Educate me in Asian cinema please

cosgrove80 · 18-07-2004 9:40pm #1

I had never really seen much of Asian cinema. I'd seen some Jackie Chan films (Druken Master, Police story etc) but nothing outside the "mainstream".

I've seen a fair bit of Anime, all the usual stuff and after buying Princess Mononoke & Spirited Away I'm a big Miyazaki fan (that 11 title boxset that's coming out looks very tempting).

Then recently I have seen Hero (at the Galway Film Fleadh) and Oldboy. I am able to get Zatoichi and Sympathy for Mr Vengeance too.

I thought Oldboy was fantastic and I was just wondering if anyone could suggest more titles that I should see.

I saw Audition on www.dddhouse.com for €3 as well as Ichi the Killer which I may get.

I don't live in Dublin to check out Lazer so I'll probably buy most stuff online.

I'd really appreciate a list of "essential viewing" or a link to a site with something similar.

Sorry for the long winded post.

elvis2002 · 18-07-2004 9:52pm

whats Lazer? Im not a dub either.....

www.kfccinema.com is a website I always use to see what films Im going to buy. There are alot more asian movies than just martial arts flicks..

You've seen Audtion and Ichi, check out some of miikes other stuff, I quite like the Dead Or Alive Series, and Visitor q is a bit weird..

Hero is an unbelievable piece of movie making but its set to be surpassed by "The House of Flying Daggers".

cosgrove80 · 18-07-2004 10:42pm

Haven't watched Audition or Ichi. I just saw them on the website.

Lazer is a DVD/Video rental store that stock a lot of foreign films afaik. I've never actually been in

Thanks for the link.

Karl Hungus · 19-07-2004 6:39pm

*Rubs hands with glee*

Where shall I begin!?

First of all, Akira Kurosawa.
I would recommend Throne Of Blood, The Seven Samurai, and a lot of people would also recommend Yojimbo, but I kinda prefered Sanjuro.

Another favorite film-maker of mine is Takeshi Kitano, he wrote/directed/acted in/edited the aforementioned Zatoichi, which is certainly a fantastic film. I'd say check out Hana-Bi, which in my humble opinion is his best, but definetly check out Dolls and Sonatine.

If the whole action epic tickles your fancy, you can also try Musa, or "The Warrior" as it's known as here. It's quite a thrilling peice of film altogether.

Or if you like the good old Kung Fu action with a twist of humour, you simply cannot beat Iron Monkey.

Audition is a fantastic film, but it's a very slow burning yarn, so make sure you've patience before watching it. On the subjecty of Takashi Miike, Happiness Of The Katakuris, Rainy Dog and of course, Ichi The Killer.

If you want some 'Switch your brain off' stlye Action/Horror with a comic twist, then I seriously suggest Versus. Awesome film altogether.

And lastly, I really recommend Sword Of Doom. Seems to be nearly unheard of, but it's an awesome Samurai film altogether, and has one hell of a preformance from Tatsuya Nakadai. I'll give you due warning that the film just ends very abruptly with no realy conclusion, but apart from that it's absolute cinematic perfection.

cosgrove80 · 20-07-2004 2:57am

Thanks for the suggestions. Appreciate all the effort with the IMDB links too. I'll check some of them out if I can find them.

A friend actually bout Versus last week, so I must check that out.

I've seen Iron Monkey and I've also seen Close Encounters of the Spooky Kind 2 as well which was strange but quite enjoyable.

Thanks again

monkeyfudge · 20-07-2004 12:35pm

Have you seen Mr. Vampire? That's pretty much my favourite martial arts film... it's very funny...

The Japanese horror films are very good too...

There's all the Ring films (1,2,0, but not Rasen.. it's a bit cack) and Dark Water by the same director.

Kairo is another really good japanese horror film that is very unsettling.

St. John's Wort is good if you like survial horror video games, as it's based on an old SNES one.

The Tetsuo films are pretty interesting as well.

Karl Hungus · 20-07-2004 6:13pm

Originally posted by cosgrove80
Thanks for the suggestions. Appreciate all the effort with the IMDB links too. I'll check some of them out if I can find them.

You're welcom! I can recommend a hell of a lot more to you aswell in future, but I think that'd be more than enough for ya now!

iasc · 20-07-2004 10:43pm

Other films which you should see are Battle Royale, Returner, Hard-Boiled and INfernal Affairs

fizzynicenice · 21-07-2004 12:25am

if you find yourself liking Takashi Miike I would recommend Ley Lines, its the quintessential Mikke, thematicly speaking

hughobrien · 21-07-2004 12:47pm

You should try and check out the originals of the horror films that are being remade by the US. Things like the Ring trilogy and Ju-Oh. Also, there's a Korean film called Phone that's about to be released, that's meant to be great.

And try and check out some of John Woo's stuff from before he went to hollywood. Hardboiled and The Killer are my particular favourites.

davros · 23-07-2004 9:15am

It would be a good idea to watch Wong Kar-Wai's In the Mood for Love because the sequel, 2046, will be released late this year (probably). I'm guessing it will get a slightly wider play than just the usual arthouse cinemas in Ireland. It was shown in a rough cut at Cannes earlier this year.

Two of the very finest Hong Kong actors, Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung, star in both.

And then watch the same director's Chungking Express. It's two stories in one. The second story, IMHO, is cinematic perfection. It's Tony Leung again, along with Faye Wong, Hong Kong's best singer (again IMHO).