Kung Fu Fans From the UK

[daTOAD]

This is for the UK fans[ btw love Danny Dyer]. Notice a lot of Brits watch these flicks and i watch a lot of movies from across the pond[mostly crime and hooligan flicks]. Never really seen any Martial Arts referenced in any of the movies Ive seen. Just wondered if any flicks from across the pond with MA talked about or in it. Thanks.

[One Armed Boxer]

Off the top of my head, I can think of 4 movies that are set in the UK that could be classed as MA movies...although not all are produced or directed by Brits, all feature the UK prominently as a backdrop to the story -

Bodyguard: A New Beginning - http://www.hkcinemagic.com/en/movie.asp?id=10617

Killers Romance - http://www.hkcinemagic.com/en/movie.asp?id=1441

The Tournament - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0471041/

Shanghai Knights - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0300471/

[Markgway]

btw love Danny Dyer

Someone has to...

Notice a lot of Brits watch these flicks and i watch a lot of movies from across the pond[mostly crime and hooligan flicks]

Most of these Brit crime movies suck ass. That's why they're hardly ever mentioned. For every Harry Brown there's a whole bunch of arse clogging up shelves. Usualy starring those top thesps Danny Dire and/or Vinnie Jones.

[peringaten]

Danny Dyer? No thanks. I think many normal Brits probably dislike those sort of flicks; they probably translate better to foreign audiences; many of us indigenous probably find them too steeped in self-perpetuating mockney artifice to be be anything other than ridiculously affected & culturally mundane. Lowest common denominator stuff.

Shane Meadows on the other hand; he's our best British director working in anything resembling that medium, because he touches with the authentic, "Dead Man's Shoes" is possibly the best British revenge film ever made. EVER. Can't recommend that highly enough.

Watch Dead Man's Shoes. Good luck finding anything with MA in...

[greenfan]

British MA films....

Left for Dead
Ten Dead Men
Kung Fu Flid
The Witches Hammer


That's all I can think of right now.

[daTOAD]

Knew i was gonna get Sh*t ,bout Danny Dyer. So you guys dont like his Nick Love movies? I wasnt really talking about an MA flick, but flicks that actually show there are kung fu fans over there, Like references in the movie, or a guy talking about a kung fu flick.[hope this makes sense].

"I think many normal Brits probably dislike those sort of flicks; they probably translate better to foreign audiences; many of us indigenous probably find them too steeped in self-perpetuating mockney artifice to be be anything other than ridiculously affected & culturally mundane. Lowest common denominator stuff."

Feel the same way about gangsta or hood flicks made here, but seems like foreign audiences love it. We dont like them for the same reasons you stated. Looks like 50 cent gets a lot of work over there.

anyone seen 1Day, Kidulthood, Cass, Rise of Footsoldiers. How are these recieved and can you give me some ideas of crime flicks Brits like. thanks

[kaleyboy]

Danny Dyer? No thanks. I think many normal Brits probably dislike those sort of flicks; they probably translate better to foreign audiences; many of us indigenous probably find them too steeped in self-perpetuating mockney artifice to be be anything other than ridiculously affected & culturally mundane. Lowest common denominator stuff.

Shane Meadows on the other hand; he's our best British director working in anything resembling that medium, because he touches with the authentic, "Dead Man's Shoes" is possibly the best British revenge film ever made. EVER. Can't recommend that highly enough.

Watch Dead Man's Shoes. Good luck finding anything with MA in...
You absolutely hit the nail on the head! I can't stand all the mockney, hard man posturing. Anyone who's watched Danny Dyer's TV show, Britain's Hardest Men, will know he's anything but hard!!! As for Shane Meadow's, I agree, his films are total class. And a far more accurate portrayal of british culture.

[daTOAD]

Have seen Britains Hardest. I dont think we see him as a tough guy[i feel like i could whoop his ass lol. And he can Shit talk with the best of them ], but a lot of American actors wouldnt go to the places or meet with the people he does. Dude got heart to be a rich successful star and roll with hardmen[im assuming its real]. He admits hes just an actor and though at times you see hes visually shaken ,hes not stirred. I respect his hustle. Known for hardman roles ,so takes advantage of it. How do you guys feel about Tamar Hassan.

[kaleyboy]

Feel the same way about gangsta or hood flicks made here, but seems like foreign audiences love it. We dont like them for the same reasons you stated. Looks like 50 cent gets a lot of work over there.
I can understand that completely. Sometimes films only want to exploit the worst aspects of a culture/society, mainly to perpetuate already existing stereotypes. I guess those types of movies are easy to sell, whereas something that portrays the truth is less marketable.

