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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Vikings Season 6: How Lagertha’s Legacy Lives On

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This article contains Vikings season 6 spoilers.

With the release of season 6 part two on Dec. 30, Vikings has come to an end. While the spinoff Vikings: Vahalla is set to premiere on Netflix sometime in 2021, it will pick up the story of the Viking and Anglo-Saxon conflict 100 years after the last events depicted in the original series. Thus the series finale of Vikings means we are saying goodbye to all the characters whose exploits viewers have enjoyed these last seven years. Whether in the flesh or in flashbacks, this is the final farewell. And no character will be missed so much as Lagertha.

When Vikings began, in the spring of 2013, it was a largely misunderstood enterprise (and still continues to be, by some). Premiering as it did on the History Channel, a cable channel best known for its WWII/Hitlerian focus in the 90’s and more current shows like Pawn Stars and Swamp People, many assumed that Vikings was a testosterone-heavy fight-fest created to feed the key male 18-49 year-old demographic that the network targets.

But that was never really the intention of creator/writer/showrunner Michael Hirst. As Hirst tells Den of Geek, women, particularly Viking queen Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick), were always supposed to be central in the series’ storytelling.

“I was hoping she would be popular,” Hirst says. “History Channel is a male-viewed channel. And I think History Channel initially picked the show up because they thought it would appeal to that natural base. That they thought, ‘Well, you know, it’s obviously going to be a show full of battles and fights and so on.’ But I always thought it was going to be about Lagertha as much as Ragnar. And I like writing with women.”

Hirst’s focus paid off. Women, like myself, eventually found (generally through word of mouth) the series, and we loved what we saw. Lagertha and the rest of the women on the show were more than pretty faces and eternal victims. They ran the gamut from the initially innocent and oppressed Anglo-Saxon Judith (Jennie Jacques) to soft-power-wielding Gisla (Morgane Polanski) and Aslaug (Alyssa Sunderland) to shield-maidens like Torvi (Georgia Hirst) and Gunnhild (Ragga Ragnars).

But it wasn’t simply the variety of types of women on the show. It was that none of them were ever simple and they were never just plot devices. Whatever label their cultures applied to them, they have always exceeded them. The women of Vikings have been spouses, parents, politicians, strategists, lovers, and friends—everything that their male counterparts were, and often more successful in their endeavors than those men. It was surprising, and on a show like Vikings, something rarely seen on American television.

And Lagertha—farmer, visionary, wife of Ragnar, mother of Bjorn Ironside and Gyda, shield-maiden, Jarl and Kattegat’s queen in her own right— was the first among the women we tuned in to watch. Which pleased her creator.

“What was wonderful for me was that the show, on History Channel, was getting 50/50 male/female viewership,” Hirst says. “In other words, particularly Lagertha was making women watch the show. And it was about so much more than fights and battles and things. So I was really proud of that. And I think that Katheryn was just brilliant in the role.”

And she has been. Appearing in over 80 episodes (and directing season 6A’s “Valhalla Can Wait”), Winnick shows up more than any other actor, and helped the show bridge the gap when Hirst’s other primary antagonist, Ragnar, was killed off. Doomsayers predicted the end of the series after the departure of Travis Fimmel’s excellent Viking legend. But Winnick and Lagertha went a long way in ensuring we continued to stay engaged and tuning in.

Not that everyone was pleased. From the start, there has always been some Internet criticism of Lagertha that accuses the character of “forced feminism,” ahistorically expansive sexuality, and the impossibility of the existence of actual “shield-maidens.” Some have even argued that women do not possess the physical strength to wield historically accurate Viking weapons (despite watching female actors, Winnick and Georgia Hirst specifically, regularly do just that on Vikings on a regular basis).

In fact, Lagertha appears to be closer to the truth than even many historians assumed when the show began seven years ago. According to the series’ historical consultant and writer Justin Pollard, not only was “Viking society, for all of its apparent terrors to Christians, a much more egalitarian society than Christian society, and women had a much stronger role in it,” but despite “quite a lot of howls of complaint, since then, we’ve found a number of excavated bodies, often excavated in the 19th century, that have been reanalyzed and now been shown to be women.”

The most famous of these is the grave of what many historians had referred to, up until 2017, as the archetypical “ultimate Viking” of the tenth century, found on the island of Birka, Sweden. First discovered and documented in 1878, it was assumed to be the skeletal remains and grave items of a male warrior—sword, spear, axe, arrows, shields, etc. One year after Vikings premiered, an analysis of the pelvic bones and jaw by bioarchaelogist Anna Kjellström strongly suggested that the skeleton was that of a woman. In 2017, analysis of the DNA and Strontium isotypes on the skeleton by a team led by Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson confirmed that the body was a woman, and consistent with the geographic profile of someone having lived in the correct place to be a Viking.

Lagertha, and women like her, weren’t a modern-day invention—Hirst’s women warriors were a strangely prophetic echo from the past.

Vikings Ending Explained

By Jamie Andrew

Nor are women incapable of the type of fighting we get to watch on the show. I brought up the point when I interviewed Clive Standen (Rollo) a few years ago, asking whether it was odd having Winnick, who stands as much as a foot shorter and weighs half as much than many of her male co-stars, on the battlefield. He laughed outright, assuring me that the actress, who holds black belts in two martial arts and founded three martial arts schools before the age of 22, is more than a match for those her character faces on the killing fields of Vikings–a not inconsiderable recommendation considering Standen’s own martial arts background. In other words, what we saw on the series was just as, if not more, real than the reality shows that make up a great deal of History Channel’s programming.

