Hidden Strike (2023)

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Hidden Strike (2023)

Despite being filmed in 2018 – originally a vehicle for Jackie Chan and Sylvester Stallone called Ex-Baghdad – and with a whopping $80m budget (huge for a Chinese film), this explosive action movie was destined for the big screen both in the east and the west, but was instead held in a post-production quagmire for years, going through numerous name changes (including Project X-Traction, Project X and, briefly, S.N.A.F.U.) and a global pandemic to emerge, quite unceremoniously, on Netflix without any marketing and with a completely different title. So what happened?

Chan’s waning star in the west could be a factor – …

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Golden Swallow (1968)

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Golden Swallow (1968)

Excellently staged, evocative and brutal sequel to King Hu‘s 1966 smash hit, Come Drink With Me – partially shot in Japan, which adds to its rather obvious leanings towards the chanbara film. The first film was a delicate, historical swashbuckler which sparked a postmodern revival in wuxia cinema not seen since the silent era. Chang Cheh – the ‘yin’ to King Hu’s ‘yang’ – takes over directing duties for this sequel, a calculated response to Hu’s decision to leave Shaw Brothers. Hu’s Taiwan-made indie masterpiece, Dragon Inn, may have beaten this film at the box office, but Chang’s sequel is …

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Profile: Eric Lee

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Profile: Eric Lee

Date of birth: 30 July 1946 (Zhongshan, China)

Full name: Lee Wing Chow

Other names: Daniel Eric Lee, Eric W.C. Lee

Nickname: The King of Kata

Style: Kung fu, Aikido, Tai Chi, Judo, taekwondo, weapons.

Biography: Born in Zhongshan, China, Eric Lee was first introduced to the martial arts by his father, who taught him the Choy Li Fut style. Every evening after dinner, they would hit a gong to signal the time to train. At the age of seven, the Lee family moved to Hong Kong. During his youth, Lee also became inspired in his training by the black and white martial arts serials being …

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KFMG Podcast S07 Episode 90: Eric Lee

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KFMG Podcast S07 Episode 90: Eric Lee

“I don’t believe in success or failure, there’s no such thing. If you worry about failure, you’ll never start. If you think you’re going to be successful, you’ll fail.”

The martial artist, instructor, writer, actor, painter, fight choreographer, singer and all-round entertainer Eric Lee got his nickname – the ‘King of Kata’ – after winning a string of trophies throughout the 1960s, 70s and 80s. He has over 100 world titles, and was the undefeated forms and weapons champion from 1970 to 1974. Over the years, his kung fu demonstrations escalated to include music, lighting, comedy, acting and sound effects, and …

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KFMG Podcast S07 Episode 89: Stuntwomen special – Alyma Dorsey / April Wright

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KFMG Podcast S07 Episode 89: Stuntwomen special – Alyma Dorsey / April Wright

“The same issues we deal with in society, we deal with in stunts.” Alyma Dorsey

Women have been performing stunts in movies since the advent of cinema, but over the decades, their voice and influence in the industry has become marginalised. From fears of being overlooked, undermined or replaced, to the notion of “wigging” – male stunt performers doubling female characters – and concerns over sexual harassment, safety and security, April Wright’s fascinating 2020 documentary, Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story, tells the shocking truth of how women – and other marginalised communities – have had to fight, quite literally, to be heard …

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Profile: Keith Cooke

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Profile: Keith Cooke

Date of birth: 17 September, 1959 (Seattle, Washington, USA)

Full name: Keith Cooke Hirabayashi

Other names: Keith H. Cooke

Occupation: Martial arts instructor, actor, stunt performer.

Style: Karate, wushu, taekwondo, boxing.

Biography: Keith Cooke is a martial arts instructor and actor. He has a fifth degree black belt in karate and is a five-time World Martial Arts Grand Champion. He was named ‘Competitor of the Year’ in 1983, 1985 and 1986. He has also been named as one of the top 100 ‘most influential martial artists of the last century’ by Black Belt magazine, and inducted into their ‘hall of fame’.

Keith Cooke Hirabayashi was born …

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KFMG Podcast S07 Episode 88: Keith Cooke

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KFMG Podcast S07 Episode 88: Keith Cooke

“I don’t regret the movies at all. I had a blast.”

Keith Cooke is one of action cinema’s all-time greatest kickers. From his explosive triple kicks as Muay Thai instructor Prang in the cult classic, The King of the Kickboxers, to his turns in costume as Reptile and Sub-Zero in the 1990s Mortal Kombat movies, Cooke’s poise, energy and talent marked him out as one of the most engaging breakout martial arts stars of the 1990s. It was a phone call from none other than Enter the Dragon producer Fred Weintraub that transformed Cooke’s fortunes in Hollywood. A karate world champion …

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KFMG Podcast S07 Episode 87: Mike Leeder

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KFMG Podcast S07 Episode 87: Mike Leeder

“I would be the only westerner in the cinema, and 90% of the audience would be like, ‘there’s a white guy in the cinema, what’s he doing?’”

When Asian action cinema expert, producer and casting director Mike Leeder left his job in a Croydon department store to go on holiday to Hong Kong, little did he know that – 32 years later – he would still be there. Before he fell in love with the city, he fell in love with its movies; a blossoming romance which started with a Jackie Chan double bill of Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow and …

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Heatseeker (1995)

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Heatseeker (1995)

Another low-budget cyborg movie from director Albert Pyun. This one is set in 2019, when corporations use bioengineering to create a new range of super-humans. One particularly slimy CEO (Norbert Weissner) hosts a kickboxing tournament on his private island to show off his latest technology, which is implanted into Gary Daniels, who looks majestic in foppish blonde hair, shiny muscles and bright blue contact lenses. The tournament promises to be “bigger than the Super Bowl, World Cup and the Olympics”, but it actually looks like a cheaper version of Bloodsport. As a way of attracting the reigning world champion, Chance …

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The Assassin (1967)

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The Assassin (1967)

The Shaw Brothers’ dream-team of director Chang Cheh, leading actor Jimmy Wang Yu and fight coordinators Lau Kar-leung and Tong Gaai follow their huge hit, One-Armed Swordsman, with this sumptuous, romantic, and often overlooked wuxia epic which might be one of Cheh’s best films. Released at a politically charged time not just in Hong Kong but globally, Cheh’s story is set during the tumultuous period of China’s Warring States and focuses on the tragic, anti-establishment heroics of a young swordsman, Nie Zhang (Wang Yu). Nie identifies as a lowly commoner, but is nonetheless burdened by an overwhelming existential fear. He …

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