Chung Chang-hwa's Hong Kong Classic Re-released
Published on | Source
The Korean Chung Chang-hwa was a major director in the 60s and 70s Hong Kong film scene as a director for the famous Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest studios. His 1972 "King Boxer" is re-introduced on DVD and the commentary track features Quentin Tarantino, among others.
Chung's "King Boxer" is a favorite of Tarantino. He has watched the film over and over again, and his knowledge of and enthusiasm for the film is exemplary on the commentary track. Tarantino also mentions Chung's Heads for Sale (1969) - another favorite of him - while commenting on the film. Quentin Tarantino is well-known for his love of Hong Kong classic martial arts films and his Kill Bill films were homage to those films.
Chung learned his craft in Korea where he directed numerous titles before moving to Hong Kong. He made an impact in Hong Kong with his style for directing action and his innovations became essential to Hong Kong martial arts cinema. His dynamic filming pronounced the impact of hits with medium shots and close-ups of blows, and hits directly aimed at the camera. He only sparingly used long-shots, slow and fast motion when composing action scenes. He has also been an influence on major actors while working with them on film projects.
The "King Boxer" DVD is part of the Dragon Dynasty DVD series, a re-introduction of influential Shaw Brothers titles to the West by major Hollywood studio Weinstein Company. Important figures from the American entertainment industry who were influenced by those films are collaborating with academics and critics on the commentary tracks for these DVDs.
The Dragon Dynasty DVD's will move away from the low quality international releases of these martial arts films in the past. These DVDs will have high quality images, sound and special features; instead of the blown-up grainy images and the out-of-sync dubbing which used to be the standard.
Yi Ch'ang-ho (KOFIC)
Chung's "King Boxer" is a favorite of Tarantino. He has watched the film over and over again, and his knowledge of and enthusiasm for the film is exemplary on the commentary track. Tarantino also mentions Chung's Heads for Sale (1969) - another favorite of him - while commenting on the film. Quentin Tarantino is well-known for his love of Hong Kong classic martial arts films and his Kill Bill films were homage to those films.
Chung learned his craft in Korea where he directed numerous titles before moving to Hong Kong. He made an impact in Hong Kong with his style for directing action and his innovations became essential to Hong Kong martial arts cinema. His dynamic filming pronounced the impact of hits with medium shots and close-ups of blows, and hits directly aimed at the camera. He only sparingly used long-shots, slow and fast motion when composing action scenes. He has also been an influence on major actors while working with them on film projects.
The "King Boxer" DVD is part of the Dragon Dynasty DVD series, a re-introduction of influential Shaw Brothers titles to the West by major Hollywood studio Weinstein Company. Important figures from the American entertainment industry who were influenced by those films are collaborating with academics and critics on the commentary tracks for these DVDs.
The Dragon Dynasty DVD's will move away from the low quality international releases of these martial arts films in the past. These DVDs will have high quality images, sound and special features; instead of the blown-up grainy images and the out-of-sync dubbing which used to be the standard.
Yi Ch'ang-ho (KOFIC)
Advertisement