Going to the movies with your parents was a rare treat, we would only go to blockbusters or Bond movies (my parents favorites). When I was 6 we went to see “Lawrence Of Arabia” and I was totally transfixed. It showed me another place and another time, it took me inside that world and made me feel, and it was in glorious wide-screen. My reaction was a 6 year old wow. I read everything I could find about Lawrence. I even became him when we played outside.
When I think about important movies, it is not about them being the best movie or most technically excellent movie. It is a movie that changed me. It could have educated me, it could have inspired me, it may even resonate with me, but they all touch me in some way. When the movie finishes it has changed me or changed my perspective on life. This is my journey through important movies in my life, I know your journey is different, but I like that too. Life is beautiful and it should be shared, we all have the power to bring beauty to each other.
Normally a journey will start at one place and weave its way through adventures until it reaches a destination, this journey starts somewhere in the middle and has many side quests, but it is my journey and I get to choose.
When you live in England in the 1960s and 1970s there is not a lot of opportunities to see Hong Kong movies, but there were a few cinemas that would show kung fu movies (when they weren’t showing soft-core porn, but that is another story). They were all badly dubbed into English or with poor English subtitles (“I will kill you until you are dead from it!”), but the kung fu was amazing. My all time favorite was “The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin”. Gordon Liu was a true kung fu star – powerful, handsome and completely unstoppable. No wire work here. From here of course you will always end up with Jackie Chan movies – the Buster Keaton of kung fu. He just made it look easy and he was so funny. You can see why he was adored. It is impossible to pick just one Jackie Chan movie, but the movie that started it for me was “Drunken Master” and I have a soft spot for all the “Police Story” movies, especially the first one.
My love affair with Hong Kong cinema took another turn in the 1990s when the movies started to become more available on DVD, and then when I learned to love that crazy mix of drama, comedy and action that empowered HK cinema. Everybody should see the classic movies, “Peking Opera Blues”, “Comrades, Almost a Love Story”, “Lost And Found”, “C’est La Vie, Ma Cherie” and “Shanghai Blues”.
“Peking Opera Blues” is perhaps the perfect Hong Kong movie. It has everything we love about movies – action, drama, comedy, and three beautiful lead actresses – Brigitte Lin, Sally Yeh and Cherie Chung. What more does a young man need! It is truly essential viewing for everyone.
The mysterious Mr Worm is Takeshi Kaneshiro in “Lost And Found”. It is a movie with so much heart. It will make you want to hug everyone who matters to you.