Danny Amor's Online Library/Danny Amor's Online Library - Volume 1.iso/html/faqs/alt/asian-movies

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From: [e-mail] (Lars-Erik Holmquist)
Newsgroups: alt.asian-movies
Subject: Hong Kong video FAQ
Date: 22 Sep 1994 10:29:28 GMT
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Keywords: Hong Kong movies



Hong Kong movies on video and laserdisc:
frequently asked questions

dated 94-09-21


This is a collection of Frequently Asked Questions concerning Hong
Kong films on video and laser disc.

Please note that this FAQ is intended to be about getting Hong Kong
films on video, and not a general "Hong Kong Movies FAQ" - although
that would be very nice to see as well! That's why I won't have any
filmographies or other general F.A.Q.:s - except the one about Michelle
Yeoh, because I got so sick of answering that one!!!

The reason for this is, of course, that I want to limit the size of the FAQ
and the work I do on it somewhat.

This FAQ is now fully HTML-ised, which means that the best way to
read it is with Mosaic or a similar www-browser! The latest version of
the FAQ can be found at the Hong Kong movies WWW-page:

        http://www.mdstud.chalmers.se/hkmovie/

This FAQ is also made available for ftp at

        ftp.funet.fi   pub/culture/tv+film/hongkong

where you can also find other Hong Kong movie related files.

Thanks to everybody who's helped out with this and previous versions of
the FAQ! You know who you are!

Send corrections, thanks, additions and flames to:

        Lars Erik Holmquist
        [e-mail]

Sections:

 1. Frequently asked questions
 2. The release path
 3. The bluffer's guide to chinese actor's names
 4. A look at different versions of some John Woo films
 5. Video and laser disc companies
 6. Bibliography



1. Frequently asked question

Where do I find Hong Kong films on video/laserdisc?

The best place to find Hong Kong films is always at local chinese shops.
Look around; no matter where you live, you're almost bound to have a
chinese grocery store somewhere close. And they almost certainly will
have movies. You may have to ask around a bit, you may have to go to
the store and talk to the owners a few times to gain their confidence - a
basic knowledge of actor and movie names in chinese will help
tremendously - but don't give up.

If you're lucky, they have the movies out on the shelves, in boxes, so you
can just go in an pick by the english titles. But more probable is that they
have bootleg copies of some kind, with the label only marked in chinese.
Then you'll have to be a bit more creative. Find pictures of actors you
want to see, try to get the names of actors and movies in chinese
(mandarin or cantonese transcripitons; or chinese writing, of course). A
shop where I live cuts out the newspaper advertisements for the movies
they have and display them, so that I can just point at whatever looks
interesting and the staff helps me find it.

If you're absolutely, 100% sure that there are no chinese shops where
you live, you may have to resort to mail order. There are various
companies in the US that sell Hong Kong movies; you can find them in
fanzines. A good listing of mail order suppliers can be found in the new
Video Watchdog Special Edition; see the bibliography for more info.

But beware that firstly, these are quite often illegal copies, and generally
of bad quality. You're always better off if you find a chinese shop that
rents laserdisc, or original tapes, or even copies from original tapes.
Secondly, many of these companies are pretty unstable, since they're
basically just a guy with two VCR:s, so it's quite probable that they just
keep your money and not send you anything. Always check if a company
takes major credit cards, that means that they at least are up to some kind
of minimal legal standards; and pay with card if you've got one. Don't
just send a cheque to somebody on the basis of an ad, no matter how
cheap they are or how many movies they seem to have. But be careful
and you'll be OK.

Mail Order in the USA

Here are a few mail-order companies in the USA to get you going. (For
other countries, see the local listings and Hong Kong Movies Around the
World) But remember: I haven't done any business whith most of them,
so don't blame me if they turn out to be crooks! Please send me any
good/bad experiences you might have with the companies listed here.

Eastern Way Films
PO Box 291655
Los Angeles CA 90029

They claim to be an authorized distributor of HK films, and their prices
show it: $39.95 is the usual price OUATIC 3, being a two-tape set is
$69.95! I have not ordered from them.- Louis Smogor
([e-mail])

Far East Flix
59-13 68th Ave.
Ridgewood, N.Y. 11385
[phone] phone/fax
Mon-Sat 11am-7pm

They have a lot of new films (bootlegged off laserdisc or tape) as well as
copies of hard-to-find older, english dubbed films (like Shaw Brothers
stuff). Prices are about $19. Very popular among net-people.

