#430: Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

Director: John Carpenter

Cast: Kurt Russell, Dennis Dun, Kim Cattrall, Carter Wong & James Hong

A gamble held in San Francisco's Chinatown doesn't end well for Wang, who owes trucker Jack Burton over $2000. He doesn't have the money on him, but a girl he met and is in love with does. The girl is coming to California today from China - she's the only Chinese girl with green eyes he's ever met. Jack drives Wang to meet her at the airport. At the terminal, a woman catches his eye. Before you know it, some ninja-style gangsters are attacking Jack, kidnapping Wang's love. On the chase, Jack and Wang are caught in a street fight between two Chinese gangs -- whose fight gets interrupted by sorcerers using "Chinese Black Magic". The adventure that ensues just gets crazier and crazier, involving ninjas, myths and monsters, never failing to surprise you.

This movie is AWESOME. From what I gather, people in our generation are pretty much oblivious to this film aside from its title. And there's absolutely no reason why this should be so. It's The Goonies for adults! I kept thinking to myself, I usually go for Kung Fu movies when I'm home sick - but this would be the absolute perfect flick for a day in. It has everything, from kung fu to comedy to everything else in between.

John Carpenter has directed two films that are still widely known, those being this and Halloween. What I've already written about Halloween that made the film so remarkable is that he created an entirely new style of thriller. What makes Big Trouble so genius is how ahead of its time it was - despite how dated it looks. The blend of genres is a very early example of its kind, later evolving into the likes of the Rush Hour films. Also, the decision to have Jack as the "hero" is a jab at stereotypical casting, having the strong and brash male taking the center stage. However, Jack is completely out of his element, while his "sidekick" Wang has everything needed for an action film hero, though he constantly gets shoved to the side.

Despite its sheer awesomeness, the movie didn't hit it big when it reached theaters. It only grossed $11.1m, less than half of the film's budget of $25m. The critics also didn't seem to quite understand the satire in the film, complaining that there was no character development. The negative feedback ended up turning Carpenter off of the Hollywood scene, continuing his career exclusively in independent films. However, since its sad start, the film has become a cult classic, reaching up to 84% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The plot is absolutely absurd, but it really just doesn't matter when you're having as much fun as you certainly will when you're watching this. If this post doesn't convince you to go see this, keep in mind that this is the first film I bought online after watching it for the blog. It was just that good. If you want to make a movie party of it with me, just let me know - I will certainly be willing!

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• The Chinese characters in the main title translate to "Evil Spirits Make a Big Scene in Little Spiritual State".
• According to John Carpenter and Kurt Russell in the DVD Commentary, the story was originally written as a western but Carpenter decided to set it during modern times. They even mention that instead of Jack Burton's truck being stolen, it was originally his horse.
• The Mortal Kombat characters Shang Tsung and Raiden were inspired by the characters of David Lo Pan and the 'Storm' called Lightning, respectively.
• The rivalry between the Chang Sing and Wing Kong Tongs is analogous to the famous rivalry between the Hip Sing and On Leong Tongs (even the names rhyme) in early 20th century New York.

#474: Enter the Dragon (1973)

Director: Robert Clouse

Cast: Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Jim Kelly & Kien Shih

Lee, a martial arts master, is spying on a crime lord on an island near Hong Kong in this amazingly funkified classic of kung fu films. He works under cover, using an invitation to a martial arts tournament to grant him access to the island. Also on the island is Roper, an American who is in a large amount of debt and hoping to win his way to financial freedom, and Williams, an African-American with plenty of style in both his fighting style and his hair-do.

This movie is so much friggin' fun. The action scenes are a bit outdated, but extremely entertaining. On top of the cool moves, courtesy of Bruce Lee, we also get all sorts of sound effects that have been long lost in the annals of film history. What ever happened to "hiiiiyah!", "hwaCHIH!" and "oooaaaooooo"? Well, they're all to be found here, in Lee's last film before his premature death.

