Danger Has Two Faces - 皇家大賊 (1985)

Shawgust kicks off with a bit of a bang this week in which I'll be talking about of Leung Kar-Yan's lesser known films Danger Has Two Faces!

Written and directed by Alex Cheung, Leung Kar-Yan plays Jin. A former cop turned pet store owner who moonlights as a hitman for a local mob boss. Things turn bad when the local police start an investigation into the murders committed by Jin who is desperate to leave it all behind and start somewhere new with his son.

I think I may have bitten off more then I can chew by choosing contemporary crime as my first theme for the inaugural Shawgust Month as these films tend to be completely devoid of martial arts action. Something which I concentrate very heavily on in my reviews but I do enjoy a challenge so I hope I can at least give you as much detailed thought on this film as I can. 

First things first. I liked the story in this one. It wasn't perfect but I did like how it played out. Alex Cheung does an okay job of keeping things in check. I do have to say that there are moments when it tries to be a lot more clever then it actually is but I do give him credit for actually putting some effort in trying to tell a good story. 80's Hong Kong Cinema is not really known for it's well thought out plots and three dimensional characters. Danger Has Two faces doesn't really stand out among the crowd when compared to some of the more well known films made during this time but as it is, the film's story does what it needs to and treats the characters well enough and allows some of the actors to carve out fairly decent performances all round.

I haven't any of Cheung's other works but I think after this I might feel the need to go out and get my hands on some of them as at least I'll know the films (hopefully) will competently made.

As I said before the acting is all round decent. Beardy gets to do the whole serious brooding thing which he found himself doing quiet a lot during the 1980's, he's very intense for the most part and plays Jin with conviction and determination. Even in the scenes he shares with his son are nicely played out and do make Jin to be a character of unfortunate circumstance. Something the character does comment on during the final act of the film. He's got a fairly good supporting cast behind him too. Bei Cheung plays his best friend and police detective investigating a robbery which Jing finds himself connected to after carrying out orders to bump off one of the robbers. I liked him, he didn't over act and he had some good scenes with Kar-Yan and a number of other actors. 

The stunningly gorgeous Carroll Gordon plays his girlfriend. Like pretty much any female supporting role in this film she tends to be a little bit annoying but she does show a bit of initiative when she decides to follow one of her boyfriend's colleagues suspected of being on the take by local mobsters. The sequence was backed by an annoying mid-80's HK pop song but I did like how she played it smart when it came to actually getting photographic evidence. Even if her choice of hiding places were questionable. Paul Chu Kong plays a rather devious police lieutenant but I thought he was too friendly looking to make a convincing bad guy but I'm guessing that was Cheung's point in casting him that way it makes it more shocking for the audience. There are a few other characters but one I only really wanted to mention was Kirk Wong. That's right. The director of Crime Story and Flash Future Kung Fu has a supporting role as a sleazy and hot-headed police detective and ends up being one of the more memorable characters in the film. It amazes me that Hong Kong had directors who also appeared as actors. Even in Hollywood now that's very much a rarity.

Given this is meant to be a modern day crime thriller there isn't much in terms of martial arts action. Everyone uses guns as their method of dealing out pain. Beardy uses a high-powered pistol which is reminiscent of one used by Charles Bronson in the Death Wish series. This lends credence to the fact Beardy does play as very Bronson-like character, dealing out justice through the barrel of the gun. Each bullet hit is accompanied by lots of bright red blood and even a few exploding limbs which I really liked as it gave it that slight over the top edge which fits the tone of the film very nicely. Sadly there isn't much action in it at all except for an opening shoot out in an MTR station and nothing much else until the final act of the film which shove in as much action as it can in it's remaining run time.

What starts off as a run and gun sequence through a forest turns into a vehicle chase which features some hilariously convenient obstacles and finally a big confrontation in a petrol container yard. I loved just how fast and insane the pacing of the last twenty or so minutes was. It seemed they must have been getting close to the end of the filming schedule and needed to get everything done quickly but this breakneck attitude does help raise the excitement factor and we end up with a very entertaining final reel.

One thing I would like to comment on is the music. There's a nice opening theme which I think I might end up ripping and putting onto my iphone as it has a nice, slow, understated tune to it which I really liked. There's also a few moments of the score which seem to be drawing inspiration from the likes of John Carpenter and Barry De Vorzon. Definitely one of the more memorable scores to an 80's Hong Kong film I've heard in a long time.

Despite not being much beloved among Hong Kong Cinema fans I for one really liked Danger Has Two Faces and will happily watch it again when the mood strikes. If you can find a copy of the DVD, which is out of print but there's still some copies floating around, then make sure you don't hesitate to pick it up as you'll be in for a very enjoyable 89 minutes of 80's Shaw crime goodness.

Music Videos Feat. Jackie Chan, Leung Kar-Yan, Conan Lee & More!

I made these a few weeks ago but haven't posted them up here, some new music video for your viewing pleasure!

Drink & Fight, Jackie Chan!

Battery Feat. Leung Kar-Yan!

Secret Agent Man Feat. Jimmy Wang Yu!

Ninja, Ready To Fight!

That's it for today, new review will be up tomorrow!

If You Want Blood, You Got It!

To my utter astonishment my previous post has received overwhelming praise from a number of my readers and to show my thanks I decided to make a new video dedicated to the film responsible.

Also please read my good friend Achillesgirl's very own follow up to my post 5 More Things To Love About Hong Kong Godfather

5 Things To Love About Hong Kong Godfather

This is a first in what I hope to be a new series of articles in which I give five reasons to love a particular film. The first film I'll be taking a brief look at will be Wang Lung-Wei's ultra-violent cult Triad classic Hong Kong Godfather.

