Great foreign (non US) movies, especially oriental ones....

neorichieb1971 · Post by **neorichieb1971** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 7:33 am

I've been recommended -

Oldboy (korea)
Sympathy for Mr Vengeance (Korea)
Running out of time (Hong Kong)
Joint area security (Korea)
BEAT (Korea)

I've gone and ordered the lot on DVD for a marathon session.

I would recommend -

Kung Fu hustle (HK)
Ring Virus (Korea, a more fulfilling "the ring")
Ong Bak (Taiwan)

I would not recommend -

Dark Water.

Looking for something a bit different from the usual Hollywood stuff or mainstream Woo, Jackie chan stuff that we all know about. If you know of a good title that deserves more recognition, mention it here for all. Thanks.

Ord · Post by **Ord** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 8:13 am

"Audition" is a fantastic Japanese movie that i heartily recommend.

neorichieb1971 · Post by **neorichieb1971** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 8:16 am

Thanks for that Ord, I remember reading about it on IGN

iatneH · Post by **iatneH** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 8:32 am

I haven't watched many...

Some old Jet Li films (the ones not filmed for North American audience, much better)...
Shall We Dance (the original Japanese version)

I've been meaning to watch My Sassy Girl, but I haven't gotten the DVD from my sister yet :\

sethsez · Post by **sethsez** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 8:54 am

Ord wrote:"Audition" is a fantastic Japanese movie that i heartily recommend.

Some other good movies from the same director:

Ichi the Killer (violent, sadistic... I'd say it's misogynistic but everyone gets equally brutalized. Don't see it if you're sensitive to this stuff, but it's highly stylish and it worth it if you can take it as entirely tongue-in-cheek)

Gozu (if you like David Lynch, this should be right up your alley. Highly weird, highly disgusting at times, and oddly intelligent)

I still think Audition is his best, but these two (especially Gozu) are worth seeing as well, and at least in America are both very easy to find unrated (I picked mine up at Best Buy).

adam76 · Post by **adam76** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 10:40 am

I'd recommend:

Zatoichi - "Beat" Takeshi. A kind of samauri-influenced version of Fistful of dollars which in turn was a kind of western version of Yojimbo! One town, two gangs and Kitano in the middle. Guess whose left standing!

Violent Cop -"Beat" Takeshi. A classy take on Dirty Harry with Kitano every bit as cool as Clint!

Boiling Point - "Beat" Takeshi. A revenge movie. Very funny, very violent. Another masterful performance from Takeshi Kitano.

Sonatine - "Beat" takeshi. (Yet)Another Kitano gangster film but laced with humour and some genuinely tender moments amidst the carnage.

A Tale of Two Sisters - Two messed-up girls, one wicked stepmother and a ghost. Bloody scary!

Battle Royale - Fukasaku Kinji. Very funny/violent take on child control in a society thats in ruins. Stars "Beat" Takeshi, but i reckon you already guessed that!

Infernal Affairs - Top thriller that warrants(it surpasses it IMO) its comparisons to Michael Mann's 'Heat'. Two moles, one in the triads and one in the police force, try to keep their identities concealed. Tense stuff indeed.

CMoon · Post by **CMoon** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 1:30 pm

neorichieb1971 wrote:

I would not recommend -

Dark Water.

Harsh...I love that film (well, the Japanese version anyway).

MovingTarget · Post by **MovingTarget** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 1:37 pm

Ichi the killer is slightly is quite good.

Dead Leaves is FUCKING MENTAL, i highly recommend it too.

********AUDITION SPOILER********

Audition is the film where the guy gets tortured at the end? And gets needles stuck in his eyes right?

Andi · Post by **Andi** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 7:25 pm

I saw part of a movie on television that had all these shots from really wild angles (pratically every shot in the movie). It was called Bankok Dangerous. I want to watch it again but I can't find it anywhere. Anyone seen this?

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 8:09 pm

Happiness of the Katakuris - great stuff, but doesn't seem like it would have the broadest appeal. same director as Ichi and Audition as well.
plus Naomi Nishida is in it. i like's her.

BIG · Post by **BIG** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 8:18 pm

A Better Tomorrow.

B-

IlMrm · Post by **IlMrm** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 8:28 pm

Some that I enjoyed:

-A Better Tomorrow II

-Shaolin Soccer(although it was shown here in the US). Other earlier films by Stephen Chow are pretty funny. I like "Gambling Saint", not sure if that's the official English title.
-The Twins Effect(cheap Blade knockoff, but cool effects for a HK film).
-Dry Wood Fierce Fire - charming comedy.

Edit: "Gambling Saint" = Stephen Chow, "God of Gamblers" - Chow Yun Fat.

roushimsx · Post by **roushimsx** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 11:32 pm

Andi wrote:I saw part of a movie on television that had all these shots from really wild angles (pratically every shot in the movie). It was called Bankok Dangerous. I want to watch it again but I can't find it anywhere. Anyone seen this?

