New entries!

As we promised, here the 3 posters we finally got this morning.

Great Shanghai 1937 (大上海1937)(1986)

 Murky Shadows Over The Gorges (峡江疑影)(1985) 

 The Candidate (候补队员)(1983)

Enjoy them :)

Merry Xmas folks!

Today is Christmas.
Here it's pretty cold but what the hell, we love it!
Gotta some new posters for our collection and ... a vcd of a movie. Pity some fuckers stole it from us, so no more vcd.
Well, see ya next update with the pics of the new posters.
Cheers 'n beers

Merry Xmas

It's still early for this but the time is against us. We have been really busy and as you can see the blog lacks of updates... cant do anything about that sorry.
We thought to give you 2 little Xmas presents, 1 trailer and 1 intro for two mainland flicks.
The trailer is for Zui gui Zhang San (醉鬼张三)(1990) also known as "Legend Of The Drunken Tiger), a co-production between China and HK (with Kara Hui).
The intro is for Flying Centipede (飞天蜈蚣)(1994).
Well, nothing else to say but the links:

Trailer Zui gui Zhang San (醉鬼张三)(1990): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnGDldVMomM
Intro Flying Centipede (飞天蜈蚣)(1994): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2QTKCsSbiU

Merry xmas folks!

The end

Yeah the end! Dont worry, not the end of the blog (although we dont upload it so often.. too busy), but the end of the shop.
Damn yeah! Nobody ordered anything, so we decided we wont update it with anything new. We hoped to have some sales but none, so we decided not to continue with that thing.
Our offers are still opened, just drop us a mail or write on the blog.
Cheers & beers

NP: soon we will update the blog, stay tuned.

The Burning of Yuan Ming Yuan (火烧圆明园)(1983)

 

 The Burning of Yuan Ming Yuan (火烧圆明园)

Dir:  Han Hsiang Li

Cast: Tony Leung Ka Fai, Xiaoqing Liu , Kun Xiang , Tielin Zhang, Jie Zhou, Ye Chen ,etc

Plot:  Han Hsiang Li focuses on Empress Dowager Cixi (or Tzu Hsi), who seduced the Emperor and managed to rule from behind the throne through successive regimes. But before she became Empress, Cixi (played here by Liu Hsiao Chin) was simply Yu Lan, concubine to Emperor Xian Feng (Tony Leung Ka Fai). In her years at the Imperial Palace, Yu Lan would seduce the Emperor, bear him a son, and undergo turmoil at the hands of foreign invaders, who finally burnt down the Imperial Palace. (yesasia)

Year: 1983

Country: Mainland China / HK

Trailer (edit from our dvd): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vkzAUeGmso

Notes: The movie has been released in China by Gzbeauty. There are a lot of versions, ours had English subtitles. Anyway, it was released also in HK (vcd and dvd).The director was into historical drama with movies such as The Empress Dowager (一代妖后)(1989) and Reign behind the curtain (垂帘听政)(1983). This is Tony Leung Ka Fai’s second movie. Xiaoqing Liu starred also in the first mainland action movie Mysterious Buddha(神秘的大佛)(1980).

Personal opinion: Maybe you are asking yourself why we put here such movie, our answer is simple: it was pretty well received when it came out, so we thought it deserved a place here.We usually don't like historical drama, let’s say it.. they are quite boring if you are not interested in such matter. Talking about the movie, the intro is way too long, it’s really beautiful too watch but really damn boring also. And then another flaw: the battles. The one between the Chinese and the British/French is so annoying, boring, dull..  you choose.The foreigners are portrait like evil beings, ready to destroy everything and kill every Chinese. Maybe it is true, dunno. When the foreigners arrive in Beijing the massacre begins, women, men, children all dead, we gotta say that these scenes were pretty strong.Oh before we forget, if you can’t stand animal cruelty, do not buy this movie. There is a scene were a deer is being tortured because its blood is needed. The deer is real and the blood too.Overall the movie is gorgeous to watch, but boring as well (if you are not into this kind of movies). It’s up to you to decide if it’s the right movie for you.

Some snapshots (from the original dvd):

Shop updated!

Hi folks!
We just updated our shop with some new entries:
-The Substitute (1983) (Poster A and B)
-Luo Cheng the Handsome Guy (1993) (Lobbies)
-Suo Ming Fei Dai (1991) (Lobbies)
and we uploaded some pics of the stuff we re selling directly on facebook.
We are open to requests (vcds,dvds,vhs,posters,books,lobbies,scripts,etc), if you are looking for something just drop a line, and we see if we can help you out.
Link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shop/264669523561569

Cheers!

ps: we will update the blog soon with another movie..stay tune!

Lucky 13 (侠十三妹)(1986)

Lucky 13 (侠十三妹)

Dir: Qitian Yang || Toru Murakawa

Cast: Lan Ding, Bozhao Wang, Cunzhuang Ge, Qun Wang, Junfeng Li , Chongfei Shao ,Yongan Ma , Bangyu Zheng,Mei Yuan

Plot: Qing dynasty,He Yufeng (Lan Ding)'s family has been murdered. He Yufeng goes to train in the mountain in order to get vengeance. Here the master will give her the name of "十三妹" (Shisan Mei)..