But whatever problems that naysayers may have had with the depiction of shield-maidens in general and of Lagertha in particular, her fans are legion and loyal. Word of her impending death began to circle as early as 2017. Article after article conjectured that she was always about to be killed off—even well past the point where most of Aslaug’s sons had given up their mission to avenge their mother.

So we had long been emotionally prepared for the death of the semi-retired Lagertha. That the means of her death was less glorious than the eventual end of her son Bjorn might have rankled had it not been so very much like the woman we have come to love. Both die in defense of their beloved Kattegat, but for Lagertha, the moment is about the heart of the show: family.

Vikings has always been less a historically-based action series and more a family drama told on an epic scale. And as it is as true now as then that rivalries and alliances, anger and empathy, misunderstanding and enlightenment, are constantly in flux in families. Lagertha has always had reason enough to hate her murderer. His birth alone might have earned him death at her hands. But like her equally illustrious partner Ragnar, she has never been as simple as the blood vengeance we traditionally and often erroneously associate with the Vikings.

Both are complicated characters, and capable of seeing the bigger picture when it comes to their family, to honor, to their fates. She recognizes that his actions are enough to rip apart the wounds only half healed among Ragnar’s sons. That she is able to comfort her own killer, to reassure him that he has done no more than live his destiny and hers, speaks to complexity and compassion all but absent in depictions of Vikings before the show began its run on History Channel.

And in that, Lagertha is precisely the embodiment of Hirst’s wish for the series:

“One of the things I most wanted to do was to overturn all the cliches about Vikings. I was told by some people at the beginning that I couldn’t really make a show about Vikings. Or, at least, I couldn’t make a show where Vikings were the heroes. Because they were always the Other. They’re the bad guys. They’re the people who come in the night and steal and rape and burn. And how could I make them heroic in any way? And of course, people thought they knew about the Vikings. Actually, they didn’t know anything, which is often the case. And so I thought, “Well, how do I show that?”

It turns out, you do it by creating a character like Lagertha. You do it by taking one of the most misunderstood members of a misunderstood culture and turn her into a hero who makes mistakes and silent sacrifices, enjoys triumphs and endures losses, bides her time and acts impulsively, regrets and doesn’t compromise, gives and takes, and loves and hates, and still goes on, even in death.

You make her one of us.

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And that’s why we have loved her, cheered her on, cried over her pain, and now mourn her end. Because Michael Hirst and Katheryn Winnick made Lagertha someone we could recognize some modicum of ourselves in, creating a link between Vikings of the 9th century and our own 21st century lives. She reminds us that carrying a sword in battle isn’t what makes a hero. Heroes are so much more than that, and while we will never wield axe or spear, the heroic is always within our own grasp.

The post Vikings Season 6: How Lagertha’s Legacy Lives On appeared first on Den of Geek.

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aleatoryalarmalligator · 7 years

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categorized and generalized all the types of tumblr aesthetics i have come across.

I have been going through archives for the last five years on tumblr now, and i can’t help but notice that a lot of blogs are the same. There seems to be a pattern in the sorts of aesthetics i run up against. So, in my exhaustion, i tried coming up with all the different aesthetics, and i tried to put them into certain categories. Obviously, some of these categories are mixed with others.

PORN TUMBLR

-general porn

-lesbian/gay general

-kinky stuff

-daddy dom stuff - tied up boobies

-bears

-just unrealistic nudes

-just realistic nudes

-vintage porn, and occasionally porn that is so old that it was drawn by someone in the 1800′s

- hentai and erotic animal people cartoon characters going at it

-person who took about five pictures of themselves naked five years ago who has not come back

RICH KID TUMBLR

-super modelesque kids in their super rich cool kid clothes and fashion in Starbucks taking pictures of their food and their trips to Europe in 1st class

- incredibly expensive looking sunglasses

-rich kid travel blogs with hundreds of thousands of notes of pictures from rich people buildings

-quotes that say 'be happy' or stuff about saying anyone can just travel anywhere at any time, just the general advice you might get from someone who doesn't know how the other half lives

- cats

VINTAGE TUMBLR

-the greatest generation stuff, forgotten early hollywood actors/actresses, very old movie gifs, Theda Bara, Clara Bow, Carol Lombard, early Joan Crawford, Gone with the Wind ect..