You also can't go wrong with a soundtrack by Lalo Schifrin. 'Nuff said.

This film is such an influence on film, it's impossible to list them all. First, of course, is the kung fu genre in general. This has been called the grandfather of the genre, and it's easy to see why. It's also gotten hints of old-school James Bond in it, with all the foxy ladies lined up at the fighters' beds every night. I also wouldn't be surprised if Tarantino's choice of Thurman's iconic yellow body suit in Kill Bill Vol. I is paying homage to many of the scenes in Enter the Dragon.

As for the negatives, the sound is shoddy. It's obvious that some of the actors didn't even speak English and were dubbed. But even aside from that, it's not hard to realize that in fact all the actors, whether English-speaking or not, were dubbed. It's just never a good idea. I also get a bit irritated by Bruce Lee's now-outdated fighting noises (listed above), though the kung fu universe would be at a loss without it. But honestly, he sounds like a mix between a monkey and an angry chicken.

If you're looking for funk fu, this is it.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• Bruce Lee died in Hong Kong three weeks before the film's premiere in 1973.
• In their one scene together, Lee actually struck Jackie Chan in the face with one of the fighting sticks he used. He immediately apologized and insisted that Chan would work on all of his movies after that, but he died before he could keep the promise.
• Kien Shih, who played Han, did not speak English, he just simply mouthed the lines as best as he could. Chinese-American actor Keye Luke overdubbed his dialogue.
• Over 8,000 mirrors were used to setup the "Hall of Mirrors" where the climax duel takes place.
• One of only two movies Bruce Lee did in which he speaks with his natural voice in the States. The other isMarlowe (1969).
• The movie was originally filmed without sound. All of the dialogue and effects were dubbed in later during post-production.

#497: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

Director: Ang Lee

Cast: Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Ziyi Zhang

It's really too bad this film has been parodied so often, because it really is a great film. I guess that's just what happens to the good ones, though.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon tells the story of warriors Li Mu Bai and Shu Lien. Known to be the bravest and strongest warriors in China, they still aren't courageous enough to express their feelings for each other. When Li Mu Bai's famed 'Green Destiny' sword goes missing, Shu Lien finds herself protecting the young Jen from the authorities - and from herself.

Although a simple story, Ang Lee found ways to make this film into a masterpiece. Each aspect of the film works in unison with the next. As Shu Lien notices, the action sequences are motioned in a similar style as Jen's fluid strokes of calligraphy. Not only is the choreography flawless, but the camerawork seems to have been just as much a part of the choreography as the fighting. And of course, Tan Dun's score is quite an achievement - especially considering he had only two weeks to write and record it.

The only problem with the film is the length. A full two hours, you definitely need to be in the right state of mind to watch this straight through with undivided attention. I also would love to learn Mandarin to understand the script. A friend told me once that the entire script was in an old Mandarin dialect - almost Shakespearean. It would certainly be an improvement to some of the English subtitles provided.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• "Crouching tiger hidden dragon" is a quote from Chinese mythology. It refers to hiding your strength from others; advice which is followed too well by the characters in the film.
• In Chinese, Lo's name is "Little Tiger", and Jen's name is "Gorgeous Dragon".
• The film's action choreographer, Woo-ping Yuen, was also responsible for the fighting sequences in The Matrix (1999) and its progeny.
• The four main actors all spoke Mandarin, but with different accents. Yun-Fat Chow had a Cantonese accent, Michelle Yeoh had a Malaysian/English accent, Ziyi Zhang had a Beijing accent, and Chen Chang had a Taiwanese accent. Because of the difficulty some Chinese-speaking markets had with the voices, some markets actually had a dubbed version (into standard Mandarin) of the soundtrack.
• The stamped documents shown by Shu Lien to the guards at the city-gate before she enters Beijing shows the date "In the of 43rd year of the reign of (Emperor) Qianlong, the sixth month, the eighth day", which is the year A.D. 1778, somewhere in June or July.