Foxx Entertainment Enterprises
327 West Laguna Drive
Tempe AZ 85282
602-829-1365

Lots of HK stuff (on the expensive side) plus a VSoM-like collection,
but cheap -- presently $14 or $14.50 plus shipping. I've ordered several
of the latter. Reasonably quick service, nice people. - Louis Smogor
([e-mail])

JARS Video Collection
14 St. Johns Road
Ridgewood, NY 11385
718-456-0663 from 7:30-10:30 pm ONLY

Prices are stiff, but these guys have the abolutely biggest collection of
older martial-arts stuff anywhere. More Bruce Le/Li/Lo/etc. movies
than you thought ever possible! Also sell NYUE tapes.

Samurai Video
PO Box 372
Suffern, NY 10901
914-357-5141
914-357-0780 (fax)

Mostly Japanese films, of, not surprisingly, the Chambara sort. They
have a few HK titles as well. - Louis Smogor ([e-mail])

Video Search of Miami

You've probably seen VSoM mentioned in several places; they also
publish the Asian Trash Cinema fanzine. They have a lot of Hong Kong
movies in their catalogue. But unfortunately, they sell the absolutely
WORST copies I have seen of Hong Kong films anywhere. I have
watched (or tried to watch) about a dozen VSoM tapes; half were totally
unwatchable, the rest were mostly very bad, and only a few were what
I'd call acceptable (approaching 2nd-3rd generation copy quality). Prices
are about $30 with postage.

I strongly recommend that you avoid VSoM, and therefore won't
include their address in this FAQ.

But what about english subtitles?

Most Hong Kong movies on video HAVE english subtitles! That's
because English is still an official language in Hong Kong. The only HK
video company that doesn't subtitle all their movies is Star
Entertainment, and even they seem to get better at it.

Almost all tapes manufactured in Taiwan have subtitles. Ditto for
Malaysia.

Why are original Hong Kong videos and laserdiscs so expensive?

An original Hong Kong tape costs approximately US $50, and a
laserdisc $100. And since many popular films are split up on two
tapes/discs, you'll actually have to pay twice that amount!

This is because they are not sold as sell-through, but for rental. Another
reason is that for every legal copy sold, there a lot of copies; most shops
just buy one tape or disc, and then rent or sell copies from that. This may
or may not be legal (some companies actually sell ready-made labels
and covers together with the tape) but it makes it necessary for
companies to at least get good money for the things they actually sell.

Why are many movies split up on two tapes / discs?

The discs are often in CAV, so to get a movie to fit they have to be split
up. But if this were the only reason, there's still no explanation to why
even short movies are split up on tape (many two-tape movies, like
Heroic Trio, are under 90 minutes!) So the reason is actually the same as
above: to get more money per movie.

My copy of this film is 5 minutes shorter than it should be! Is it cut?

Not necesarrily. Two copies of the same film may actually be the same,
even though they have different running times. Films in the NTSC video
format (USA, Japan) run longer than exactly the same movie in PAL
(Hong Kong, some of Europe).

So , to get the corresponding running times you have to multiply the
PAL running time by 25/24 to get the corresponding NTSC time (and
also the original time of the movie) - while, if you want to know how
long a movie would be in PAL, you have to multiply the NTSC running
time by 24/25.

Why are there different version of Hong Kong films anyway?

Films are cut for many different reasons. The obvious one is censorship:
many countries are not as lenient about screen violence as Hong Kong,
and therefore sometimes trim movies considerably. Nowadays, films are
also sometimes trimmed in Hong Kong, to get them into the Category II.
And countries like Malaysia seem to cut for other reasons as well; even
on-screen kissing can be offensive in Malaysia, I'm told!

Furthermore, films may premiere in one version in a country and then be
altered before it reaches the next (this happened with The Killer, which
was 135 minutes when it premiered in Taiwan - when it reached Hong
Kong several months later, it had been trimmed down to 110 minutes.)
The reasons for this are many; often it is done to improve the films
pacing. Or distributors may simply want a short film, to squeeze in more
showings per day!