-50's, 60's and 70's, Nancy Sinatra, Brigitte Bardot, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn – generally a lot of Audrey Hepburn

-Posts old advertisements and old cars, sometimes old toys, a few pinups, vintage comics, kinda weird

- vintage toy blogs - just toys, named and dated

-sometimes retrospace stuff

-sometimes just old comic book stuff

FEMINIST/ GENDER STUDIES TUMBLR

-intersectional feminists who post mostly text and back and forth writings, sometimes they fight

-radfems and turfs, unpopular minority of angry at the intersectional feminists

- Fat Acceptance movement, chubby bunnies

-other girl's selfies, lots of girl power related drawings of gender symbols and the like, Grimes, being a witch, Courtney Love, sailor moon, and so forth, sometimes bleeds into soft grunge

-topics on transgender, gender fluid and others that have informative

- asexual community

BLACK LIVES MATTER TUMBLR

-black lives matter awareness, police brutality, pointing out flaws in legal system

-lovely stylish selfies

-call outs of racism, lots of dialogue, and the extension of twitter

80's + 90's GIF TUMBLR

-like gifs of scratched up VCR obscure film openings, and repetitious obscure 80's gifs in general, everything is fuzzy and looks like it came from an 80' infomercial, kinda makes you feel scared

-90's gifs of Pee Wee Herman, Catdog, Clarissa Explains it All, Chucky Cheese, Fruit by the Foot, Beavus and Butthead, Bart Simpson, and so on

HIPPIE TUMBLR

-just like the rich kidz, only they have white kid dreads and post a lot of vanlife stuff, lots of festivals

-mostly psychedelic gifs, with occasional trippy art, Foster the People is their favorite band

-real hippies, who post pictures of communes and people making tyed dye things, nonsexual nudes with hairy women, Grateful Dead stuff

-Buddhist and Hindu quotes, sometimes lilies

SOFT GRUNGE TUMBLR

purple and pink skies, water, windows with lace

girls with pale skin and perfect make up, and chokers, bruises, sparkly skin

mermaid texture, mermaid hair colors

Lana Del Rey

kind of like 90's only more melty and pink

quotes about good vibes

Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless mind reference

moon print

dream pop bands from the early 90's

GROWN UP SOFT GRUNGE TUMBLR

picture of Uma Thurman overdosing in Pulp Fiction

lots and lots of flowers

lots of sensual pictures of pale skin under certain lighting

albino people

albino animals

pictures of sunrises

Reykjavic

kind of like the Soft Grunge, but just a little bit more subtle and film tumblry

ART BLOG TUMBLR

old roman art

chinese, japanese and korean art from long ago

renaissance and medieval art with religious context

just like medieval art of specifically torture

18th and 19th century portrait paintings

Scenic paintings of hills, Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec, Monet

Dada, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol, Adolph Wolfie

Modern art that is squiggly, slimy, and bizzare, breaks art rules but looks good, David Shrigley

Modern Surrealists

ARTIST BLOG TUMBLR

posts really great homemade gifs that nobody knows about infrequently

blogs that only have the artwork of the blog owner – generally post infrequently and not given enough credit ever, except maybe one of there works has a whole bunch of notes

person who keeps painting the same thing over and over again and does it a lot for years at a time, 0 notes usually – who are you??

collage artists that mix 50's scenes with hyperspace backdrops

FILM BLOG TUMBLR

-Stanley Kubrick, Jean Cocteau, lots of black and white french films

-that movie where the two people are sitting on the ledge of a building and the other one jumps off

Clockwork Orange

-Paris, Texas

David Lynch

Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks (gets stolen by other kinds of blogs frequently)

Wim Wenders,

Rare film art from Poland in the 70's

Jans Svankmajer

Man Ray, Max Ernst,

cool quotes by philosopher, artist, psychologist, or film director

Amelie

sometimes Wes Anderson

PHOTOGRAPHY TUMBLR

abandoned places, gas stations, archaic cafes, falling apart amusement parks

uses too much dark fade out in the background pictures of fields and stuff, overused filtering – posted a ton three years ago and then left

just photostock

girl who takes pictures of herself in costume

Nature pictures, animal pictures ect..

person who just takes pictures of textures and minimalist buildings – usually colorful

person who's personal Instagram picture just automatically post to tumblr also, probably never checks up, usually pictures of them with friends as a pub

Indigenous pictures from around the world, some of them from books, some from National Geographic, some from other places

Super old pictures from old newspapers, the great depression, WW2 – generally black and white

MUSIC TUMBLR

Really likes Led Zeppelin, The Doors and The Who, sometimes mixed with other vintage, often posts the same pictures and songs for years – you feel bad because no new music will be coming out from these artists

super cheesy Van Halen, Kiss, Styx, Ozzy person, Big Hair, likes 80's pin ups and skulls, sometimes into martial arts

super cheesy death metal fan, lots of pinups, corny black and white pictures of skulls and such

REALLY likes British Invasion, The Zombies, The Kinks, The Hollies, The Animals, will occasionally post Detroit girl groups from the 60's, some Velvet Underground, pictures of the Beatles girlfriends

Just David Bowie, Lou Reed, Patti Smith and Iggy Pop. Maybe some New York Dolls

Old Blues and Jazz, Etta James, Son House, Nina Simone, pictures of Leadbelly and Howlin' Wolf and especially Miles Davis

really into post punk, Nick Cave, Siouxsie, Bauhaus, The Cure, Einsturzende Neubauten, Lydia Lunch, PJ Harvey and Rowland S. Howard, sometimes Morrissey. also generally mixes film and art blog stuff in with occasional feminist things

Just Morrissey, they call him Moz.

