It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
^ Back to Top
The MI6 Community is unofficial and in no way associated or linked with EON Productions, MGM, Sony Pictures, Activision or Ian Fleming Publications. Any views expressed on this website are of the individual members and do not necessarily reflect those of the Community owners. Any video or images displayed in topics on MI6 Community are embedded by users from third party sites and as such MI6 Community and its owners take no responsibility for this material.
James Bond News • James Bond Articles • James Bond Magazine
Comments
This is a rather silly Hong Kong James Bond knock-off, where we, instead of a male hero, follow a female spy, Agent 009, infiltrating a dangerous organised crime syndicate.
The film is alright, but nothing special. It's silly but quite entertaining, and features some nice locations. What sticks out the most though, is that they have taken several cues from John Barry's Bond scores and used them throughout the movie!
Sam Mendes gangster thriller has Tom Hanks star as Michael Sullivan, a mob enforcer , who works for the powerful John Rooney (Paul Newman). When Sullivans young kid witness Rooneys son (Daniel Craig, in a character far away from 007!) commit a murder and subsequent killing of Sullivans wife, they go on the run, pursued by a vicious hit man played by Jude Law. Have only seen this once and it's a solid thriller, well told,strong cast, but Newman coming across best in an Oscar nominated role, and winning best cinematography for the legendary Conrad Hall!
Interesting that on this viewing I noted it has a similar "Cuckoo" type drama thread like 'Spectre' ( if you've seen it, you'll know what I mean!!)
I saw a Hong Kong martial arts film some years ago, an erstwhile historical epic made in the early 1970s. I can't for the life of me recall the title, though such films often had many variant ones depending on the region and time in which they were released. But what I do clearly recall was the incredibly odd & very liberal use of soundtrack music from OHMSS!
Not the first and only time this has happened, then! I wonder how they got the rights to use the music, or if they did at all…
Haha ... pretty sure no rights were involved.
Yes, you're right, that's the one, thanks! A Shaw Bros. movie from 1971 ... amazing, you know your stuff!
I did a little research. Apparently it was fairly common practice in the pre-80s' [or thereabouts] Hong Kong film industry to use unlicensed music from earlier well-known Hollywood & other movies. Barry was a popular source (all those action scenes and suspenseful buildups), as was Bernard Hermann, John Williams, Morricone, Western movie themes, etc. All without any legal licensing involved at all.
ChatGPT notes the following examples:
The Five Deadly Venoms (1978), which uses cues from Herrmann’s score for Psycho.
Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983), which [in]famously incorporated pieces from John Williams’ Star Wars and Superman scores.
By the mid-to-late 1980s, this changed as Hong Kong cinema became more internationally visible, and global copyright law tightened, at which point studios began moving toward original scores & licensed music.
Anyway, I imagine this all proved massively complicated in later years, especially when so many of these began appearing as legitimate DVD/Blu-ray releases from boutique labels like Arrow Video & Shout Factory.
Excellent taste @FoxRox
An unusual sort of Cronenberg film. But within his customary slightly off kilter universe.
the cast are outstanding, although William Hurt plays it pretty broad...
Based on a graphic novel that i've never read..
It's a good movie. I think a lot of people are expecting something like Flashdance or Footloose.
A gory reimagining of Stuart Gordon's 1995 classic. This version makes a significant departure, by adding in a Lovecraftian element.
@LeonardPine Thanks! I'm a big fan of several Cronenberg films, namely Videodrome, The Dead Zone, The Fly, Crash, and this one. With A History of Violence, everything's so simple but so effective. It's one of the best films I've seen about being unable to escape one's past, and consequences and community. I once marathoned Cronenberg, but need to catch up and see the newer Crimes of the Future (2022) and The Shrouds (2024).
