ACF 1255: FLYING GUILLOTINE 1 and 2 coming at you on Tuesday

Arc Entertainment & Dragon Dynasty are releasing two more classic Shaw Brothers films that represent the absolute cream of the crop of Kung Fu cinema. FLYING GUILLOTINE and FLYING GUILLOTINE II hit retail stores this coming Tuesday, November 29th and will be available at Wal Mart, on Amazon and from other retailers. Both films have been beautifully re-mastered and include both Chinese and English audio tracks. 

These are the last two of 10 Shaw Brothers classics released by Arc/Dragon Dynasty this year, which also included AVENGING EAGLE, BLOOD BROTHERS, EXECUTIONERS FROM SHAOLIN, FIVE SHAOLIN MASTERS, GOLDEN SWALLOW, KILLER CLAN, MAD MONKEY KUNG FU and MARTIAL ARTS OF SHAOLIN. 

FLYING GUILLOTINE
"The wonderfully outlandish title weapon is irresistible...” -Hong Kong Digital
"Pure camp fun" -City on Fire 

The film that started it all! Hong Kong kung fu cinema is filled with all types of inventive weaponry, but few are as original, iconic or over-the-top as THE FLYING GUILLOTINE, and this was the first film to use it. The corrupt Emperor wants to dispatch of subordinates who dare disagree with his evil rule. Unable to publicly execute popular and decent officials, he commissions a new deadly weapon to clandestinely carry out these killings.

Enter the Flying Guillotine and the elite squad trained to use the new, seemingly invincible weapon. When top squad member Ma Teng (Chen Kuan Tai, EXECUTIONERS FROM SHAOLIN) can no longer stomach these immoral killings, he goes on the run, pursued by his former comrades. Now our hero must protect his family and create a counter-weapon that can defeat THE FLYING GUILLOTINE! 

FLYING GUILLOTINE 2
“FLYING GUILLOTINE 2 is one sequel worthy of its predecessor” –Kung Fu Cinema 

Few sequels match the original, especially one that brought us a weapon as iconic as THE FLYING GUILLOTINE, but FLYING GUILLOTINE 2 ramps up the action to a new level. The heroic Ma Teng (Ti Lung, AVENGING EAGLE) has developed a counter to the Flying Guillotines attack, but when word reaches The Emperor, who is more bloodthirsty than ever, he creates a new deadlier version and trains a squad of female assassins to use it!

Now Ma must help the gang of rebels trying to overthrow the evil tyrant and create a new counter-weapon to defeat the improved Guillotine. With frantic martial arts action and weapons that “...would be the envy of James Bond for their ingenuity” (KungFuCinema.com). FLYING GUILLOTINE 2 is bloody good fun for kung fu fans!

ACF 093: Who Killed Empress Wan in "Legend of the Black Scorpion"?

SPOILER ALERT !!!
This article reveals some plot points in the film
Legend of the Black Scorpion.

Several people have been referred to my review in ACF 079 when they ran searches that asked, in essence, "Who killed Empress Wan in Legend of the Black Scorpion?" I didn't discuss the matter in my review, but since there seems to be at least a fair amount of interest in the question, here goes.

The short, and correct, answer is that the film does not reveal who kills Empress Wan (Zhang Ziyi) at the end of the film. Neither Feng Xiaogang, the director, nor the cast have said. In his interview on Disc 2 of the Dragon Dynasty DVD release, actor Daniel Wu (Prince Wu Luan) teasingly says that he knows but won't tell.

My thought, when I first saw the film at the 2007 New York Asian Film Festival, was that it was the ghost of the dead Emperor, Prince Wu's father, who killed her. I mean, if his armor can bleed, why couldn't he strike her down after all the misfortune that she'd caused, even if she didn't do it deliberately?

One of the members of Subway Cinema, the organization that sponsored the festival, told me that he thought it was Minister Yin, who had been sent into exile by the Empress. The logic here was that he was the only significant character that was still alive. Turns out this was close to the mark.

Bey Logan, in his terrific commentary accompanying the movie on Disc 1, discusses what he knows, and sheds considerable light on the vexing question. According to him, the script originally called for the one maid who is seen in several shots throughout the film (she's in the background in the screen shot above) to kill the Empress. Furthermore the murder was done at the bidding of Minister Yin, who certainly had motives.

I believe Logan also said that scenes that would have given the maid greater presence, and perhaps some that actually showed the order being given and the deed being done, either were not shot or were deleted when the director decided to make the ending ambiguous.

So there's the best answer available that I know of. As Logan delightfully puts it: "It was the maid what done it."

ACF 069: "Royal Tramp" DVD Collection

The latest release from The Weinstein Company and Genius Products' Dragon Dynasty label is The Royal Tramp Collection. This tw0-disc DVD contains Royal Tramp and Royal Tramp II, both originally released in 1993 and starring Stephen Chow.

Chow plays Wei Siu Bo, a fanciful story-teller and conman who gets drawn into a conspiracy to restore (or perhaps it's to save) the Ming Dynasty. His quick thinking and glib tongue save him from numerous skirmishes with death, and enable him to score with a bevy of beauties.

Man Cheung as the Empress Dowager

The ending of the first movie sets up the second, so it was both a smart and considerate move to issue both in one release. There's a good bit more action in the second film, which also benefits from the presence of Brigitte Lin, one of my all time favorite Hong Kong actresses, once again doing one of the many androgynous roles for which she is well known.

Wei Siu Bo (Stephen Chow) is carried away by Hoi Tai Fu (Man Tat Ng)

I'm in the middle of reading Asian Cinema: A Field Guide by Tom Vick, film programmer for the Freer and Sackler Galleries of the Smithsonian Institution. In it, without mentioning any specific films, he describes Chow as the slapstick star of Cantonese "nonsense comedies" before his international breakthroughs with Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle. He certainly could be referring to the two Royal Tramp films. (I must mention that I highly recommend Vick's book; it's both very informative and enjoyable.)

The story line, such as it is, goes all over the place. Further compounding things are the numerous betrayals and shifting loyalties. Still, a great deal of the comedy comes across even with subtitles, and the action sequences - particularly in the second film - are well done, considering when they were made. (I did notice one wire in the climactic fight seen at the end of the first film.)

Both discs have Cantonese and English-dubbed soundtracks or a feature length audio commentary by Hong Kong cinema authority Bey Logan to chose from; optional English, English for the deaf and hard-of hearing, and Spanish subtitles; and the original theatrical trailer. Disc 2 also has an interview with writer and co-director Wong Jing.

I've only had time so far to watch the films in the original Cantonese with English subtitles, so I can't comment with authority on Logan's commentaries or the English-dubbed soundtracks. I have a feeling that it might work really well to first watch the films with Logan's commentary on, so that you get a sense of what's gong on. Then go back at some time and watch them with subtitles. You just might get a better sense of the story line and plot twists. As for the dubbed versions, I tend to watch them only when I'm too tired for subtitles or otherwise mentally impaired.

These are not great films, certainly not ones that an Asian Cult Film Fan would absolutely have to own. But packed together with the audio options, the two-disc set is a worthwhile purchase. I certainly appreciate that The Weinstein Company and Genius Products have offered them so attractively packaged and reasonably priced. The films give some interesting perspective on Stephen Chow's early career. And did I mention that Brigitte Lin is in Royal Tramp II!!!

Considering the two movies as a package, I give them an ACF rating of 2.5 out of 4 stars (fairly good). The extras get a 3 out of 4 star rating (good). The only thing that I would have liked to have been included is an interview with Stephen Chow.