Twitch Streaming Shaw Brothers films...right now!

[Wryan]

Twitch is streaming a ton of Shaw Brothers movies in the next week or so, with some other "movie nights" coming up in the next weeks: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/shaw-brothers-twitch-marathon-schedule-1179098

Lots of cycling schedules in case you miss anything.

One-Armed Swordsman
The Five Deadly Venoms
The 14 Amazons
The Kid With the Golden Arm
The Lady Is a Boss
The Savage Five
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin
Return to the 36th Chamber
Disciples of the 36th Chamber
New One-Armed Swordsman
Executioners From Shaolin....and many more.

MOVIE NIGHTS

Feb. 14

5:03 p.m.: King Boxer
6:43 p.m.: Five Element Ninja

Feb. 15

5:03 p.m.: Come Drink With Me
6:36 p.m.: Super Inframan

Feb. 21

5:03 p.m.: Chinatown Kid
6:32 p.m.: All Men Are Brothers

Feb. 22

5:03 p.m.: My Young Auntie
7:00 p.m.: Dirty Ho

February 28

5:03 p.m.: Crippled Avengers
6:46 p.m.: Masked Avengers

March 1

5:03 p.m.: Challenge of the Masters
7 p.m.: Vengeance

March 7

5:03 p.m.: The Web of Death
6:32 p.m.: Death Duel

March 8

5:03 p.m.: Mad Monkey Kung Fu
6:39 p.m.: Eight Diagram Pole Fighter

All should be located on Twitch channel: https://www.twitch.tv/gammaray_tv

[Irish]

Holy shit, this is fantastic!

Thanks for posting! I never would have known otherwise

[Wryan]

Hmm, unfortunately it seems like both the schedule in that Hollywood Reporter article and the schedule on the page for this channel are not quite correct. Looks like people may just have to tune in and hope for the best unless the schedule starts lining up properly.

EDIT: nvm I'm stupid. The schedule on the twitch channel page is in Pacific Time and it does seem to be correct so far.

[Irish]

TIL:

"Golden Swallow" (1968) is a quasi-sequel to King Hu's "Come Drink with Me" (1966).

The heroine of both films, played by Cheng Pei-pei (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheng_Pei-pei), also appeared as Jade Fox in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (2000).

[Stay Puft]

5:03 p.m.: My Young Auntie
7:00 p.m.: Dirty Ho

I strongly encourage people to tune in for this one. The first boasts a rare leading role for Kara Hui (and she won Best Actress at the inaugural HK Film Awards for this film), and the latter boasts, outside of the greatest title ever, some of the most amusing and clever choreography Lau Kar Leung ever filmed (and I'd wager it's one of his unsung masterpieces, often overlooked for the likes of The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, Heroes of the East, 8 Diagram Pole Fighter, etc.).

There's actually a 35mm screening of Dirty Ho in Toronto in a couple weeks, coincidentally, and I'm super excited because I've only ever seen the film on an old Chinese vcd bootleg.

[Irish]

Also, holy fuck, "Golden Swallow" is a terrific little film. Great adventure, fantastic through-line, helluva ending. I was really impressed they managed to juggle so many plot lines and so many characters as well as they did. The movie has a better, and more complex, construction than every freakin' Hollywood blockbuster I saw last year.

ETA: The more I think about it, the more blown away I am.

They're replaying it a couple of times over the next day or so. I might actually watch it again when it's on.

[Wryan]

I tuned in to Golden Swallow as I was getting home yesterday and caught most of it. I think I would have liked it a bit more if one of the other two leads was the proper lead, as the Silver dude only sporadically held my interest (which of course meant that actor showed up in like each movie afterward too ha), but it was still good. The Trilogy of Swordsmanship is a nice little triptych of stories, with the middle one being a supercool tale about prostitutes at a brothel (their translation) showing up the local brutal (and bigoted) administrant by successfully capturing a notorious bandit using their skills and ~feminine wiles~. Felt super ahead of its time. Also watched One-Armed Swordsman, which was amazing.

[Wryan]

The heroine of both films, played by Cheng Pei-pei (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheng_Pei-pei), also appeared as Jade Fox in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (2000).

Funny you say this because, while I didn't notice this while I was watching, one of the stories in the Trilogy I mentioned has a mother character who totally looked exactly like Cheng, but I looked her up and it was not. I guess I wasn't realizing how much time had passed between these movies and CTHD, as she would have been younger, clearly, as she looked in Swallow.

