspect ratio any longer! That is so sad! It's not very often we're lucky enough that a label actually wants to have anything to do with these old cult films and when finally someone does wanna put them out on a proper dvd release ... they can't fucken do it because Joseph Lai didn't bother to keep original prints! Argh!! This is also the reason why the dvd release of KILLER ELEPHANTS is fullscreen (the lbx version was included off a German vhs). The German company decided to skip the fullscreen print and used a fully letterboxed Japanese vhs instead. The tape master is dubbed into English and subtitled in the black bar (I'm told the new dvd has covered up the subs).

The film is available from D&T MAILORDER in Austria. There are links to the handful of different covers here (it's become a trend in Germany to release the same film with multiple cover options). Alternatively, you can order it directly from Björn Niehüser who runs the label. Anyway, I'm off to the Frauenlager (women's prison camp)!! xD

- Insane girl fright scene:

Ahh, come to daddy

Here it is!! The ultra ultra ultra rare UK precert VHS release of Dennis Yu's ultra violent Hong Kong video nasty THE BEASTS. The film is from 1980 (some sources say 1981) and apart from being a legendary horror-rape revenge film it's also an important entry to the original Hong Kong new wave films. Very happy to have finally got hold of this tape. I wonder if it's uncut. o_O
EDIT: Yes, the UK pre-cert is uncut.


In regards to HK new wave films: It's a label used for first time directors who made gritty movies about life in HK around 1980. There's a Wiki article here (unfortunately, the author includes both John Woo and Wong Kar-Wai in that article and that's just silly! They probably did it because often in the west you get the impression those two directors basically CREATED the Hong Kong film industry. Kar-Wei didn't make his debut until 1988 for crying out loud! And the well-dressed gangsters of John Woo's films hardly portray real life lowlife crooks on the street).

Wild Bollywood

I've had this track on a Bollywood film theme CD for years but never thought of looking for a video of it on YouTube. Thanks to an Englishman trapped in Sweden for making that connection for me. This track and its video are so great my eyes are bleeding.

The film is KISMAT from 1968 and it's available on an English subtitled DVD from India. I've just bought a copy from a seller there via eBay (the DVD won't ruin anybody's budget, it was VERY cheap!). If you look up the film make sure you find the right one; Apparently the title was popular in India and I've come across at least two other films by the same title.

In case you're interested the CD is called "The Kings and Queens of Bollywood - Classic Sixties Indian Film Themes".

Asian film facebook fan group interview with JACK J (i.e. the guy who does this here wee blog!)

Yeah, the KWAIDAN KLUB fan group on facebook has started a series of monthly interviews and the first one is with yours truly. Interview and intro by Nom Pauo.


Nom Pauo
With blessings from Sharon and Hope, KK will be doing a monthly member profile. Why? (Entering suck up mode) Because you are all beautiful people that are more than merely a screen name or obnoxious profile photos. You're more than weirdos who finds joy in seeing an innocent Japanese girl turn into a psychopath and make her victim eat puke, you're flesh and blood. You have interest and you have a story to tell. If this attempt at sucking up doesn't hold up...then i will say, we're doing it because we felt like it lmao! Enjoy or endure :)

***Interview with Jack Jenson***
Every now and then the world comes in contact with greatness. Basketball had Michael Jordan. Boxing had Muhammad Ali. Rock had Freddie Mercury. In this age of Facebook interest groups we have Nom Pauo. But that’s not to say the subject of this month’s interview isn’t an awesome person either :) How awesome? How awesome?! How dare u ask you heathens! Well for one the guy’s name is a fuckin alliteration! You wished ur name had poetic device! but thats not all folks. Jack is a connoisseur of obscure cinema - the kind that nobody would know about if it wasn’t for people like him. To top it off, the guy’s a published writer as well as established blogger. And the big cherry on top, he’s a ladies man. Observe as he breaks down the science of relationship :) So without further adieu, the talented the handsome...Mr. Jack Jenson! (oh and take notes cause you'll want to write down a few film suggestions ha!)

Nom Pauo
whats up, jack?

Jack Jensen
Hey there, hello, G'day mate!

Nom Pauo
Lets cut the crap and gettothe meat of the matter. Word on the street is, you're a popular with the ladies! Whats ur secret??

Jack Jensen
Suck it in. Agree with the ladies. It may be hard on your manhood to spend 3 hours with them on shopping but it pays off. And don't talk about the footy or your mates all the time. Oh, and it's okay to show a weak side (just don't overdo it, you don't wanna become "one of the gals" if ya catch my drift).

