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  • #46
    I'll step up, but I'm not rating them or numbering them because my tastes change about every 20 minutes or so.

    Off the top of my head though, these are good ones to start with (suggestions limited to R1 releases that are easy to get):

    36th Chamber Of Shaolin
    One Armed Swordsman
    5 Deadly Venoms
    Return Of The 5 Deadly Venoms
    Come Drink With Me
    Heroes Two
    The Master
    Bastard Swordsman
    5 Element Ninjas

    Consider these ones gateway drugs.

    There's way more to the Shaw catalogue than just kung fu though, like Mike says. I love their horror films and they made some great sexploitation pictures and crime films too.

    You should also see Vengeance, but it's never been released on DVD in R1 and the R3 is out of print. You can find it though if you look for it.
    Rock! Shock! Pop!

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    • #47
      Thanks Ian! :)

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      • #48
        Originally posted by Ian Jane View Post
        You should also see Vengeance, but it's never been released on DVD in R1 and the R3 is out of print. You can find it though if you look for it.
        Ian likes rubbing this one in on me, as he knows it was one that I really wanted to see -- but missed out getting it when it was available. And he knows I don't do bootlegs. :p

        But as it's coming out on Blu-ray in Hong Kong...I just have be patient and wait that little bit longer for a second (maybe third, really) chance at it. ;)

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        • #49
          Mike, I don't even have an original of it. I might have a DVD-R of the OOP R2 disc somewhere, I'm not sure. I've only seen it once, and that was projected from a 35mm print (ok, so I'm rubbing your noise in that one a bit, I'll admit) in Portland at a Shaw Bros. retrospective a friend of mine co-sponsored. I'll buy the BD in a heartbeat once it comes out.

          And John, that's more or less just a greatest hits list. I tried to limit the choices to stuff you could rent or netflix or find easily. They're all great films though.
          Rock! Shock! Pop!

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          • #50
            I was just having a lend, Ian -- you know that! ;)

            Anyway, moving right along, here's some random Shaw Brothers fun for the day: when squibs go wrong (from the pretty awful Call to Arms)!







            And that was just from a pair of swords to the guts! Imagine what it would have been like if it was a serious injury!

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            • #51
              That's fucking awesome. haha. I need to see that.
              Rock! Shock! Pop!

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              • #52
                Getting re-released 6/28 in an 'enhanced edition?'

                Rock! Shock! Pop!

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                • #53
                  ATTN: MIKE T!!!!!!!

                  Please recommend me a couple of your favorite easily-obtainable (from DDDHouse if not on R 01) 60's teen musicals, my interest is piqued!!

                  Thanks

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                  • #54
                    Sixties teen-musicals? Hmmm...a man after my own heart! These are the ones I enjoyed (enjoyed most with a *)...

                    Blue Skies (1967) -- Cheng Pei Pei leads this romantic musical about an up & coming stage star; ever reliable Peter Chen Ho is the romantic lead. Great sets & costumes!
                    *Guess Who Killed My Twelve Lovers? (1969) -- shot on one of the nearby islands, follows a "murder mystery" formula until the silly twist right at the end. Lots of musical numbers!
                    King Drummer (1967) -- 60s hearthtrob Ling Yun is the King Drummer of the title; never finished it all, due to the usual interuptions but what I saw very good in a swinging 60s way.
                    *The Millionaire Chase (1968) -- follows three girls across Asia trying to net themselves millionaire husbands. Very picturesque; you get a great look at a lot of Asia ala-1968
                    The Singing Escort (1969) -- Lin Chong is no great shakes as the lead (and his singing voice was off, one of the few SB musical stars who dubbed himself), but it has Betty Ting Pei!
                    Song of Tomorrow (1967) -- not a teen musical, but a very good anti-drug (heroin) romance/melodrama featuring lots of cabaret blues numbers by Ivy Ling Po
                    *Spring Blossoms (1967) -- Yang Fang and Chin Feng spend most of their time chasing skirt in this one, but actually very good.
                    *We Love Millionaires (1971) -- very similar to The Millionaire Chase, but with a madcap finale akin to Sellers' The Party (I think, might be confusing the two Millionaires)
                    Whose Baby is in the Classroom? (1969) -- funny romantic comedy with Li Ching as a schoolgirl and Peter Chen Ho as her teacher. Filmed in Japan.
                    *The Yellow Muffler (1971) -- features Betty Ting Pei; about three sisters working the cabaret circuit and their romantic exploits. Really liked this one!
                    Young Lovers (1969) -- largely filmed in snowy Japan, aggressively light and fluffy. Features Jenny Hu and "teen movie" stalwart Yang Fang.

