Ziyi Zhang stars in this lavish adaptation of Arthur Golden's best-selling novel.
Directed by John Woo, "Red Cliff" charts the remarkable events leading up to the most famous battle in Chinese history
Collection of action films starring martial artist and actor Bruce Lee. In 'The Big Boss' (1971) Lee stars as immigrant worker Cheng Chao-an who takes a job with his cousins in an ice factory and discovers all manner of suspicious activities. When he begins to investigate a series of disappearances - the latest of which has seen his own cousin go missing - he can't help but display his formidable martial arts skills. Taking on one opponent after another, Cheng will not stop until he has fought his way to the truth and the inevitable confrontation with the man known only as The Big Boss (Han Ying Chieh). In 'Fist of Fury' (1972) Lee stars as martial arts student Chen Zhen whose mentor dies in suspicious circumstances. Whilst he is mourning his old friend, members of a rival school arrive and taunt Chen and his friends, who do not react at first. Chen later humiliates his adversaries by beating every single one of them, but this causes bloody repercussions and begins to uncover the real reasons behind his master's death. In 'The Way of the Dragon' (1973) Lee stars as martial arts expert Tang Lung who travels to Rome to protect a family friend's restaurant from a powerful Mafia man. A violent altercation between Tang and the mobster's heavies persuades the gang boss to call for reinforcements, an American martial arts assassin (Chuck Norris), who challenges Tang to a fight to the death within the walls of the Colosseum. In 'Enter the Dragon' (1973) Lee plays the role of a secret agent who is sent to infiltrate a martial arts tournament presided over by a one-handed supervillain. His mission: to destroy the villain's opium-smuggling racket. Finally, in 'Game of Death' (1978) a successful martial artist who refuses to join a crime syndicate has a contract to kill put out with his name on it. The assassination attempt fails but his death is broadcast to the world to throw the criminals off his trail. Unfortunately, the hoods do not believe the stories and make him face a series of adversaries in one-to-one fights to save the life of his girlfriend (Colleen Camp).
A huge influence on Quentin Tarantino and a long-term fan favourite, Clan of the White Lotus is a quintessential slice of kung-fu mayhem. Director/ star Lo Leih (Five Fingers of Death, Miracles) plays the evil ex-monk Pai Mei, a man with white hair, near-supernatural fighting skills and a bitter hatred of Shaolin scholars. Facing him down is the callow Hung Wen-ting (Gordon Liu, who would himself play the cruel Pai Mei in Kill Bill Volume 2). But will his kung fu ever be good enough to take out the mad killer? It's a follow-up to the earlier Executioners from Shaolin but don't worry if you haven't seen that: Clan of the White Lotus remixes the elements and turns up the volume to create something that stands tall on its own merits. 88 are proud to present the UK blu ray premiere of an old skool chop socky classic.
Inspired by the heroic, untold true story of Chongqing, The Bombing stars screen legends Bruce Willis (Die Hard, The Expendables) and Adrien Brody (The Pianist) in an incredible tale of honour and immense bravery. This pulse-pounding war epic centres around the courage of China's citizens during WWII. As U.S. Air Force commander Jack Johnson (Willis) trains the Chinese aviators to battle Japanese fighters, a hot-headed pilot begs to fly a powerful bomber that could stop the attacks. Meanwhile, a team of spies and refugees must carry a game-changing decoder device through the war-torn countryside. The Bombing portrays this historic conflict in a thrilling new light.
Directed by John Woo, "Red Cliff" charts the remarkable events leading up to the most famous battle in Chinese history
Set in modern Rome the only full length feature ever directed by Bruce Lee is a fast-moving Kung Fu story of how a country boy attempts to outsmart big-city gangsters. This digitally re-mastered and restored anamorphic version is now totally uncut after years of censorship with the legendary double nunchaku sequences now re-instated and the full length Colosseum fight between Bruce Lee and karate legend Chuck Norris.
Described as one of the best martial arts films of the last 30 years (Blood Brothers). Brotherhood of Blades tells an epic tale of power struggles, betrayal and conspiracies during the final years of the Ming Dynasty. When three elite Assassins are tasked by the Emperor to eliminate a powerful enemy and his loyal followers, they find themselves pulled into in a treacherous conspiracy which can only lead to a bloody battle for the Empire.
