Hong Kong in the 80s and 90s was an amazing place. Imagine a geographically small city in which every day the filming of another film is certainly taking place somewhere. It doesn’t matter what section of production you work in, be it acting or managing a mobile buffet, the main thing is that you are in demand - in this case, you have the opportunity to quickly visit many film sets of a variety of studios, films and directors.
And if you don’t just mechanically carry out the duties of your job, but simultaneously observe other processes, then you can master at least one film science. The greatness of Hong Kong during this era was partly due to the versatility of its workforce. Thoroughbred actors, directors, screenwriters, etc. rarely survived here. There are a hell of a lot of films being made, and the budgets are very modest, and therefore the studios highly valued people who could write the dialogue in the morning, dub the star and play a cameo role in the afternoon, and edit the filmed material in the evening.
One of the worthy self-taught people raised by the Hong Kong approach of the 80s is Man Hoi. In the 70s, he did what everyone who wanted to succeed in cinema did - stuntman. Then I followed on the heels of my teacher Corey Yuen, mastered directing and action production. And finally he received the go-ahead from Sammo Hunga for the filming of his debut. From the big name of the studios "Golden Harvest" и "Bo Ho", with a luxurious cast at its disposal and itself Corey Yuen as a choreographer. This is what I call trust. Well, or with the expectation that if something had gone radically wrong in the process, Sammo would have thrown Hoy out of the director’s chair, put Corey there, and Man would have made his debut in another, less expensive film. Still, the trick worked out well: the direction turned out to be one of the strongest aspects of the film. There are many beautiful moments here that make you want to watch the whole movie. For example, when lazy journalists imitated photo correspondence from the scene of a murder without leaving the editorial office. Or when the judge over and over again gives the prosecutor a chance to defend the charge, but he continues to talk nonsense.
A long battle of views Cynthia Rothrock и Billy Chow It turned out almost more spectacular than the battle itself. “If you want to satisfy me, you will need a lot of strength,” How do you talk to him? “You better come out, we’re going to have fun now.” Chin Siu Ho He also started the fight with a tall opponent in style: he pretended to ruffle his hair and made a jerk... Man Hoi definitely took full advantage of the gang of charismatic actors, and the composer Chris Babida enhanced the already intense episodes with a cool soundtrack.
The action became a border stake, cutting off "Blonde Fury" from the masterpiece club and left to vegetate among the tough guys. There were no failed skirmishes, just as there were no outstanding ones, but there were two and a half C grades and good students in the action movie. We see all the most delicious things in unarmed fights, and as soon as Cynthia picks up a stick, or starts running away or jumping from place to place, escaping a horde of bots, it becomes boring. Unfortunately, the final showdown turned out to be completely unimpressive, but I must say that by the time it arrives, the viewer will have time to enjoy several cool fights. Since the film was trying to make money on the illusion of a sequel "Evil for Good", let's try to understand why the action did not reach the level of a pseudo-prequel, although the director is still the same. Firstly, in "Evil for Good" took half the attention Yuen Biao, whose arsenal of techniques knows no bounds. Secondly, that film was heavily cut into splices, since the not-too-fast Cynthia was duplicated almost everywhere, as a result of which the fights looked more dynamic. In addition, in some places the playback accelerated. "Blonde's Fury" more honest with the viewer: Cynthia is replaced by stuntmen only in choreographically complex and stunt-dangerous moments, a lot Man Hoi allowed Rothrock to perform on his own. One might grumble that against the backdrop of lightning-fast movements Chin Siu Ho и Billy Chow Cynthia's performance looks meager, but the action with her participation turned out to be more or less realistic.
I consider the role in which Rothrock appeared before the viewer to be the key trump card of the film. IN "When performing" и "The best squad" she played the role of a bitchy policewoman, she was gorgeous and, of course, beautiful, but devoid of sexuality. Here, on the contrary, Cynthia shoots mischievous eyes and smiles charmingly. Nowhere else have I seen my favorite actress so feminine, bravo, Man Hoi. Yes, it’s a pity that this guy never plunged headlong into directing; cinema has lost a lot.
Perhaps, film buffs should start exploring British Hong Kong with this film. Story, atmosphere and action "Blonde Furies" reflect the style of the majority of their fellow tribesmen, so it is unlikely that if the film is strongly rejected, one should try to watch other Hong Kong films of the turn of the 80s and 90s. This is a special section of history, such cinema cannot be criticized rationally, it must be perceived through the prism of emotions.
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Tags: The Blond Fury, Billy Chow, Corey Yuen, Man Hoi, Cynthia Rothrock, Chin Siu Ho
Tags: The Blond Fury, Billy Chow, Corey Yuen, Man Hoi, Cynthia Rothrock, Chin Siu Ho
Well, I probably wouldn't blame everything on Cynthia Rothrock. Most likely, the film was shot on short notice and for pennies. In addition to the aforementioned Chow, such masters as Chung Fat, Jeff Falcon and Justin Lin are pitted against our heroes, but their abilities are mediocrely combined. Despite the fact that the choreography was done by Mang Hoi and Corey Yuen themselves. I suspect that the first one performed the director’s duties purely nominally, but on the whole everyone worked to “get rid of it.” With such a cast it could have turned out something like “Shanghai Express”, but it turned out to be a passable action movie.
Dmitriy,
For me, "Shanghai Express" and "Blonde Fury" are films on the same level. But I gravitate more towards the second. "Express", probably the biggest Hong Kong film of the 80s, captivates with the grandeur of its implementation. But “Fury” has a very tube style of production. You may be right - the reason is that the real director of the film is the great Corey.
Thanks for the reviews! We are waiting for new ones!