Interesting information, @Feyador. I do wonder how these boutique labels go about securing actual rights to use what was once unlicensed music for their home media releases of these films. Do they go down the complicated route of securing these rights (and obviously pay whatever costs that involves), or do they replace the music? If they do the latter, then obviously you are not getting the original movies like they were once released…
Of, course TMWTTGG in 1974 is a byproduct of all that interest. Older Bond fans may remember a scathing Marvel critique [probably my first exposure to serious fan culture] that appeared in their magazine The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu, entitled “The Man with the Golden Gun Shoots Blanks!” Just brutal. Check-out the cover:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/JcJt8SgFDBLWFYZx6
People today forget or just never knew how much many hard-core Bond fans disliked (putting it mildly) Moore, especially early on.
Anyway, here's a very interesting recent podcast, if interested, about the Kung-fu craze in the US during that period:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/074HEt69RYRRi0iPk9ieYj?si=FK8U0ZJwTOGGY9HjIyk15Q
How the widespread use of unlicensed music in pre-1980s Hong Kong films affected later releases of DVDs, Blu-rays, streaming versions, and TV broadcasts [quoting, in part, directly from ChatGPT]:
• For international or official re-releases, distributors often had to replace the original music with royalty-free tracks or newly composed sound-alikes. In recent years, some labels (e.g., Eureka, Arrow Video) have attempted to clear the music rights where possible, but it’s often expensive and complicated, especially for productions with poorly documented usage.
• Some classic Hong Kong films had their Blu-ray or DVD releases delayed for years because of music clearance problems. And were excluded from streaming platforms or international markets until the audio was reworked. But this has also meant avoiding releasing certain titles entirely or releasing them in "music-modified" editions with disclaimers.
• Back then Hong Kong movies always had different soundtracks & dubbing for different markets, so you can sometimes still find, in local Chinatowns, for example, Hong Kong versions (especially older VCDs or VHS tapes) with the original unlicensed music intact.
Will give that podcast episode a listen. I have little to no knowledge of the Kung-fu craze of the 70's – or the genre itself, so it might be fun to learn a bit more about it all.
It obviously makes sense for labels to use replacement music in order to be able to re-release these movies. I mean, if your other option is old VHS tapes or at best a DVD, a Blu-ray release with replacement tracks is better than no release at all.
As proto-noir as it gets. With the bummer-est of all bummer endings.
Caught an outdoors screening tonight at Montreal's 'Film Noir au Canal'. Last week they played The Third Man.
Jean Gabin’s trapped (literally) protagonist, framed in chiaroscuro throughout, fails to navigate a love triangle with tragic, if inevitable, results - as we learn through a flashback narrative structure.
Exemplifies the 'poetic realism/lyrical fatalism' of this period in French movie history with all the existential dread of the best soon-to-come Hollywood noir.
Less well remembered today, but enormously influential in the post-WW2 years - it even made Sight & Sound's 1952 list of the ten greatest films of all time.
A highlight among many is the flamboyant Jules Berry's performance as a predatory showman whose smarmy charm, lying ways & psychological cruelty offset the raw, inarticulate authenticity of Gabin’s working-class sandblaster.
Based on the Richard Matheson novel 'I am Legend' and remade with Will Smith! I prefer this version with Charlton Heston as Robert Neville, a scientist, and last man alive, after the world's population is wiped out with a plague and those who survived are now albino mutants roaming the night and trying to kill Neville, who is trying to develop a cure! It has a great opening shot of Chuck driving through a deserted city, and going to a cinema to watch 'Woodstock'!!
Though it descends into a standard action romp, it's still entertaining. The great Anthony Zerbe plays the leader of the muties, and though they look comical with their capes and Halloween make up, there are moments where I'm eerily reminded of our own recent virus, empty shops and deserted streets ( and it hasn't gone away, you know!? 😀)
'Soykent Green' is another good one from Heston, must add that one to my collection!
U-571
Directed by Jonathan Mostow
Serviceable I'd say. It's a good idea to have Allied troops stuck on a U-boat, making them trying to figure out how to work this sub. Even though it's fairly unbelievable how quickly they manage it.
Suffers though where most Hollywood films of this kind suffer from: cardboard characters in a black-and-white world. Good guys are on our side, bad guys are on their side. Simple, really.
Having said that, it's never boring and it does its job as an action film.