The epic story of a man who challenged the limits of courage and fought for the heart of a nation. When his wife and entire village are brutally murdered by evil Manchu soldiers the master warrior Kwun (Jet Li) sets out on a mission of vengeance with the only survivor of the massacre - his son Ting. For seven years the two journey across ancient China on their quest for revenge always staying one step ahead of the deadly army. But Kwun is forced to face the past when they come ac
During the 1970's Cultural Revolution two bourgeois young men from the city are sent to a remote culturally barren mountain village for re-education in Maoist principles. Discovering a hidden cache of books by western writers including Balzac the pair transmit their love of art and literature to the knowledge-hungry local seamstress (Xun Zhou) with whom they promptly both fall in love... Nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film 'Balzac And The Little Chinese Seamstr
City of Life & Death
Inspector Yuen nicknamed 'Tequila' is a courageous cop who shoots from both hips never reloads and never misses. A tough guy with a soft spot and infinite charm Tequila is the only man for the job of cleaning up the city and when his partner is killed in a spectacular shoot-out he decides to take the investigation into his own lethal hands. With a body count well into three figures more firepower than you can shake an Uzi at stylised adrenalin-pumping action sequences which
Nanjing China 1937. Japanese forces invade this once-capital of the Republic of China on December 9th. Throughout the following six weeks soldiers raped thousands of women and annihilated hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians - with mass executions; crowds mown down by firing squads and victims digging their own graves. Few events carry the ugly and sickening connotations of what has become known as the 'Rape of Nanking'. Director Lu Chuan tells the horrifying story through several figures including a conscience-stricken Japanese soldier and John Rabe a Nazi businessman who would ultimately save thousands of Chinese civilians' lives.
Described as one of the best martial arts films of the last 30 years (Blood Brothers). Brotherhood of Blades tells an epic tale of power struggles, betrayal and conspiracies during the final years of the Ming Dynasty. When three elite Assassins are tasked by the Emperor to eliminate a powerful enemy and his loyal followers, they find themselves pulled into in a treacherous conspiracy which can only lead to a bloody battle for the Empire.
For 1992's Twin Dragons Jackie Chan resurrects the old Corsican Brothers chestnut of identical twin brothers separated at birth who meet up as adults and discover that they share more than blood ties. Poor boy Chan is a mechanic and race-car driver whose black-market activities have made him the target of some nasty mobsters, while jet-setting Chan is a world-famous conductor back in Hong Kong for a concert. In the same vicinity for the first time in years, they can suddenly feel each other's pain, and more. As one Chan jumps a jet boat for a wild escape, the other becomes a victim of the furious ride, thrown around a posh restaurant while drenching his date with drinking water. The whole thing is overloaded with silly slapstick, Chan's incessant mugging and cartoonish mistaken-identity gags as the boys swap girlfriends and dance. But wade through the crude comedy and you're rewarded with a gymnastic free-for-all climax in a car-testing workshop, where Chan leaps over, under and through cars while taking on an army of gangsters before split-screen brothers team up for a bit of marionette martial arts. Tsui Hark and Ringo Lam co-direct, Tsui taking the comedy and Lam handling the action, and John Woo makes a cameo as a priest in the wedding finale. --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com
Regarded as the finest work from the first great era of Chinese filmmaking Fei Mu’s quiet piercingly poignant study of adulterous desire and guilt-ridden despair – now restored by the China Film Archive – is a remarkable rediscovery. After eight years of marriage to Liyan – once rich but now sickly and almost suicidally apathetic following a long ruinous war – Yuwen does little except deliver his daily medication. A surprise visit from Liyan’s friend Zhang re-energises the household the invalid included. Liyan’s young sister is not alone in her excitement over the much-travelled guest; Yuwen knew him before her marriage… In 2005 Spring In a Small Town was declared No.1 in the Best 100 Chinese Motion Pictures. A re-make as Springtime in a Small Town by Tian Zhuangzhuang was released in 2002 but this is the first time that the original film has been available on DVD in the UK. Features: Rare Chinese shorts from the BFI National Archive Fully illustrated booklet with complete film credits
Many heads have rolled at the hands of Fung and his terrifying weapon - the Flying Guillotine. Only one man a one-armed man is capable of devising a technique that can combat it...
Masterful Hong Kong action director John Woo (The Killer, Face/Off) turns in this exciting and pyrotechnic tale of warring gangsters and shifting loyalties. Chow Yun-Fat (The Replacement Killers) plays a take-no-prisoners cop on the trail of the Triad, the Hong Kong Mafia, when his partner is killed during a gun battle. His guilt propels him into an all-out war against the gang, including an up-and-coming soldier in the mob (Tony Leung) who turns out to be an undercover cop. The two men must come to terms with their allegiance to the force and their loyalty to each other as they try to take down the gangsters. A stunning feast of hyperbolic action sequences (including a climactic sequence in an entire hospital taken hostage), Hard Boiled is a rare treat for fans of the action genre, with sequences as thrilling and intense as any ever committed to film. --Robert Lane
Nick Broomfield examines the tragic deaths of Chinese cockle-pickers who lost their lives in Morecambe Bay in 2004.
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