Many Hong Kong films are also edited to suit other "tastes"; so, for
instance, do most english dubbed versions of Jackie Chan's film contain
less humour and slapstick than the original versions. (Interestingly,
Norway seems to be one of the few countries which release complete
versions of Jackie Chan's films dubbed into English. Can't think of
why.)

When the films are released on video or disc, anything can happen. A
distriubutor might find the film to long to fit on one tape, and cut it
accordingly. Another distributor might get a longer version than the
cinema version. And so on.

What video systems do they use in Asian countries?

        Hong Kong       - PAL (laser discs are NTSC)
        Malaysia        - PAL
        Taiwan          - NTSC
        Japan           - NTSC

What is category I / II / III?

Different movie ratings, indicating the level of sex/violence. Category I
is suitable for children; category II (the most common) is "family films",
which may be quite violent, though there is never any sex. And finally,
category III are either extremely violent films, or films with a little (or a
lot of) sex.

Who is Michelle Khan / Yeoh? Is she the same as Cynthia Khan?

(This is the FAQ of FAQ:s, but doesn't really belong here - I'll let it
stay until there is another place for it!)

Michelle Khan (Yueng Ji King) was the star in three action movies from
D&B:

   In The Line of Duty (aka Royal Warriors)
   In The Line of Duty II (aka Super Cops), co-starring Cynthia
   Rothrock
   Magnificent Warriors

She was a Malaysian beauty queen who had no previous martial arts
experience (true!). She married Dickson Poon, producer at D&B and a
very rich man, and quit being in movies; mainly because of the accident
risks.

Her role in the following In the Line of Duty films was taken by
Cynthia Khan (Yueng Lai Ching) - there are at least four of those.
Cynthia Khan is a popular star of recent movies such as Zen of Sword,
Blade of Fury etc. but never became the mega-star of almost mythical
proportions that Michelle was.

However, one day Michelle Khan decided to divorce Poon, change back
her name to Michelle Yeung and make a comeback in the movies
(confusingly, she is credited as Michelle Yeoh in several places). Her
comeback was in Police Story III with Jackie Chan, and since then she's
been in films like Butterfly And Sword, Heroic Trio I & II, Project S
and Tai Chi Master. She's one of the most popular and highest paid
actresses in Hong Kong, and sings the song in the closing credits of
Butterfly and Sword.

2. The Release Path

The world of Hong Kong video releases is a jungle. It is easy to find half
a dozen different releases of a film - bootlegs, illegal cable tv
broadcasts, Hong Kong and Taiwanese laserdiscs and tapes, Malaysian
and American tapes, and of course the releases aimed at the non-chinese
speaking portion of the world: subtitled japanese laserdiscs, english
dubbed British, Dutch and Greek releases...

Let's take a look at how a Hong Kong movie makes its way around the
world:

time      Cinema Premiere    - Illegal Video     - Legal Video/Discs
(months)
          "Chinatowns" -
          USA, Canada, etc.     "Camcorder
                                bootlegs"
1         Taiwan
          Malaysia

          Hong Kong

3                               Bootleg            Malaysia
                                copies             Taiwan

                                                   Foreign licenses:
                                                   Tai Seng (USA)
                                                   NYUE (USA)

6                                                  Hong Kong

          Foreign markets

8                                                  Foreign markets:
.                                                  England, Greece,
.                                                  Holland...



What happens is this: A film is rush-released to chinatowns around the
world, where video pirating is big, to get some profits before everybody
have seen the film on video already! Then follows Taiwan, Malaysia and
other chinese-speaking countries, with Hong Kong being pretty low on
the list. This is because video pirating (perhaps surprisingly) is not very
big in HK.

Meanwhile, the video pirates have been busy. A new film is available on
video only days after the premiere. Somebody smuggles a video camera
into the cinema and simply films the screen, with the audience present.
Very often people can be seen moving around in the cinema, and of
course laughter and other reactions are heard. (This can actually be quite
fun!)

Then come the official video releases in countries like Taiwan and
Malaysia and they, again, are pirated to death. In Malaysia a film is
usually sneak-previewed a few months before the general release, which
of course makes video pirates very happy.