Fan clubs for specific bands that are newer and popular like Arctic Monkeys or Fallout Boy, but also ones blogs that really like emo lyrics from early 2000's and such – scene kids that are still scenin' it up

loves Jens Lekman, Belle and Sebastian, The Magnetic Fields and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Cigarettes After Sex. Usually posts really cute modern art, and uses tumblr mostly for writing, has the cutest hair cut and can pull off overalls, never posts too little or too much, extremely twee

HISTORY TUMBLR

ancient mesopotamia, greek and Egyptian history and relics

Blogs that are specifically about one place in one era - Ancient Russia, Ireland before it was taken over, precolonial India and so on

Samurai, Geisha, and scrolls

Swords, knights, castles, kings of Europe in general

Specific Wars, examples: 7 Years War, Revolutionary War, WW1 + 2

France from before the revolution – pictures of wigged men, Napoleon, Marie Antoinette

Jane Austen time era anything 18th and 19th century, slight excuse to post lots of Pride and Prejudice gifs with Keira Knightly and that Mr. Darcy in the rain

Outfits – just outfits that are really old

person who is obsessed with the Nazis and seems to like Hitler

Flappers and earlier 20th – often an excuse to post gifs of Downton Abbey

Vintage books, often children books, but sometimes others

DESIGN TUMBLR

really fucked up pictures of the Simpsons melting and stuff

gradient graphic art with symbols or words meant to convey a product that I don't understand for an obscure magazine subscription

graphic squiggles without form, minimalist graphic pictures of beach balls, tennis bats, and sneakers

bizarre smiley faces made from smaller smiley faces

80's inspired design

odd looking models with undercuts and no eyebrows

cartoon dogs and cats

just static and glitches. Nothing more, nothing less

either they make their own graphic designs and they rarely post, or they compile reblogs of everyone else's and they post all the time

WEIRDO TUMBLR

insane family pictures of family who all has mullet dressed as bumble bees

Lots of Robert Crumb, some vintage stuff, but nothing remotely main stream

Some of the modern art, but only the weirdest of it

claymation masks

Comix

Moebius

art from early Power Point

100 piece sculptures with melted toys

paintings of monsters

Steve Brule

children's fan art of Smokey the Bear – looks disturbing

Items that are too kitschy to be accepted by your average vintage indie blog

sometimes a specific blog centered around some kind of crazy event where everyone dresses completely insane

POLITICAL TUMBLR

the communists and Marxists

a mixture of BLM and LGBTQ stuff

the libertarians, anarchocapitalists, Ayn rand folk

the left wing anarchists, freegans, graffiti punks, garden punks, possums

informative left wing news that explains to us everyday how the GOP is fucking us

alt. right creeps who are simply here to be trolls and upset everyone else – anti SJW, that stupid frog, nationalists, trump supporters and such – irrelevant poorly thought memes

I miss Obama memes

Bernie Sanders forever and always folk

RAINBOW TUMBLR

pictures of rainbow candies, toys, designs, clothing and so forth all of it rainbow

people who post one color at a time, so when you go through their archive it's all gradient and neat looking – usually the pictures are a little stock photoish though

HALLOWEEN TUMBLR

Betty Page

The Cramps. Reverend Horton Heat

Psychobilly pin ups, old cars, burning skulls, vintage B horror movies, The Swamp Thing

Legitimately obsessed with the activities of Halloween – posts witches, devils, trick or treat candy, Bella Lugosi, The Monster Mash, Halloween decoration - and doesn't ever forget how many days away Halloween is

Jack the Skeleton

Freddy Krueger

FANCLUB TUMBLR

Superwholock

Hannigram

American Horror Story

K Pop and J Pop + Korean Drama

boy bands in general

Hamilton

My Little Ponies

Ghibli Studios

Various anime shows

fat Disney princesses

Super heroes

Pokemon

Big Bang Theory

Mighty Boosh

Monty Python

Phantom of the Opera

Labyrinth

Vampire Chronicles

Orange is the New Black

Breaking Bad

Alice in Wonderland

Harry Potter

Star Wars

Steven Universe

Adventure Time

Game of Thrones and Walking Dead

any television show really

Furry cartoons

lots of spacy quick anime chibi versions of characters who are hooking up and wouldn't normally in the show

scenes from movies with subtext that comes from a different movie or show

probably countless others i am not thinking of.

SPECIALTY TUMBLR

serial killer blogs

unexplained mysteries, ghosts, ufo's

pictures of galaxies with information (not sparkly silly ones with no context)

sewing and yarn

precious stones

cars

just gardening

just cats

religious blogs, either Islam, Christian, Jewish, Hindu or Buddhist

specific animal blogs, snake, spiders, wild cats and such

science blogs about technology and stuff

NATURE TUMBLR

stock photoish pictures of camp grounds and misty mountains – often taken by the hippies

angelic looking deer, and occasional animal burials with flowers'

person who takes pictures of flowers all the time

granola type fellow who loves juicing and backpacking – doesn't get on tumblr much

BLACK AND WHITE GOTH TUMBLR

slenderman fan art, actually just about anything creepypasta related

you have to turn off the music when you visit their page because it's just too much

fan art of black eyed children

slit wrists

pictures that were turned into Gifs because they shake

taxidermy

screamo lyrics

Alice in wonderland with X's for eyes

gothic models

occasional serial killer

skulls and references to Edgar Allan Poe

GIF MEME TUMBLR

just a sea of Gifs and memes relating to anything about life ever – almost shitposting but not quite

eventually one of the gifs got 100,000 notes for it's relatability so they get a lot of traffic

lots of pictures and circumstances from The Office, Parks and Rec, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Nihilist memes

