If rural crime pics are your thing, you can expect plenty of this in writer and director Cui Siwei’s debut outing, Savage, produced by former John Woo cohort Terence Chang. Scenic mountainous views and wintry landscapes are the backdrop for key performances from a cast led by Chang Chen, and an otherwise taut and stylish feature endeavor.
With Shadow in tow, Zhang Yimou’s wuxia epic won’t be the only title ready to command audiences as Cui Siwei’s neo-western crime thriller, Savage, stakes its claim for Well Go USA also on May 3. The wintery action crime thriller is led by co-star of Warner Bros.’s upcoming Dune, actor Chang Chen and also stars actress Ni Ni, and actors Liao Fan, Huang Jue, Liu Hua, Zhang Yicong and Li Guangjie.
Director Cui Siwei – screenwriter of Huang Bo’s The Island and Leo Zhang’s Jackie Chan sci-fi, Bleeding Steel – stirred a fair bit of attention with his latest scintillating and brutal heist thriller, Savage, after screening in Busan last year. It’s getting an April 26 release in China and for this, it’s got a great official trailer packed with chilling, pulsating neo-western flair to boot.
Chinese censors may be skiddish of director Jia Zhangke’s creative endeavors, but that hasn’t stopped him from moving forward. His newest, Ash Is Purest White, is still putting its best foot forward and with Cohen Media Group having acquired the film for U.S. release at Cannes last May, an official trailer is already online ahead of its March 15 due date in select theaters.
Celebrated actor and filmmaker Jiang Wen’s most recent endeavor, Hidden Man, already had its run at the Chinese box office and now awaits its fair stake at the Toronto International Film Festival as of this Thursday. The film is set to screen this Friday and for the last three days of the festival at the Scotiabank theater and stands as one of several titles I hope to learn more about with fellow contributor Alex Chung on hand to screen at least a few if not a nifty handful.
Jia directs from his own script with actress Zhao Tao and actor Liao Fan starring. Check out the trailer!
With most of the specific plot details off the radar for Jiang Wen’s martial arts-infused spy pic, Hidden Man, its interesting trying to look up certain bits of China’s 20th century history. What we do know, however, is that it’s got a revenge twist that culminates a trilogy following Wen’s previous Gone With The Bullets and its 2010 predecessor Let The Bullets Fly.
Alas, we now tackle the third entry as it’s loosely based on a novel written by Zhang Beihai. Wen himself is front and center for the cast with actors Eddie Peng, Liao Fan, and actress Zhou Yun and Summer Xu. A July 13 release hails from Gravity Pictures while later market news should see what becomes of its rollout following Warner Bros.’s co-production attachment to the film earlier this week.
A new teaser is out as well and while it looks a bit more narrative rustic than the others, it bodes just as well for Wen’s filmmaking energy and style with a handful of rounds to spare. Check it out below!
Sooner than the next Star Wars movie, news of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story co-star Jiang Wen’s latest return to the helm now sees Hidden Man emerging for a 2018 release. Adapted from Zhang Beihai’s own 1930s-set Wuxia novel and said to be the last installment of Jiang’s Bullets trilogy, the finale tells of a swords who returns home as a spy to avenge the death of his family.
The teaser now running online is certainly brisk and slickly delivered for its desired affect and bet that action fans will gravitate around this one as soon as it releases in full with Eddie Peng and Liao Fan, and actresses Summer Xu and Zhou Yun also starring. The film itself has been a long time coming and available headlines indicates a casting change which should make this a bit more intriguing. Take a look!
UPDATE: This contest has expired.
Details and visual content remain pending for acclaimed martial arts action auteur Xu Haofeng’s upcoming adaptation, The Hidden Blade now circulating at Cannes. In the meantime, it’s been about a year and a half the director’s most recent celebrated release, The Final Master (as it was titled for the U.S.) hit limited screens from United Entertainment Partners and in the wake of much acclaim earned for its overall fight choreography.
That said, I can honestly attest to my own experience of the film was pretty fantastic given its theater setting. The sound made it much more engaging to watch the fights whilst engaging the overall mood and dramatic tension with actor Liao Fan starring in the title role of a martial arts instructor who finds himself caught up in a deadly whirlwind of upheaval and miltary proliferation in the early 20th century.
In 1930s China, unrest rules the nation. Chen, the last Wing Chun master, arrives in Tianjin to expand his kung fu – but his ambition gets him entangled in a power struggle between Tianjin’s martial arts Grandmaster, a dominant underworld Madam, and the town’s military leaders. Can he protect his family from the dangers of the martial arts world, or will it consume everything he loves?
Expect a full-on assault of some serious bladed weaponry, some of which I had never seen before and might be new to you too if you’re not too learned in Wing Chun; I’m not, which made this film all the more entertaining.
Well Go USA just debut a trailer for its forthcoming DVD, Blu-Ray and Digital HD release on July 25. Check it out below.
Co-presented with the China Onscreen Biennial, The Final Master – the third film by Xu Haofeng, famous as the novelist who co-wrote Wong Kar-Wai’s The Grandmaster – relocates its titular martial arts master from Southern China to 1932 colonial Tianjin. Xu’s sarcastic and elegant approach to cinema has been described as what martial arts movies would look like if directed by Straub-Huillet —or David Mamet. Echoing the film’s cultural hybridity is a rare Chantal Akerman short that captures the changing light as dusk creeps over Shanghai, its immemorial waters rippling under neon and gaudy ads, to a cover of “Nights in White Satin.”
Following its teaser back in July, two new trailers have finally surfaced for acclaimed author and screenwriter Xu Haofeng‘s latest, The Master. Noted for his work behind such contemplative martial arts films such as Judge Archer and The Sword Identity, Xu’s new film doesn’t appear to steer too far from the same hard-edged tones in story and action which looks favorably good for fans thusfar.
Rising star Fan Liao fan leads the film based on Xu‘s “Hiding Behind The Blade” anthology publication with a story centered on the early 20th century turmoil in China’s clandestined world of Wushu, and one man’s conflict of personal ethics with the rules of martial arts. All details aside, however, moviegoers are bound to enjoy some pretty thrilling martial arts sequences judging by the new trailers which clearly evokes just how serious Wushu was for its time. With weapons like these, everyone is playing for keeps.
Also starring are Song Yang, Jia Song, Li Xia, Huang Jue and Chin Shih-Chieh. The film just finished making the rounds at the American Film Market this week thanks to Golden Network Asia Ltd and is now on track for a China release on December 11.
Watch the new trailers below courtesy of Filmsmash and check out a slew of new posters just beneath.
The Master Trailer 2 by filmsmashsite
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