Then, trailing far behind, we get the Hong Kong video release. This can
be anything from 6 months to a couple of years after the films premiere
- it depends on which company has the rights. HK releases are mostly
superior to other releases. Very often it seems that the Hong Kong video
release coincides with the cinema premiere of a follow-up film; for
instance, Heroic Trio was released on video about the same time as
Executioners (Heroic Trio II) premiered, and the Swordsman films
have followed the same pattern.

There are also various licencees in other countries; in North America,
there is NYUE enterprises, Tai Seng Marketing and World Video, in
Britain TVB have a branch (which mostly sells low-budget films). The
licensee gets a video master of some sort - U-Matic, a laser disc or
perhaps just a VHS tape - and manufacture copies, covers and labels
themselves. Understandably, quality varies!

3. The bluffer's guide to chinese actor's names

If you walk into a chinese video shop and ask for "Chinese Ghost Story",
or "Jet Li", or "John Woo" films, the only thing you're likely to get is a
blank stare. Just about all Hong Kong films have English names, but that
doesn't mean that these names have anything to do with the Chinese
ones.

And what's more, almost all actors and directors have taken english
names - which can be quite different from their real names! Mostly,
you'll know an actor by a dreamt-up English first name, and the real
chinese sur-name. Jet Li, for instance, is actually Li Lian Je - but that's
in Mandarin, so to a Cantonese he's actually Lei Lin Git! Not very
obvious if you didn't know it!

Here is a small guide to some famous actors. This will make your first
encounters with chinese video shops much easier! (Original list by Timo
Juhani Rautiala ([e-mail]))

  English               Cantonese               Mandarin

Actors/actresses:

 "Yuen Biao"            "Yuen Biu"              "Yuan2 Biao1"
 "Jackie Chan"          "Sing Lung"             "Cheng2 Long2"
 "DoDo / Carol Cheng"   "Jeng Yue Ling"         "Zheng4 Yu4 Ling1"
 "Jacky Cheung"         "Jeung Hok Yan"         "Zhang1 Xue2 You3"
 "Leslie Cheung"        "Jeung Kwok Wing"       "Zhang1 Guo2 Rong2"
 "Maggie Cheung"        "Jeung Maan Yuk"        "Zhang1 Man4 Yu4"
 "Stephen Chow"         "Chow Sing Chi"
 "Chow Yun Fat"         "Jau Yun Faat"          "Zhou1 Run4 Fa1"
 "Samo Hung"            "Hung Kam Bao"          "Hong2 Jin1 Bao3"
 "Wong Jing"            "Wong Jing"             "Wang2 Jing1"
 "Cynthia Khan"         "Yeung Lai Ching"       "Yang2 Li2 Qing1"
 "Michelle Khan / Yeoh" "Yeung Ji King"         "Yang2 Zi3 Qiong2"
 "Rosamund Kwan"        "Gwaan Ji Lam"          "Guan1 Zhi1 Lin2"
 "Andy Lau"             "Lau Tuk Wah"           "Liu2 De2 Hua1"
 "Michelle Lee / Reis"  "Lei Ga Yan"            "Li3 Jia1 Xin1"
 "Tony Leung"           "Leung Ga Fai"          "Liang2 Jia1 Hui1"
 "Tony Leung"           "Leung Chiu Wai"        "Liang2 Zhao2 Wei3"
 "Gong Li"              "Gung Lei"              "Gong3 Li4"
 "Jet Li"               "Lei Lin Git"           "L13 Lian2 Jie2"
 "Brigitte Lin"         "Lam Ching Ha"          "Lin2 Qing1 Xia2"
 "Cheung Man"           "Jeung Man"             "Zhang1 Min3"
 "Anita Mui"            "Mooi Yim Fong"         "Mei2 Yan4 Fang1"
 "Richard Ng"           "Ng Mang Tat"           "Wu2 Meng4 Da2"
 "Yuen Wo Ping"         "Yuen Woh Ping"         "Yuan2 He2Ping2"
 "Joey Wong"            "Wong Jo Yin"           "Wang2 Zu3 Xian2"
 "Simon Yam"            "Yam Daat Wa"           "Ren2 Da2 Hua1"
 "Sally Yip  Sally Yeh" "Yip Sin Man"           "Ye4 Qian4 Wen2"

Directors:

 "Tsui Hark"            "Chui Ha"               "Xu2 Ke4"
 "Wong Jin"             "Wong Jing"             "Wang2 Jing1"
 "John Woo"             "Ng Yu Sum"             "Wu2 Yu3 Sen1"


4. A look at different versions of some John Woo films

Examinations of John Woo's Hardboiled and The Killer by Eric Tend
([e-mail]).

