JUNE 2007

This month your questions will be answered by : Phil "The Returner" Mills

Q.  Just writing to thank you again for the advertising of Hard Boiled down London. The line to get in was huge, it went right round the block (people came prepared with seats) and was a full house. Edgar Wright introduced it people went nuts before during and after the movie. The reaction gave me a real buzz and showed me that people still want to watch great Asian action cinema. The hours wait to get in was well worth it. 

This morning I got a nice surprise, the posty gave me my pre-ordered Dragon Fist. I played it straight away and loved it. When I had the Eastern Heroes 4:3 dubbed version I thought it was good but the dubbing and screen format ruined it for me. This version shows off some stunning backgrounds, you see every punch and block and the language/subtitles added to the dark drama of the film. Excellent film. Any chance you would do a small article on how important seeing the original version in its original format and in its original language with proper subtitles is? It really added a new level of enjoyment for me. I think you guys had the same reaction to Avenging Eagle. Sorry for waffling I'm still buzzing from the Fuzztival. Any chance you could get the ball rolling on a screening of 5 Fingers Of Death/King Boxer, its 35 years old and deserves an anniversary. I'll shut up now. Thankyou once again and all the very best - Lee

A.  Nice to hear from you again Lee and it sounds like the screening was well worth the wait (as usual, I was lazy and didn't attend myself). For everyone else out there, this was the man who actually tipped us off about the Hot Fuzztival so anyone that attended because of our advertising should start sending him your thank you letters now!

I'm not so sure about an article on the significance of the remastered DVDs.  Most fans know full well just how much it means to have these films restored to their former glory and the companies that put in the effort are more concerned about the takings than receiving praise from sites like us.  Still, I'll throw it into the DDUK big top hat of ideas and you never know, someone may fish it out and give it a shot at some stage.

Q.  I would like to know if THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY III/THE CRAZY SAFARI is on DVD and where I might find it. Please contact me if you can help me. - Richard

A.  An interesting question and probably one quite a few people would like answered considering it featured the late great Lam Ching Ying.  From what I can see, it was available on an American DVD for a limited time but is now out of it print. It is still listed on Amazon.com so you might want to keep an eye on their marketplace as well as Ebay for second hand copies.

Q.  I think this website is great. I dig your reviews. And the fact that you give Sammo the praise he so rightly deserves. But why no SPL review? Just wondering - Ray

A.  Thanks Ray, always good to hear from a fellow Sammo fan.  A review of 'SPL' is one of (many) films that has been on our "to review" list for a while but no one seems to have turned anything in yet. I'll try and give it another watch and scratch something together soon because I think it was an important comeback vehicle for the big man and a strong action flick.

Q.  Would you happen to have a list of the back titles released by the Shaw's. Say from Jan - June?? I want to go back and buy some titles that I have missed but am not sure what has released. - Greg

A.  Wow that's a big ask and normally something I wouldn't bother to answer (after all, Google is your friend people!) but I'm in a guilty mood because we're going on a break so I'm going to give it a shot for you. However, if you're just a Celestial plant looking for free advertising then that cheque had better be in the mail bub!

Q.  I just wanted to tell you how much your site is appreciated. I can always count on the latest news from your site whereas other do sporadic updates. Thanks again from all us Asian movie lovers. - Rick

A.  Aww I'm blushing here, I really am (how much did we agree on for that comment again mum?). Seriously though, it is great that the news section is appreciated because it is something that we have focused on this year and tried to update regularly. Maybe next year we'll actually pull our fingers out of our arses and make the new reviews more frequent as well.

Q.  A couple of years ago I saw a an Asian action movie that I can't remember the title of. I think it's a Hong Kong production made around 98-2003. The 2 things a remember are: 

1. A shoot out scene on a city street with two houses on opposite sites but close with guys hanging on safety lines swinging on the walls and between the houses shooting. It's a pretty long scene and is really good.

2  Near the end it's a shoot out on an airport. I also remember that the female lead was pregnant and in the shoot out on the airport. I have forgotten the plot but there is two guys who are fighting that is the main thing. I'm not sure but I think that the male lead hero works for a bodyguard company or something.  

Sorry for being so vague - Gustav

A.  I think Andrew has already emailed you the answer but just in case you misplaced his email we believe you are referring to 'Time And Tide'.

Previous Mailbags: March 07 || April 07 || May 07

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