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Thread: Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen

  1. #31
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    Opens tomorrow

    Asian Movie Madness: Rare treasures at the 4 Star
    G. Allen Johnson, Chronicle Staff Writer
    San Francisco Chronicle April 27, 2011 04:00 AM
    Thursday, April 28, 2011

    As any pack rat might attest, there are often rare treasures hidden in attics. After a few years' absence of what was once an annual summer tradition, 4 Star owner Frank Lee has once again ventured into the theater's crawlspace and come up with some forgotten gems of martial arts, action and erotica and cobbled together an Asian Movie Madness series to last through July.

    The 25-film program begins with a national theatrical release of "The Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen," the latest film starring Donnie Yen, Asia's biggest box-office star, which opens Friday and plays daily (more on that below; two more Yen films play later in the series).

    The series then moves to a double feature each Thursday, beginning May 12 with a knockout combo: the too-crazy-to-be-believed "Deaf Mute Heroine," a 1971 martial arts movie starring the dynamite Helen Ma as the title character; and "Pursuit," a rarely screened 1980 actioner with Chow Yun-Fat, then 25, as an assassin.

    Generally, Lee's strategy is to pair a newer film with a lost treasure from his library of hundreds of films he, and before him, his father, a Chinatown theater owner in the '60s and '70s, have collected.

    So there's Jet Li's 2007 film "The Warlords" paired with his first film, 1982's "The Shaolin Temple" (June 2); and a new-school martial arts film from Vietnam, "Clash" (2009), with an old-school 1971 classic "Iron Fan and Magic Sword" (June 9).

    Never mind trying to find the older titles on DVD; many of them aren't even listed on imdb.com. The 4 Star audiences might literally be the first in years to even see some of these films.

    Take "Crimson Bat, the Blind Swordswoman" (July 14), which kick-started the four-film action series starring Yoko Matsuyama in 1969. The print in Lee's attic was for its Hong Kong release, meaning the Japanese-language film is dubbed in Mandarin with Chinese and English subtitles.

    There are also four double bills of erotic films, including several infamous Roman Pornos made by the Japanese studio Nikkatsu. A Google search turns up nothing on "Dirty Doll" (May 19) or "Rorita Couple" (June 16). But if there's anything like that horse scene in the gloriously trashy "Lady Chatterley in Tokyo" (July 28), maybe you don't want to know.
    'Legend of the Fist'

    Yen plays Chen Zhen, an early 20th century fictional hero first embodied by Bruce Lee in 1972's "Fist of Fury" (Jackie Chan and Jet Li have also played him, as did Yen in a '90s TV series).

    In this sumptuously made actioner, set in 1920s Shanghai, Chen aligns himself with a gangster (Anthony Wong) to get inside dope on the Japanese occupiers' movements. He then slips into a guise resembling Lee's outfit in "The Green Hornet" to battle the evildoers. He also falls in love with a nightclub singer (Shu Qi) who might be more than she seems.

    Director Andrew Lau ("Infernal Affairs") is the right choice for this escapist entertainment, and Yen (The "Ip Man" films, "Bodyguards and Assassins") adds to his successful run of martial arts films.

    Starts Fri. Asian Movie Madness double feature Thursdays begin May 12. At the 4 Star, 2200 Clement St., S.F. (415) 666-3488. www.lntsf.com.
    The 4 Star is one of S.F.'s treasured theater houses and has been mentioned here before. When I lived in the city, I frequented it often. There's a lot of good restaurants in the neighborhood and parking isn't too bad for S.F. Hope all the 415 locals can support this, as there aren't too many places where you can see these films on the big screen anymore. And a double feature? That's just great. Crimson Bat? What a classic! Is that even available on Netflix?
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  2. #32
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    i just got done watching this last night. is it me or should this film have been like black mask 3 instead of return of chen zhen. just didn't feel like the character that jet li played so well. maybe its because it was a sequal to the bruce lee one. idk.
    Quote Originally Posted by Psycho Mantis View Post
    Genes too busy rocking the gang and scarfing down bags of cheetos while beating it to nacho ninjettes and laughing at the ridiculous posts on the kfforum. In a horse stance of course.

