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The Hong Kong Film Archive (HKFA) of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department will present "Uncanny Cinematic Adventures" in January and February next year in the "Morning Matinee" series held at 11am on Fridays. Nine films featuring the uncanny will be screened at the HKFA Cinema.
"The Magic Box" (1958) is an Eastern "One Thousand and One Nights" with dynamic cinematography and grand sets full of originality. It follows the treacherous journey of a prince (Cheung Ying) with an invisible cape to get a magic box from a moon fairy, save two princesses (Mui Yee and Law Yim-hing) who were cast into golden statues and defend his throne against villains.
"The Magic Cup, Part One" (1961) tells of the titular magic cup fairy (Law Yim-hing) who protects Bo-bo (Fung Bo-bo) from her stepmother's evil scheme, making Bo-bo feel tender motherly love. The film was inspired by Aladdin and his magic lamp and features a giant, a beast and magic with a dash of pure childlike wonder.
Starring Tso Tat-wah, Yu So-chow and Connie Chan Po-chu, the wuxia fantasy "Ingenious Swords, Part One" (1962) sees the White Bone Sword, carrying the essence of a thousand-year-old tree demon, set off a battle among the greatest warriors. The character designs, the powerful swords and various forms of sorcery contribute to the eerie visuals.
Wong Hok-sing's "The Golden Scissors, Part One" (1963) uses ample special effects of flying swords and a three-headed freak, and shows the dangers faced by female warriors in the martial arts world. The portrayals of a conniving official and a stubborn male chauvinist warrior suggest that a male-dominated martial arts world would remain chaotic.
"The Furious Buddha's Palm" (1965) adds new characters to the "Buddha's Palm" film series, including the Dragon Lady (Josephine Siao Fong-fong) and the monkey boy Yuen Tung (Connie Chan Po-chu). The film uses creative animation and models to portray a massacre in the martial world caused by the Heavenly Crippled-leg move of Iron-faced Asura (Sek Kin).
"The Mighty Peking Man" (1977) produced by Shaw Brothers is a one-of-a-kind monster-disaster movie in Hong Kong cinema, infusing elements of Hollywood's "King Kong" and Japan's "Godzilla" series. A production crew from Japan applied numerous hand-crafted models and foreground filming techniques to create the thrilling scenes of the titular beast destroying an Indian village, parading in Causeway Bay and climbing a skyscraper.
Tsui Hark's gory and darkly comedic "We're Going to Eat You" (1980) is a mishmash of Western exploitation B-movies and Hong Kong kung-fu comedies. It tells of a secret agent (Tsui Siu-keung) and a thief (Hon Kwok-choi) who accidentally trespass into a village and barely escape from the jaws of cannibals, and satirises the collective blind faith in closed societies.
Directed by David Chiang and scripted by Derek Yee, "The Legend of the Owl" (1981) is a bizarre parody lampooning Western and Eastern pop culture, such as Gu Long's wuxia novels and Bruce Lee and "Star Wars" movies.
Inspired by "The Fearless Vampire Killers" (1967) and Eastern folk superstitions, "Mr. Vampire" (1985) introduces inventive ways to fend off vampires, including the famous trick of holding one's breath. The film shapes Lam Ching-ying into his most iconic character as the powerful Taoist priest and set the fad for Hong Kong vampire movies.
"The Furious Buddha's Palm", "The Magic Box", "The Magic Cup, Part One" and "Ingenious Swords, Part One" will also be shown in January at UA iSquare Phoenix Club. Guest curator Honkaz Fung and film critic Eric Tsang will host the seminar "Strange Tales Begin with the Sea Monster" in Cantonese on January 16 at 1pm at the UA iSquare Phoenix Lounge. Admission is free.
"The Mighty Peking Man" is in Mandarin and other films are in Cantonese. "The Mighty Peking Man", "The Legend of the Owl" and "Mr. Vampire" have Chinese and English subtitles, while the other films are without subtitles.
Tickets for screenings at the HKFA are priced at $20 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone credit card bookings, please call 2111 5999. Tickets for screenings at UA iSquare Phoenix Club priced at $45 are now available at the UA Cinemas Box Office and via its website (www.uacinemas.com.hk). For phone ticketing, please call 2317 6666 (Cityline) or 3918 5888 (UA Cinemas).
For programme enquiries, please call 2739 2139 or 2734 2900 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/fp/en_US/web/fpo/programmes/2011mm/film.html.
Ends/Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Issued at HKT 15:35
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