02-12-2016, 03:32 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-12-2016, 03:32 PM by Drunk Monk.)
I had backed away from El Rey's Flying Five Finger One Armed Eight Pole Shaolin Exploding Death Touch Thursdays because they were playing the same two dozen titles over and over again and I had seen them all. Now they are beginning to dig a little deeper into their 250+ Shaw Brothers film library and I'm so happy for it.
The Proud Twins is a perfect example of SB doing wuxia fiction. It's based on Juedai Shuangjiao, an episodic novel written in the late 60s by Gu Long, which I've never read. So the film makes no effort to introduce the characters. They are reeled off quickly, distinguishable mostly by their gaudy costumes and weird weapons, and whether they are good guys or bad guys is rather inconsequential as the film is basically fight scene to betrayal to conspiracy/double-cross revelation to fight scene. Lots of characters who are introduced, have a fight scene, and then die. Lots of sword fights. There are even some wacky weapons like sleeve arrows, small double tridents and one guy even fights with a long bone (he's sort of dressed like a caveman). It's a great showcase for Alexander Fu Sheng, who exploits his comedic mugging for the camera and sets the precedent for some of Jackie's early Kung Fu comedy. Alex even gives a conspirational wink to the camera at the concluding shot. There's some virgin seduction (a femme fatale trying to extract Alex's virginal jing), a plum-blossom acupuncture needle attack that causes an hour of uncontrollable laughter before painful death, and a fat monk who fights really dirty.
Good stuff. El Rey has recaptured my attention.
The Proud Twins is a perfect example of SB doing wuxia fiction. It's based on Juedai Shuangjiao, an episodic novel written in the late 60s by Gu Long, which I've never read. So the film makes no effort to introduce the characters. They are reeled off quickly, distinguishable mostly by their gaudy costumes and weird weapons, and whether they are good guys or bad guys is rather inconsequential as the film is basically fight scene to betrayal to conspiracy/double-cross revelation to fight scene. Lots of characters who are introduced, have a fight scene, and then die. Lots of sword fights. There are even some wacky weapons like sleeve arrows, small double tridents and one guy even fights with a long bone (he's sort of dressed like a caveman). It's a great showcase for Alexander Fu Sheng, who exploits his comedic mugging for the camera and sets the precedent for some of Jackie's early Kung Fu comedy. Alex even gives a conspirational wink to the camera at the concluding shot. There's some virgin seduction (a femme fatale trying to extract Alex's virginal jing), a plum-blossom acupuncture needle attack that causes an hour of uncontrollable laughter before painful death, and a fat monk who fights really dirty.
Good stuff. El Rey has recaptured my attention.
Shadow boxing the apocalypse