SOFTY TUMBLR

kind of a little girl dom thing going on

Kawai and lots of Japanese girls

cute colorful make up

plushies and toys

references to fantasy cartoons from the 80's, the last unicorn, or that one with the girls in that band

Polly Pockets, Furbies, trolls

gifs of stars and hearts

Sailor Moon

pink bedroom

baby animals

occasionally more on the vintage kitschy side

WICCA TUMBLR

ravens, bats, candles

pentacles and other symbols

crystals

sometimes there is dreads

occasionally, it is a serious practicing Wicca who posts spells and gives witch advice

lots of personal reflections

boobs

GROSS TUMBLR

Tim and Eric, Steve Brule centered blog that are mostly in the act to make you feel queezy

like, people eating cheerios with ketchup and people wearing shoes with the soles cut out, people putting their feet in spagetti, bad tattoos on foreheads

snails, beetles, bird doing mean things to people

mostly moldy things, moss, strange dolls

things that look like they came from the dark crystal,

delapitating bedrooms that once belonged to a little girl, torn wall paper, old porcelain dolls that are slightly upsetting

Clowns

occasionally a blog so gross you will be ruined for having seen it – Two Girls one Cup sort of thing

NERD TUMBLR

old video game start up pages

Super Mario Bros.

Other video game characters

chibis of video game characters interacting with one another

Final Fantasy references

randomly doesn't post for a year

SELF HELP TUMBLR

blog that gives dumb advice that only works if you were already happy anyway

either semi fake or oversimplified 'psyche facts'

blogs from people who suffer from addiction or mental illness and want help and use their blog to vent

blogs ran by people who enjoy crystal meth and don’t give a fuck.

worthy of mentioning, blogs that nobody ever posted a single thing or just one thing, like, really cryptic blogs that nobody could ever understand, blogs that were taken over by some kind of virus and they are trying to sell you male pattern baldness remedies, or they are now call absurdly pornographic things because the virus took over and now they are like blonde cumfuck creampie or something of that nature, and blogs were the person was basically saying they have found a girlfriend/boyfriend now and don’t need tumblr anymore so goodbye

and in my experience ...

anybody can post pictures of jiggly boobs

anybody can post Grace Jones

anybody can post a Bjork song

these seem to be universal truths that defy limitations

#text

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supercultshow · 4 years

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Howdy all you Supercultists out there on the interwebz! I’m Bad Movie Professor Cameron Coker (BS in “Keanu Reeves” with a minor in “The Matrix is better if you watch Bill and Ted first”) and I’ll be posting my hype-tacular speeches every week along with some long-lost speeches from past Supercult Shows!

This week Supercult makes some soup, rummages around in the kitchen for 10 minutes to no avail, then eats the soup with a fork because THERE IS NO SPOON in The Matrix Trilogy! That’s right, we watched all 3 films back to back…because there are no half-measures in matters of the heart. You’re either all in or all out.

Computer programmer Thomas Anderson, known by his hacker alias “Neo”, feels that something is missing from his life. Before long Neo is being hounded by mysterious men in suits, approached by mysterious women in clubs, and swept up in a life or death struggle that begins with the question: What is the Matrix? Will you take the red pill or the blue pill? Suffer and struggle with the truth, or sink back into a comfortable lie? It’s the ultimate sci-fi epic of transformation, freedom, martial arts, and revolutionary special effects. What is the Matrix? No one can be told what the Matrix is. I can only show you the door. You must walk through it.

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Now, Supercultists, I could easily spend 20 minutes rattling Matrix trivia, history, and box office statistics at you. You might enjoy it. You might learn something. But it won’t be anything that anyone hasn’t said or heard before. The Matrix was a groundbreaking film that fused western and eastern visual and philosophical influences with the disenfranchisement of the 90s that fueled films like Fight Club and slathered it all in the high-octane action that coursed through Hollywood at the time (The Matrix was released in 1999, within cultural spitting distance from T2: Judgement Day, Bad Boys Die Hard, Rush Hour, and Supercult Classics like Con Air, The Rock, and Face/Off). You know that. I know that. Let’s put it behind us. No, Supercultists, instead I want to talk about Keanu Reeves.

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Born September 2, 1964 in Beirut, Lebanon, Keanu Charles Reeves’ father abandoned the family when Keanu was 3 years old before his mother moved the family to Sydney, Australia, then New York, USA, and then finally Toronto, Canada. Reeves attended four different high schools in Toronto before dropping out without graduating at age 17, obtaining a green card, and moving to Los Angeles to joining the film industry full time. Early jobs included production assistant, stage work, and acting roles for commercials, TV episodes, and a few bit parts in movies. Keanu made a breakthrough in the 90s with films like Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Parenthood, but his popularity began to rise with his roles in Point Break, Speed, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

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The Matrix was not Keanu’s first role. It was more like his 40th in 15 years. He was popular, but not a superstar. He wasn’t even the first pick for the starring role. Will Smith was approached for the role of Neo but passed to rejoin the director of Men in Black, Barry Sonnenfeld, for his next project: Supercult Classic Wild Wild West. Instead, Keanu was one of the hardest working dudes on set. Even though he suffered a spinal injury before production (forcing most of his fight choreography to focus on his arms) Keanu still trained just as long and hard as the rest of the crew for the physically demanding film.

