Bruce Lee, Bobby Kim, Kam Chun-Pak & The Korean Connections

[DragonClaws]

15 hours ago, dionbrother said:

I think remastering his early movies like KILL THE NINJA could allow for a serious re-appreciation of his work.  Kim told the Korean Film Archive was remastering his second movie, INVITATION TO HELL, which never got a video release anywhere.

 

Ive watched a lot of his movies but not all of them, every copy Ive seen has been poor quality and mostly pan & scan. I'd love to see these get a restoration, rather than another more popular Asian movie getting yet another restoration after countless others already. I talked to a shop manager of a Blu-Ray/DVD shop in the U.K, for one of the last big chain shops. He says the Asian movie always sell well, especially the Lo Wie Jackie Chan re-issues. This is despite all the bootlegging going on online.

 

[Jesse Smooth]

I’d like to see MAD FOR VENGEANCE, DEADLY KICK and DEADLY ROULETTE in scope. 

[Bruce]

On 4/23/2022 at 12:38 PM, DragonClaws said:

 

Whang In-Sik talks about using the kicking shields with Bruce Lee, among other training aids. In his Bruce Lee Conversations Interview, but he doesnt mention any of the above. According to him, the pair met shortly after The Big Boss was released in Hong Kong.

 

The photos we have of Bruce & Whang trading kicks on the kicking shield don't seem to me to really show either of them having much of an edge over the other in kicking power. It looks to me, kind of amusingly, that each of them was trying to look like they could take whatever the other had to give without budging. Yes, in a few photos Bruce's sidekick appears to be knocking Whang slightly back onto his back foot, but it's not like Whang's flying back several feet . Seems to me they were both good martial artists, both powerful, but they were also both strong enough to absorb a strong kick, at least from someone roughly their own size (it's interesting that neither Chuck Norris nor Bob Wall were included in that little impromptu  kicking power "contest", would their bit of extra weight have made a difference in their ability to move Bruce or Whang?).

[DragonClaws]

19 hours ago, Bruce said:

Yes, in a few photos Bruce's sidekick appears to be knocking Whang slightly back onto his back foot, but it's not like Whang's flying back several feet . Seems to me they were both good martial artists, both powerful, but they were also both strong enough to absorb a strong kick, at least from someone roughly their own size (it's interesting that neither Chuck Norris nor Bob Wall were included in that little impromptu  kicking power "contest", would their bit of extra weight have made a difference in their ability to move Bruce or Whang?).

 

You would have to be their at the time to really see who was the better, thats even if one was better than the other at kicking the padded shield. Chuck Norris gained weight for his role, so the hero looked to be in better shape and so that the Colt character looked more formidable villian. Norris also said the extra weight made him slower, but it would have been an advantage when kicking someone holding a shield. Sure Bruce Lee and Whang In Sik were much closer in bodyweight?. Now if Bob Wall held the sheild when Norris kicked it, it might have been a different result.

[DragonClaws]

 

Angela Mao-Ying recently said in an interview, that Bruce Lee came to see her in Korea, while she was filming scenes for Hap Ki Do (1972). She also mentioned this was the first time he saw her. I wonder how many visists he made to the country during the early 70's?. Seems Korea, had a much bigger impact on Hong Kong cinema, than any other country during the 1970'?. The interview I'm talking about, was the one she did with Andre Morgan at a recent Enter the Dragon screening.

Here's a great article by @One Armed Boxer, covering more of the subject of Korean action cinema of 70's & 80's.

Fists, Kicks, & Kimchi: A History of the Korean Taekwon-Action Genre in the 1970’s – 1980’s

Link - https://cityonfire.com/fists-kicks-kimchi-a-history-of-the-korean-taekwon-action-genre-in-the-1970s-1980s/

 

Edited March 4 by DragonClaws

[One Armed Boxer]

On 3/5/2024 at 6:42 AM, DragonClaws said:

Angela Mao-Ying recently said in an interview, that Bruce Lee came to see her in Korea, while she was filming scenes for Hap Ki Do (1972). She also mentioned this was the first time he saw her. I wonder how many visists he made to the country during the early 70's?. Seems Korea, had a much bigger impact on Hong Kong cinema, than any other country during the 1970'?. The interview I'm talking about, was the one she did with Andre Morgan at a recent Enter the Dragon screening.

I recently wrote a feature on Hong Kong movies that shot in Korea, and had reached out to various sources of expertise to clarify some movies I wasn't clear on. By far 'Hapkido' was the biggest headache. Bey Logan swears down the whole thing was shot in Hong Kong on Golden Harvest sets and nobody on the production stepped foot in Korea, where other sources were unsure but the general consensus was that it was partially shot in Korea and partially shot in Hong Kong. This interview with Angela Mao sounds like it could be the last word on the matter though, so thanks for highlighting it here @DragonClaws! Do you happen to have a link to it?

On 3/5/2024 at 6:42 AM, DragonClaws said:

Here's a great article by @One Armed Boxer, covering more of the subject of Korean action cinema of 70's & 80's.

Fists, Kicks, & Kimchi: A History of the Korean Taekwon-Action Genre in the 1970’s – 1980’s

Link - https://cityonfire.com/fists-kicks-kimchi-a-history-of-the-korean-taekwon-action-genre-in-the-1970s-1980s/

Appreciate the shout out!

[DragonClaws]

10 hours ago, One Armed Boxer said:

I recently wrote a feature on Hong Kong movies that shot in Korea, and had reached out to various sources of expertise to clarify some movies I wasn't clear on. By far 'Hapkido' was the biggest headache. Bey Logan swears down the whole thing was shot in Hong Kong on Golden Harvest sets and nobody on the production stepped foot in Korea, where other sources were unsure but the general consensus was that it was partially shot in Korea and partially shot in Hong Kong. This interview with Angela Mao sounds like it could be the last word on the matter though, so thanks for highlighting it here @DragonClaws! Do you happen to have a link to it?

 

Here you go, I had no idea there was some speculation over where the film was shot. Its a similar case with When Taekwondo Strikes, with scenes being shot in both Hong Kong at Golden Harvest, and on location in Korea. As you must already know, a lot of independent Hong Kong Martial Art pictures, were shot in both South Korea & Hong Kong.

 

 

10 hours ago, One Armed Boxer said:

Appreciate the shout out!

 

No problemo, its a great article, and a subject thats preety vast and wide.

Edited March 6 by DragonClaws