Nom Pauo
I concur with that last part. Get i tried getting in touch with my feminine side and was told "you're making me uncomfortable" can u believe that?!?

Jack Jensen
Weeell, as I said you don't wanna overdo it. If you start being as "feminine" as one of their gay friends you're overdoing it, LOL (oh, and to quote an entire episode of SEINFELD: "Not that there's anything wrong with being gay, of course")

Nom Pauo
Hmm...maybe i shouldnt have tried it on...
so anyways. Now that the important stuff is out of the way, why dont u tell us a little bit about urself.

Jack Jensen
Whatever you fancy is fine by me, just don't expect me to take part.

Nom Pauo
lmao!! Noted.

Jack Jensen
Hmm, about myself, eh. I'm located in the north of Europe, in Denmark. I spent a few years in the UK and a while in OZ (i.e. Australia) due to a 10 year relationship. I usually say I'm 90% Danish and 10% Aussie. I'm way too old and I always wanna go somewhere else. LOL.
I've always been a collector, comic books, crime novels, records, films.

Jack Jensen
I've written for fanzines the past 20 years, I think I did my first piece in 1993 and published my own zine in 1994, entitled "Banned in Britain". Already back then I had got into Asian films and issue #1 had reviews of Hong Kong films (and one Japanese splatter anime) in it. Nowadays I run a handful of blogs, two of them on obscure Asian films. But they're kinda *different* to what most fans of Asian cinema is into these days. If you belong to a counter-culture by watching Asian films then I'm the counter-culture to the counter-culture. LOL.

Nom Pauo
Ha, "Banned in Britain"! What was that all about?

Jack Jensen
Well, the plan was that it was going to only deal with splatter films. You know, a lot of those films were banned in the UK. The whole "video nasty" scare of the 1980s is well documented now. I lived there at the time and it was difficult to get hold of films like TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE or just about any uncut Dario Argento film. The gore films that DID get a vhs release were usually cut by the censor-board (the BBFC). I had to have tapes sent in from Europe to be able to watch them. You could go to jail if they caught you with a copy of CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST!! I wanted the title of my zine to be a comment on that. When I said that was the plan it's because I kinda failed in doing that. Haha. I began to review other cult films that weren't necessarily straight gore films. Later I also did a zine called "STAY SICK!" which was more about all kinds of various films.

Nom Pauo
Yea i saw that in ur profile description saying ur the Editor-in-Chief. Talk a little about Stay Sick Magazine. What was the inspiration? Where do u hope to go with it?

Jack Jensen
Uhh, if I had ambitions of grandeur then I think I'm probably doing what I do all wrong. LOL. I've been publishing my mag since 1999 and all I have managed to put out is 6 issues! I'm working on a new one though. The inspiration clearly came from the alternative US film magazine "Psychotronic Video" which I began buying in London when #3 came out. I wanted to cover "psychotronic" films (i.e. films that somehow belong to the "fantastic" genres). My old zine "Banned in Britain" (BIB) was entirely in English but when I started doing "STAY SICK!" in 1999 there was only one other fanzines in Denmark and I wanted to give the Scandinavians a proper alternative film zine. So I decided to write SS entirely in Danish. Of course, nowadays everything is online but I still wish to put out more print issues. It's more fun to do print mags.

Nom Pauo
So you were actually one of the earlier e-zine publisher? Thats pretty cool man!

Jack Jensen
No. I never published e-zines, only print ones. I do a few blogs though but that's not what I'd call e-zines.

Nom Pauo
Ah, gotcha. Thats still pretty cool dude even if only 6 issues were published. So lets chat asian cinema.

Jack Jensen
Ok.
I should add I also printed 2 issues of BIB and I've written for a bunch of other zines published by other people. Ever since #0 "Weng's Chop" has wanted me to take part and hopefully I'll get some stuff done for their next ish.

Nom Pauo
Weng Chop? Thats Brian's publication right? Pretty awesome dude! (Shoutout to Brian btw) You mentioned earlier u were exposed to asian cinema early. I remember in one of the discussion in KK u mentioned that The Green Hornet was the first asian film u saw. Was that the film that sparked ur appreciation for asian cinema?