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The Matrix would propel Keanu from ‘that baby-faced kid who played Bill S. Preston’ to a genuine action star who could pull off lines like, “I know you’re out there. I can feel you now,” and steal fight choreography from Bruce Lee without batting an eye. Hugo Weaving, was an amazing actor before the Matrix and he was and still is an amazing actor. For Lawrence Fishburn the Matrix was a high point in an eclectic career spanning voice acting, Emmy Award winning Television, and Theatre. Carrie-Anne Moss has scored starring roles in many films throughout the 2000s and 2010s, but none of her recent work can hold a candle to the prominence she gained through the Matrix. Meanwhile Keanu gained internet attention through his charitable actions, his humble lifestyle, and his general meme-worthiness all while cranking out film after demanding film. The Keanusance kicked off by the John Wick franchise and evolving into roles in Toy Story 4 and the video game Cyberpunk 2077 can be traced back to Keanu’s near unparalleled perseverance and work ethic. When Tank exclaims ‘He’s a Machine’ during Neo’s virtual training regimen, he’s not just talking about Neo (or foreshadowing Neo’s role in the Machine plot to control humanity), he’s talking about Keanu’s non-stop pace that hasn’t slowed since the 80s.

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Hmm? What’s that? You thought you came here to listen to me bash the Matrix sequels because they’re hilariously over-written, over-philosophized, existential rants punctuated by increasingly over-the-top computer-generated slug fests with plot holes the size of Wyoming? Look, Supercultists, you know all that. I know all that. Let’s put it behind us. Instead I’d like to talk about the Wichowski’s and how amaz- what? I’m out of time. Oh, sorry…

Supercult is proud to present, The Matrix Trilogy!

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The Matrix Trilogy Howdy all you Supercultists out there on the interwebz! I’m Bad Movie Professor Cameron Coker (BS in “Keanu Reeves” with a minor in “The Matrix is better if you watch Bill and Ted first”) and I’ll be posting my hype-tacular speeches every week along with some long-lost speeches from past Supercult Shows!

#1990s #Action #Carrie-Anne Moss #Hugo Weaving #Keanu Reeves #Lawrence Fishburn #sci-fi #speech #The Matrix #The Matrix Reloaded #The Matrix Revolutions #The Wachowskis #Will Smith

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ramajmedia · 5 years

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10 Best Jackie Chan Films, Ranked | ScreenRant

There are a select few names in the entertainment industry who have no haters whatsoever, with these names comprising of the likes of Tom Hanks, Paul Rudd, and The Rock - but no-one comes close to the legend that is Jackie Chan.

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With a legacy that became unquestioned two decades back, Jackie is easily immortal in the eyes of his fans, and we have his movies to thank for entertaining us so splendidly. Of his enormous filmography, these 10 entertained us the most by far. You won’t find anything bad in any of these movies, but we’ve ranked them in accordance to how you should schedule your Jackie Chan film binge-watch.

10 Rumble In The Bronx (1995)

A Hong Kong cop arrives in New York, unaware that his presence sparks a larger ploy that leads to an action packed free-for-all. Rumble in the Bronx is credited as the movie that brought Jackie Chan the fame he now enjoys worldwide, and it’s a film you need to see to understand where his film formula was birthed.

Along with the creative action sequences on display, the film also has Jackie play the part of the well-meaning and unintentionally funny protagonist that we’ve all come to expect from him. You can view Rumble in the Bronx as the prequel to Jackie Chan’s worldwide success.

9 Who Am I? (1998)

You just know that Jackie will always be Jackie now that we have Who Am I? as the perfect example of this. Featuring Jackie as a character with his real name, the movie has him surface in the African jungles, where we see the emergence of “Who Am I?”

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It’s a surprisingly moving picture that depicts the protagonist going through amnesia, and the resultant search for his true identity that ensues. The development from his identity as “Who Am I?” back to Jackie Chan is the main appeal for this film, and Jackie’s comedy as a clueless man in Africa is one thing you won’t stop laughing at.

8 CZ12 (2012)

Arriving at a time where Jackie hadn’t been seen in a long time in the action-comedy genre, he made up for his time away by delivering the heartwarming adventure flick called CZ12. It’s a Chinese production, but the spirit of it is the same that worldwide audiences want from Jackie.

The story takes the protagonist and his large group of friends around the world on a whirlwind adventure, and there’s a true sense of camaraderie among the characters, which means that you just love watching the chemistry unfold between them. Although the action is marvelous due to the film implementing its adventure elements, there’s a lot of heart to be found here.

7 Drunken Master (1978)

If you consider Chinese films to be the forerunners to the action-comedy genre, then you have this movie to thank for truly starting it all. Drunken Master was a celebration of technical martial arts, and there’s a lot to be learned here.

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It was the second of two similar films released featuring Jackie around the same time, but this one made a bigger impact due to the “Drunken” style of fighting that Jackie popularized. It’s a funny and breezy kind of film you want to watch when there’s no need for complex storylines, and just the skill and charm of the protagonist is enough.

6 The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)

A young American boy is transported to Ancient China because of his possession of a magical staff, whose retrieval by evil entities sparks an epic quest. In Forbidden Kingdom, we have Jackie play the role of a martial arts mentor figure, although there’s a twist here in that the character is constantly drunk.