HARDBOILED

I did notice that HARD-BOILED has at least two versions out. The
Cantonese version has a lot more contiguous complete action scenes and
the Mandarin version is the same length ... but with different filler
scenes inserted to replace other scenes. Subtile differences that I have
noticed :

Cantonese Version :

   During the warehouse hit scene, Chow shoots at 2 motorcycles,
   shoots at Tony, ducks around and uses a car as a shield while the
   Mad Dog emptys an uzi magazine at him, Chow then tosses the
   grenade.
   During the hospital showdown, scenes missing from the
   Mandarin version :
   Baddies using hand-held grenade launchers shooting at the poilce
   outside.
   The scene where the SWAT team enters the building shows 2
   swinging in through an outside window and 2 coming in through
   the air-conditioning duct.
   Chow and Tony blast away after entering a room (where a guy
   gets shot and falls out a window) and Tony does his ground roll
   under a table to get to a baddie, then the Mad Dog comes in with
   a grenade launcher rifle, blows the door sending Tony flying,
   Chow shoots from across the room, Mad Dog throws a grenade at
   Chow, it explodes - cut to baby rescuing with grenade explosion
   next room over (nice continuity showing where the battle is,
   more shooting, Tony gets blasted out of a door, Mad Dog targets
   Tony as Chow comes flying through a glass window firing at
   Mad Dog, who turns and ducks through another glass window ...
   all done in trade- mark Woo slow motion (one of my favorite
   scenes!).
   A scene showing Mad Dog pursuing Tony down a corridor
   shooting through glass windows along the middle (with Tony
   shooting back over his shoulder), finally ending with the Mad
   Dog jumping through a dead-end window.
   After Tony splits off looking for Mad Dog, he enters the room
   by kicking a medical gerny toward him and firing igniting it (or
   was it the otherway around?). Different angle of the eyeball entry
   shot at the end.

Mandarin Version

   During the warehouse hit scene, Chow shoots at 3 motercycles,
   shoots at Tony, ducks behind a car, and cut to Chow tossing the
   grenade.
   During the hospital showdown, scenes missing from the
   Cantonese version include :
   More scenes of the police from outside shooting at the baddies.
   Music from the movie Predator.
   The scene where the SWAT team enters the build shows only 2
   entering through the air-conditioning duct, approaching a room,
   and finding a cop "saying don't shoot".
   More scenes of the cops inside fighting bad and getting shot.
   In the scene leading up to where Tony accidently shoots a cop,
   Chow and Tony go down another corridor junction shoot- ing
   away and Tony gets wounded. Also has another slow-mo
   corridor cross-cross with Chow and Tony trading sides.
   When Chow goes back to help with the babies, he goes through
   some baddies at close range from behind.
   Chow's cutsey baby scene after taking out 4 guys in the nursery.
   Different angle of the eyeball entry shot with more flashbacks at
   the end.

There is probably a lot more but these were the standouts. I was able to
catch a Cantonese version at the local Chinatown theater. It had some of
the bullet entry scenes shortened and the eyeball scene cut.

All in all, I think I prefer the Cantonese version over the Mandarin
version for its continuity. John Woo needs put together and release a
director's cut letterboxed version with all scenes restored !!!

THE KILLER - scenes missing from the shorter version

There is a complete scene just after Danny meets Jenny for the first time
in the lounge bar where Jenny hails a taxi and is assulted by 4 drunks.
Danny comes to here aid just like Chow did ... even using a garbage can
lid and breaking a bottle over some guy's head. He offers Jenny a ride
home, which she accepts, and as they drive off, Chow walks from out of
the shadows smoking a cigarette ... he had been watching everthing.
When they arrive at Jenny's apartment, she invites Danny in for some
tea, they have a conversation and Danny comments that Jenny sings with
such emotion ... and she says that she sings for only one man : Jeff.
Danny scanss out the window and spots Chow standing outside across
the street. When he gets to the street, Chow is gone and he notices a note
on his windshield .. which says comething like "thanks for helping
Jenny"! now this scene really fits and shows how the two characters
begin to bond and begin some sort of trust for one another.

