Comment

Comment by TV Plus on October 10, 2022 at 10:35pm

Ken was amazed that in Japan , American culture had already impressed the Japanese in a big way. He saw 20 Japanese Elvis impersonators where they were previewing the movie. He saw Japanese rock groups including a Japanese Kiss. While the Japanese were emulating American culture,

American youth was appropriating from Asian culture, and showing the result to an Asian audience for the first time. Ken Swift, “We had to really show the influence of kung fu, martial arts, of kung fu movies in a dance piece, when we went to the Akasaka blitz, in Tokyo , and be in front of Asians, that was strange. We were like, ‘Yo, we’re inspired by these people.’ It was strange, we were concerned, we’re like, ‘how are they going to react to this. ’ I don’t know, the audiences are funny, they can be quiet as hell through the whole show and then at the end, just (claps), and you’re like ‘OK, OK’, you thought they hated it. Some of the audiences are very reserved, everybody really enjoyed it.

After Beatstreet B-Boying, or Breakdancing as it was known to the general public, became a nationwide phenomenon. Two West Coast movies were released, Breakin’, and Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo that featured popping and locking and some b-boying. These movies were produced by Golan Globus, who made movies like Ninja 3: The Domination and later Bloodsport with Jean-Claude Van Damme. Van Damme has a cameo in Breakin’ as a crowd member on the outside of the circle.

Breakin Movie 1.2 B-Boying’s popularity soared and “how to” books and records were released. The dance was exploited and mass marketed for two years, and became the “in” thing. Then in 1985, almost everyone stopped dancing. B-Boying was burnt out from overexposure. Diehard B-Boys kept dancing,

but to the rest of the country it was considered over. Co-incidentally, around the same time, production on traditional kung fu movies ceased in Hong Kong in favor of modern thrillers and comedies. One of the new films was a Breakdance comedy directed directed by Yuen Wo-ping, Mismatched Couples starring Donnie Yen. You can see the influence American culture had on HK at the time.

The moves that were inspired by HK cinema made their way back into the genre they came from in their American B-Boy form. B-Boying also shows up in Drunken Tai Chi and I Will Finally Knock You Down Dad, two of the last traditional kung fu films produced in the 80′s.

In the early 90s B-Boying and the traditional kung fu film both made a comeback. The movie that brought the kung fu film back was Tsui Hark’s Once Upon a Time in China starring Jet Li. The new wave of kung fu films following the success of this film featured different styles of camera angles and editing.

The choreography was enhanced with wirework, which allowed characters to fly. This style was previously seen mostly in swordplay films. Drunken Tai Chi / Once Upon a Time in China

While directors in HK were bringing the kung fu film back, RSC came together with the Rhythm Technicians and Magnificent Force to form Ghettoriginal. This unit produced and performed dance theater about their experiences in B-Boying. One production they performed was Shaolin Temple Hip-Hop that was part of the play Jam on the Groove in 1996.

Shaolin Temple Hip-Hop was a piece that Ghettoriginal put together not to educate people, but as Ken Swift said “It was a bug out skit, lets have fun with our inspiration, one of our favorite inspirations, as B-Boys, that meant so much to us coming up. ” 

Comment by TV Plus on October 10, 2022 at 10:35pm

They played with the themes in kung fu movies and recreated on stage what might happen in a kung fu film. The main character, Flo-Master (who is a Taekwondo stylist and has studied jiu-jitsu and kickboxing) wants to be like Jackie Chan. He falls asleep while watching a kung fu movie in a theater, and wakes up in his dream. In the dream he is a wanderer. Kung fu movies continued to directly inspire B-Boys in the 90s.

Ken Swift formed his own chapter of Rock Steady in 1996, RSC Seven Grandmasters, based on the Joseph Kuo movie 7 Grandmasters. RSC Seven Grandmasters was a battle clique. Ken Swift, “And that was the elite unit of Rock Steady that was all about win, lose, or draw, battling anybody, going out there to war, and it had the same concept as Seven Grandmasters, going all over the country, doing different styles, fighting and challenging, that’s a little what the movie was about.”

