While Hong Kong cinema and Taiwanese cinema often covered similar ground, they naturally remained distinct due to cultural differences and at certain times in history, even legal limitations. Nonetheless, three wildly imaginative and genre-defying films (one of which hails from Taiwan) are assembled here for one singularly riotous and wickedly entertaining collection.
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In the Taiwanese MAGIC OF SPELL, the kid-focused adaptation of Japan's eternal Momotaro legend continues apace from the previous year's hit Child of Peach. An outright bizarre fantasy/horror/action adventure, it follows celebrated hero Peach Boy and his devoted (though easily scared) servant who do battle against the blood-bathing Demon King and all the remaining demons of the underworld. Along the way, they encounter all manner of friend and foe, not least of which is the thousand-year-old Ginseng Boy, with whom they discover the true meaning of friendship. Starring Hsiao-Lao Lin (Kung Fu Wonder Child), Pao-ming Ku (Terrorizers), Shan Chen (Shaolin vs. Lama), and Chi-Chiang Chen (Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins).
MAGIC OF SPELL (1988, 85 min, 1.85:1)
sound options: Mandarin & Cantonese Mono both with newly translated English subtitles, along with an English dub
directed by: Chung-Hing Chiu
starring: Hsiao-Lao Lin, Shan Chen, Pao-ming Ku, Yu-Chiu Yang, Yi-Ta Shen, Hsiung Yang
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Wah Li, a surly funerary worker in THE DEAD AND THE DEADLY, is shocked when his friend Lucho suddenly winds up dead, and even more strangely, an unknown pregnant woman claiming to be Lucho's wife also emerges. Wah Li tries to sort it out but before long, the lines between fact and fiction, and between the living world and the world of the dead all seem to blur. An off-the-wall afterlife farce written by Sammo Hung and sold as a follow-up to his Encounters of the Spooky Kind, it showcases Hung's famed comedy talents as well as action skills. Starring Sammo Hung (Project A), Wu Ma (A Chinese Ghost Story), Ching-Ying Lam (Mr. Vampire), and Cherie Chung (Peking Opera Blues).
THE DEAD AND THE DEADLY (1982, 100 min, 2.35:1)
sound options: Cantonese Mono with newly translated English subtitles, English dub, Mandarin dub (untranslated), and an isolated music track
directed by: Wu Ma
starring: Sammo Hung, Wu Ma, Ching-Ying Lam, Cherie Chung, Yuet-Sang Chin, Siu-Ming To, Ying-Ying Hui
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Best friends Halley and David enjoy pulling light scams, helping each other out with girls, and sometimes end up in one another's dreams in SCARED STIFF. After blundering into a stick-up and then being forced at gunpoint to drive a getaway car, they find out that David has far stronger-than-average brainwaves. But when Halley's asked to pick out the hoods from a lineup, and they come after him, their adventures together quickly turn deadly. And that's before the police get involved. This buddy comedy quickly becomes a deliriously fast-paced sci-fi/action hybrid, with a broad range of bold movie influences, including Dreamscape and Scanners. Starring Michael Miu Kiu-Wai (Eastern Condors), Eric Tsang (Final Justice), Chow Yun-Fat (The Seventh Curse), and Emily Chu (Witch From Nepal).
SCARED STIFF (1987, 98 min (Extended ‘Uncut’ Version), 92 min (Theatrical Version), 1.85:1)
sound options: Cantonese Mono with newly translated English subtitles and a Mandarin dub (untranslated)
directed by: Lau Kar-Wing
starring: Michael Miu Kiu-Wai, Eric Tsang, Chow Yun-Fat, Emily Chu, Woo Fung, Phillip Ko, Anita Mui