Year: 1986

Country: Mainland China

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-8PD-1Rnw4

Notes: The movie is released in China on dvd by Gzbeauty (no subs at all). The movie was also released in Japan on Vhs . The main actress Lan Ding was really popular in China back then, she had roles in movies like "The Shaolin Temple (少林寺)(1982)", the famous Jet Li's movie. Well, her career also started with that flick. Then she got involved in movies like Disclple of shaolin temple (少林寺弟子)(1983)   and Kids from Shaolin (少林小子)(1983) with Jet Li. Her popularity took her to have a role in the series The Dream Of Red Mansions. About the Chinese director he was also one of the writer.

Personal opinion: You know how much we like movies with heroines, right? It’s just love! We regret that it took us so long to watch this one. Our bad..
Well, let’s talk about the movie. The plot is always about vengeance, so nothing new. What about the choreography then? It’s awesome. Lan Ding is excellent in her role as heroine and her skills are pretty good. The wires are used for some jumps and in one particular scene: the temple’s.

Here we have the heroine against a lot of weird stuff: fire, water (!!), flying objects, flying weapons, acid, fireworks (eheh),etc. This is the only scene were the special effects have been used. The quality of them are so and so, but looking at the year of the movie and the country, well, they tried their best we guess.

Anyway, during the training sequences there is something that recall the Jet Li’s training in his famous “The Shaolin Temple”. Do you remember that in that movie you see Jet Li training during the 4 seasons, right? Well, in “Lucky 13” (awful translation..) you see our heroine who is training in the same way. You see her taking water in spring, autumn, winter and summer (if we are not mistaken, 3 seasons for sure though). A nice touch, don’t you think so?
But Lan Ding is not the only one good at kung fu, we have her friends who show us what kung fu is about, and of course the villains.

In conclusion, we just loved this movie. The actress was perfect in her role (and soooo cute, loved those eyes), the MA is pretty solid and the movie never get boring. Check it out if you have the chance.
Some snapshots (from the original dvd):

The shop is.... open!

Oh yeah!
Here the link:
Mainland Movies Land
If there are any problems (for ex: the pics dont work,etc), please let us know.
It's just the beginning... trust us!
Cheers and add us on facebook!

Shop! Shop! Shop!

Hi guys,
We decided to open a little online shop!
We will sell original posters and lobbies for mainland movies and coproductions (ex. china-tw, china-hk). Moreover we are thinking to make it more interesting: we won't sell just posters/lobbies but also those little books that we already shown you and vcds/dvds (original and cd-r/dvd-r for the movies that are not available on any legit release).
It will open on facebook, we just have to figure out how to make it possible.
Stay tune for the big opening!

PS: we are not dead, we are really busy so our updates are really slow.. sorry about that.

Death at the Carefree Mansion (索命逍遥楼)(1990)

Death at the Carefree Mansion (索命逍遥楼)

Dir: Wenhua Li || Ni Li

Cast: Guoqiang Huang, Fengyi Yang, Chi Wang

Year: 1990

Country: Mainland China

Notes: The movie is released in China on dvd by GZ　Beauty (without subtitles). Amazon.com carries it. Fengyi Yang (the girl in the movie) just starred in this and in another kung fu flick (Loyal Hero (1992)). Guoqiang Huang starred in a lot of action flicks (for ex: Death Inn (1988), The Flying Ratman (1990)). Same goes for Chi Wang (The Magic Legs (1988), Disciples of Shaolin Temple (1985)).

Personal opinion: When we bought this movie we didn’t know anything about it. Was it a good flick? Was it awful? Didnt know back then. Last night we finally watched it and… damn if it was good. The action scenes were outstanding, with and without weapons (swords, flames, spikes, etc) the actors knew how to put a show. As far as the acting was corcerned, We must admit that the actors were pretty weak, they were not that good. Sometimes the impression was like they didn’t even want to be in the movie. The plot is pretty interesting and with a lot of surprises (We never expected that…… we will not spoil you anything), So: the story works, the martial arts scenes work.. what else could you ask for? Check it out!
Some snapshots (from the original dvd):

Rarities [Update]

Hi guys/gals! Here the last update for May.
These images are from some magazines we bought here in China. The one about 南北少林 (1986) shows a rare "on set" pic. The article is about the movie of course. Source: Wu Hun 2/1984

The one about 三上五台山 shows 2 pics of the movie as long as a long description of the story. Source: Wu Hun 2/1984

Now let`s go with some other stuff.
Here's an "article" about the movie 黑匣喋血记 (1986). It shows some of the cast, with pics and names. Source: Shanghai Film 1985

Here's the last "article". It's about the movie 张衡
(1983), with pics, cast and plot. Source: Shanghai Film 1982

The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter (五郎八卦棍)(1990)

The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter (五郎八卦棍)

Dir: Gangyu Du

Cast: Bruce Leung, Kwan Hoi, Kong Do, Jo-see Wong, Wong Hap

Plot: Song dynasty, Liao's soldiers invaded China. During an ambush Fifth brother (Bruce Leung) is separated from his brothers/sisters. Wounded, he got picked up by some monks and took to their monastery. Here he wants to improve his kung fu to get revenge on Liao..