Bangkok Dangerous rocked. There's an R1 release of the DVD but it's a cropped 4:3, so shell out a few extra bucks and get the R0 SE from HK.

Ong Bak is a Thai movie as well, not Taiwan. Quite different movie styles, there.

You guys might also like Bangrajan, Suriyothai, and Khunsuk.

The Overture was also pretty interesting, not for the story (which was pretty trite and predictable) but for the rather amazing musical score.

And if you're looking into thai movies, do not watch:
The Bodyguard - Saw it because Tony Jaa and Pumware Yodkamol were in it. Terrible comedy with all of maybe 3 minutes of worthwhile footage in the whole movie.
Pisaj/Evil - Saw it because it had Pumwaree Yodkamol in it. Terrible film. Start off promising and rapidly degenerates into raw shit.

I order all of my thai movies from ethaicd.com ... they're pretty cheap, legit, and quite a few of them have english subtitles (not so common anymore since Thai movies are starting to become popular and they don't want to lose sales in profitable international markets, like the US). Watch out for that pesky region coding, though.

PsikyoPshumpPshooterP · Sun Apr 24, 2005 11:46 pm

jesus..who still uses the word"oriental" unless its rugs?

ok i recommend God of Gamblers and Young and Dangerous series

mannerbot · Post by **mannerbot** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 12:34 am

My Sassy Girl!!

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 3:20 am

adam76 wrote: Battle Royale - Fukasaku Kinji. Very funny/violent take on child control in a society thats in ruins. Stars "Beat" Takeshi, but i reckon you already guessed that!

Gotta second this crazy Lord of the Flies wannabe.

MovingTarget · Post by **MovingTarget** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 3:23 am

Shit!

I forgot about battle royale, this film is Fucking Entertaining.

Stormwatch · Post by **Stormwatch** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 5:46 am

Good Bye Lenin! - fascinating history lesson, moving tale of a son's love, and some nice comedy moments too.

WheePenPen · Post by **WheePenPen** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 6:03 am

The first God of Gamblers is probably my favorite Chow Yun Fat film. I first saw it as a kid in the late 80s... just bought the dvd off amazon and its every bit as good as i remembered.

"Go" is a really good Japanese film about an older teenage boy dealing w/ the pressures of living in Japan as 1/2 korean. Might put some ppl off if i called it romantic comedy, but its really well done nonetheless.

Musha is a great HK/Korean period film about a korean diplomatic envoy to china that was thrown in the gobi desert after being accused of being spies and their struggle for survival. on the way they rescue a chinese princess(zhang zi yi... talk about typecasting...) from the mongols, who then becomes their only hope for survival. lots of awesome fight scenes in this one.

roushimsx · Post by **roushimsx** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 10:54 am

This thread is sadly lacking any Akira Kurosawa movies.

Start off with the essentials, "Seven Samurai", "Yojimbo", "Hidden Fortress", and "Sanjuro" (available now in a box set from Criterion; pricey but well worth it), then check out stuff like "High & Low", "Red Beard", and "Ran".

On the European side of the house, Sergio Leone's adaptation of Yojimbo ("A Fistful of Dollars") is quite badass (Clint Eastwood is the motherfucking man), as are the two Italian sequels, "For a Few Dollars More" and "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly". Don't shun them just because they're Westerns, they're damn fine movies and they're what got me into westerns.

On the topic of Leone, check out the special edition release of "Once Upon a Time In America". Awesome gangster/crime epic that is pretty radically different from the US edit of the film. "Once Upon a Time in the West" should also be required viewing.

Diabollokus · Post by **Diabollokus** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 12:42 pm

Yep Akira Kurosawa has some of the best movies ever made, seven samurai is incredible, I loved the guy with the giant sword, I got a rifle too!

Check out Ong Bak that was made in Korea. Tony Ja is truly a martial artist to rival yen and li. Think a guy at kaizen has er on his hardrive. Don't watch the luc besson version though.

roushimsx · Post by **roushimsx** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 1:30 pm

Diabollokus wrote:Check out Ong Bak that was made in Korea

Seriously, I've heard people claim this movie to be:
Taiwaneese
Korean
Chinese
Japanese

Seriously, where are people getting this info from? The writing and speech is a dead give away, not to mention 5 seconds of effort with either google or imdb.

the guy that did the action choreography for it (along with directing the abortion that was The Bodyguard), Panna Rittikrai, also did a remake of an 80's B action movie called "Born to Fight". Now it's a 00's B-action movie with all sorts of craziness going on. Bad acting, overuse of cliched plot points, and a bad story...you'd think it'd suck, right? Hell no. Motherfuckers fighting on top of moving semi trucks, shit blowing up, bodies flying everywhere, random villagers dropping like red shirts, little kids getting thrown around like rag dolls, and hot chicks kicking the crap out of each other. The movie has it all, man.