RELATED: 10 Classic Comedies That Have Aged Poorly

The main draw, though, is the opportunity to witness Jet Li and Jackie Chan duke it out. The fighting scenes between these two are incredible, and you’ll be left in awe at the finesse these legends display with their abilities. Add to that, there’s a lot of fun and fantasy elements to the film that make it a must-watch.

5 Around The World In 80 Days (2004)

This film got a bad reputation back in the day because of the swerve it took from the source material, but Around the World in 80 Days is a lovely film to watch now that we know not to take it seriously.

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It’s got all the Jackie Chan elements of comedy, charm, and of course martial arts, but adds to that by having a classic premise attached to it. The film also boasts a huge guest star cast, which makes it hilarious to watch in all the scenes featured as Jackie comes across famous figures in the past all kooky enough to love.

4 Shanghai Knights (2003)

Jackie is always on his A-game when paired with a comedic actor who complements the action aspect he brings, and Owen Wilson was a wonderful contrast for him to play off of. Shanghai Knights sees the main protagonists head off the Victorian England, where they deal with various shenanigans that come their way as they stop an attempt to assassinate the Queen.

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The comedy here is a bit more adult-oriented than what Jackie Chan fans are used to, but that only gives you a new light to see Jackie in as the laughs are just as great as they always are. The film makes full use of its gimmick setting, and it’s impossible not to appreciate the effort made in incorporating this into the film-viewing experience.

3 Snake In The Eagle's Shadow (1978)

On occasion, you just want to forget anything that has to do with stories and plots, and just indulge in hard-hitting martial arts. Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow is the perfect film for this mood. The film’s plot isn’t that important, but that only makes the fighting so much more interesting.

It’s more of a subtle insight into the art of Kung Fu, with the movie featuring a very young Jackie as a boy who taps into his true skills to learn the technique of fighting. The film is great for repeated viewings, as you just want to sit back and analyze Jackie’s martial arts wizardry.

2 The Tuxedo (2002)

Speaking of repeated viewings, here’s a movie that will never get old. The premise sees a driver accidentally coming into possession of a super suit, which drives him into becoming a reluctant spy.

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The Tuxedo is easily among Jackie’s most hilarious movies, with the comedy never stopping to catch a break. Paired with a very charming Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jackie is in top form to enchant us with his physical comedy, coupled with a very appealing gimmick that entertains both young and older fans.

1 Rush Hour Film Series (1998-07)

You knew this would be the top as soon as you saw the title, because Rush Hour is as good as it gets when it comes to action-comedy. The immortal pairing of Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker is responsible for delivering laughs across generations, and there will be endless cries for Rush Hour 4 until it finally gets made.

In this series, Jackie surprisingly delivers his most range, as we see him trash talk, show off his comedic wit, engage in hard-hitting action, and even act out in emotional sequences. The Rush Hour series is synonymous with Jackie’s career, and we’ll be watching it again and again with no end in sight.

NEXT: 10 Things That Make No Sense About Two And A Half Men

source https://screenrant.com/best-jackie-chan-films-martial-arts/

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markwatkinsconsumerguide · 5 years

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Consumer Guide / No.90 / Chief Instructor & Head of the Jade Dragon School, Paul Chapman with Mark Watkins.

MW : How did you get into martial arts and why should someone consider signing up for classes?

PC : I started back in the mid 80s when a friend of mine invited me along to a class. Like everyone else, I quickly realised how uncoordinated I was but you soon get a huge sense of satisfaction from learning the movements and skills. Learning to express yourself through movements is very powerful - that's why dance is so popular. With kung fu you are also learning to defend yourself while trying to stay relaxed of body and calm of mind. You are constantly fighting your own habits of being tense in the wrong places and learning to stand and move in a way that is relaxed, yet powerful.

MW : What's involved?

PC : A lot of people think you would need to be fit before you start but that's not true at all. There are many kinds of fitness and people who can run 10 miles or lift heavy weights have no advantage when it comes to kung fu. This is all about learning to release tension that gets in the way of movement and to use your body in a connected and powerful way. This enables you to be more powerful than a larger person. So whether you're seven or seventy you can gain huge benefit from this kind of training. It keeps you fit and healthy well into old age. For the last 15 years I have been teaching in Caversham and now also looking for another venue. The costs vary depending on how many classes you do per week. These range from £28 per month for an adult, or £20 for a child.

MW : Why are self-defence skills important?

PC : I know many people are scared of being a victim of violent crime but no matter what you read in the papers it is still unlikely that you will be. However, you will definitely be a victim of stress, of ill health or a lack of confidence. Seeing anybody who has a truly relaxed self-confidence is a rare thing these days. Yet anybody can gain that feeling. Learning these skills gives you that confidence, it really does. You become far less concerned with what other people say or think about you because you know they cannot really hurt you. You also get a sense of increasing mastery over your mind and body and this gives you huge personal power. I don't think there is any other activity you can do that will boost your confidence as much as this does.

MW : You've also written a book, self-published, tell me about that achievement...

PC : I have actually now written three books. My first book 'Stress Proof Your Body' is about the huge role physical tension plays in our stress and anxiety levels. Basically, it says that the more tension you hold in your muscles the less stress you can cope with and the more anxious you will be. The act of releasing physical tension leads to being able to cope with more stress. However, releasing tension is far from easy. It explains why and gives a set of principles and practices to help you become more relaxed and less anxious.