RSC Seven Grandmasters were Ken Swift, Honey Rockwell, Mr. Wiggles, Flo-Master, Gizmo, Orko, and Katsu. Representing in Europe were Bruce Wayne and Tony Zoom. Pending to get in at the time were Remind and Crumbs (SEC) and Wicket (Ren). All the members had to train in the other members’ styles and strong points. Kung Fu and B-Boying have many different styles. Each member of the Seven Grandmasters was an expert in their particular style of B-Boying.

Trac 2 told me that B-Boying has never been about an individual, but partners and crews. B-Boys need others to inspire them to advance their skill level and creativity.

The movie 7 Grandmasters also inspired Ken Swift to create a new move. “In the movie, the brother was on the floor, and he grabbed his hands and he pulled and he slid on his butt, and he kicked this dude, I have a forearm glide that I do, called ‘flowing downstream’ that was inspired by the film.”

On March 24, 2001 Koncrete Jungle’s 1st Wu-Shu and B.Boy/B.Girl Dance Challenge was held. The event was presented by the American Wu-Shu Society and Ken Swift Productions. Wu-Shu is the style of martial art practiced by Jet Li. One of Jet Li’s contemporaries from the Zhejiang Wu-Shu professional team, Hu Jianqiang, performed at the event. Master Hu was in Shaolin Temple and Kids from Shaolin.

There was an informal battle between some of the B-Boys and Wu-Shu athletes on the carpet. They were showing each other their skill in acrobatics, and trying to outdo each other. Also, some of the Wu-Shu athletes jumped into the circle to dance. One of the Wu-Shu athletes, Tsuyoshi Kaseda, entered the B-Boy competition and showed everyone his distinctive style. With events like this one, B-Boys and martial artists can exchange ideas and inspire each other in person.

Kung fu films are enjoying a renaissance on the big screen in America. The Chinese language film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, directed by Ang Lee won four Oscars at the Academy Awards and was awarded praise by both critics and fans. B-Boying has made a comeback appearing in numerous videos. Huge martial arts productions are coming to American movie theaters. Lau Kar-leung’s Drunken Monkey is a throwback to the kung fu films of the ’70s. Jet Li and Jackie Chan both have careers in Hollywood. Li’s Cradle to the Grave co-stars DMX. Hip Hop now directly influences an art form it was inspired by. Kung fu films have been with B-Boying from the very beginning, since the street gangs watched the films on 42nd street. Kung fu movies will always be a part of hip hop culture.  (Source: https://www.facebook.com)

Comment by TV Plus on October 10, 2022 at 8:40am

Film Review: Iron Fists and Kung Fu Kicks (2019) - Australia

Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia)

Australian director Serge Ou delivers the goodies in the latest Tribute to the origins of Kung Fu films and the influence of the once great Hong Kong cinema to not just Hollywood, but the rest of the world. In making the the in-depth documentary “Iron Fists and Kung Fu Kicks”, Ou presents more than a fan-boy service affair, but instead provide valuable insights for novice and long time genre fans alike.

For a good 30 minutes of the documentary, we get impacted by the power and passion of Bruce Lee. Lee is not only a pioneer, but one of the few bold faces to stand up against the powerhouse of Hollywood in the racist 60s and 70s. What made it more impressive is how Bruce became a legend and how Hollywood missed the original chance. There is also equal screening time for cinematic powerhouse Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest and how the former is a set formula that produces classics and fail to adapt and the later modernised the entire Kung Fu genre and evolve as per market needs.

Of course, no documentary is complete with a tribute to Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Master Yuen Woo Ping. These are masters that shaped and modernised Hong Kong Kung Fu genre into America and the world. “Matrix” showed the world how Hong Kong inspired one of the biggest Hollywood blockbuster in the 90s. It’s a shame that the documentary only glimpses past the contribution of Jet Li and Donnie Yen.