[Irish]

I tuned in to Golden Swallow as I was getting home yesterday and caught most of it. I think I would have liked it a bit more if one of the other two leads was the proper lead, as the Silver dude only sporadically held my interest (which of course meant that actor showed up in like each movie afterward too ha), but it was still good. The Trilogy of Swordsmanship is a nice little triptych of stories, with the middle one being a supercool tale about prostitutes at a brothel (their translation) showing up the local brutal (and bigoted) administrant by successfully capturing a notorious bandit using their skills and ~feminine wiles~. Felt super ahead of its time. Also watched One-Armed Swordsman, which was amazing.

I watched "Come Drink With Me" last night and both it and "Golden Swallow" begin with Cheng Pei-pei's heroine but then very gradually switch focus to a male character. Both terrific films, but I thought that was a little odd. (Especially because she's a good actress and was playing a fun character.)

And yeah, caught "One Armed Swordsman," too. I thought it was fantastic. I'm getting to like that actor---Jimmy Wang Yu. Apparently, he wrote, starred and directed "The Chinese Boxer," aka "Hammer of God" (1970) which kicked off (ahem) the entire kung-fu craze in Hong Kong.

Also of note: the dude starred in another film about a one-armed fighter called ... wait for it ... "One Armed Boxer"!

ETA: One of the things I liked about "Golden Swallow" is all the unrequited love triangles. Nobody gets what they want in the end! Everybody ends up alone! Surprisingly downbeat ending for a romantic fantasy film.

[Wryan]

Funniest part of One-Armed was seeing the master's daughter keep trying to cosy up to our hero as if she didn't cut his fucking arm off in the first place.

[Skitch]

I'm getting to like that actor---Jimmy Wang Yu.

https://i.imgur.com/pwjOcFn.gif

[Wryan]

And lo here is that actor fighting Donnie Yen in Dragon, in which Donnie plays a one-armed man lol. Apparently this movie started out as a quasi-remake of OAS or something?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VsIQkUkWgU

[Irish]

And lo here is that actor fighting Donnie Yen in Dragon, in which Donnie plays a one-armed man lol. Apparently this movie started out as a quasi-remake of OAS or something?

I've seen "Dragon" a coupla times. It's definitely not a remake of "One Armed Swordsman" but it's very, very good. It's sorta a period piece cat-and-mouse game between an odd little man (Donnie Yen), who is hiding out in a country town, and a wandering police detective (Takeshi Kanashiro), who gradually becomes suspicious about him. Very strange picture but HIGHLY recommend it if you discover it on one of the streaming services.

[Irish]

Funniest part of One-Armed was seeing the master's daughter keep trying to cosy up to our hero as if she didn't cut his fucking arm off in the first place.

LOL, that was great stuff!

I also really liked how he has to seriously talk himself into saving her. Like, it's not automatic that he's heroic and virtuous and so he wrestles a little bit with it. Has an extended convo with the peasant girl, who's super neurotic about heroes dying for a cause, haha, before he runs off to the rescue.

[Wryan]

...who is hiding out in a country town, and a wandering police detective (Takeshi Kaneshiro), who gradually becomes suspicious about him...

Ooh even more reason to watch it now. That man is a hot piece.

[Irish]

Five Deadly Venoms tonight at midnight and again tomorrow at 4:30p. (Both showings Pacific time.)

It's also on Netflix in the US if you don't wanna wait:

https://www.netflix.com/title/60001377

[Skitch]

Fucking awesome movie!

[Irish]

Master: "So I taught these dudes deadly techniques under the banner of the Poison Clan and now I'm afraid they might be, uh, evil."

Student: "No! Not the Poison Clan! I can't believe it!"

Master: "Totally not my fault, by the way. Nobody could have seen this coming."

Student: "But whatever will we do, Sifu?"

Master: "You'll need to track them down and defeat them even though I intentionally gimped your training. Also, despite spending years with these people, I have no idea what they look like or even what their names are."

Student: "I'll do it!!"

---

LOL, lotsa fun but waaaaay darker than I expected. That entire town was nasty and I wasn't sure who to root for.

I like how the Shaw Brothers start with these simple premises and evolve them into complex plots, but as soon as the film hits the 75 minute mark, it's like, well fuck it, let's just have everybody fight everybody else.

As a formula, it works. :D

[Wryan]

Yeah Five Deadly Venoms was sick. So many bodies. I was destined to love it since I love thematic color-coded shit like this. Adding in animal spirits/styles just sealed the deal. Also, good of the young student to wear a Navajo blanket during the final fight.

[Wryan]

lol the dialogue in Blood Brothers.

