films

Films at the Gate closes tonight with Iron Monkey, a kung fu comedy about the childhood of one of China’s most famous martial arts heroes. The citizens of a small Chinese town suffer from failed crops and corrupt officials. Their salvation comes in the form of a Robin Hood figure, the Iron Monkey, who steals from the rich to give to poor. When martial arts master Wong Kay-ying arrives, his martial arts skills lead local lawmen to suspect that he may be the masked outlaw. Wong’s son, Wong Fei-hung, is caught in the line of fire as he fights to clear his name. In the end, Wong and the Iron Monkey must join forces to face the real villain of the piece. Starring Boston’s Donnie Yen. 

(In 2001, Jean Lukitsh, Films at the Gate curator, interviewed actor Donnie Yen and director Yuen Wo-Ping about their work on IRON MONKEY.)

Tonight’s film will be preceded by a 10 minute performance by Bow Sim Mark Tai Chi Arts Association and Rick Wong’s Chinese Martial Arts at 7:20 PM.

Come join us as we conclude Films at the Gate 2008 this evening.

Films at the Gate enters the home stretch tonight with THE 36TH CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN.

When people talk about old school kung fu movies—they mean this one. Also known as MASTER KILLER, from its dubbed-in-English 1980s video release. Gordon Liu (KILL BILL) plays San Te, a Shaolin monk who masters the 35 training chambers of Shaolin kung fu and persuades the monastery to open a 36th chamber in order to train lay students to fight the oppressive Qing government (thereby setting up a scenario played out in countless kung fu films). Directed by Lau Kar-leung. Starring Gordon Liu. Special thanks to Bey Logan at The Weinstein Company, for permitting the screening of the Dragon Dynasty DVD of 36th Chamber.

Due to rain, tonight’s screening was held at Wolff Auditorium, Tufts Medical Center (map). Thanks to Tufts Medical Center for use of the auditorium.

On Friday, Films at the Gate features the 1929 silent film RED HEROINE with an original score created and performed live by Devil Music Ensemble. This silent film from 1929 is the oldest complete swordplay (wuxia) film in existence. It’s also a good example of the classic “nu xia” or “female knight” plot, where the young heroine learns to fight the bandits who have taken over her town. Jean Lukitsh, Films at the Gate curator, has posted an entry on her blog Electric Shadows about the return of Red Heroine to the screen. Friday’s performance begins Devil Music Ensemble’s nationwide 32-city Red Heroine Tour 2008 with funding from New England Foundation for the Arts.

Friday’s film will be preceded by a lion dance, performed by members of the Nam Pai Kung Fu Academy. The lion dance will begin around 7:15 PM.

Last night, nearly all 200 rented chairs were in use. We encourage you to bring your own seating if available—there’s plenty of room to set up more chairs on the lot. See you tonight.

Films at the Gate continues with POLICE STORY at 7:30 PM. Details and directions here. POLICE STORY was Jackie Chan’s first big contemporary hit and it set a new standard for modern action films. Jackie is a heroic cop framed by a mobster and forced to take revenge. Directed by Jackie Chan, and starring Jackie Chan, Brigitte Lin, and Maggie Cheung. Special thanks to Bey Logan at The Weinstein Company, for permitting the screening of the Dragon Dynasty DVD Police Story.

Films at the Gate opens a five night run with MY YOUNG AUNTIE at 7:30 PM. Details and directions here. MY YOUNG AUNTIE is a kung fu smackdown and wacky comedy showcasing Kara Hui as a young woman who enters a marriage of convenience with an elderly benefactor to prevent his estate from being seized. When she seeks out the rightful heirs, they are forced by Chinese convention to treat her as their “auntie’ and social superior. Directed by Lau Kar-leung. Special thanks to Bey Logan, Vice-president of Asian Acquisitions and Co-production at The Weinstein Company, for permitting the screening of the Dragon Dynasty DVD My Young Auntie.

On Sunday night, Sep. 7, Films at the Gate will wrap up five nights of outdoor films with IRON MONKEY (1993) directed by Yuen Wo-ping. Yuen Wo-ping is one of Hong Kong’s most prolific and successful filmmakers. His father, Yuen Siu-tin, was a popular actor in the early kung fu movies, and Yuen Wo-ping has been acclaimed worldwide as one of the all-time top action directors. In 2001, while working on the MATRIX sequels, he discussed his work in IRON MONKEY with FATG programmer Jean Lukitsh. 

Q: How old were you when you started martial arts training? 

Yuen: I started learning martial arts at about 10 or 11 years old.

Q: And how old were you when you started to work in the Hong Kong film industry?

Yuen: I started in the film industry when I was about 18 or 19 years old.

Q: So this is pretty much your life’s work, practicing martial arts and making movies about martial arts?

Yuen: Yes.

Q: When you first started making your own movies, choreographing them and then directing them, what other choreographers or martial arts directors influenced and inspired you the most?

Yuen: Chang Cheh (Zhang Che) was the main person that affected me the most. Chang was the main director of the Shaw Brothers studio in Hong Kong. (note: Chang Cheh directed a number of prominent kung fu films in the 60s and 70s, including THE ONE ARMED BOXER, HEROES TWO, and FIVE VENOMS.)  

Q: Are there any directors from the West that you liked or influenced you? Or have you mainly been focused on Asian cinema?

Yuen: I feel my influences have been mainly through Asian cinema, mainly from China, Hong Kong, and other parts of Asia. Read the rest of this entry »

On Sunday night, Sep. 7, Films at the Gate will wrap up five nights of outdoor films with IRON MONKEY (1993) featuring Boston’s Donnie Yen. IRON MONKEY contains some of the best fighting sequences ever captured on film. Director Yuen Wo-ping and his team of hand-picked martial arts experts packed this movie with nonstop action, making it a virtual encyclopedia of classic kung fu moves. In 2001, Yen, longtime protege of Yuen Wo-ping, and “Yuen Clan” member, discussed the kung fu techniques on display in IRON MONKEY with Jean Lukitsh, Films at the Gate curator.

Q: Since the choreography in a Yuen Wo-ping film is usually the work of “the Yuen Clan”, perhaps you could explain what it was like to work in a Hong Kong martial arts/filmmaking clan at that time.  

Yen: I’ve been working with Yuen Wo-ping for many years. We have a very long mutual working relationship. For every project, we try to be as creative as possible. With IRON MONKEY, which was Yuen Wo-ping’s first directing project after working with Tsui Hark and Jet Li on the ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA series, we were going back to “traditional kung fu” style, which we hadn’t done since starting the TIGER CAGE series (1988). The challenge was to take the standard higher, give audiences something they hadn’t seen before.

We had meetings before we even started shooting. We decided to go back to the traditional martial arts choreography and film it the traditional way too. That means long shots, more movement seen, uncut, in one shot. We wanted to show genuine martial arts skill, on camera.

Yuen Wo-ping asked me, “What do you want to do this time?”, and I said I wanted to do real Hung Gar style. You know, there isn’t really any Hung Gar in ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA. But it was popular in the ‘70s, in the Shaw Brothers movies, for instance. And Yuen said, “Isn’t that outdated?” And I said, “Not the way I do it - I’ll use my own rhythm and flavor to interpret it.” Read the rest of this entry »