Dragon Tiger Gate: the Movie (SPOILERS)

[@PLUGO]

So . . . Wilson Yip, director of S.P.L. (http://www.martialartsmart.net/dvd64538.html) is working with Donnie Yen again on his next film. Dragon Tiger Gate (http://www.dragontigergatemovie.com/main.html), the 70's era Hong Kong comic created by Tony Wong. In the U.S. Jademan Comics translated and marketed the series under the title "Oriental Heroes" sometime around the late 80's and early 90's.

The Weinstein Company is handling US distribution and the film will include Jaycee Chan, Anthony Wong and Zhou Yu. The US$10 million action film is Mandarin Films' first co-production with Beijing Polybona. In addition to Hong Kong and China, it will open in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand as well as travel to Europe after being sold to Benelux, France and Scandinavia. (http://en.chinabroadcast.cn/349/2006/03/31/44@69491.htm)

Some behind the scenes footage can be found here. (http://www.karazen.com/news/2006/MAR/dragon_03_04.php)

Anyone remember the comic?

Anyone have an opinion based on Wilson's directing of S.P.L?

[doug maverick]

yeah the film is in post right now according to donnie's site and donnieyen.us, i remember the book. this film is acording to donnie he was looking to a sin city feel for this flick. i don't know how thats gonna turn out, the poster's look kinda cheesy the story sounds warped, but then again so does most of yips work, spl was his first solid film in my opinion and it still had more holes thin swiss cheese. i've been a donnie fan since i was like 8, so i'll see this just like i saw the rest. if anything it's gonna have some great fights!!!!!!!!!

[jethro]

I've seen some bad donnie stuff.

These may have already been aswered but I'll ask em anyway.

1----how long did this take to make, meaning did they actually take a lttle bit of time?

2----is donnie in it?

3----is there anyone even close to donnie's caliber in it?


Sorry I can't comment on slp, I keep hearing so muhc about jacky wu, i don't want that to be the first movie I see him in, im weird:p

[doug maverick]

they started like in march! so it was a relative quick production, but that doesn't mean anything, directors who know what they want can shoot pretty fast espiecially if they work with the same actors and crew(i shot a feature film for television in like ten days).

yes donnie is in it, but no i don't think theres a good equal for donnie, sean yue and nicholas tse are in it, i half to find out about the villian but i'm pretty sure he's no one important.

[doug maverick]

check it out i found the official site and guess what? they have it in english, check out the trailer it pretty good:


http://www.dragontigergatemovie.com/index2.html

[jethro]

they started like in march! so it was a relative quick production, but that doesn't mean anything, directors who know what they want can shoot pretty fast espiecially if they work with the same actors and crew(i shot a feature film for television in like ten days).

yes donnie is in it, but no i don't think theres a good equal for donnie, sean yue and nicholas tse are in it, i half to find out about the villian but i'm pretty sure he's no one important.


It looks pretty good I guess, but if it is like OUATIC 3 or something, it's gonna suck. They rushed through the first 2 movies(just going off how many goofs there were), but they were still really good, so I hope I can see it in the next year or 2 or 3.:rolleyes:

[Shaolinlueb]

wilson yip is one of my favorite directors. he did awesome with spl. one of my favorite hk movies is by him. "bio zombies" great stuff. i hope there isnt too much wire work in this one.


edit*
nicholas tse is in it.............. :rolleyes: god i hate him.

[GeneChing]

OUATIC3 (http://www.martialartsmart.net/dvd4003.html)is a special case. Li and Hark split during production. Li went on to make his own version of the movie, which became Wong Fei Hong's Iron Rooster vs. Centipide, aka Last Hero in China . Both films came out in '93, same year as Tai Chi Master (http://www.martialartsmart.net/dvd40023.html) and Fong Sai Yuk I & II. Jet was working it in '93. ;)

LHiC was supposed to be some kind of a remake of the 1956 Kwan Tak Hing classic. I've never seen the KTH version, but maybe that would be the cypher. Both LHiC and OUATIC3 were very surreal films. I'm still not sure what either Li or Hark were after. I didn't care for either movie that much, but OUATIC3's weird battle lions and LHiC's chicken fight finale were so bizarre, it's hard to discount either films as just bad. They were beyond bad in a totally Hong Kong way. Of course, if you have issues with bad film, you shouldn't watch Hong Kong cinema because as genre's go, it's got to be the worst when it's bad (except maybe Bollywood.) Personally I kind of enjoy bad HK film sometimes. It's a guilty pleasure. I'm glad I saw both LHiC and OUATIC3, but I certainly wouldn't recommend them or would sit through them again. OUATIC3 was just a shame because OUATIC1 & 2 were amazing films. The later OUATICs aren't much better, except when Zhou Wenzhou took over the role in 4.