[daTOAD]

"Sometimes films only want to exploit the worst aspects of a culture/society, mainly to perpetuate already existing stereotypes. I guess those types of movies are easy to sell, whereas something that portrays the truth is less marketable."

So true. BTW thanking you personally for TKAM

[ShaOW!linDude]

I can understand that completely. Sometimes films only want to exploit the worst aspects of a culture/society, mainly to perpetuate already existing stereotypes. I guess those types of movies are easy to sell, whereas something that portrays the truth is less marketable.

GASP! Truth in film? Unthinkable! How could that possibly be considered entertainment! I can't handle the truth! (No, wait, that's Tom Cruise who can't handle the truth.):tongue:

BTW I remember coming across LEFT FOR DEAD about 6 months ago on amazon. Is that movie any good? I seem to remember reading positive things about it.

And what MA stars have come out of the UK? (Gary Daniels and Scott Adkins are Brits, right?)

[kingofkungfu2002]

GASP! And what MA stars have come out of the UK? (Gary Daniels and Scott Adkins are Brits, right?)

Yep, they're both Brits http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l109/anniecatt/special%20days/flaguk.gif

A couple of others that immediately spring to mind are Sophia Crawford, Mark Houghton, and we have high hopes for Chloe Bruce in future :smile:

[One Armed Boxer]

can you give me some ideas of crime flicks Brits like

Personally I highly enjoyed 'Sexy Beast' & 'Layer Cake'

And what MA stars have come out of the UK?

How can we forget Gary Wasniewski!? :tongue:

Darren Shahlavi is also worth a mention.

[ShaOW!linDude]

How can we forget Gary Wasniewski!? :tongue:

Darren Shahlavi is also worth a mention.


Isn't the 1st guy the one who stars in "Thundercockney"?:tongue:

Dude, how could I forget Shahlavi? That guy's talented! All I've seen him in is: Bloodmoon, Tai Chi 2, and Ip Man 2. What else has he done MA-wise? I'd love to find some more movies with him in them.

[Markgway]

Shane Meadows and Nick Love mentioned in the same thread?

Shurely shome mishtake? :squigglemouth:

[Reel Power Stunts]

If you are going to mention Mark Houghton and Sophia Crawford, I think Mike Lambert deserves a mention. He may concentrate on stuntwork these days, but he had some good fighting roles in "The Quest", "Black Mask", "Danny the Dog" and others. Very talented guy.

[Karlos]

To be honest, I quite like some of Nick Love's films - The Business was great, genuinely funny and smart, Outlaw, whilst all over the place, said some interesting things. The Firm was OK, too, in patches but nowhere near as good as Alan Clarke's original.

Shane Meadows, though - that man is a genius.

I saw a new Brit film a few nights ago called Dead Cert. Imagine a film, half Rocky, half cockney From Dusk til Dawn, shot in one room and on a budget of around 20 pounds (and with the producers expecting some change from that).

Beyond laughable, all these London “’ardmen” actors like Billy Murray and Craig Fairbrass swaggering around wearing vampire teeth– how they couldn’t see they were making an absolute dog of a film is beyong me.

Ironically, one of Shane Meadows’ regulars, the great Perry Benson, pops up in this, showing his agent must have his off days, too.

When the best bit of your film is a cameo from Danny Dyer you know you’re in trouble.

Lock, Stock has a lot to answer for...

[One Armed Boxer]

Dude, how could I forget Shahlavi? That guy's talented! All I've seen him in is: Bloodmoon, Tai Chi 2, and Ip Man 2. What else has he done MA-wise? I'd love to find some more movies with him in them.

He starred in a trio of Ko Fei`s super low budget Filipino movies, `Angel on Fire` with Cynthia Khan, `Deadly Target` with Yukari Oshima, and `Techno Warriors` which I`ve never seen...they`re exacly what you`d expect from a Ko Fei Filipino production, cheap and trashy fun, or complete crap, depending on your taste.

[Markgway]

Part of my issue with many of these Brit crime flicks is that they glamorise violence and/or a criminal lifestyle.

So called 'hard men' are made to look cool and we're supposed to be impressed when they break the law and casually dole out brutality.

It's cheap, nasty and simple-minded filmmaking.

[One Armed Boxer]

Part of my issue with many of these Brit crime flicks is that they glamorise violence and/or a criminal lifestyle.

So called 'hard men' are made to look cool and we're supposed to be impressed when they break the law and casually dole out brutality.

I agree, however glamorising the criminal lifestyle seems to be a uniquely UK trait. The UK must be the only country I know where, if you visit the true crime section of any book store, the majority and most popular books are autobiographical memoirs written by gangsters, football hooligans, prison brawlers, drug dealers...all detailing the lifestyles of the scumbag who's writing the book as if it's a big adventure, and what is more disgusting is that they make money from it.