                    That's what I've watched of the ones I've got (I'm sure there's others, but only so many hours in my life) and a quick check of DDDHouse shows that the majority are still listed as available. :)
                    Another more comprehensive spot for vintage Shaw musical reviews, including the teen/youth-oriented ones is at brns.com (Brian's got lots of indepth pieces therein)

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                    • #55
                      Btw, the music is all that sort-of jazz-pop fusion that was popular during the era; I'm sure I'll stand corrected if it's something different. Very jazz based, anyways... ;)

                      NB: I do take requests for my blog (apart from the recent "fuck offs"), so I'll see if I can crank out a review of Guess Who Killed My Twelve Lovers? over the weekend. Ian J's still waiting on the School on Fire review...but then, I'm still waiting on my order with it in it to arrive. Seven weeks and counting now...
                      Last edited by Mike T; 04-21-2011, 12:47 PM.

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                      • #56
                        Originally posted by Ian Jane View Post
                        Getting re-released 6/28 in an 'enhanced edition?'
                        Media Blasters "enhanced editions" seem to comprise of the film with its English dub as an extra, proper progressive transfers, and a photo/trailer gallery. With the late Lynn Haynes out of the picture, commentaries and other unique extras seemed to fall by the wayside. Thanks for reminding me about this film, btw! I have the IVL R3 DVD and have never watched it!

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                        • #57
                          Originally posted by Mike T View Post
                          Sixties teen-musicals? Hmmm...a man after my own heart! These are the ones I enjoyed (enjoyed most with a *)...

                          Blue Skies (1967) -- Cheng Pei Pei leads this romantic musical about an up & coming stage star; ever reliable Peter Chen Ho is the romantic lead. Great sets & costumes!
                          *Guess Who Killed My Twelve Lovers? (1969) -- shot on one of the nearby islands, follows a "murder mystery" formula until the silly twist right at the end. Lots of musical numbers!
                          King Drummer (1967) -- 60s hearthtrob Ling Yun is the King Drummer of the title; never finished it all, due to the usual interuptions but what I saw very good in a swinging 60s way.
                          *The Millionaire Chase (1968) -- follows three girls across Asia trying to net themselves millionaire husbands. Very picturesque; you get a great look at a lot of Asia ala-1968
                          The Singing Escort (1969) -- Lin Chong is no great shakes as the lead (and his singing voice was off, one of the few SB musical stars who dubbed himself), but it has Betty Ting Pei!
                          Song of Tomorrow (1967) -- not a teen musical, but a very good anti-drug (heroin) romance/melodrama featuring lots of cabaret blues numbers by Ivy Ling Po
                          *Spring Blossoms (1967) -- Yang Fang and Chin Feng spend most of their time chasing skirt in this one, but actually very good.
                          *We Love Millionaires (1971) -- very similar to The Millionaire Chase, but with a madcap finale akin to Sellers' The Party (I think, might be confusing the two Millionaires)
                          Whose Baby is in the Classroom? (1969) -- funny romantic comedy with Li Ching as a schoolgirl and Peter Chen Ho as her teacher. Filmed in Japan.
                          *The Yellow Muffler (1971) -- features Betty Ting Pei; about three sisters working the cabaret circuit and their romantic exploits. Really liked this one!
                          Young Lovers (1969) -- largely filmed in snowy Japan, aggressively light and fluffy. Features Jenny Hu and "teen movie" stalwart Yang Fang.

                          That's what I've watched of the ones I've got (I'm sure there's others, but only so many hours in my life) and a quick check of DDDHouse shows that the majority are still listed as available. :)
                          Another more comprehensive spot for vintage Shaw musical reviews, including the teen/youth-oriented ones is at brns.com (Brian's got lots of indepth pieces therein)
                          Awesome, Mike! Thanks for the tips, I love teen/young adult comedies/musicals from this era and can only imagine that Shaw Bros. examples would be a blast!

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                          • #58
                            Just watched clips from THE SINGING ESCORT and THE YELLOW MUFFLER on YouTube, great stuff!

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                            • #59
                              Originally posted by Ian Miller View Post
                              Just watched clips from THE SINGING ESCORT and THE YELLOW MUFFLER on YouTube, great stuff!
                              If you liked them there's a very good chance you'll love the rest of the films I mentioned. :)

                              Comment


                              • #60
                                @ Ian M: Btw, if you ever want to see a GREAT Shaw Brothers youth drama-cum-tragic romance try and find Chang Cheh's Dead End. Film was Ti Lung's big screen debut in a leading role and the whole thing is simply great filmmaking. Per the usual Chang idiom, female characters (in particular Li Ching's romantic lead opposite Ti) are painted minimally and not much more than "flower vase"* roles but otherwise it's really good look at late sixties issues, trends, fashion and lifestyles of the young and foolish. Ti's character idolises James Dean (the whole "life fast, die young and leave a good looking corpse" thing plays in heavily here) and is sooooo cool that he smokes two cigarettes at once all the time ("double the pleasure"). Though it's OOP in HK, if you can find it I'd say it's a must see! :thomason:

                                * my wife recently explained the whole "flower vase" thing! Though it's been applied to HK filmmaking by Western writers for years, I never knew its real meaning against what I'd read. Apparently it's a common Chinese phrase used to describe the typical airhead female (pretty outside, empty inside), kinda like Clueless' "Monet" remark...

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