In this episode we tackle the strange and hilarious adventures of Orlando, the man who was until he wasn’t, and the strange gender explorations of the last 400 years of English rule. Also, a ton of great questions. leading to one of our beefier episodes!
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Listener Shoumik sent in a list of Hong Kong movies that they recommend people check out! We haven’t vetted these, but hey, if you’re looking for suggestions this seems like a solid place to start. Thanks for the list!
Kung Fu – Martial arts movies that are (broadly) set in the real world
Knockabout (1979) – Before he became a breakout superstar, Jackie Chan was part of a trio with two other great martial arts performers, Yuen Baio and Sammo Hung. This movie is a showcase for Baio’s particular elegance
Wheels on Meals (1984) – The trio worked together on several movies and this is one of my favorites because the back half is kinda Lupin III-ish
Eight Diagram Pole Fighter (1984) – Gives you a great appreciation for how many stunts can be done with long sticks
Once Upon a Time in China (1991) – A big historical epic, but with Jet Li in cool fights
Wuxia – Martial arts movies with fantasy elements, often set in historic China
Come Drink with Me (1966) – Director King Hu’s breakout hit has everything you could want from a movie, basically
Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan (1972) – What if a wuxia was also a ‘90s erotic thriller? Strange and nasty, but very good
Green Snake (1993) – A classic Chinese fable but retold by the hugely influential Tsui Hark, who loves Looney Tunes humor and slightly subversive political themes
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (2000) – Arguably the most famous martial arts movie ever is a big po-faced prestige production, but it’s also a love letter to the genre and surprisingly good
Goodbye Dragon Inn (2003) – An art house movie only vaguely about watching martial arts movies, but it’s great!
Crime – there are many good crime movies from Hong Kong, here are some of them
My Heart Is That Eternal Rose (1989) – A very pretty detour by Patrick Tam, whose entire career was basically about making strange riffs on well-known genres
Fallen Angels (1995) – A subplot of Wong Kar-Wai’s breakout international hit Chungking Express got turned into this darker, but just as kinetic little off-shoot
Infernal Affairs (2002) – The meat and potatoes of a Hong Kong crime movie - good action with a Buddhist theme that I’m not well read enough to actually unpack
Johnnie To and Milkyway – The prolific director has (by my count) the most straight bangers of any filmmaker since the turn of the century
The Mission (1999) – To’s stock in trade – a simple crime movie, but with a better understanding of blocking and geometry than most action scenes in a couple of decades
Fat Choi Spirit (2002) – A mahjong sports movie with super dramatic crane shots
Exiled (2006) – All the assassins sent to kill each other end up having dinner, which is the essential vibe of all good bro movies
Accident (2009) – An assassin who makes his hits look like accidents begins to suspect he’s the next target
Romancing in Thin Air (2012) – One of To’s (several) great romance movies
Miscellaneous
The Love Eterne (1963) – Alongside its martial arts flicks, Shaw Brothers was also very famous for its Huangmei Opera musicals. This is one of the best known
20 30 40 (2004) – What a Hong Kong ‘indie’ movie looks like, directed by Sylvia Chang
A Simple Life (2011) – A family drama about the position of a live-in maid by director Ann Hui
Chinese Odyssey 2002 (2002) – Hong Kong comedy is kinda hard to translate because it’s so pun-based, but this Prince and the Pauper-like story about cross-dressing romance comes across pretty well
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Point Break