BTW, if you're not into seeing Jacky Wu in SPL (http://www.martialartsmart.net/dvd64538.html), jethro, check him out in Tai Chi Master II (http://www.martialartsmart.net/dvd60368.html). Like Zhao Wenzhou in OUATIC4, stepping into Jet's shadow was challenging. Tai Chi Master II isn't connected to Tai Chi Master I at all really, except for the fact that both are directed by Yuen Woo-Ping. I think Tai Chi Master II is the best showcase so far for Jacky Wu's martial arts. Jacky Wu is Wu Jing, another Beijing wushu team champ like Jet. I think he's one to watch. He just needs a good vehicle to take him to the next level.

[jethro]

the only good part in #3 is where wong and the bad guy are fighting and wong gets distracted, guy jumps up on roof, then yells, wong you can't catch me I'm so much better than you, then he runs away. Teh clubfoot scenes were just retarded, you may have seen him in that crap wong movie fist of the red dragon. In that movie he got to show his stuff, for some reason hark doesn't want to showcase him, and Yuen Biou for that matter.

Btu claws of steel(aka 10 names) I thought was awesome on many levels. Tehy reteamed up bucktooth and beardy from my fav movie ever legend of fighter, master killer vs wong fei-hung, the music, the lion dances, bad guy being the funniest guy in the whole series. Jet li drunken style(for a second).

claws may not haev been the best movie but it did WAY too many things the way that I like it. But unlike OUATIC 2 and 3, I actually felt emotion in claws. Very good movie, but I can certainly see why people didn't like it:D

And I will certainly check out the one with billy chow and that tv show I heard was really good. Sorry I actually have to work a little bit I would have wrote l;onger bye:D

[jethro]

btw i have the 106 minute uncut version of this. My friend has an extreme cut-up version. But I think that if you watch again you can tell the difference in those movie. They were both very rushed but one was good and one was not. The fu in deadly china hero was not the best, but so much better than OUATIC 3 it's not even funny. And the dubbing is cool cause it's not the jet li collection guy(s) doing the dubs, it's the british guy just like the old school because of what was goin on in that time. The baddie voice is easily the best dubbed vioce I have ever heard, you have heard him in around 200-300 movies, but he puts on his best performance ever.

The things that make this one an enjoyable movie for me in comparison to 3 are:

Music-they actually changed it up in this one and if hark was the first one to put it into words on the big screen, then jing wong copied him pretty quick and was the second. The guitar added to the theme was pretty cool.

The fighting-all smoke and mirrors just like the kung fight, but does manage to give us a mighty gift at the end. Also watching jet in the chair and go against master killer were very good, and very fine smellin cheese.

THE COMEDY-it was stupid as hell but watching jet try not to crack up when the badie is like 2 inches form jet's face, that was truly classic.

Jet the actor-he was an actor in this movie unlike 3, also in 2 he was not a good actor but it is hark's fault, in 1 he was shown to be a GREAT actor, not versatile, but perfect for the role.I can certainly see why this entry in the series was frowned upon and may have even offended some non light hearted wong fei-hung fans but it DID stay true. What Jing Wong(hate him) did was keep the calm wong role for jet and made everything around him INSANE. It is a brilliant idea that I am surprised more people didn't like the movie because of it. Some of my favorite movies are return to the 36th chamber, disciples of 36th, young master, and this. Trust me though I like the movies more when they mix up the emotions like in MAd Monkey Kung Fu, KILLER CONSTABLE, deadly mantis, and 36th chamber itself. Can you tell I like shaw flicks and master Lau's inparticular

[Shaolinlueb]

after ouatic3 i liked 4 and 5 a lot. i thought the stories were decent and such. but club foot ends up getting shot in the same knee in both of those. you figure his knee would be destroyed lol. 6 i have somewhere too but i cant bring myself to watch it.

