Happy Birthday, Chow Yun-Fat!
John Woo’s HARD BOILED (1992) ends with a hospital siege and shootout that goes on for about 30 minutes. The action is very intense, and Woo creates a sequence within this set piece that goes almost 3 minutes without a single cut. It’s a masterpiece of directorial control by the legend, and it’s performed perfectly by Chow Yun-Fat, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Phillip Kwok and a large team of stuntmen. And it just looks really cool! Enjoy my friends!
In 1951’s No Highway In The Sky, James Stewart stars as Dr. Theodore Honey.
In many ways, Theodore Honey is similar to the other roles that Stewart played after he returned from serving in World War II. Dr. Honey is intelligent, plain-spoken, and good-hearted. He’s eccentric and he sometimes has a difficult time relating to other people. He’s also deeply troubled. Dr. Honey is an engineer, one who specializes in determining how many hours an airplane can fly before it starts to fall apart. Dr. Honey is in England, working for an airline and testing his hypothesis that their newest model’s tail will fall off after the plane accumulates a specific number of hours. As is usually the case with these things, Dr. Honey’s employers are skeptical about his claims. There’s a lot of money to be made in air travel and the last thing they need is some eccentric American scaring everyone.
When Honey sets out to investigate a recent crash site, he finds himself on the same type of airplane that he’s been testing. After the plane takes off, Dr. Honey talks to the pilots and discovers, to his horror, that the plane is closing in on the time limit. While flight attendant Marjorie Corder (Glynis Johns) tries to keep him calm, Dr. Honey explains his theory to a film star named Monica Teasdale (Marlene Dietrich), who just happens to be a passenger on the flight. Both Marjorie and Monica find themselves falling in love with Dr. Honey and who can blame them? He may be an eccentric and it may be hard to follow what he’s talking about but he’s still Jimmy Stewart!
I’ve often thought that Stewart was “Jimmy” before World War II but he was definitely James afterwards. Stewart, unlike a lot of Hollywood stars who enlisted and were then used solely for PR purposes, actually flew several combat missions and saw firsthand the devastation of the war. He returned to America deeply disturbed by what he had seen and there’s a definite sense of melancholy to be found in all of Stewart’s post-war performances. That’s certainly the case here. Dr. Honey is a widower, his wife having been killed by a rocket attack during the war. He’s raising his 12 year-old daughter on his own and he deals with his sadness by throwing himself into his work. He’s someone who has seen and experienced great tragedy firsthand and it’s left him more than a little obsessed. There’s a very authentic sadness at the heart of Stewart’s performance and it elevates this film, making what could have been a by-the-book corporate thriller into a character study of a man standing at the dawning of a new age, the post-war era of commercial air travel, and saying, “Well, hold on one minute.”
Unfortunately, Honey’s obsessive nature makes it easy for some to dismiss him. When Dr. Honey purposefully sabotages the plane to keep it from flying again, he finds himself forced to defend his actions. Can he prove that his theory is true? And who will he end up falling in love with? You can probably guess the answers but it doesn’t matter if the latter half of the film is a bit predictable. James Stewart’s performance carries the film and keeps you watching.
Happy Birthday, Chow Yun-Fat!
John Woo’s action classic HARD BOILED (1992) has a pretty simple story line. Two men are trying to stop a dangerous gun smuggling operation headed by murderous psychopath Johnny (Anthony Wong). One of those men is Tequila Yuen (Chow Yun-Fat), a hard-boiled cop who takes his job especially serious after his partner and best friend is killed in a shootout with Johnny’s men in a teahouse. The other is undercover cop Alan (Tony Leung Chiu-wai), a man who is in so deep that he can pull off a hit as easy as eating breakfast and who doesn’t even remember his own birthday until he’s reminded by his police department handler, Superintendent Pang (Phillip Chan). After almost killing each each other a couple of times, they end up agreeing to work together to try to stop Johnny once and for all.
First and foremost, HARD BOILED is one of the great action films. Relationships are given some lip service, but John Woo is mostly interested in creating incredible action sequences. HARD BOILED contains three action sequence masterpieces that still, thirty three years after it was released, have to be seen to be believed. I mentioned the teahouse earlier. The most iconic scene from the film can be found in this sequence as Tequila slides down a railing, two guns blazing, in order to take out some dangerous killers. This action sequence lets us know right off the bat that no human being is safe from the carnage, whether you be a cop, a criminal, a waiter, or just a local patron enjoying your song birds and a warm beverage. It’s an incredible opening that would dwarf the entirety of most action films. The next masterpiece takes place in a warehouse where Johnny is stealing the arms inventory of a local competitor, and undercover cop Alan switches his allegiance from his old boss to Johnny. We’re introduced to Johnny’s enforcer Mad Dog (Shaw Brothers legend Phillip Kwok), a true badass with a hint of honor, and of course Tequila shows up thanks to his informant letting him know what’s about to go down. One incredible stunt sequence after another ultimately leads to Tequila and Alan being face to face, with guns pointed at each other’s heads. When Tequila finds his chamber empty and Alan doesn’t kill him, he knows he’s dealing with an undercover. The final masterpiece sequence and conclusion to the film takes place in a hospital where Johnny has stashed his entire arsenal in its basement. This goes on for at least 30 minutes as our heroes may take on henchman on one floor, before taking a quick break as they ride to the next floor and start all over again. Once again, innocent lives are constantly put in danger, including doctors, nurses, handicapped patients and newborn babies in the maternity ward. The most memorable scenes in this section include the “no-cut” action sequence of almost 3 minutes where Tequila and Alan blow away countless bad guys (mostly), as well as Alan’s face off with Mad Dog with a bunch of handicapped patients in between them, and Tequila’s heroic jump from the 3rd floor while clutching a newborn baby. These three action masterpiece sequences are the reason to watch HARD BOILED. I’ve read before that this is John Woo’s “calling card to Hollywood.” About 16 months after HARD BOILED was released in Hong Kong, Woo’s first Hollywood film, HARD TARGET (1993), was released in America.
