July
10
Asian DVDs: Tarantino, Mitchell and Chute Talk King Boxer
Quentin Tarantino, Elvis Mitchell and David Chute add commentary to the new Dragon Dynasty The Shaw Brothers Classic Collection DVD, King Boxer: Five Fingers of Death. Here's DVD Spindoctor, and Kung Fu Cinema:
Audio commentary is provided by filmmaker and Dragon Dynasty consultant Quentin Tarantino and film scholars David Chute and Elvis Mitchell. I knew this commentary would be at least interesting with the very vocal Tarantino on board, but it turns out to be even better than I could have hoped for. The trio seems to know each other fairly well and each contributes in a distinctive way that compliments the others. These guys definitely know their genre films and references come fast and hard. Young or casual listeners may be left in their dust, but fellow filmmakers and film enthusiasts will feel right at home as they dissect KING BOXER with references to old Hollywood B-movies, chambara movies and obscure kung fu classics even I haven’t seen yet like director Jeong Chang-hwa’s HEADS FOR SALE. There is also a lot of talk, particularly from Tarantino and Mitchell about the first impression this film had on them back in the grindhouse movie days. This is always fun to hear as a younger fan who missed out on this era, yet has still gotten to sample from revival screenings of Shaw Brothers classics in more recent years. The truth is that these movies have and always will be best served to a theater packed with uninhibited, hollering fanatics.
When I first interviewed Tarantino for EW for Pulp Fiction, I had a wonderful time talking with him--it was like talking to my film critic husband David, who provides commentary with Tarantino and Mitchell. He also joins Tarantino on another Dragon Dynasty collector's edition: The One-Arm Swordsman, this time with critic Andy Klein. These guys know more than you'll ever want to know about these films!
UPDATE: For more on these DVDS, listen to Christian Johnson's "Geekerati Radio" episode on July 16 on "DVD Extras," 7 to 8 PM. Catch it live, call in or find old podcasts at blogtalkradio/geekerati. If you join in on the conversation, they might might give out a free copy of a movie.
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Unfortunately Tarantino is announced on the label for O-A Boxer but does not actually feature on the commentary track. It was recorded around the time "Grindhouse" was released, and he was always being pulled away to attend to those chores. Finally Andy and I were asked to go ahead without him, but on such short notice that there was no time to change the label.
So far the best reviews are going to rapper The RZA, ex-Wu Tang Clan, who has spent a lifetime studying and reflecting upon "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin." He pours all that knowledge into the track he recorded with Andy for that film and you feel privileged being allowed to eavesdrop.
Posted by: David C | July 11, 2007 at 09:08 AM
Confusion abounds: that should be "O-A Swordsman." An "O-A Boxer" exists but it's not in the same league.
Posted by: David C | July 11, 2007 at 11:49 AM
The link to the Geekerati show is getting a 404 error, here is another copy of the link for those of you interested in listening to past shows. I particularly recommend the "independent film" and "TV Wars" episodes.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/geekerati
Posted by: Christian Johnson | July 11, 2007 at 03:57 PM
Awesome show!!....great job guys!! Link worked for me no errors here...:0)
Posted by: Amy Domestico | July 12, 2007 at 06:20 AM
I love watching boxing movies like Dragon Dynasty, King Boxer: Five Fingers of Death......I purchased similar type of movie's DVDs from Target store through Couponalbum.com at most discounted prices......!!
Posted by: Douglas | October 31, 2007 at 12:25 AM