This Spring, we blew the fuzz off of our audiences with our Taiwanese action fantasy series featuring the kung fu cult classics CHILD OF PEACH (1987) and its sequel, MAGIC OF SPELL (1988). Now as the seasons turn and the peach trees beam red, we bring you this companion series showcasing the work of one of the chief architects of the PEACH series, Taiwanese cinematographer Chuang Yan-chien.
Chuang burst out the gate in the 1970s as the director of photography on several popular productions by Hsu Tseng-hung (THE INVINCIBLE SWORD, THOUSAND MILE ESCORT) as well some of the earliest Taiwanese productions by recent HK transplants Jimmy Wang Yu (TIGER & CRANE FIST) and Kao Pao-shu (THE JADE FOX), before linking up with the insanely prolific Lee Tso-nam (THE TATTOO CONNECTION, THE CHALLENGE OF THE LADY NINJA, KUNG FU WONDER CHILD) for a collaborative relationship that would span upwards of 25 films over 15 years.
Yet Chuang’s biggest success would come in collaboration with a different filmmaker, Chiu Chung-hing, on Chiu’s massively successful, multiple sequel-spawning kiddie horror movie, HELLO DRACULA (1986). DRACULA’s success led to a continued working relationship between Chuang and its studio, Chin Ke Film Company, including CHILD OF PEACH and its sequels, where Chuang’s eye for lush colors and dynamic lighting were crucial to maintaining those films’ fantastical settings and atmosphere on a limited budget.
Chuang’s work with Chin Ke resulted in Chuang making his own directorial debut (co-credited alongside his closest collaborator, Lee Tso-nam) on the third installment in the PEACH series, MAGIC WARRIORS (1989). Although his directorial career was short-lived, with his final films released just a few years later in 1994, as the films in this series demonstrate, Chuang’s penchant for period detail, over-the-top action, and death-defying stuntwork are a sight to behold.
SHY SPIRIT (九月初九之重見天日)
Chuang Yan-chien, 1991
Hong Kong. 93 min.
In Cantonese with English subtitles
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7 – 5 PM
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11 – 10 PM
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17 – 10 PM
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20 – 7:30 PM
A tale of family, destiny, and ghostly nudity that tells the story of Sing & Long-Life, the sons of the heads of two rival martial arts schools whose fates have intertwined since birth. Their competitive relationship takes a turn when the two find themselves vying for the affection of the same young woman, but when Long-Life literally scares her to death in a Peeping Tom incident, the two now have to work together to help lay her spirit to rest (and possibly get her some clothes).
Chinese supernatural schenanigans meets the 80s boner comedy with three amazing action scenes holding everything up. The Alexander Lo-Rei choreographed climax is one for the books! There’s no way stunt men didn’t die, right?
–Justin Decloux via Letterboxd
21 RED LIST (21紅色名單)
Dir. Chuang Yan-chien, 1994
Taiwan. 89 min.
In Mandarin with English subtitles
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4 – 10 PM
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9 – 7:30 PM
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12 – 10 PM
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17 – 7:30 PM
In 1915 republican China, a group of bandits is tasked with stealing a Japanese-authored secret treaty that would ultimately spell doom for Chinese independence. They travel to Shanghai to intercept the document, but quickly realize that a traitor may be operating among them. What starts off as a riff on Hong Kong heist comedies quickly takes a much darker, more violent turn, with our four heroes confronted with the limits of their own loyalty, humanity, and trust in one another at a time of war.
A back-breaking, bone-crunching historical epic based on real events from World War I-era China, featuring a truly jaw dropping amount of swordplay, gunplay, room wreckage, and a few dozen more injured stuntmen.
REVANCHIST (新報仇)
Dir. Chuang Yan-chien, 1994
Hong Kong. 90 min.
In Cantonese with English subtitles.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5 – 10 PM
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7 – 7:30 PM
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 13 – 5 PM
MONDAY, DECEMBER 15 – 10 PM
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19 – MIDNIGHT
Two brothers, Fay & Fong, emigrate to Shanghai in the 1930s in search of a better life, where they soon end up mixed up in gang activity. Fong winds up in prison while Fay rises through the ranks of his criminal organization. But when Fay is killed by a rival gang, the newly-freed Fong must once again delve deep into Shanghai’s criminal underworld to seek vengeance for his brother.
Filmed at the same time as Chuang’s 21 RED LIST and involving much of the same creative team (including a few recycled sets), REVANCHIST leans hard into its CAT-III rating with its blend of period gangster drama, sleazy exploitation, and brutal violence, all of which culminates in a wild wire-fu & weapons-filled finale that’s guaranteed to blow away even the most seasoned action movie diehards.