Another great reason to watch HARD BOILED is the incredible teaming of Chow Yun-Fat and Tony Leung Chiu-wai, two of Hong Kong’s greatest and most decorated actors. While Chow is most closely associated with directors John Woo and Ringo Lam, Leung has done amazing work for Woo, Director Wong Kar-Wai, and many others. Each actor has had their share of international success as well. Leung does the heavy lifting in HARD BOILED as the morally conflicted undercover cop, while Chow mostly relies on his incredible charisma as the badass Supercop. It’s a real treat watching them play off of each other under the most action packed of circumstances.
It’s probably obvious, but I give HARD BOILED my highest of recommendations. I hadn’t watched it for a few years before today, and I had the best time revisiting these incredible scenes. Action movies just don’t get better than this.
I reviewed the entire SHANE TV series here on The Shattered Lens because I wanted to watch Jill Ireland in a role that did not involve her famous husband Charles Bronson. I really enjoyed it. Here’s a personal story about Jill Ireland in my own life!
From December 4th – December 15th, 1989, a 16 year old Bradley was a resident of the Baptist Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas. I had a terrible car accident on December 4th and broke my left femur as well as my pelvis in 3 places. As I was healing over those days, I’d watch the morning shows with my mom. Jill Ireland was a guest on one of the shows during that time, and I was excited to watch her. She had a big smile on her face, and she exuded beauty, strength and courage. I have to admit just seeing her made me feel better during a time when I was really struggling. A little over 6 months later, I found out that she had passed away, and it made me very sad.
In 2024, I was able to meet Jill’s niece Lindsay. Finding out what wonderful, caring people they are has been so wonderful. Jill’s children have watched our episode of the THIS WEEK IN CHARLES BRONSON podcast with Lindsay. It’s so humbling to share my love for this family and actually find out that they also appreciate it. It’s truly wonderful.
See the link to our episode with Linday Ireland below:
4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!
Happy 70th Birthday, Chow Yun-Fat!
CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (2000)
CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER (2006)
LET THE BULLETS FLY (2010)
FROM VEGAS TO MACAU (2014)
Jimmy Stewart plays Charlie Anderson, the patriarch of a large farming family in Virginia during the time of the Civil War. His family doesn’t own slaves, so he doesn’t figure it’s any of their business what all the fighting is about. He wants to keep working the land in hopes that the war will pass them by. Besides, he has six sons, a daughter, and a daughter in law that he wants to keep safe. He’s trying to keep the family together on his own as his beloved Martha had passed away sixteen years earlier giving birth to their youngest son, who we only know as Boy (Phillip Alford). Aside from the war that’s going on all around them, things seem pretty good for the Anderson’s. They all sit down for a big delicious meal every night. They attend Church every Sunday where they’re usually late and given the side-eye by Pastor Bjoerling (Denver Pyle). One of the sons, James Anderson (Patrick Wayne) and his wife Ann (Katharine Ross), have a precious newborn baby to take care of. The beautiful daughter Jennie (Rosemary Forsyth) is being courted by, and eventually marries, a lovestruck confederate officer named Sam (Doug McClure). Unfortunately the war won’t just go away, and when Boy is taken prisoner by Union soldiers, Charlie can’t stand idly by any longer. They head out to find him and bring him home.
In the guise of an entertaining semi-western, SHENANDOAH does a great job of illustrating how futile and randomly tragic war can be. The movie starts out lighthearted and fun as the family goes about its normal life, with Jimmy Stewart’s Charlie Anderson giving his homespun advice and rolling his cigars. This is a self-sufficient family that loves, respects and enjoys each other even if they don’t agree on everything. But the war keeps inching its way into their lives. First in the form of small group of confederate soldiers who come by to get some water and try to convince the boys to join up. None of the boys will join up, but they do help bury the soldiers when they’re ambushed and killed just down the road. Next a group of men come to the ranch to try to confiscate their horses for the Union army. Of course, Charlie Anderson isn’t going to let that happen and this turns into the type of brawl that seems to come right out of John Wayne western comedy like MCLINTOCK. Everybody joins in with the participants punching and being punched repeatedly, while Boy keeps getting knocked into the horse trough. This shouldn’t be a surprise because Director Andrew V. McLaglen directed MCLINTOCK and many other John Wayne films. Finally, Boy is taken prisoner because he is wearing a confederate cap that he found floating down the steam while he was out fishing one day. Once Charlie and most of his family head out to search for Boy, the movie begins a turn into tragedy. I won’t give the specifics away, but some members of the family will die, and not a single one of their deaths will be based on the actual fighting of a war. Rather, their deaths will be based on the chaos and depravity that surrounds the war. It’s tough to see, especially when they were all so happy just a little bit earlier. For me, the movie’s changes in tone make the tragedy more powerful and really drive home its message about the futility of war. But the Anderson family, like the United States of America after the Civil War, is made up of tough, resilient folks, and the movie ends on a hopeful note that definitely brought some extra moisture to my eyes.