My second book, 'The Effortless Power of Kung Fu', is an introduction to kung fu. It gives some background into kung fu and the martial arts and then goes on to describe some basic training and techniques that I teach. The focus of training should be about efficiency of movement - attaining more power with less effort and that is where so many martial arts fall down these days. Too many of them mistake aggression and hard physical training for true power.

My third book, 'Training the Tiger of Tai Chi', is about the martial art of tai chi. Many people don't realise that it was developed as a martial art as it is so rarely taught as one today. This book explains why it is no longer taken seriously as a martial art and encourages tai chi teachers to investigate and teach it's marital properties. Tai chi is but a shadow of what it used to be and many of its benefits have been lost. This book explains why.

MW : How do you think you'd fare in the Big Brother house?

PC : To be honest, I have never watched it so I really couldn't comment. I imagine I would just be myself and remain calm inside while chaos goes on around me. Of course that would be boring for the watchers so I expect I'd be voted out quickly. : )

MW : How would you cope if you were marooned on a desert island like Robinson Crusoe? and would you try and escape?!

PC : I have long been interested in nature and am very self sufficient and happy with my own company so I think I would fare quite well. But yes, I would try to escape if I could. I would signal passing ships and even passing satellites by leaving large messages on the beach! I don't think I'd be bored. There would be so much to do to stay alive and I could practice my arts and meditate in peace.

MW : What would be your “Desert Island Discs”?

PC : This is always a tricky one. If you only had 8 they would have to be timeless classics you could listen to over and over again and be of different kinds of music. Led Zeppelin's ‘Stairway to Heaven’ is such a song and that inspired me to pick up and start learning the guitar when I was at school. David Bowie - ‘Life On Mars’ takes me back to the drunken nights of my youth! Elton John - ‘Sacrifice’ is a beautiful song. Eva Cassidy's cover of Sting's song ‘Fields Of Gold’ is hauntingly beautiful. ‘O Mio Babbino Caro’ from Puccini opera is fabulous. Von Suppe's ‘Poet And Peasant’ overture for some great easy listening classics. Rod Stewart - ‘Sailing’, a great song to express your homesickness! Finally, maybe some Cher or Tina Turner but so many to choose from.

MW : What do you never miss on TV or radio?

PC : I tend to watch films, or series, but I start them when the run is finished as I hate having to wait a week for another episode. I'm currently watching Designated Survivor and Game of Thrones. These days you don't have to miss anything as they are all available on catch up TV. As for the radio, I listen to BBC Radio Berkshire or BBC Radio 4. I never miss I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue when it's on. It's been around for donkey's years - but never gets old.

MW : ...and your favourite film, actor, actress?

PC : I don't really have an all time fave film. Jackie Chan's comedy kung fu is always great, although many of his films weren't. I love Helen Mirren - she's into her seventies but is still funny, sexy and sophisticated. I've also seen most of Simon Pegg’s films. I'm now waiting for a film where Helen Mirren plays a cougar who takes Simon Pegg as her lover. Someone please make that film asap. Oh, and put Joanna Lumley in it as well perhaps as Simon's mother.

MW : Where can we find out more?

PC : You can find out more about my classes at www.jadedragonschool.com

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itsjaybullme · 7 years

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Dolph Lundgren Has Planted His Feet Firmly Back in Hollywood, and Has No Plans of Leaving

Per Bernal

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in 2015

He couldn’t stay Ivan Drago forever. The flat-top was bound to go out of style, the Rocky franchise had reached its peak, and besides, he wasn’t even Russian. But here’s the biggest reason why Dolph Lundgren (who’s from Sweden, by the way) had to move on from Drago: Because men get older.

[RELATED1]

Rocky IV hit theaters 30 years ago, in 1985. Hard to believe, right? Lundgren is 57 now, and naturally, he looks different than he did then. The resemblance is there, of course, since he’s still tall and blonde and handsome, but he’s not carrying quite as much muscle, and his skin has weathered a bit.

The most interesting part? Lundgren is actually better now.

Real men age

Per Bernal

Because real men change, mature, evolve, adapt. Their value isn’t tethered to youth. Lundgren was in Europe for the better part of the ’90s and 2000s—out of sight, out of mind to American moviegoers—but he never stopped working, and he never stopped training.

“Comparing myself now to then, I would say I’m a little more skilled now,” Lundgren says. “I’m more proficient in martial arts. Because at that point [training for Rocky IV] I’d given all that up, because I just wanted to learn how to box for the movie, and I wanted to lift weights. I try to keep the martial arts skill because, one, I use it in my movies, and, two, it makes me feel good to be able to walk into a dojo in Sweden, Australia, or America, wherever I am, and not seem like a chump.”

Courtesy Image

“Whatever happened to Dolph Lundgren?” was probably asked thousands of times in America following Rocky IV and his role as He-Man in 1987’s Masters of the Universe. What happened was, he went on to have a successful career as a movie star, with more than 60 total acting roles on his résumé as well as a handful of producing, directing, and writing credits. It’s just that most of this occurred outside the United States. For a good while, he was one of the busiest action stars you never heard anything about, at least not in this country.

Making movie magic

That all changed about five years ago after he landed a role in the action-star-loaded cast of The Expendables and moved back to America. