THE HEROIC ONES shows Chang Cheh thinking bigger. A Tang Dynasty brotherhood epic packed with armies, betrayal, battlefield carnage and perhaps the cruelest death in his filmography. Not his most intimate film, but a powerful showcase for his eye for scale.

🎧NEW Podcast On Fire! Three early Chang Cheh films that aren't One-Armed Swordsman. One is actually a remake of a Japanese film. With @sogoodreviews.bsky.social & Paul Fox. Listen: podcastonfire.com, Apple: tinyurl.se/dTX Spotify: tinyurl.se/dTY

Chang Cheh didn't invent the kung fu template with VENGEANCE!, but you can feel him moving away from wuxia toward something tougher. Bloody, operatic and driven by David Chiang's brooding performance. It's a fascinating transition film.

One of the greats, and one of Hong Kong cinema’s finest character actors, Lau Shun has passed away. Wong Fei-hung’s father in the Once Upon a Time in China series, and so much more. www.globaltimes.cn/page/202605/...

Chang Cheh’s The Wandering Swordsman feels like Shaw Brothers refining its wuxia machine in real time, with David Chiang emerging as a confident new leading man. Smaller than Vengeance! and The Heroic Ones, but still entertaining, bloody and driven by Chang’s familiar heroic romanticism.

Human Lanterns Redux! Sun Chung’s notorious wuxia-horror hybrid is coming to 4K UHD from Vinegar Syndrome. @easternfilmfans.bsky.social and I revisited and re-recorded our commentary for the longest, most complete version ever released. Order now: vinegarsyndrome.com

The Era Of Vampires (aka Tsui Hark’s Vampire Hunters) flips the hopping vampire movie toward tension, gore and the macabre. Uneven, and the disciples turn dull once Ji Chunhua’s fantastic Master disappears, but the darker ideas and inventiveness make it worthwhile.

Happy Physical Squibs Day!

Alex Cheung’s Man on the Brink is a grim spiral into undercover work hell. Assignment turned entrapment, and the line between cop and criminal erodes. Eddie Chan anchors the descent, growing more dishevelled as the film closes in. Gritty, fatalistic, and hard to shake.

Artwork by Tony Stella

Grim and green, Dennis Yu’s The Imp leans into superstition with a raw, punishing edge. Light on character, heavy on mood, cramped spaces, shrill sound, and a finale that pushes both into overdrive. Dated, but still a strong sensory hit.

🎧NEW Podcast On Fire! A rare detour for Sammo Hung into straight period swordplay, and the final chapter in the long career of Lo Wei, this month’s deep dive covers Blade Of Fury, with @sogoodreviews.bsky.social & @easternfilmfans.bsky.social. Listen: podcastonfire.com, Apple, Spotify.

The big man, Sammo Hung, comes to Podcast On Fire tomorrow. He arrives in the form of a deep dive on his wuxia film BLADE OF FURY. podcastonfire.com, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you find podcasts.

Yep. It's still good.

“A thriller-comedy that will leave you breathless.”

Look over there, fellas. It’s the monthly Podcast On Fire and this month we’re talking all things My Young Auntie. Find out why the film was almost called Kung Fu Concubine. podcastonfire.com, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you find podcasts.

Leung Po-Chi’s The Island channels ’70s US horror through a Hong Kong lens. Less about kills, more about terror and pressure before the body count kicks in. Stylised, intermittently brutal, and anchored by a strong sense of wanting to play. An unusual genre move for Hong Kong.

D & B adds Michael Hui to the Pom Pom formula in Mr. Boo Meets Pom Pom. A smart upgrade, the trio plays well off each other, and Hui civil servant angle vs struggling husband is fun. But as it leans more into his domestic woes, momentum slips. Solid first half, uneven finish.

D & B drafts Sammo Hung, and it’s welcome to see him stretch his comedy voice while delivering beatdowns only periodically in The Owl vs Bumbo. But the thief, fraudster & outcast kids story strands don’t gel. Beatdowns and an exceptional dance sequence aside, this one could’ve used more discipline.

Got the one that’s more exciting than a dozen Die Hard UHDs. And why get Once Upon a Time in China when I’ve got the single-disc DVDs and the Criterion Blu-rays? Box sets are cool.

NEW Podcast On Fire! In MY YOUNG AUNTIE, a young woman outranks an older family. Lau Kar-Leung turns it into a kung fu comedy about respect, generational clash. With @sogoodreviews.bsky.social and Paul Fox. Listen: podcastonfire.com, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.

We’ve got the next run of deep dives lined up. Full breakdown is on our Facebook group if you want to see what’s coming.

All hail Kara Hui, and she's coming to your podcast feed this weekend.

The standalone sequel to Spooky Encounters has a few nifty ghostbusting and action highlights, especially the cockroach zombies and the energetic finale. But otherwise it’s only on par with similar efforts of the time. Disappointing given Sammo, Mang Hoi and Lam Ching-ying.

Amusing, and then the loonies come out to play. FROM RICHES TO RAGS starts in familiar slapstick territory, but then descends into bizarre, twisted dark humour in the wild mental hospital finale. John Woo isn't inspired, but flashes of something sharper break through.

HELLO LATE HOMECOMERS, a low-budget sex farce anthology with Lo Yuen, a poor man's Michael Hui. The first two shorts lean into bad taste and flat humour. Totally inept. Then John Woo steps in, flips the dynamic, adds surreal gags and dark humour, and salvages the final third.

How long does the Fortune Star logo last?

Michael Wong is out hiking, and stops for a snack. Yep, this channel is going to be lit. @wonggifs.bsky.social

Tsui Hark photographed by author Lisa Morton during her book research. Wool jumper, slippers, cigar. Still the coolest cat in the room.

The first of four Shaw Brothers Journey to the West films, The Monkey Goes West works best as a setup. Ho Meng-hua builds the fantasy world, gathers the travelers, and experiments with early special effects. One chapter runs long, but it’s a likeable first step on the road west.

Thanks to Luke Safely for reviewing the Challenge Of The Lady Ninja blu ray and shouting out the commentary by myself and Paul Fox, as well the track by @declouxj.bsky.social and @dylancheung.bsky.social. lukelooks.com/post/challen... Available now from Error 4444.

Golden Horse winner, early Republican-era drama from Ho Meng-Hua mixing satire, romance, rebellion and patriotism. Technically The Warlord And The Actress is strong but dramatically it just… moves. Never spikes. Not quite farce, not quite war drama, not quite enough.

NO U-TURN isn’t essential early Cinema City, but it works as part of the company’s largely successful and impressive opening push into Hong Kong cinema. Their urban, Cantonese comedies mostly landed, even if this one is a bit too unlikeable to fully connect.

The director of Black Magic delivers technical polish and romantic charm within the gentle sweep of the opera form, in A MAID FROM HEAVEN. A fine showcase of a production reconfigured mid-crisis, and a reminder of what “lavish” meant when Shaw Brothers were dominating the 1960s.

🎧 NEW Podcast On Fire! Lau Kar-leung’s Dirty Ho. A masterclass in staging, deception, and fight choreography disguised as etiquette. With @sogoodreviews.bsky.social & @easternfilmfans.bsky.social. Listen: podcastonfire.com, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Signed, sealed, delivered, and not a re-run of the original track. You’re going to dig it.

I’ve got the Blues. The cure is Peking Opera.

It’s truly impressive how sharp Cinema City’s Cantonese, audience-friendly instincts were early on. With four films in the 1981 Top 10, Beware of Pickpockets landed at number 10 and is a surprisingly sharp assault of slapstick featuring one of Dean Shek’s funniest performances.

1980. The future Cinema City team tests the waters with audience-friendly Cantonese comedy in CRAZY CROOKS. Ultra low-budget, broad, occasionally visually clever, but exhausting over a full feature. Still, you can feel the first steps toward changing the game.

THE DELINQUENT (1973) carries little of the usual Chang Cheh DNA. Instead, it feels like him backing co-director Kuei Chih-hung as he steps forward with an on-location angry youth drama that turns brutal, feral, and shockingly violent.

Hanl Calentine’s Day!

The Podcast on Fire episode on The Millionaire’s Express is out now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. We discuss, with our jaws on the floor, Yuen Biao’s insane stuntwork like this rooftop flip.

Never thought we’d do this, but we’re going back, re-recording an audio commentary from 2021. Older, in more pain, but wiser and better.

Letterboxd users review commentary tracks. Blu-ray disc review sites often do not. I like Letterboxd users better.

A not-so-sneaky display of the old UK laserdisc of A Better Tomorrow behind Lloyd Kaufman in the first episode of the Arrow Video Store.

🎧 NEW Podcast On Fire! All things The Millionaires’ Express! With @sogoodreviews.bsky.social and @stewsky.bsky.social of The Lager Logs on You Tube! Listen: podcastonfire.com, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get podcasts.

King of Beggars has arrived! Original stereo surround mix restored for the first time since LaserDisc. Nice work, Eureka.

This release has a commentary by @easternfilmfans.bsky.social and @sogoodreviews.bsky.social which mentions me, therefore is the release of the year. I will never shut up about this.

Rest in peace, Bruce Leung. A fine martial artist and actor. From Call Me Dragon to the copyright fever dream The Dragon Lives Again. Legacy and impact was later honored in Kung Fu Hustle and Gallants. Always seemed game. He’ll be missed.

Henlo 2026. Not a lot going on that I can reveal publicly yet, but the Blu-ray disc audio-commentary to-your ears-research is pretty constant. Expect us on discs talking horror, the avant-garde, and mean stuff. Hong Kong cinema has it all.