A: "Could be you're not so honorable yourself."
B: "Could be...what is honorable?"
A: "You are."

Jesus, guys.

[Wryan]

Holy shit The Savage Five is just an absurdly good-looking movie. It's just beautifully filmed. And the actors are actually not bad at all. Damn.

[Irish]

I've been absolutely SHOCKED at how stellar the prints are that they're broadcasting.

That plus some great production design & costuming done on obviously very low budgets has been a real treat.

[Irish]

Well now I finally understand why 36th Chamber is so popular.

[Wryan]

Well now I finally understand why 36th Chamber is so popular.

If you like the sight of old men smiling in approval at their pupil, this is the movie for you.

[Wryan]

Black Tavern! What a ride! Totally some Kill Bill inspiration in this one. Love when movies are mostly confined to one setting. This is a simple story that just allows for set piece after set piece. Thrilling stuff.

[Wryan]

Just finished the last one I think I'll be watching until the movie nights begin, The 14 Amazons. Really good and would be received even better today than it was at the time given today's focus on strong roles for women. Features a totally bonkers extended bridge sequence that might be one of the best Bridge Scenes in movie history--yes even including Temple of Doom and Sorcerer. Pretty great stuff.

[Irish]

Dammit. I missed the "Black Tavern" re-broadcast and it looks like that one isn't available on DVD or streaming. :/

Anyway, I know they're gonna do the movie nights over the next few weeks but I will miss the marathon. It was fun randomly open their channel and see what was playing.

[Irish]

BTW, Amazon has a good collection of these movies and a lot of them are free with Prime. A few are available on Netflix, iTunes, and Google.

This page has a good list of where to get what:

http://shawbrothersuniverse.com/shaw-brothers-classic-film-collection/

[Wryan]

Dammit. I missed the "Black Tavern" re-broadcast and it looks like that one isn't available on DVD or streaming. :/

Well, if you hablas espanol: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RlPhwyM3M4

[Wryan]

Just finished the last one I think I'll be watching until the movie nights begin, The 14 Amazons. Really good and would be received even better today than it was at the time given today's focus on strong roles for women. Features a totally bonkers extended bridge sequence that might be one of the best Bridge Scenes in movie history--yes even including Temple of Doom and Sorcerer. Pretty great stuff.

So this hole just keeps getting deeper. Seems there was a remake in 2011 with...Cheng Pei-Pei playing the matriarch! And it's on youtube, dubbed. What a curious world. :D

[Irish]

Heads up!

MOVIE NIGHT RIGHT NOW!

King Boxer and Five Element Ninjas

[Wryan]

I thought they started tomorrow! I even set an alarm on my phone. Well shit. Missed the first hour of King Boxer.

[Wryan]

I have no idea what's going on, but this girl's father is so dead lol.

[Wryan]

oh my god Five Element Ninjas is a hoot.

[Wryan]

Calling it now: Five Element Ninjas has the best fight choreography of any Shaw Bros. movie I've seen so far. And probably the most too. Goddamn it just keeps going with the fights, each one weird and silly and wild and awesome.

[Irish]

Tonight! Starts in 3 minutes!

5pm / 8pm - Come Drink with Me

6:30pm / 9:30pm - Super Inframan

[Wryan]

Come Drink was excellent!

[Wryan]

Tonight is:

5:03 p.m.: Chinatown Kid
6:32 p.m.: All Men Are Brothers

Followed by tomorrow night:

5:03 p.m.: My Young Auntie
7:00 p.m.: Dirty Ho

Times are Pacific.

[Wryan]

Death Duel was stunning. Narrative a little cumbersome at times, but there are some terrific set pieces (and just plain sets), along with beautiful cinematography and lighting design.

Tomorrow night is the last night:

5:03 p.m. PST: Mad Monkey Kung Fu
6:39 p.m. PST: Eight Diagram Pole Fighter

[Irish]

I think about this marathon every now and again & how fun it was. I wish they'd do something like this again.

Sorta tangentially related: I watched Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance last night and was completely blown away by it. Has anyone seen this? (Skitch?)

It's sorta the Japanese answer to the Shaw Brothers. Hyper macho and super violent, with colorful costumes, great shots, crazy dialogue.

[Skitch]

Oh the Lone Wolf and Cub series is soooo badass.

[Irish]

Upside to "The Mandolorian" is that it got me interested in finally sitting down and watching these movies.

The sequel is subtitled "Baby Cart at the River Styx" so that's a definite must-see :D

[Irish]

And the third is called "Baby Cart to Hades"

lol WHO is translating these titles?! :D :D :D