Five Movies You NEED To See

1. Iron Monkey (Siunin Wong Fei-hung tsi titmalau)
2. Hero (Ying xiong)
3. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (Wo hu cang long)
4. House of Flying Daggers (Shi mian mai fu)
5. Fist of Legend (Jing wu ying xiong)

Hey people, Mike here. OK, finally I’m making a return with a Five Movies You NEED To See column. Sorry it’s taken so long but quite frankly I’ve been in a slightly lazy mood for a while. All that is over though and I’m back with a vengeance folks. This month’s theme is kick ass Kung Fu film. I realize you guys have probably seen at least some of these already but personally I think they’re so killer they deserve as much notoriety as I can give them. Now on a slightly silly note, we’re also going to play a little game of six degrees of separation as every one of these films has an actor that starred in another film listed here. In fact, some of them have several of the same actors. So, with that we get on with the show…no pun intended.

Iron Monkey (Siunin Wong Fei-hung tsi titmalau)
Original Release Date: 1993
Directed by: Yeun Wo-Ping
Starring: Rongguang Yu, Donnie Yen, Jean Wang and Sze-Man Tsang

OK, first up on our list is Iron Monkey. I love this movie. I REALLY love this movie. This thing has a little bit of every thing, amazing fights, a little bit of love story, an unknown hero standing alone against the corrupt government, and a healthy dose of humor. In the special features of the DVD, Quentin Tarantino explains that in China there are a LOT of REALLY poor people who can’t afford to see many films at all so a lot of Chinese directors pack as many genres into one film as they can so the people can really get the best bang for their buck. The result is something that’s simply WAY cooler than what’s getting made in the States.

Iron Monkey is a classic story of government oppression of the weak opposed by a lone, masked hero. There are some definite Robin Hood elements to the story where the Iron Monkey(Yu) steals money from the governor and then gives it to the poor. Now as you might expect, the more the Iron Monkey does this, the more attention the he gains and eventually the government not only sends assains but also co-opts the helps of Shaolin legend Wong Kei-Ying(Yen). Things get tense as the Iron Monkey tries to keep away from the government agents AND convice Wong Kei-Ying that he's on the wrong side. This is just a REALLY fun film with GREAT fights that will keep you higly entertained from start to finish.

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Hero (Ying xiong)
Original Release Date: 2002
Directed by: Zhang Yimou
Starring: Jet Li, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi and Donnie Yen

Are you ready for our first degree of separation? Both of the first two films star Donnie Yen, who American audiences might remember as one of the Vampires trained to hunt Wesley Snipes in Blade II…too bad he wasn’t able to get to him before Blade: Trinity was unfortunately unleashed upon us poor souls.

Anyway, Hero stars Jet Li as the Nameless Hero who has earned an audience with the king of Quin(an ancient province of China) by killing the three most deadly assassins in the land…all of which who want to kill the king in order to end the wars he has caused while trying to unite all of China. The film opens with the Nameless Hero entering the palace of the king to accept his reward and we are then treated to our first flashback. Now I have to stop here and say that pretty much the entire film is a flashback…I mean, even some of the flashbacks have flashbacks. Seriously. But the film is truly gorgeous in every way and the fight scenes simply have to be seen to be believed. For me the biggest standout fight scene is one that involves fighting while walking on water…You’ll know when you see it and there is simply no way to describe it. Just know that you NEED to see this film.

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Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (Wo hu cang long)
Original Release Date: 2002
Directed by: Zhang Yimou
Starring: Chow Yun Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi and Chen Chang

Our next degree of separation is the lovely Zhang Ziyi. Now I know that EVERYONE has heard of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon but unbelievably there are still some people who haven’t seen it. This film was the first chance a lot of Americans got to see a REAL, serious Chinese film. Until now most Americans had only been aware of Jackie Chan films and generally only his recent stuff. Now while those are absolutely GREAT there are many other truly wonderful Asian films to be seen that most Americans are simply too lazy to see. Thankfully, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon changed that for a lot of people. It also tested Americans because it was a Martial Arts film that was really heavy on story, espscially the love angle between Jen Yu(Ziyi) and Lo "Dark Cloud"(Chang) which did seemingly throw many audiences for a curve. But that's OK because Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is an undeniably beautiful film in many ways and the fight between Chow Yun Fat and Zhang Ziyi is simply haunting to watch. If you have already seen this film then do yourself a favor and see it agian. If you haven't then what the hell is wrong with you?

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House of Flying Daggers (Shi mian mai fu)
Original Release Date: 2004
Directed by: Zhang Yimou
Starring: Zhang Ziyi, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau and Dandan Song

In our little game we will once again stick with the lovely Zhang Ziyi…did I mention that she was lovely? Also, House of Flying Daggers and Hero share the same director as well. House of Flying Daggers is another story of a big corrupt government oppressing the little guy with a select few willing to stand up to them. The story revolves around a government agent sent undercover to infiltrate the House of Flying Daggers, a clan of rebels that have become a major thorn in the side of the government. How is he suppossed to infiltrate their ranks? He is to seduce the blind daughter of the deceased former leader of the Daggers...if she doesn't seduce him first. The film begins as a running from the big bad guy story but takes a MAJOR left turn late in the film that it never quite returns from but this doesn't take away from the fact that the movie is great, and utterly beautiful. The fight scene in the bamboo forest is absolutely mind blowing. Even the colors used in this film are so utterly intense that they might just burn out your retinas. How can you resist a movie like that?

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Fist of Legend (Jing wu ying xiong)
Original Release Date: 1994
Directed by: Gordon Chan
Starring: Li, Siu-hou Chin, Ada Choi and Shinobu Nakayama

OK, our final degree of separation takes us back to Jet Li in this remake of a Bruce Lee classic. Fist of Legend is the story of Chen Zen, a Chinese man studying in Japan who must return to Japanese occupied China when he receives news that his master has been killed in a fight. Of course, it now falls to Chen to avenge his master's death and help make sure his master's school is not shut down but the Japanese authorities of the region. Matters are complicated by the fact that even people in his own school are jealous of his skills(which are considerable) and are further agitated by the fact that he has fallen in love with a Japanese woman(which is almost considered as a betrayal by the others in his school).

One of the areas where Fist of Legend differs from the other films on this list is that it is VERY light on wire work. Most of the fight scenes simply rely on Jet Li's speed and ability which in turn make them much more realistic than the fight scenes of the other films in this month's article. Not to say that there is anything wrong with wire work. It's just refreshing to see a modern Martial Arts film that doesn't rely it. Fist of Legend also moves away from the "all Japanese are bad" feel that Fists of Fury(The Chinese Connection USA title) sometimes had and placed the responsibily on a more personal level. Long story short, Fist of Legend is a really cool flick with GREAT fight scenes and it really shows off Li's amazing skill.

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Well, that does it for this month. I'll see you guys next time with another Five Movies You NEED To See

- Mike

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