Although the UK crime flick isn't on the same level, the movies essentially do the same thing, often in the usual repetative stereotypical ways. They are kind of to the crime movie genre what the 'Tap-Out' movies are to the martial arts genre, or the 'Gangsta flicks starring a rapper' are to the gangster genre....best to be ignored, and usually stacked on the bottom shelf to help you do so.

[Markgway]

Excellent post.

[Reel Power Stunts]

I agree, however glamorising the criminal lifestyle seems to be a uniquely UK trait. The UK must be the only country I know where, if you visit the true crime section of any book store, the majority and most popular books are autobiographical memoirs written by gangsters, football hooligans, prison brawlers, drug dealers...all detailing the lifestyles of the scumbag who's writing the book as if it's a big adventure, and what is more disgusting is that they make money from it.
.

Good observation about the abundance of those books in the UK, and also the generally low-quality of the films. However I don't think it's a uniquely UK trait. Certain Hong Kong gangster films could be accused of glamorizing the Triad lifestyle (The "Young & Dangerous" series), or glamorizing true-life criminals ("Casino", "Operation Billionaires", "Tragic Fantasy: Tiger of Wanchai). Simon Yam often gets the lead role, but certain supporting cast are often well known (in HK at least) for their Triad links. Many of these movies are gangster funded, and are used to clean "black money". Perhaps some people are disgusted, but a lot don't seem to be...

[daTOAD]

"I agree, however glamorising the criminal lifestyle seems to be a uniquely UK trait."

Nah. Besides the Mafia glamorization, We have whole genres of music dedicated to the "gangster" lifestyle. Not saying i dont like this stuff, cause i love a good romanticized gangster flick. It seems a lot of this is catering to the American viewer though.

Im sorry, but we love those loud cockney accents and witty wordplay and Danny Dyer pulls it off.The Business is a classic to me. Running Out of Time was nice. These movies are like Menace to Society and Takers to me which isnt a bad thing.

[kingofkungfu2002]

This is the UK's very own Chloe Bruce's new showreel...For anyone unaware of her :bigsmile:

gOcAwFLC4Bc

[ShaOW!linDude]

I've seen her in something before. She looks familiar to me for some reason. Maybe an ep of Fight Science or something like that. Love the Subway commercial. They should air that here.

They should make figurines of her to put in music boxes. Then when the lid is lifted, instead of a ballerina, it's her spinning around doing little high kicks.

Athletic, martially talented, and very pretty.

What's the hold-up here, guys? Get her to work in some films knocking jerks' heads off already!!!!

[bigrogie]

A girl kicking ass!!!! I'd watch her movies! Nice kicks. Come on action movie producers! Do something! :tongue::tongue:

[daTOAD]

She's nice. Look forward to seeing her in future projects, which Im sure are coming her way. Did you guys have Kung Fu theatre or anything on Tv growing up?

[Markgway]

She makes Tan Tao-Liang look like a geriatric. Surely it's only a matter of time before she's cast in a major movie.

[blue_skies]

BTW I remember coming across LEFT FOR DEAD about 6 months ago on amazon. Is that movie any good? I seem to remember reading positive things about it.

And what MA stars have come out of the UK? (Gary Daniels and Scott Adkins are Brits, right?)

I'm hesitant to recommend it but I did enjoy the movie along with a few drinks. it's been a long while since I actually watched it but I recall it being extremely low budget, the fight sequences were not the best but they did get better as the movie went on. Maybe if you go in with low expectations you might enjoy this film. I watched it because of Mark's review....

http://www.kungfucinema.com/left-for-dead-2004-482

Don't forget Daniel O'Neil is British

[ShaOW!linDude]

I'm hesitant to recommend it but I did enjoy the movie along with a few drinks. it's been a long while since I actually watched it but I recall it being extremely low budget, the fight sequences were not the best but they did get better as the movie went on. Maybe if you go in with low expectations you might enjoy this film. I watched it because of Mark's review....

http://www.kungfucinema.com/left-for-dead-2004-482

Hey, I'd forgotten about that movie. Need to put it on my wish list. Appreciate your thoughts on it as well as Mark's review.

Don't forget Daniel O'Neil is British

So is Jon Foo. Me and Karlos were discussing that earlier this week.

[blue_skies]

Hey, I'd forgotten about that movie. Need to put it on my wish list. Appreciate your thoughts on it as well as Mark's review..

no problem.:bigsmile: It might be to your benefit to do a little research as I believe the more recent UK DVD is anamorphic widescreen compared to the USDVD which is non-anamorphic. I realise you're still not multi-region but maybe somebody can confirm the UK DVD is actually region 2. It's possible that it could be a region free disk but I do not know for certain.