All in all, “Iron Fists and Kung Fu Kicks” is a well edited and produced documentary on a genre beloved by so many and inspired an entire race and generation to other creative channels never seen before. The 90 minutes breezes by in no time as we witness the former greatest of Hong Kong cinema once again and how it is now giving way to the “Ong Bak” and “The Raid” taking over the marital arts mantle. The final segment on Africa seems rushed and padded on to the film, in an otherwise wonderful documentary for long time genre fans to rejoice and new timers to learn about the history of the infectious art. (1.5.2020 https://neofilmshop.com)

Comment by TV Plus on October 1, 2022 at 10:38pm

The Growing Market of Malaysian Movies

Malaysian movie Mat Kilau has just broke box office records by collected over RM96 million after screening for 40 days. And now another Malaysian movie Don't look into the Demon is going to screen in 250 cinemas throughout North America. Both films capitalize Malaysian folk tales, a cultural creative effort that build itself up by marrying local good contents with sound talents. (Dr Tan Beng Huat, 1.10.2022)

Comment by TV Plus on September 19, 2022 at 5:42pm

Dr. Tan Beng Huat: Singapore, Our Natural Source of International Tourists

Few months ago, I had watched a series of documentary on Singapore's nation-building experience in Netflix Channel by the title "A Frame In Time". Many good stories are shared through their heritage of old paintings, photographs & black and white contents from TV archive. One of them, "A Quest For Unity In 1960s " is to explore Singaporeans' desire to learn Bahasa Malaysia in evening classes, attempted to be a Good Malaysian.......

Chua Mia Tee, National Language Class, 1959, Oil on canvas, 112 x 153 cm, Installation view at the National Gallery

As a young kid in Southern Johore then, Singapore to me is just our neighbour town where my aunt stay. Many people of my generation who opted for Singapore citizenship have just retired in recent years with reasonable or even good saving. It's natural for them to be a rich tourist to visit Malaysia, where their relatives stay.

In fact, all these years, Singaporeans make up around one third of our foreign tourists (excluding the excursionists who make daily trips across the JB causeway). After the Covid-19 close down, other than visit their relatives and Genting Highland, their destinations also include many Malaysian places that they have never considered before. Just to name a few, weekend city tour to Sibu, Sarawak, Off Shore Angling trip to Kuching, home-stay in Kuala Selangor......these were in fact my youngest sister's records with her family and family of my brother-in-law's siblings. Our nature and culture is a blessing to them too.

Beside family tour, to my Singaporen nephews and thier peers, our seas are their diving paradise. One of them even become a coral conservationist of our under-sea world with funding from Singaporen government.

Meaning? Before we go back to what we have in 2019 which have witnessed international tourism hit record high of 1.5 billion, of which China's contribution is 10%, our neighboring countries are our hope. Other than Singapore, the number of Vietnamese's outbound tourists to South-East Asia is also going up. Afterall, to Sabah and Sarawak, tourists from Penisular is a ready market yet to be fully tapped.   (18.9.2022)

Comment by TV Plus on August 15, 2022 at 1:48pm

陳明發《法律詩性》
美國名導馬丁斯科塞斯（Martin Scorcese，1942——，Taxi Driver等電影導演），在2022完成了Netflix 紀錄片《Rolling Thunder Revue：鮑勃·迪倫的故事》。在片中，為被誤判謀殺案而坐了20年牢的Rubin "Hurricane" Carter所唱的歌曲，在法律、詩性與反思之間建立起聯系，讓人想起「法律詩性」的問題，對冷冰冰的法律，我們是否可能借詩性智慧做出省思？（15.08.2022）

Comment by TV Plus on July 30, 2022 at 3:20pm

陳明發·東西交融～文化敘事提供的選項：大馬有文化人才，畢業于八打靈公教中学的美籍女編導陳風錐立足好萊塢，剛剛贏得多倫多影展大獎。她對本地媒體透露，其作品在北美重要影展中贏得“最佳恐怖片”，原因是它結合東西方靈異氛圍，呈獻了新穎的驚悚體驗。

陳風錐的電影美學說明了，在文化敘事裏，東西方不但可以不衝突，而且還可能找到融合的契機。

我們願意借助文化敘事途徑來促進彼此的了解嗎？

人類目前的處境是：選擇文化交融，或：軍火交易，然後交戰。

我們需要新的方法，重新認識本身的命運。文化敘事提供了一項有效的選項。

Comment by TV Plus on July 30, 2022 at 12:11am

美籍大馬女編導演陳風錐《幽幽大河》獲最佳恐怖片獎

美籍大馬女導演兼編劇陳風錐（Jules East），在多倫多國際女性節電影獎（The Toronto International Women Festival），以一部《幽幽大河》（River of Ghosts）贏得“最佳恐怖片”，結合東西方靈異氛圍，呈獻新穎的驚悚電影。