Another scene follows Jeff and Jenny back to Sidney's house just after
the airport diversion. The scene envolves Jeff and Jenny eating dinner as
Sidney returns from leaving the Police station after Danny's partner is
ambushed.

Most of the other cuts were scene continuity shots : after Chow wastes
the 4 baddies at his appartment, they show him leaving as the police
arrive. As he gets into his car and speeds off, Danny arrives and sees the
car leaving the scene. After Danny carterizes Chow's wound after
Sidney's house battle, they show the dark sunglasses assassin tracking
them and finding the turnikit and stuff that they left behind. Also the
end battle shows the baddies exiting the church using a smoke bomb and
slightly more violence where Chow shots a few more baddies and gets
shot and bounces off the wall to shoot more baddies.

There's probably more, but this is what I noticed switching between the
two versions.

5. Video and laser disc companies

Great Britain

TVB International:

   Official licensees, who do very good quality duplication.
   Unfortunately, their films are mostly pretty dull. TVB have a
   sales office at Shaftesbury Avenue in London, where you can buy
   their tapes.
   Their films are also packaged and sold by a company called Film
   Extremes; be aware that Film Extremes also sell copies of other
   origin, which are sometimes of poor quality. Film Extremes have
   a shop at

        3a Buck Street (near the Camden Town subway station)

   in London. Go there and meet Rick Baker, publisher of Eastern
   Heroes and a great source of knowledge about everything to do
   with Hong Kong movies!

Hong Kong

Hong Kong video tapes are professionally duplicated - it just doesn't
show sometimes! Often subtitles slide off the screen, and action is lost at
the sides of a widescreen movie. But despite these shortcomings, they
are usually the best quality you're likely get, at least if you want english
subtitles. And fortunately, quality is improving; many companies now
letterbox most of their films, for instance.

If you want to buy tapes or discs, they are extremely expensive: $100 US
is not uncommon - and twice that amount if the movie comes in two
parts!

Cinema City

   Cinema City make very video poor transfers or their films - it
   seems like they just point a camera at the middle of the picture
   and hope for the best. A lot of action is lost on the sides, and
   subtitles often disappear from view. Their laser discs, on the
   other hand, are usually letterboxed, but the picture quality can
   still be bad, far below USA/Japan standards. They release many
   good films, such as all John Woo/Chow Yun Fat films, many
   Tsui Hark productions, etc, but their recent tendency to do censor
   cuts is very worrying.

Mei Ah Video Production Co.

Unit 15-28 17/F
Metro Center Phase 1
32 Kam Hing Street,
Kowloon Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong
tel [phone],  fax [phone]

   Consistently good quality, though no HiFi. Some recent releases
   have been letterboxed and the subtitles are always readable. Mei
   Ah release many big films, but also quite a lot of dross and
   filmed-on-video stuff.

Ocean Shores

Suite 2103-6 Hang Lung Centre
2 Paterson Street
Hong Kong
Fax: [phone]

   Average quality transfers with simple copy-protection. Ocean
   Shores seem to release very few interesting films at the moment,
   mostly low-budget stuff.

Star Entertainment

   The most consistently high-class of the Hong Kong companies -
   always letterboxed, hi-fi tapes with no copy protection. Most
   Star releases are without subtitles but a few new releases like
   "Blade of Fury" and "Raped by an Angel" have subtitles. Let's
   hope for more! Star handle many of the best films like "Once
   Upon A Time In China" part I and II and everything with Jackie
   Chan.

Universe Laser & Video

   Mostly letterboxed, hifi releases of excellent quality. Many tapes
   are very heavily copy-protected - so bad that it makes even the
   originals hard to view on some TV:s! They have released some
   good stuff like Chow Sin Che films and Heroic Trio, but are also
   the outlet for a lot of mindnumbingly awful Andy Lau comedies.

Malaysia

The Malaysian tapes are getting better and better - less of poor
VHS-toVHS copies, and more that actually seem to be made from
professional master tape. But the quality often varies even on two copies
of the same film from the same manufacturer!

