THE DANMAN CAN

Shanghai Blues (1984) is a screwball rom-com with lots of over the top physical gags. Because it's  Tsui Hark  it's, of course, visually inventive and full of political (sub)text. There's some dated humor, but it's mostly charming. Sally Yeh is the MVP in this goofy love triangle period piece. Tsui Hark Films Ranked

 "Peking duck or Kung Pao chicken?" Tsui Hark 's revolutionary sisterhood action comedy,  Peking Opera Blues (1986), is a wild genre-mashing ride featuring frenetic energy, genuinely surprising tonal shifts, and a whopper of a finale. Bonus points for using songs from Peter Gabriel 's 1985 Birdy soundtrack , which I recognized before confirming on Wikipedia .

A Chinese Ghost Story (1987) is a wildly imaginative, whacked-out romantic horror comedy fantasy, with elements of wuxia , directed by  Siu-Tung Ching  of  Duel To The Death  (1983) ( review ) fame. A tender love story, a goofy slapstick riot, a delirious fright fest, and a badass action extravaganza all rolled into one, this flick goes to hell and back (literally)! The movie moves at a breakneck pace and features frenetic editing (which isn't an anomaly in pictures of this ilk), which is usually off-putting to me, but here it works in its favor. I will admit, it was difficult to keep up at times, A CGS is very nonsensical, and I was a tad worried that the film would run out of steam, but quite the opposite happened and it got even better in the second half. There is just a lot  going on in this motion picture and most of it is of the awesome variety (including one insanely long and dangerous tongue). ACGS  desperately deserves a U.S. and/or U.K. Blu...

Tsui Hark 's Zu: Warriors From The Magic Mountain  (1983) is an endlessly imaginative, brain-bustlingly frenetic, supernatural martial arts fantasy assault on the senses. This just-turned 40  wuxia  has insane camera- and wirework, eye-popping production and costume design, smile-inducing (and gravity-defying) stunts and special effects, and over the top performances. It will appeal to your inner 12-year-old, if you're in the mood for a good-vs-evil adventure where the narrative is less important than the spectacle. Recommended for fans of  Big Trouble In Little China  (1986) ( review ) (a film that  John Carpenter  acknowledged was heavily influenced by Zu ),  Duel To The Death   (1983) ( review ), and  House (1977) ( blogpost ).

The Killer (1989) was  John Woo 's worldwide breakout and arguably his most influential film. I saw  The Killer before I saw Jean-Pierre Melville 's  Le  Samouraï  (1967) [ review ], but once I saw the latter film, it was easy to spot the acknowledged influence that it had on Woo. The action master's trademarks are all on display here: slow motion violence as ballet, endless guns and bullets, stupefying stunts, a healthy dose of explosions, and—for the first time—the dove symbolism. Though I slightly prefer Hard Boiled (1992) [ review ] for its nonstop thrills and  Hard Target  (1993) [ review ] is more entertaining in a less soul-searching style,  The Killer remains a tragic, operatic, melodramatic, bromantic classic. John Woo Feature Films   Ranked