[GeneChing]

I agree with ya, Shaolinlueb, although for the life of me, I can't remember what happened in OUATIC5. I had high expectations for OUATIC6 with the return of Jet and Sammo directing, but what a disappointment. Jet spends most of the film practicing his English. And the cowboy kung fu thing is just old on me. Too much Kung Fu TV show. Too much Shanghai Noon/Nights. I enjoyed those, but Jet's (and Sammo's) stab at it sucked. I saw one of the following OUATICs - I can't remember which - I think those were from some TV show. The production quality was poor, and they weren't really 'official' installments, just billed as such on the video.

jethro, I hear ya about Wong Jing, but I like some of his work. It's so eccentric. I liked New Legend of Shaolin (http://www.martialartsmart.net/dvd40014.html) because it was so bizarre. And that chrome tank at the end? Actually, I liked High Risk and My Father is a Hero too, so I liked all the Wong Jing/Jet collabs. That's what I love of HK film. ;) I also liked Dreadnaught, and of course, talking old school - Magnificient Butcher (http://www.martialartsmart.net/dvd60188.html). I think where he really shines is with femme fatales, such as Naked Killer, Naked Weapon, the Raped by an Angel films, all totally NPC, and rightly so, but amusing.

[jethro]

i like a lot fo his stuff too like mahjong and royal tramp but I still think his out of place wong movie was one of his better efforts.

But he has to be the most prolific writer ever since he has come on to thwe scene. he did write and cowrite a lot of old school films before making his own stuff but my god he has written like 100 movies and his percantage is just not that good.

Thanks for the feedbck.

[GeneChing]

Everyone I know has dissed mahjong. I haven't seen it, but I was giving it a pass because of so many bad reviews. You're the first to give it a thumb's up.

I think a large portion of the charm of HK filmis that all the artists are so insanely prolific. When you're moving that fast, you don't have achance to second guess your work. You just do it. Sometimes, it flops. Occasionally, it works. Most of the time, it comes out like a jumbled mess, but that can be charming.

[doug maverick]

i think the films gonna resemble the comic book(which would be cool) i wonder how much tony wong(the creater) had to do with it i read that he and raymond chow were trying to make the film for like five years. truth be told i never really liked oriental heroes(dragon tiger in the us) that much, i liked force of buddha's palm and the one about the drunken kung fu guys. also i heard yen and yip will be teaming up again for spl2 set in mocow, it's suposed to be like training day. i don't know if thats going to work, unless they get somebody real good in there(in terms of acting as for ma donnie's got it covered) maybe andy lau or anthony wong, maybe even my man tony leung. the art house eats those guys up. i also heard there making seven swords 2, i hope tsui hark makes a better film, i mean come on if you make a film four hours and then cut like half the film out it's gonna suck. he should've pulled a kill bill, i guess somebody was sleeping on the marketing front, oh well what are you gonna do...............

[jethro]

Everyone I know has dissed mahjong. I haven't seen it, but I was giving it a pass because of so many bad reviews. You're the first to give it a thumb's up.

I think a large portion of the charm of HK filmis that all the artists are so insanely prolific. When you're moving that fast, you don't have achance to second guess your work. You just do it. Sometimes, it flops. Occasionally, it works. Most of the time, it comes out like a jumbled mess, but that can be charming.


Hel yeah majhong was good, I liked it moe than kung fu hustle(which isn't good to compare with cause I didn't like it), it was just different. I am looking for mahjong 2 right now.

Doug, dude you aqre into donnie yen, I saw you mentioned seven swords 2 mixed in with a bunch of stuff I didn't recognize. That is going to be a movie, I hope.

And gene I think you said you just saw azumi, good splattering of blood, huh? I haven't seen it but heard good and many BAD things. But I just saw izo recently and:eek:

[doug maverick]

okay i finally saw it, no i din't go to china and don't ask how i saw because i can't say. but needless to say i saw it with subs. first let me say that this film needed more kung fu i mean the fights they had were great but it featured more nick tse then donnie which was funny to me but i guess donnie had to work full time as action director unlike spl, where he was dealing with ma people in this one he was dealing with regular actors so he really had to work, but he steels the show in the acting department i gotta say i really liked his character. if you were a fan of the old double dragon game (which is based on dtg) then you'll like this. now let talk more about the films plot which all the synopsis's on the net have it wrong(including donnies own site) dragon and tiger wong are half brother when dragons mom leaves the gate and dies in a fire dragon is raised buy a mafia boss named kun and is the bodygaurd for kun and his daughter xiao ling. tiger was raised at the gate by his uncle, both brothers meet up again after tiger beats up some of kuns men and one of his friends take the losha plaque(it reminded me of an old story about assasins and theives, and how each group faught to recieve a power that they would hold on to for a year) this plague was gevin to the best mafia boss by the big boss shibumi and this meant he was in charge for a year. well after tiger boys steals it, and dragon get it back, all hell breaks loose kun is set up by shibumi and his men, and shibumi decides to kick the crap out've everyone in dragon tiger gate. then they do the obligatory training anf whip shibumi's ass(hey this is not a spoiler because this is a kung fu flick and pretty much no whats gonna happen) and thats pretty much it. well be glad i told you the ending because you know who bought the rights and you might never see this movie again or if you do it'll be like five years from now. anyway this was the china version of the film so you know good stuff was cut out. like sha po lang(if you saw the two disc hong kong version and the single disc chinese version you know what i mean) anyway later for now

[Shaolinlueb]

im starting to ****ing hate nicholas tse.

i hear a lot of bad stuff about him.