Official tapes are recognized by their Bahasa Malaysian subtitles, and
often have commercial breaks. There are also a lot of black-market
tapes; these are ususally uncut and without Malaysian subtitles. Almost
all Malaysian tapes have english and chinese subtitles.

Solid Gold Video:

   Very good (but not very subtle!) cover art. Average copy quality,
   often cut.

Speedy Video

29 & 31, Jalan 1/76, Desa Pandan
Jalan Kampung Pandan
55100 Kuala Lumpur

   Speedy have a lot of big name films. Many of their tapes are
   taped directly from the uncut Hong Kong laserdiscs.

Triumph Success

Associated Video Distributors SDN BDH
No. 338, 1st Floor, Wisma Sys
Jalan Raja Laut
50350 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia

   Triumph seem to get their source material from Malaysian
   cinema version. This means that they are censored. They are also
   often shortened for other reasons - perhaps to save tape?

Kavein Video

Avoid these at all costs, says Lou Smogor ([e-mail]):

"They are one of the major tape distributors in Malaysia. They have
absolutely the worst transfers of any company I have ever seen. They
seem to go out of the way to find the worst reels of all the release prints
and assemble them to make a film. It seems to be a point of pride to
them that at least 50% of the titles are off screen, and frequently the
picture just slides off the screen, leaving, for example, a couple of inches
of black at the top."

U.S.A.

NYUE Enterprises

(sometimes tapes are marked Rainbow Video & Audio)

59-13 68th Ave.
Ridgewood NY 11385
USA

   Official seller of Hong Kong films in North East US - quality
   varies, but has improved. Carries a lot of excellent films (and a
   lot of others too of course!) NYUE don't sell directly to
   customers outside the US, but you can get their tapes from
   various mailorder companies.

Tai Seng Marketing

170 South Spruce Avenue
Suite 200
South San Francisco, CA 94080
USA

tel: (415) 871 - 8118, [phone]
fax: (415) 871 - 2392

According to Jeff Dove ([e-mail])

"High quality tranfers from films. They sell tapes of movies imported
from China. The picture quality is geneally very good, but sometimes
the films with English subtitles (most of them) are hard to read because
of light letters on a light background or sentences cut off from lack of
letterboxing. Their are 1345 listings in the latest catalog, including many
Hong Kong action favorites."

"Only the titles in the catalog are in English, with the directors, stars,
and prices in Chinese. I haven't called to place an order (I have rented
their products in video stores) so I don't have any pricing information. I
faxed my address to them and they mailed me their catalog for free."

Accepts no credit cards, does not sell outside of USA. Prices: "$50.00
for a tape that is less than six months old, and $39.99 for one that is
greater than six months old."

World Video & Supply Inc.

150 Executive Park Blvd.
Suite 1600
San Francisco, CA 94134
USA

Fax: [phone]

   Many hard-to-find titles like Tsui Harks early cannibal oddity
   We Are Going To Eat You.

6. Bibliography

Books

Chris Berry, ed. : Perspectives on Chinese Cinema, British Film
Institute 1991, ISBN 0-85170-272-4
   Mainly Chinese films, but also some bits about Hong Kong.
   Unfortunately, the Hong Kong articles are from ca. 1987.
John A. Lent : The Asian Film Industry, Christopher Helm Ltd. 1990,
ISBN 0-7470-2000-0
   Good chapters on virtually every film-producing country in
   Asia, and the Hong Kong bit is interesting and comparatively
   up-to-date.
Meyers, Harlib, Palmer : From Bruce Lee to the Ninjas - Martial
Arts Movies, Citadel Press 1985, ISBN 0-86369-474-8
   This book is great if you want to read about the "classic" kung-fu
   films, but unfortunately it stops short when the fun REALLY
   begins, ca. 1985.

Magazines & Fanzines:

Asian Eye

253 College Street #108
Toronto, Ontario
Canada  M5T 1R5

Only one issue as yet. The first issue covers a lot of "beginners" ground,
like John Woo, Tsui Hark and Jackie Chan; I recommend it as a very
good starting point if you want to read more about Hong Kong movies.

