Masterofoneinchpunch wrote:I really wish we had an area for errata. While I like Bey Logan's book and looking forward to the second one (I have many of the same issues with Logan that Brian has) his first book (like most books on HK from the 90s) had a few errors here and there.
cal42 wrote:Is Hong Kong Babylon the book where the author has a chat with a nasty Triad film producer? And the one where Leslie Cheung is interviewed saying that Chow Yun-Fat was getting too fat? I'm sure I used to have it but I haven't seen it lying around for years.
Masterofoneinchpunch wrote:Ann Hui's comment on Wong Jing is pretty interesting too.
cal42 wrote:I'm going to have another go at digging it out. It can't be far, but I can't remember seeing it for years.
That actually reminds me of a very strange question and could be something I've misunderstood (or even misremembered) all these years. I think it was this very book that had an interview with Wong Kar-Wai and it mentioned him doing prison time. I can't find mention of this ANYWHERE else, and now think I dreamt it or misread it. Does anyone have any info on this?
Taijikid wrote:This morning I was reading through the latest entries in David Bordwell's cinema blog and saw that his wonderful book Planet Hong Kong has just gone out of print.
I first read the book when it was released in 2000 and repeatedly checked it out of my local library until I finally decided to save myself some trouble and buy it. I have never regretted my purchase and cannot recommend it highly enough to anyone interested in movies, especially those from Hong Kong.
The website <www.bookfinder.com> has about 75 copies listed, beginning at under $20. I would urge anyone who doesn't have access to the book in a local public library to buy it before used book dealers price it out of range or it disappears altogether.
He has published two books, Paul Fonoroff At The Hong Kong Movies, a collection of reviews, and Silver Light, a picture book of Fonoroff's extensive collection of Hong Kong movie memorabilia.[2] At the Movies was criticized for being out of date by reviewers.[1]
Masterofoneinchpunch wrote:FYI: Bordwell is working on an online version of this book (he stated this in his blog).
Masterofoneinchpunch wrote:Here is an older link on the subject: http://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/?p=4858
Any new favorites on HK film books Brian?
Masterofoneinchpunch wrote:This does lead to some discussion of films I was not that familiar with and that have not been written about a lot in other books.
Masterofoneinchpunch wrote:You are going to find action, cat-III, supernatural thrillers, HK film noir, martial arts and more action movies described here. You will also find specific chapters on John Woo, Tsui Hark, Jackie Chan and Ringo Lam. There is also one chapter that combines Yuen Biao, Sammo Hung and Yuen Wah together.
Brian Thibodeau wrote: ...To this day, I still find VCDs and even some DVDs of movies for which I can't find a single word written about them either in print or online. Sad, really, but at least they're still out there for us to hunt down.![]()
Interesting news about Bordwell's book going online in an updated version. I wasn't aware of that. I really need to visit his site more often!
Masterofoneinchpunch wrote:I like him but I truly feel that scholars sometimes miss some golden opportunities (heck even Criterion avoids Chinese films like the plague; not one Mainland film and only one Taiwanese eek).
Masterofoneinchpunch wrote:On a side note, finally saw what Fonoroff looked like when I saw his interview in the Center Stage DVD (I will have notes on this shortly). He has the strangest goofy smile I have ever seen.
Masterofoneinchpunch wrote:Bordwell said it will possibly come out this month. Guess who is going to get his name in that book?
Masterofoneinchpunch wrote:I know we have complained about it in many a threads, but dang it Criterion Hong Kong is more than Wong Kar-wai and John Woo. Part of the problem is that just do not view HK films on the same level as Japanese. But then again they are very Western Euro, US and Japanese centric first. For the longest while they were ignoring Spanish features. I think part of it has to do with the fact that professors still tend to ignore much of HK's output.
From a finance standpoint it does not necessarily make sense as well. I think they could have easily made money with several HK titles (yes including The Killer and Hard-boiled though I have no idea if they rebid for this and lost to Dragon Dynasty).
Masterofoneinchpunch wrote:Criterion has usually ignored me on my letters to them in dealing with HK/Mainland films (They do not ignore my emails in dealing with technical matters though). Though they did at one point tell me another Edward Yang film was going to be released (I have a good idea on which one it is as well "A Brighter Summer Day") and of course no HK films were on the horizon. I thought when Johnnie To did a top 10 Criterion for them that was going to change, but alas no.
Masterofoneinchpunch wrote:Bordwell appreciated me giving him the errata list for his book. While he had already fixed several things like dealing with Casino Raiders, I did find some things for him. He responded with a nice email.
Masterofoneinchpunch wrote:The MONSTERS & MADMEN was originally going to be part of another label from Criterion. That idea was scrapped. The copyright dates for the interviews I believe are a few years before when it came out. I read this, though I'm not a 100 percent on this.
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