Number Five: Leung Kar-Yan's Pet Dogs

Leung Kar-Yan's character "Mad" Wei lives with his daughter at his garden nursery along with his two dogs. A German Shepherd and a Pug. This may seem very throw away at first but the dogs end up playing an important role later on in the film. Also the German Shepherd's name is Stallone. Gotta respect that!

Number Four: Wong Chun's Acting

The film's main villain Lan is played by a gentleman named Wong Chun and to call what he does acting in this particular motion picture would be a gross insult to the profession. He delivers his lines all the while not letting a single muscle in his face move. Occasionally he'll try and do something that is supposed to be a smile but it just looks like he's broke wind and not told anybody.

Number Three: Leung Kar-Yan Gets Serious

Given this is meant to be a dramatic Triad movie, everyone does their damnedest to give a serious performance and no one out of the entire thing tries harder then Beardy himself. I'm a huge fan of his and while he was very impressive when it came to performing martial arts he was never the most convincing of actors. Here you can see he's really trying his best to do some good acting but he doesn't quite hit the mark so scenes when he's supposed to be shedding a tear come off a little awkward but it's an endearingly wonderful piece of bad acting it has to be said.

Number Two: Norman Chu's Hair

It is often said that the 1980s was the decade that taste forgot and that would certainly apply to Norman's choice of hairstyle here. A jerry curl with a rat's tail!?!? You have to wonder how exactly Norman arrived at choosing that particular style when he signed on to star in this.

Number One: Blood On The Walls

For all the film's other wonderfully flawed elements, it more then makes up for it in the violence stakes. Featuring stylized brawls as opposed to traditional martial arts. Johnny Wang Lung-Wei literally paints the walls red with his characters' blood. The last 15 minutes are some of the wildest blood letting I've seen in a Triad film and it has to be seen to be believed.

That's all for my first 5 Thing To Love article. I'll be posting more of these as time goes on, in the mean time keep an eye out for my next entry in Jetruary!

Demon Strike (1979)

Been a while since I reviewed anything from the old school era of martial arts cinema so I thought I'd highlight one of the lesser known films from the 1970s. Leung Kar-Yan and Jason Pai Piao team up to take on bad guy Hwang Jang Lee in this very solid action/fantasy movie. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any trailers online so my usual link has not been included but on with the review!

Jason Pai Piao plays an officer for the royal court who is tasked to recover some stolen gold. On his journey he has to defend himself from assassins who are determined to kill him. Meanwhile Leung Kar-Yan is the head of a gang who discovers that a Daoist scroll has also been stolen along with the gold and sets off on his own journey in order to prevent it being used for evil.

At least, that's what I was able to pick up from the incredibly confusing narrative. It wasn't uncommon for films of this era to start shooting without a script. The film makers would outline a basic story and then to make things up as they went along. Some films were able to pull it off effortlessly while others just ended up becoming an incoherent mess. Demon Strike is one of those films but fortunately it's packed with that much action that it isn't too detrimental and really should be viewed more as a highlight reel of great kung fu action.

Jason Pai Piao and Leung Kar-Yan are the two leads and are as good as you'd expect them to be. Pai Piao plays the no-nonsense character determined to do what it takes to find the missing gold, even if it means doing things which may seem amoral. Leung meanwhile just turns up in the film when he feels like it and bitch slaps anyone foolish enough to throw a punch at him. The two don't really have much chemistry but given what they were working with it's not surprising. It would have been nice to see the two of them butt heads in the film a little more but we just get a few exchanges of dialogue and they don't really come together fully until the finale.

The confusion I mentioned earlier comes into play mostly due to how the story lines for both characters come off. Everything moves at an incredibly fast pace. Characters are introduced and then killed off soon afterwards. Fight scenes happen from out of nowhere and  there's a sub-plot which never reaches a logical conclusion and it just seems a little jarring. Yet given the sheer amount of martial arts films I've seen, I'm used to this sort of thing but I still notice from time to time.

Still for all my complaints about the story, that doesn't stop me from enjoying the copious amounts of kung fu action. Featuring everything from empty handed combat to sword play, anyone who has yet to see this film may like what they see. The choreography was over seen by Alan Hsu. Who has over one-hundred credits to his name. The majority of which he was involved as the action director. After seeing this, it has lead me to believe Hsu is one of the more underrated choreographers from this era. He's able to play to everyone's strengths effortlessly and is able to make Leung Kar-Yan look just as good as he did in some of his more high-profile movies such as Knockabout and The Victim.

Pai Piao also gets to strut his stuff. One great fight sees him fighting two assassins in a run down old house. All three actors leap around, using well timed strikes, blocks and take downs, creating a sequence which could rival some of the films from the mighty Shaw Brothers Studio. However things take a turn for the better when we get the final reel and our two heroes band together to fight Hwang Jang Lee. As you'd expect Hwang gives his usual sinister bad guy routine and gets to show his flair for kung fu action. What we have here isn't the best he's ever done but there are one or two moments when things get really amped up and it would have been great to see that kind of pace maintained.

Oh yes, I almost forgot. Not only do we get Hwang Jang Lee kicking people in the face, he can also shoot lasers. Yes, you read that correctly. Lasers. During the film we find out that he has been using the stolen Daoist scroll to unlock incredible powers, one of these being the ability to shoot blue lasers from the palms of his hands. It's as silly as it sounds and when you find out what the source of the power is and it's weakness, you'll be left scratching your head is to why he went to all that trouble.

Regardless of how bizarre it all is though, we still get an absolutely cracking fight finale and are left with a film which deserves it's place among the hundreds and hundreds of titles that are out there. Go out there, find the DVD, pop it in, sit back and enjoy. Fans of old school classics will love it and those who are still exploring the genre will hopefully be satisfied. Then again, could be worse, you could be watching American Shaolin instead.