According to the editor:

"Asian Eye is published whenever the editor feels motivated. Issues
available for $5 (plus CDN$1/ US$2 postage). Make cheques payable to
Colin Geddes (US cash preferred). Also available for 'zine trade or
barter. Contributions more than welcome (it speeds up the next issues
arrival), but drop me a line before you start typing away. Advertising
space available for next issue." Asian Trash Cinema

P O Box 5367
Kingwood TX 77325
USA

Co-edited and funded by Video Search of Miami's Tom Weisser, edited
by Craig Ledbetter (who also edits European Trash Cinema). Single
issues are $6.00 or 4 for $20.00.

I don't really like ATC:s attitude towards Hong Kong films - a mix of
ignorance and sensationalism - but the fanzine is getting better, and
shouldn't be missed by anyone who's into Hong Kong movies. Just don't
believe anything they say about Video Search of Miami!

Eastern Heroes

PO Box 409
London, SE18 3DW
England

Rick Baker is probably the biggest Hong Kong movie enthusiast/
entrepeneur in the U. K., and Eastern Heroes is a good info-packed
though slightly sloppy fanzine. Apparently Rick is planning to expand
the 'zine into a professional magazine, so don't send any subscription
money now.

Fatal Visions

Fatal Visions Pty Ltd
c/o Michael Helms
PO BOX 133
Northcote
Victoria 3070

This is a Melbourne based magazine that has a regular article called
'Chinatown Beat', which is usually 3-4 pages long. Issue 15 also
featured an article on Ringo Lam. Cost is A$4.50 per issue or A$24 for 6
issues. - Ian Parkin ([e-mail])

Film Extremes

PO Box 409
London, SE18 3DW
England

Published by Ken Miller (of horror fanzine Imaginator, one of the first
in Britain to touch on HK movies) and Rick Baker (Eastern Heroes) this
is roughly half Hong Kong and half horror/ underground. Published
irregularly, I only know of 2 issues. Issue 1 had a big interview with
Chow Yun Fat, #2 had Ching Sui-Tung.

Hong Kong Film Connection

P.O. Box 867225
Plans, TX. 75086-7225
USA

Neat little news-letter with lots of info and Chinese signs for all movies
reviewed. Among the contributors are several "netters".

Hong Kong Film Monthly

601 Van Ness Ave
#E3728, SF, CA, 94102
USA

subscriptions: $15 for six months

Says Jeff Dove ([e-mail]):

I just got the free preview issue of this new fanzine. It covers what's
showing in the SF area, but also has other articles. This issue had a
review of The New Legend of Shaolin and an article on the 1994 HK
International Film Festival in SF. It's a low-tech monthly, but the
writing is good and the spirit is right. They say future issues will be
larger, and the July issue will be the Jackie Chan special.

Impact

M.A.I. Publications
Revenue Chambers
St. Peter's Street
Huddersfield HD1 1EL
England

This English magazine covers all sorts of action movies; mostly
Schwarzenegger/Segal/van Damme stuff, but there is also a 2-3 page
column called China Beat with the latest news about Hong Kong
movies. They have also had several specials on people like Jackie Chan,
Mihelle Yeoh, Yuen Biao, John Woo etc. Subscriptions are £21.50 UK,
£24 Europe surface, £36 Europe air, £45 World-wide, for 12 issues.

Oriental Cinema

Distributed by:

Draculina Publishing
P O Box 696
Centralia, IL 62801
USA

Damon Foster's fanzine is probably the oldest running fanzine focusing
on Asian films; it started as a Godzilla 'zine before most of us were born
(or entered a chinese video shop, at any rate!) Still very enthusiastic and
nicely chaotic, it's well worth getting. Single issues are $ 2.75.

Video Watchdog

P.O. Box 5283
Cincinatti, OH 45205-0283
USA

tel: (513) 471 - 8989

This professional-looking fanzine has an excellent 2-3 page
column on Asian video releases each issue. Even though I would
wish for more pages, the info is always firstclass. Most
major movies get a mention, with details on running times,
different labels etc.

The new yearly Video Watchdog Special Edition
contains a long and useful list of video sources, including
several for Asian films. Also has contributors' picks for 1993's
best releases, which include quite a lot of Hong Kong films.

6-issue subscriptions are $24 (bulk) and $35 (1st)
inside the USA, $33 (surface) and $45 (air) outside.



--
    - Lars Erik Holmquist
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Hong Kong movies WWW-page:
    http://www.mdstud.chalmers.se/hkmovie/