Jimmy Stewart commands the screen in SHENANDOAH. You simply can’t take your eyes off of him, and his performance alone would make the movie worth watching. But with its powerful message, excellent cast, and solid direction, the movie is much more than just Stewart’s strong performance. I highly recommend it.
As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in a few weekly live tweets on twitter. I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday, I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday, and I am one of the five hosts of #MondayActionMovie! Every week, we get together. We watch a movie. We tweet our way through it.
Tonight, at 9 pm et, Deanna Dawn will be hosting #ScarySocial! The movie? 1993‘s When A Stranger Calls Back!
If you want to join us this Friday, just hop onto twitter, start the movie at 9 pm et, and use the #ScarySocial hashtag! I’ll be there tweeting and I imagine some other members of the TSL Crew will be there as well. It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.
When A Stranger Calls Back is available on Prime!
See you there!
Bill Paxton would have been 70 years old today.
Today’s scene that I love comes from Twister and it features Bill Paxton showing off some wonderful chemistry with Helen Hunt. One of the great things about Bill Paxton is that he was equally at home in both big blockbusters like Twister and Titanic and low-budget indies like Near Dark. He was an artist who also happened to be a star. As a lover of both films and eccentric Texans, I will always miss Bill Paxton.
4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films is just what it says it is, 4 (or more) shots from 4 (or more) of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films lets the visuals do the talking.
89 years ago, Dennis Hopper was born in Dodge City, Kansas.
It seems rather appropriate that one of America’s greatest cinematic outlaws was born in a town that will be forever associated with the old west. Dennis Hopper was a rebel, back when there were actual consequences for being one. He started out acting in the 50s, appearing in films like Rebel Without A Cause and Giant and developing a reputation for being a disciple of James Dean. He also developed a reputation for eccentricity and for being difficult on set and he probably would have gotten completely kicked out of Hollywood if not for a somewhat improbable friendship with John Wayne. (Wayne thought Hopper was a communist but he liked him anyways. Interestingly enough, Hopper later became a Republican.) Somehow, Hopper managed to survive both a raging drug addiction and an obsession with guns and, after a mid-80s trip to rehab, he eventually became an almost universally beloved and busy character actor.
Hopper, however, always wanted to direct. He made his directorial debut with 1969’s Easy Rider, a film that became a huge success despite being an infamously chaotic shoot. The success of Easy Rider led to the Hollywood studios briefly trying to produce counter-culture films of their own. Hopper was given several million dollars and sent to Peru to make one of them, the somewhat dangerously titled The Last Movie. Unfortunately, The Last Movie, was such a bomb that it not only temporarily derailed Hopper’s career but it also turned Hollywood off of financing counter culture films. Hopper spent a decade in the Hollywood wilderness, giving acclaimed performances in independent films like Tracks and The American Friend, even while continuing to increase his reputation for drug-fueled instability. Hopper would eventually return to directing with his masterpiece, 1980’s Out of the Blue. (Out of the Blue was so controversial that, when it played at Cannes, Canada refused to acknowledge that it was a Canadian production. It played as a film without a country. Out of the Blue, however, is a film that has stood the test of time.) Unfortunately, even after a newly cleaned-up Hopper was re-embraced by the mainstream, his directorial career never really took off. He directed 7 films, of which only Easy Rider and Colors were financially successful. Contemporary critics often didn’t seem to know what to make of Dennis Hopper as a director. In recent years, however, Hopper’s directorial efforts have been reevaluated. Even The Last Movie has won over some new fans.
Today, on his birthday, we honor Dennis Hopper’s directorial career with….
4 Shots From 4 Dennis Hopper Films
Chow Yun-Fat is one of the most charismatic men on earth. I’ve always enjoyed his performance in ANNA AND THE KING (1999) with Jodie Foster. He’s wonderful in this big budget American film, and he doesn’t even have to fire two guns! I know several women here in Arkansas who don’t know the first thing about Hong Kong movies, but they still love Chow based on this one film. On a side note, ANNA AND THE KING made over $113 Million at the worldwide box office, which means quite a few people in this world appreciate a more romantic Chow.
Enjoy this scene where the King of Siam surprises Foster’s English schoolteacher, and breaks all kinds of cultural norms, when he asks her to dance. It’s quite a charmer.
Through the Shattered Lens 