[doug maverick]

he did the **** thing in this film. i mean his kicks were on point, his was eh.... so was shawn yue's, like i said donnie carried the acting(thats not saying much) but you got to remember that they shot this in like what a month or two.....

[GeneChing]

First off, I never read the comics. DTG is no where as gritty or ****erotic as SPL (http://www.martialartsmart.net/dvd64538.html), not as John Woo. DTG is more stylish, like a music video, more like Legend of Zu set in a modern day, yet alternative-universe Hong Kong. Hong Kong is to DTG like Gotham is to NY.

Overall, I liked it. It's not a mind blower, but it's got some really entertaining stuff, lots of great plaguerized elements woven into something new, like good HK cinema always used to be. It starts with comic pages like the Marvel films. The first fight scenes are outrageous and my personal favorites, lots of effects like Shaolin Soccer, but done seriously like X-Men or Spiderman. One guy takes on armies of villains and bodies fly everywhere. The way these guys throw each other through walls and such reminded me of that classic Superman vs. General Zod et.al. fight. It slows down in the middle for some flashback character development, then there's some more entertaining martial arts stuff, then the villains sort of switch which is a bit confusing, but once the fights start again, who cares? Like Akira, which had all this backstory that wasn't so clear in the film, it probably makes more sense if you know the comic. But that wasn't so important. Gaping plot holes can be overlooked. The final fight is enjoyable, but the villian sort of comes out of nowhere - again a reference to the comic but not set up well in the film. The best fight is really the first one, but there enough amusing scenes to keep the attention and the final fight is climactic enough to be satisfying, although still in the shadow of the second fight scene to my way of thinking. There's a lot of fight scenes, all amusing, so the pace keeps rolling, except for in the middle when there's a long section of brooding, boring character development, bad hair styles, and general HK overdone romanticism.

What I like about DTG was that it has style - rollercoaster camerawork, color schemes that are so gaudy they are almost beautiful, bad Asian hair that always covers one eye, surreal CGI blended with some interesting sets. It's not to bloody, no decaptations or dismemberments. The female characters are just love interests and remain fully clothed. There's no kissing.

Donnie has really come on to his own as a fight choreographer. His work is more frenetic than Yuan Woo Ping's stuff, which is pretty and clear, but light like point sparring. It's not like Corey Yuen's work either, which contains way too much impossible physics. And Jackie, well, no one juggles like Jackie, just like no one has the precision of Jet. Nevertheless, Donnie's hits look solid, powerful, more real. It's refreshingly authentic, even in the effect-laden DTG. He does a lot of knee strikes, a clear nod to Tony Jaa. There is a ton of wire work and flying about, villains getting kicked across rooms and such, but it's well executed and acceptable. After all, they are comic book heroes.

Donnie is on a roll after SPL and still a one to watch. A lot of fans are excited about the upcoming Jet vs. Jackie project, and while I am too, I'd much rather see Donnie Yen vs. Tony Jaa. These two are the fresh young talents, now in their prime.

Personally I liked SPL better. Donnie vs. Sammo? Donnie vs. Wu Jing? That was some solid old school stuff. DTG is new wave HK, so it'll probably appeal more to the younger generation. I think that second fight in DTG, the one in the sushi house, will show up in a Tarantino film someday. That was the climax of the film for me and it was way too premature. :o

[doug maverick]

i would love to see this combo as well, maybe if they make an american version if spl they'll put tony in wu jings place, that would be ****ing awesome. here's hoping

[Li Kao]

okay i finally saw it, no i din't go to china and don't ask how i saw because i can't say. but needless to say i saw it with subs. The English subtitled DTG has been available in most Chinatowns for a while now ...

I think all you Nicolas Tse haters are just jealous that he recently married Cecilia Cheung -- and for the record, I am as well ... :p

[doug maverick]

dude when i posted that it wasn't available anywhere it just came out in hong kong, like maybe two weeks before the post or so........