Year: 1990

Country: Mainland China / HK

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZUsq3UGrug

Notes: The movie is released in China on dvd by Boing! (with English subs too). It stars the famous Hsiao Liang, Kwan Hoi, the mainlander Zongxiang Guan (Mysterious Buddha) and Jo-see Wong.

Personal opinion: Not to be confused with the SB classic, this HK/Mainland China co-production is a mix between fantasy and a kung fu flick. We have special effects (pretty basics), wire works, people who flies and such. We have also classic martial arts showcase. The monks training was awesome, to be honest it was the best part of the movie. The final showdown is really short and not really worth it in our opinion.One thing we really disliked was..the fights! Beside the normal ones, a lot of fights are speed up, too much speed up! This choice just ruined them..
Some snapshots (from the original dvd):

 

New entries

Hi guys,
lately we've been really busy and didnt have time to watch movies or such.
This post is just to tell you that we're still alive, and still looking for some rares in China. Here what we recently bought:

A narrow escape (1990)

Tian Xia Di Yi Jian  (1988)


Heroing Lu Sininang (1988)


and the original poster and stills for the north korean movie Hong Kil Dong (홍길동)(1986)

If the pics dont work, please let us know and we will fix it.

[UPDATE] Kung Fu Hero Wang Wu (大刀王五)(1985)

Just a small update for the blog. We already reviewed the movie ( click here ) but ,today, we uploaded the intro on youtube so you can check it out.
The link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAm5NE_FBQE
Enjoy it.

Mysterious Buddha (神秘的大佛)(1980)

Mysterious Buddha (神秘的大佛)

Dir: Huaxun Zhang

Cast: Xiaoqing Liu, Cunzhuang Ge, Gengchen Jiang, Zongxiang Guan, Shun Feng

Plot: It revolves around the story of a conspiracy to steal an ancient Buddhist treasure, and the strange figures surrounding this mysterious object

Year: 1980

Country: Mainland China

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGPQR6TSmvY

Notes: The movie is available on dvd in Mainland China by Gzbeauty (with english subtitles!).As it is stated on the back cover of the dvd, this is the first action movie to be shot in mainland China since the beginning of the reform and opening policy. The director kept directing action/martial arts movie within China, movies such as The Swordswoman in White (白衣侠女)(1992)(you can see the poster in our memorabilia's post),Sins in the Wutai Mountains (五台山奇情)(1989) and Zhu jian (铸剑)(1994). Xiaoqing Liu (the actress who played the heroine here) acted in the famous The Burning of Yuan Ming Yuan (火烧圆明园)(1983) and in others dramas.

Personal opinion: Although it is stated as the first action movie, the martial arts scenes are just a few, and especialy at the end of the flick. It's more a thriller than an action movie, most of the time there are just dialogues. As far as the martial arts are concered, we have some good stuff here but also some really dull ones. Wires are used for some jumps, but most of the time the action is slow paced (as in some old Shaw Brothers movies) and pretty simple (you can check some on the trailer we made). One of the best thing in the movie is the location, being filmed in Leshan (Sichuan Province) the movie shows breathtaking landscapes and,of course, the famous giant buddha.

Anyway, the flick itself is not really a masterpiece for martial arts fans, but for the chinese cinema is surely an interesting starting point (we talk about the cinema after mao's death) that brought us more and more worthy movies (The Shaolin Temple anyone?).

Some snapshots (from the original dvd):

Go West to Subdue Demons (西行平妖)(1991)

Go West to Subdue Demons (西行平妖)

Dir: Chang Cheh

Cast: Jiming Chen, Lixin Mu, Yongquan Jia,Yuming Du

Plot: Based on the famous "Journey to the west" story, the movie follows the adventure to the west of a buddhist monk, the monkey king, the pig, the river ogre and of course the monk.

Year: 1991

Country: Mainland China / HK

Intro: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzXJevGj5Fw

Notes: The movie is available on dvd in Mainland China by Gzbeauty (with english subtitles!). Chang Cheh is not new with his mainland movies, movies such as Cross the river (过江) and Shanghai 1937 are just few examples. The movie is also knows as "Journey to the west".

Personal opinion: To be honest we didnt know it was a Chang Cheh's movie until we checked on the net. This fantasy is just awesome. It has everything you can ask from a movie of this genre: wires, magic, kung fu, weird characters.. it has all of that. The costumes are quite simple sometimes but they work. The best thing of this flick are the martial arts scenes. Beside the long (and sometime boring) battle between the good guys and "Red guy", the others were amazing.  The actors knew what they were doing, especially the monkey king and the river ogre.. but the best out of all was the monkey king. There is a little bit of opera in it (especialy during the fight between the monkey king and a guy dressed like a opera artist (sorry forgot the name)), one our favourite part of the movie. Do you a favor and get this flick, you won't be dissapointed (unless you dont like fantasy movies..).

Some snapshots (from the original dvd):