Yuen Woo-Ping

Exclusive Interview with TRUE LEGEND Director Yuen Woo-Ping

by Bill Graham    Posted: October 6th, 2010 at 10:50 am

Even if you don’t recognize the name, if you are a fan of kung fu films, you have probably seen a number of Yuen Woo-Ping’s influential fight choreography. His resume includes recent hits like The Matrix trilogy, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, both Kill Bill films, and a string of other praised martial arts films. Yuen has worked with nearly every major kung fu star, including Jet Li (Fearless and The Forbidden Kingdom), Jackie Chan (Drunken Master), Donnie Yen (Iron Monkey), and a number of others. When Fantastic Fest announced that Yuen would be receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award in addition to premiering Yuen’s upcoming True Legend (my review here), I jumped at the opportunity to interview the legend. Hit the jump to see my chat with Yuen as we discuss who he wants to work with in the future, his influences in directing, how he creates the fight choreography, and why the Drunken Fist fighting style keeps coming back.

Fantastic Fest 2010: TRUE LEGEND Review

by Bill Graham    Posted: October 5th, 2010 at 6:30 pm

Yuen Woo-Ping knows how to choreograph a fight, but the challenges of directing a compelling movie aren’t quite as easy to overcome. While he has a long history of telling the Drunken Fist story, this is the first dramatic telling of the narrative and the results are sadly mixed. True Legend is a wild romp through the long and winding road of Beggar So that feels oddly pieced together despite the rousing final act. The film has its ups and downs, but the end result is a bit of a mess that leaves one feeling that it could have been so much more. Hit the jump for the full review.

First Images and Synopses from 2010′s Biggest Films Including THE AMERICAN, SOMEWHERE, GREENBERG, and EAGLE OF THE NINTH

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: November 10th, 2009 at 10:54 pm

Steve went to the American Film Market (AFM) today.  AFM is where film buyers go to pick up some of the biggest movies that are in development or already completed.  The film sellers use promo art and synopses to entice buyers.  It also enticed Steve to land some the first images and full synopsis for some of the biggest upcoming films of 2010.  We’ve got the goods for The American starring George Clooney, Eagle of the Ninth starring Channing Tatum, Greenberg starring Ben Stiller, and Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere starring Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning, and much more.

Looking at the images and reading the synopsis should really get you excited for these films so hit the jump and check it all out.

LEGEND OF DRUNKEN MASTER, IRON MONKEY, HERO and ZATOICHI Blu-ray Reviews

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: September 19th, 2009 at 5:29 pm

For the film fanatic, there was an evolution. In the late 80′s and early 90′s, Hong Kong cinema came to a prominence because of the great works of filmmakers like John Woo and actors like Jackie Chan. This was the second boom of the industry after Bruce Lee invigorated youths in the 70′s, but died all too young.  And from that there was also a loyal following for the Shaw Brothers from some, and an interest in Chan – among others – but you had to live near a Chinatown or have a kick ass video store to find this stuff. Not everyone was so lucky. The crossover appeal was there, but mostly for film nerds willing to watch some shitty ass copies of great films. As time progressed Asain cinema of all stripes made a huge dent in nerd culture, with Japan and Korea following, as filmmakers like Takashi Miike, Takeshi Kitano, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, and Chan Wook-Park became well known. My reviews of Legend of Drunken Master, Iron Monkey, Hero and Zatoichi after the jump.

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