xBMVHx
Lifetime Total
5+
IMDb Member
21 years
Reviews
Duo hun ling (1968)
Worth it for the candle fight scene alone...
Bells of Death is a classic Shaw Brothers production that I first saw in the early 90s when it was released on VHS in North America. I remember being amazed when I discovered that it was made in 1968...and now that I have the restored DVD version put out by Celestial I can fully appreciate how fresh it still feels. This might seem counterintuitive considering that the plot revolves around a man who devotes his life to avenging the murder of his family at the hands of bandits...a kung fu cliché if there ever was one. But while the concept was by no means original in 1968, it was also far from being stale. Add to that the creative cinematography, camera work, and set pieces and it becomes apparent why Hollywood is still trying to catch up to Hong Kong action films almost 40 years later. So while some people call this film completely derivative, I wonder why it hasn't been copied more. Maybe just due to its relative obscurity.
With the popularity of Tarantino's Kill Bill, his homage to Asian action cinema (the Shaw Brothers rip-off of the Warner Brothers marquee front and centre, the soundtrack almost directly lifted from films like Bells of Death) it might be instructive and entertaining for more people to watch these old Shaw Brothers' films. The candle fight scene at about the mid- point of Bells of Death is enough to justify hunting the film down. If Hollywood is going to strip mine old films to recycle ideas it could do much worse than recreating such brilliantly executed scenes.
With the popularity of Tarantino's Kill Bill, his homage to Asian action cinema (the Shaw Brothers rip-off of the Warner Brothers marquee front and centre, the soundtrack almost directly lifted from films like Bells of Death) it might be instructive and entertaining for more people to watch these old Shaw Brothers' films. The candle fight scene at about the mid- point of Bells of Death is enough to justify hunting the film down. If Hollywood is going to strip mine old films to recycle ideas it could do much worse than recreating such brilliantly executed scenes.
Dans ma peau (2002)
self-destruction or self-discovery?
***possible spoilers***
i found this film to be both disturbing and beautiful. Marina de van outdoes herself in her various roles as director, writer, and principal actor. She had complete faith in the story she was telling and as a result so did i. There wasn't one moment where i considered what i was watching to be impossible and fantastical -- it was all extremely, painfully real. I'm sure that people will ascribe various kinds of meaning to the self- mutilation in the film, but to me it spoke of alienation from those things that are central to our lives: our work and our relationships with other people. On the cusp of what, from the outside, seems like success in both of these realms, esther (the central character) badly injures her leg but doesn't even notice for several hours...there's a kind of numbness in her. Through the wound, she becomes fascinated with her flesh and blood and can't resist opening herself up more and more. As a result her seemingly successful life begins to fall apart. But is it self-destruction or self-discovery? Did she really know what she wanted...did she really know herself at all? The film doesn't answer these questions, but most films that have a profound emotional impact never do answer the important questions. They're left up to the audience to answer in whatever way makes the most sense.
i found this film to be both disturbing and beautiful. Marina de van outdoes herself in her various roles as director, writer, and principal actor. She had complete faith in the story she was telling and as a result so did i. There wasn't one moment where i considered what i was watching to be impossible and fantastical -- it was all extremely, painfully real. I'm sure that people will ascribe various kinds of meaning to the self- mutilation in the film, but to me it spoke of alienation from those things that are central to our lives: our work and our relationships with other people. On the cusp of what, from the outside, seems like success in both of these realms, esther (the central character) badly injures her leg but doesn't even notice for several hours...there's a kind of numbness in her. Through the wound, she becomes fascinated with her flesh and blood and can't resist opening herself up more and more. As a result her seemingly successful life begins to fall apart. But is it self-destruction or self-discovery? Did she really know what she wanted...did she really know herself at all? The film doesn't answer these questions, but most films that have a profound emotional impact never do answer the important questions. They're left up to the audience to answer in whatever way makes the most sense.