她小學念吉打亞羅士打吉華（H）小學，五年級後隨家長遷居吉隆坡，在精武小學畢業後進入八打靈公教。她也是本地工程師陳嘉瑞和蔡圖美律師的女兒，中學畢業後赴澳攻讀國際貿易，然後隨夫婿張基智赴美定居三蕃市，目前入籍美國。

現年43歲的陳風錐從小喜歡電影及創作劇本，這部電影由她編劇及導演，並從全球7982部參與作品中獲得晉級最後35部電影，贏得“最佳恐怖片”。

陳風錐通過臉書接受本報訪問時說，很高興能在這個重要的國際電影節平臺贏得獎項，雖然這部電影更像是驚悚及劇情片，電影是在加利福尼亞州一個海濱小鎮門多西諾拍攝。

故事情節講述一個男人的妻子失蹤，雖然鎮上對他持懷疑態度，但他私下正處理一種叫做“軀體體驗”的情況，並在鎮上尋找一位新的神秘醫生幫助。

她說，目前已完成另一部電影，正在安排在新加坡參與影展，希望有一天她的電影有機會在亞洲和大馬上映，與本地觀眾會面。

在這之前，陳風錐先後在2014年以《Lucidus》贏得好萊塢劇本大獎，以及2016年以《Into the Sand》再次拿下好萊塢劇本大獎。（29.7.2022 星洲日報）

Comment by TV Plus on March 20, 2022 at 11:15pm

二戰紀錄片《Five Come Home》

肺炎禁足，我在netflix看了史匹堡導演制作的二戰紀錄片《Five Come Home》，說的是二戰期間五位好萊塢當紅導演，如何參與拍攝反戰紀錄片的過程。我忽然發現，我過去對於二戰的認識實在是太有限了，說來說去都只是佔領馬來亞半島的三年八個月。特別是對於南太平洋戰爭中的一些慘烈戰役，我甚至連那些島嶼的名字也不甚了了。臨老補點課，對因戰爭而死去的靈魂略表敬意。（16.8.2020）

Comment by TV Plus on March 19, 2022 at 12:10pm

陳明發各行各業說故事的人

你正講中了我的心事，讓我覺得此道不孤。因為不孤，所以可能不枯。中華民族並不缺乏獨一無二，舉世無可取代的故事。悲哀在于海外的我們能把中華故事說好的人不多，電影、寫作如此；旅遊導覽、開店銷售、藝術創作都是如此。我創辦《愛墾網》就是希望打造各行各業「說故事的人」。您到我新浪博客的《文學與文化思考》系列，有些文字，請多交流！

武侠片的「真功夫」的確是真功夫。源自中華武藝傳統，結合上「俠」的核心，更顯示出中華民族獨有的人生境界。每回讀《史記》，就知道俠義曾是我們民族光輝的一面。從文化創意產業的觀點來看，觀賞過電影後，不僅僅可以發展出好萊塢那一套的衍生產品，例如公子、電視劇、海報等紀念品而已，還可以立體的辦些武術夏日營，向全世界的中國孩子和洋孩子營銷。既健身、防身，又欣賞我們的古文化精粹。這是我認為全球大海嘯沒頂而來，中華文化可以向世界發功的理由之一。

《葉問》、《赤壁》肯定會在馬來西亞上映。《狂野大雪地》這樣的作品，恐怕與我們無緣了。其實馬來西亞有東南亞最大的三維戲院，由澳大利亞技術支援。三維電影卻不是天天都有，因為製作有限。我在國內和一些搞動漫的年輕朋友聊過好幾次回，人才有、技術也不差，難得的是也有人願意投資，就是沒法子推向國際。渠道問題，這是中華創意人要開拓的地方之一。（2008年11月6日 中國新浪網）

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• …
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• 10
• Next ›
• Page