Jack Jensen
I reckon that was the very first "Asian" film I saw yes. Asian because it has Bruce Lee in it but needless to say it was made in the USA and it's in reality a few episodes of the 1960s tv series that were edited into a film. It ran in the European cinema and I watched it in 1979 or '80 with my dad and my cousin. But my real interest in Asian cinema came much later, in around 1989 and it kinda takes us back to the video nasties in the UK again. I bough a couple of issues of a UK fanzine called "In the Flesh" and they would write about the usual stuff, ZOMBIE FLESH EATERS, DAWN OF THE DEAD, RE-ANIMATOR, etc. but in addition to all that they also had a section on Hong Kong cinema. This was around 1990 and it's important to remember that nobody, and I do mean nobody, in the West knew anything about Hong Kong genre cinema. So this was the time when the very first few fans began to discover HK horror and gangster films; the new wave of HK cinema so to speak. The gangster films were soon dubbed "Heroic Bloodshed" films and in those pre-dvd days there were no legal ways to get these films. To be a fan of Asian or HK cinema is easy. You get any film you want from Amazon, eBay or download. But then there was no Amazon, no (illegal) torrents, not even video tapes. I remember the only HK films that were released in the UK back then were THE KILLER and A BETTER TOMORROR and a few fullscreen, English dubbed kung fu films. You simply had to rely on tape-trading. I'm not sure if I have to explain this to, uhh, our younger readers (yes, I feel THAT old now). What you'd do is you'd write up a list of the films you had on vhs and then send it to your friends. Friends that you might have got in touch with thru classifieds in fanzines, and then they'd send you a list and you would make vhs dupes of your films and send them. You'd swap so to speak. My god, I haven't thought about this for so long. Haha.

Jack Jensen
But back to your question; Well, I read those early HK reviews in "In the Flesh" and some of the other small fanzines, and in 1991 I was fortunate to catch HARD-BOILED at the 40th Film Festival in Melbourne and when I was staying there (on and off betweeen 1991 thru to '96) I would go to the Chinese cinemas and catch as many HK films as I could.

Jack Jensen
Later in the '90s there were a couple of cool video labels that popped up in the UK, "Made in Hong Kong" and "Eastern Heroes", that put out heaps of these films so it definitely became easier to get them.

Nom Pauo
Ha surprisingly i just recently saw Hard-Boiled, lol!! I was always more into the fantasy kung fu stuff lol. Being around asian cinema for as long as you have, what's your thought on the current state of Asian Cinema?

Jack Jensen
Well, the funny thing is even though I've been around for so long I'm not even all that good at asking. I discovered the new wave of HK cinema and kinda like Robin Williams in JUMANJI I got stuck in the past! I STILL try and track down every 1980s and 1990s HK film ever made. But I couldn't tell you about the state of new Korean or Thai cinema. Sure, I've watched a pile of those films, and Japanese ones as well but most of them were random viewings. I don't follow the current state of those countries. Ask me about an old Taiwan film about a flying head with its intestines dangling underneath and I can tell you, but new cinema not so much. I'm sure there's heaps of cool new horror films (as most members of the fb page keeps mentioning) but I'm not the right one to ask. On the other hand... sometimes I'm thinking I'm actually the ONLY one who does actually watch old dark HK or Taiwan horror films. LOL. We're back to the "counter-culture to the counter-culture". I love Godzilla films and Japanese horror films like KAÏRO but I'm by no means an expert on those. There's still films being made in Hong Kong but it's nothing like in the "good old days" (the '80s/90s). And I fear the freedom and wanting to do wild films may very well be over due to Mainland censorship.

Nom Pauo
What are some of the recent ones you found yourself impressed with? (Recent as in after 2000 lol)

Jack Jensen
I thought Jonnie To's VENGEANCE was great. A kinda return to A BETTER TOMORROW style films kinda. KAÏRO was great. One of the few films that have scared me for many years. And the early new wave of Japanese horror films like RINGU etc. (end)
Oh, and GONG TAU was great too. My mind is blank. LOL.

Nom Pauo
Lol. Kairo, from many discussions ive had was one of them love/hate film. I rather enjoyed the allegory presented in that film! South Korea has been on a tear the last couple years. Whats ur thought on their outputs?

Jack Jensen
Well, like I mentioned earlier I'm really the wrong person to ask about most Asian cinema. I'm a Hongkongese! (film wise). I've seen a fair share of Japanese monster films as well, and I love the LONE WOLF films but I've only watched a handful of S-Korean films films, one was H which I quite liked. I've watched a ton of films from the Philippines that no-one else regards as "Asian" (but they are). In the 80s and 90s they filmed heaps of lowbudget Vietnam War movies in the Philippines and I quite like those.

Jack Jensen
A lot of fans of Asian cinema follow what's happening currently. I'm more someone who seeks out forgotten stuff that nobody else knows about. The obscure stuff. Old horror films from HK, Taiwan or even Thailand about flying heads and stuff like that. Or gangster films that totally bombed when they came out because they tried to imitate John Woo and failed miserable. I track down those films and enjoy them.

Nom Pauo
Ha, well as a connoisseur of older hong kong flicks recommend a few Jack Jenson's essential. The more rare and obscure the better ha!

Jack Jensen
Haha. Well, one genre that I always try and persuade fans of new Asian horror to track down is a genre I like to call the "Dark and Nasty Hong Kong Horror Films of the 70s & 80s" LOL. These films were wild and gory to say the least. They often dealt with black magic and they were set in the "backyard" of Asia. Some of them were:
Black Magic 1 &2, Black Magic With Buddha, Boxer's Omen, Brutal Sorcery, Centipede Horror, Calamity of Snakes, Curse of Evil, Dead Curse, Devil Fetus, Her Vengeance, Killer Snakes, Lewd Lizard, Seeding of a Ghost, Red Spell Spells Red.
Some of them are on dvd in the US or HK, but unfortunately quite a few were only released on vhs and/or vcd - but I highly recommend that fans of Asian horror track them all down. Even if you have to sit thru fullscreen prints from vhs (I'm sure most of them are on torrent sites or you can get a dvdr from a friend).

Nom Pauo
Niiiice!! (Sam jot down list of title later)
Lets go with a more cliche question. Whats ur favorite asian movie of all time and why?

Jack Jensen
Now that's a touch one! (and an unfair request, I mean how do you even start to pick just ONE!!). It's a close call between THE KILLER, PEKING OPERA BLUES, ROUGE, A CHINESE GHOST STORY, and A BETTER TOMORROW. Well, right now I think I would have to go with A BETTER TOMORROW. It's got a ton of cool John Woo style gun violence (always good!) but in addition to that it's also got a good story about friendship, honour, loyalty, and doing the right thing for a friend when it's needed. And I love the sentimentality of the film. It's emotional in a way you never see in films from the West.
If you had asked me tomorrow I might have said CHICKEN AND DUCK TAL K! Haha. I love Ricky Hui and that's probably the funniest film I can think of.

Jack Jensen
(alright, either you have ONE more question and that's it - or we continue later) I need to get going. sorry.

Nom Pauo
Lol!! definitely an unfair question but unfair is my grandma's maiden name. "A Better Tomorrow" is classic Woo so i dont think anybody will argue that pick, lol!!
Well we're approaching the end of the interview and I’d like for you to list your 5 favorite Asian flick of all time.

Jack Jenson
THE KILLER
A CHINESE GHOST STORY
A PEKING OPERA BLUES
BLACK MAGIC II
LADY TERMINATOR

*note*
Thank you Jack for this awesome interview! And if you havent yet, check out his blog yet:

http://backyard-asia.blogspot.dk/

Lots of awesome interesting stuff!


--------------------------------------------------------

PS: and no worries about the "Jack Jenson" spelling, I quite like it actually, it almost sounds like Jack Jetson. Haha
/Jack

In a CATEGORY of its own

Can someone please explain this? The VCD for the HK film THE LAST DUEL (Tommy Fan, 1989) has not one but two ratings on the cover! The film is apparently rated both CATEGORY II and CATEGORY III. How is that possible. Wouldn't the CAT III rating render the CAT II rating void? In accordance with standard procedure the rating notification slip from the HK rating board is printed on the back of the VCD but like with the two ratings there are also two rating slips. Unfortunately, they've been squeezed down to a size too small to read.

I checked the film on the HKMDB and they list it with both ratings as well. One explanation could have been that the different ratings were for different territories - but seeing as the HK Category rating is strictly for Hong Kong I don't see how that would be possible.

EDIT: check the comments section where an anon reader explains the reason behind the double rating.

 

The original film that Joseph Lai CANNIBALISED for his INFERNO THUNDERBOLT

Thanks to Jesus Manuel of the way cool blog Golden Ninja Warrior Chronicles I learnt which film was the source film that Joseph Lai and his IFD label in Hong Kong used for their cut & paste film INFERNO THUNDERBOLT. The film is the Taiwanese THE ANGER and after having had it on eBay auto search for quite a while I finally struck gold a few days ago when the Ocean Shores VCD release of the film popped up. And tonight the auction ended with only one winner! LOL (altho the winning bid makes me feel like I pulled the short straw at the same time! Argh!). Check Jesus Manuel's post about the film here and see screen grabs.

No, that's not me but JESUS MANUEL of GOLDEN NINJA WARRIOR CHRONICLES blog!