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Location: Streaming (online)
Location Link: https://www.twitch.tv/screensociety
Screen/Society delves into the dusty archive of import, out of print, and custom fan-subtitled DVDs, in search of forgotten gems of Hong Kong genre cinema from the 80s and 90s.
Show up to one of our Thursday night live-streams with no preconceptions, not knowing what film you are about to see, and if you are not already a devotee of this particular cinematic universe then it’s very likely that you’ll come away with new memories of spectacles unlike anything you’ve seen before onscreen… Questions and reactions welcome in the live chat!
Unusual genre hybrids of kung fu, comedy, supernatural horror, sci-fi, modern day police and gangster action, warrior women and “girls with guns”, with wild tonal shifts, creative low-budget special effects, and unbelievable stunts, acrobatics, and fight choreography at a level that was the best in the world at the time!
This week's sub-genre is: "Lo-fi sci-fi buddy comedy w/ a sprinkling of kung fu"
To work on his ground-breaking fantasy wuxia epic, Zu: Warriors From The Magic Mountain (1983), director Tsui Hark flew in several Hollywood SFX experts to Hong Kong at great expense - including Robert Blalack & Peter Kuran (1977's Star Wars) as well as Arnie Wong & John Scheele (1982's Tron) - ushering in a new era of innovation and experimentation with special effects in Hong Kong cinema.
Tonight's film, made a few years later, is a silly but exuberant example of that marriage of practical effects with HK filmmaking ingenuity...
Cinematic Arts