  3. #33
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    Black mask 2 sucked fat balls and ruined it! but the first one was sick as all hell
    For whoso comes amongst many shall one day find that no one man is by so far the mightiest of all.

  4. #34
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    This was not one of Donnie's finest. I thought it was awful but am looking forward to the Lost Bladesman (General Kwan movie) that just opened in Hong Kong. Hopefully that is better and more in line with the quality of Yip Man.

  5. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by CLFNole View Post
    This was not one of Donnie's finest. I thought it was awful but am looking forward to the Lost Bladesman (General Kwan movie) that just opened in Hong Kong. Hopefully that is better and more in line with the quality of Yip Man.
    CLFNole, good to see you on here! hope everything is well in florida. send my regards to sifu joe. I am glad i am not the only one who thought this movie was not that good.
    Quote Originally Posted by Psycho Mantis View Post
    Genes too busy rocking the gang and scarfing down bags of cheetos while beating it to nacho ninjettes and laughing at the ridiculous posts on the kfforum. In a horse stance of course.

  6. #36
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    i must admit i only watched 1/3 of this movie and i just really hated the whole kato/black mask thing. this movie had all the elements to be good, in terms of talent both in front of and behind the camera...if they were more creative with elements of the story they could have made a better film, especially something like this.

  7. #37
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    I'm surprised it's getting US distribution

    I posted my review back in Oct. Honestly, I haven't given the film another thought since, but I'd probably give it a second chance if I got hold of a subtitled version. That being said, I'm not actively seeking a subtitled version. But still, anyone who hasn't seen it should try to catch it on the big screen. I'm always in support of kung fu movies in theaters. Man, I can't even think of the last time I saw a Chinese kung fu movie in the theater (I'm not counting the Hollywood stuff like Green Hornet and such). I'm glad that the 4 Star still carries on this tradition.
    Gene Ching
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  8. #38
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    what?

    I think you mean 13 Assassins, right?
    Gene Ching
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  9. #39
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    oh wait yea 13 assassins hahaha...i clicked the wrong forum...hahaha.

  10. #40
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    no worries

    I do that all the time. Nice to see others do it too, as sometimes I wonder about myself...

    I'd move your post, but it would be out of context without my previous post.
    Gene Ching
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  11. #41
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shaolinlueb View Post
    CLFNole, good to see you on here! hope everything is well in florida. send my regards to sifu joe. I am glad i am not the only one who thought this movie was not that good.
    Doing well thanks, hope you are well also. Will pass along your regards to Joe,he just became a fireman and has been at the schools sparingly for a while now but should be coming back more I think.

  12. #42
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    I was half-heartedly planning to see this at the one theater it was playing at around here, but they took it out after only a week. And after the first couple days, they had reduced it to only one showing a day. Not a good sign at all. Unlike Ip Man 2, which played at that same theater for weeks.

    From what I gather, there are at least a couple things about this movie that are stale about it from the get-go:

    1. The anti-Japanese angle, which grew old after the original Fist of Fury (although some films with the angle, like Legend of a Fighter, Fist of Legend and Ip Man, are excellent).

    2. The whole Bruce Lee/Kato obsession.

    Not to mention that, according to the reviews, the best part is at the beginning. IMO, the best movies build up as they progress; they don't wind down to a slow death after starting off like gangbusters.

  13. #43
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    Available for free on Hulu

    For a limited time only. Watch online. Courtesy of Well Go USA.

    Legend of the Fist (2014)
    Gene Ching
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  14. #44
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    Our latest sweepstakes!

    Enter to win KungFuMagazine.com's contest for 'BEST OF DONNIE YEN' PRIZE PACK including 5 Donnie Yen films on Blu-Ray™: IP MAN, IP MAN 2, ICEMAN, FLASH POINT, & LEGEND OF THE FIST!!! Contest ends 6:00 p.m. PST on 4/16/15.
    Gene Ching
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  15. #45
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    Our winners are announced

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