Good for a rainy evening. Switch that brain off though.
-
Not quite in the same league as:
DAS BOOT
Directed by Wolfgang Petersen
No forced heroisms, poo-faced sense of duty speeches about loyalty or other flagwaving nonsense.
No Sir, these guys know they are nothing more than cannon-fodder, know they probably won't survive and cynically laugh at the propaganda that comes through the radio every day (except for one character who everyone dislikes). No heroes, just a bunch of human beings figuratively trapped in a war they didn't want in the first place, and literally trapped in a claustrophobic tube. First faced with boredom, then faced with fear. At the end of the day these men just want to survive the bloody thing.
Technically and dramatically masterful, with an unmistakeable anti-war message at its core, this one is a tense ride, or should I say dive, of more than 270 minutes that everyone needs to see. Best submarine film of all time. Maybe even best war film.
Obviously recommended.
The Curse of Frankenstein : Firt time Peter Cushing played the (not so) good Doctor, first time he teamed up with Sir Christopher Lee, and really a bit of new blood in the Universal franchise. Here, one wonders who the monster is : the Doctor, or the Creature ?
Godzilla raids again and King Kong Vs. Godzilla : Two Toho classics. Note that, for the second one, I watched the japanese cut. So, no reporters playing round robin here.
Jurassic World : A worthy successor to the first three movies. Pop corn, but with butter.
Quatermass and the Pit : Third installment in the series, this time in colour. Short, but effective.
I also watched the eighth season of La Guerre des Trônes, this time following Napoleon Bnaârte (and his family) from his rise to his fall. I've learned a few things. And the frist two episodes of Blake's 7, still as good as when it aired for the first time, or when I discovered it on the (alas now defunct) channel BBC Prime.
I also, between visits to my family, took the time to go and see the new Superman movie in a local theater. My verdict : I would rank this one as third, right after the Donner/Reeves movie, and the second one (better not tell what I think of the Pryor one ; I haven't watched any of the others). For me, Christopher Reeves is still the gold standard for the way the Man of Steel should be portrayed. Still, nice to see Krypto. Two things that puzzled me : first, I didn't expect as much swearing in a Superman movie (langage, Lois and Clark). Second, I didn't recognize Nathan Fillion under the make-up he wore as Guy Gardner.
Seen both films, it's proof of how good a film is, can't remember anything from 'U-571'
Whereas 'Das Boot' is a sublime film, very memorable, fantastic tension, and superb cast!
Very clever. :D
Caught this on telly the other day, remember seeing it on first release. Just read director Kathyrn Bigelow has a new movie coming out soon. She's come a long way since this, a Bank robbing/surfing movie!! Keane Reeves plays the cop infiltrating said bank robbing/surfing dude gang, lead by Patrick Swayze Guru! It's all good dumb fun, with the great Gary Busey thrown in for good measure! Most impressive when showing the surfing scenes, and a cool sky diving climax.
Bigelow went onto better things, most notably 'The Hurt Locker' superb movie!
Indeed, similar films in some ways, but one film is serviceable but forgettable, and the other is one of the best films I've ever seen 😄
Not a bad film. Definitely feels like a Bourne knockoff. I'm not sure of how i feel about Rami Malek. He was perfect in Mr. Robot but not a fan of him in any other role.
FORBIDDEN WORLD (1982)
Ingredients:
I'm not going to lie. Even the Alien fanatic in me loves this deliciously slimy piece of horror filth. Of all the trash Corman has produced, I'd say this is my favourite. Somehow, despite the lacklustre effects, poor acting, and blatant Alien rip-off, there's a pleasant bit of gruesome fun to be found in this film which Corman described as "a version of Lawrence of Arabia in outer space." (It's not.) This juicy blend of gore, sex, a cheap '80s score, and sets that aren't half bad actually deserves serious consideration for fans of EC comics with aliens, spaceships and clueless people. Honestly, the alien freaks me out. Even though it looks like a cardboard job with buckets of slime over it -- it probably is -- there's something effective about it. I'm never not having a lot of fun with this film.