[GeneChing]

OK, I was neutral on Nicolas before, but now I too must join the ranks of Tse-haters. ;)

[Li Kao]

Read em' and weep Gene ...

http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/film/182822.htm

http://english.sina.com/taiwan_hk/p/1/2006/0930/90705.html

[GeneChing]

The Promise (http://www.martialartsmart.net/dvd-64000.html). Cecilia was great in Legend of Zu, but very weird in Shaolin Soccer.

[Li Kao]

The whole bearded ladies scene was a little weird, though I have to admit the love of my life is the other bearded lady in that scene, Karen Mok. I don't know what it is exactly, but she is the perfect woman in my eyes -- sexy, talented (acts and sings in Mandarin and Cantonese), and smart (speaks 5 languages). I think it's cool that she often gets made-up in movies to be ugly characters as well -- besides the "bearded lady" scene in Shaolin Soccer, she was the snaggle-toothed Turkey in Chow's God of Cookery and an ultra-shy librarian in Black Mask. I like the fact that she is willing to portray herself in roles like that which are a sharp contrast to her natural beauty. Unfortunately, as far as I know she is still dating another HK pretty boy, Stephen Fung. :( Ah, if only I was young, rich, and a Canto-pop star.

[GeneChing]

For those of you who don't live near a Chinatown, our forum sponsor MartialArtsMart now carries the dleuxe double-disc edition DVD of Dragon Tiger Gate (http://www.martialartsmart.net/dvd-88264.html).

[doug maverick]

you could go to any video store and pic it up, even virgin because its out on the dragon dynasty label. which is the asain film distribution arm of the wienstein company. but you might not find it at every store or it made be sold out so, its always good to get from a reliable source like martialartsmart. later

[Shaolinlueb]

i saw it about a month ago, em and my dad watched it. i liked it. nicholas tse wasnt to bad in it. total fob fashion.

[GeneChing]

I'm posting it here for two reasons: #1. Nicholas Tse does not deserve his own thread. #2. Still plugging SPL - buy it here (http://www.martialartsmart.net/dvd64538.html) if you still haven't seen it (we need to pay some forum hosting bills).


Nicholas Tse Gives Martial Arts Demonstration (http://batgwa.com/story.php?id=515)
22 January 2008
Emma Lam

Nicholas Tse (謝霆鋒) and Tsui Siu Ming (徐小明) were among the guests taking part in the Citizens Work Out to Welcome the Olympics <全民健身迎奧運> at the Mongkok Stadium on Sunday evening. They were joined by members of martial arts troups from Guangzhou and Hong Kong to take part in a sporting demonstration to mark 200 days until the start of the Beijing Olympic games on 08 August.

6000 people joined Nicholas in a display of martial arts moves and then he performed the song "Yellow People" <黃種人> whilst giving a swordplay performance. He revealed that he built in some Taichi forms into his routine to avoid standing still at the beginning of the song. He added that during rehearsals, he had cut himself on the face, but he was fine.

Nicholas's wife Cecilia Cheung (張栢芝) was spotted taking their son Lucas to Hong Kong Disneyland earlier and he explained that he was suffering from a respiratory infection on that day, so he did not join them. Asked if he was worried about infecting his son, he said that he has kept himself away, but Lucas is starting to recognise his voice now.

Asked if the HK$500,000 Lexus that Cecilia was driving on that day was a gift from him, Nicholas revealed that this was from last year and was a gift to her and Lucas. As for whether he had selected the safest car for his wife, he said that Cecilia will drive at a safe speed and if he does not need to work, he will always try to be their chauffeur.


Sure, sure, I'd chauffeur Cecilia about in a $1/2 mill Lexus.

[doug maverick]

**** whats up with all the nic hate gene

[GeneChing]

Cecilia, you're breaking my heart
You're shaking my confidence baby
Oh Cecilia, I'm down on my knees
I'm begging you please to come home
Come on home

Making love in the afternoon with Cecilia
Up in my bedroom
(makin' love) I got up to wash my face,
When I come back to bed
Someone's taken my place

[doug maverick]

lmfao, sounds like a boys 2 men song. hahaha

[Li Kao]

lmfao, sounds like a boys 2 men song. hahaha

Oh vey, no love for Simon & Garfunkel either. Tsk, Tsk.

[冠木侍]

I had seen parts of this movie. Looks amazing.

I got no probs with Nicolas Tse. What a catch...Cecilia Cheung.

I was gonna pick up a copy but my friend did instead.

I'll see it one way another....