Some of the same actors as Ong Bak, as well (well, i use the term "actors" loosely.. maybe stuntmen would be a better word

)

Diabollokus · Post by **Diabollokus** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 3:25 pm

I got the korean impression from a few of the guys who'd been passing it around at my jujitsu club, only saw it a few weeks ago, very impressed.

Born to fight, I must check that one out if i can find it anywhere, thanks for that one. I'll watch out for the 80's version lol.

Have you seen Black Mask with Jet li? its short but sweet fukkin love the 701 squad.

Yeah hot chicks fighting can make most things good, pity it never worked for tekken hahahah lol

RoninBuddha · Post by **RoninBuddha** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 4:23 pm

i mainly watch JPN films... since im always in japan:

My Sassy Girl (Korean)
Windstruck (Korean)
Battle Royale
Moon Child
Oresama
g@me
Versus
The Returner

and im a fan of samurai films:
Azumi
The Seven Samurai
Ran

roushimsx · Post by **roushimsx** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 4:27 pm

Diabollokus wrote:Have you seen Black Mask with Jet li?

Yea, Black Mask was good fun. It's too bad Tsui Hark went off the deep end and started putting out raw shit (ranging from beautiful shit like Legend of Zu to stinky shit like Black Mask 2)

RoninBuddha wrote: Versus
and im a fan of samurai films:
Azumi

I wouldn't really call Azumi a samurai film and I sure as hell wouldn't group it anywhere near Seven Samurai and Ran...

As far as Ryuhei Kitamura movies go, I'd probably rate Azumi pretty low. It's not unwatchable like Alive was, but the action scenes lack the quality found in Versus. The bad CG doesn't help, and a lot of the camera cuts blow hard. You should really check out Aragami...it's pretty slow paced and mostly two guys shooting the shit in a single room, but it's pretty entertaining. (not sure if it's out in the US; worth tracking down the double DVD set "The Duel Poject" , some subtitles, and DVDsubber just for it)

On a side note, I heard Tae Guk Gi was pretty good. Given that I have a strong distaste for most Korean films, I'm pretty skeptical.

Blueberry/Renegade also looks pretty cool. Been meaning to pick that one up for months now

mannerbot · Post by **mannerbot** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 5:17 pm

Anybody know where I can get God of Gamblers on DVD? Not really wanting to get an eBay bootleg and can't find it for sale anywhere...

IlMrm · Post by **IlMrm** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 8:09 pm

I believe I made an error in my post earlier. The gambling movie with Stephen Chow in it I believe translates to "Gambling Saint" which has a parody of "Gambling God" in it. Needless to say it is a comedy, and a funny one too.

Let me go edit my post.

OptimusPrimeX · Post by **OptimusPrimeX** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 6:05 am

Well you said "especially" oriental ones, so i'll assume that doesn't exclude others

Movie: "Open Your Eyes"(Abre los ojos) (1997)

Nothing special... But before i the Hollywood version of "VANILLA SKY" came out, i saw "Open Your Eyes", which was the origional Vanilla Sky. Its worth checking out if your bored. If anything just to see what the origional was like. I for the most part loathe hollywood, but Vanilla sky was actually a very good make over.

My friend and lots of Anime got me into subtitled movies, so i really enjoyed "Open your Eyes" when i watched it!... I always liked the origional better, but maybe thats because i saw it first

And Penélope Cruz is in the origional as well. <3

Fost · Post by **Fost** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 8:20 am

I wrote a couple of reviews for our site:

House of Flying Daggers
The Twighlight Samurai
2046

I always try and second guess who will like a film. 2046 for instance is a film I loved but would not reccommend to many people. Wong Kar Wai's work (the director) is definitely an acquired taste, but everyone should at least try 'Chungking Express' out. Fallen Angels is also great if you like that kind of thing.

The Three colours trilogy are worth seeing as are the Dekalog set by the same director (Non-action, deep drama).

I also really enjoyed Samurai Fiction (a modern samurai movie with a classic samurai movie's heart), and Stereo Future.

Anyone wanting to get 'My Sassy Girl' should avoid the director's cut (in my opinion) - it is just fluffed out with too much that should have been dropped.

My favourite Korean movie is 'Il Mare' - a kind of romance/drama through an anomaly in time.

Note - none of the above are films for action junkies.

'The Eye' is a great Korean horror film - uses loads of stuf other people have (in fact it lifts the entire plot from the sixth sense) but does it beautifully.

Best place for Korean movie info:
http://www.koreanfilm.org/

roushimsx · Post by **roushimsx** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 10:15 am

Fost wrote:'The Eye' is a great Korean horror film - uses loads of stuf other people have (in fact it lifts the entire plot from the sixth sense) but does it beautifully.

...and yet another Thai movie being misattributed to another country... It's even by the same directors as Bangkok Dangerous and Infernal Affairs.

A friend of mine is batshit obsessed with the movie "Last Life in the Universe", which I've yet to see...

shmups.system11.org

Great foreign (non US) movies, especially oriental ones....

Great foreign (non US) movies, especially oriental ones....

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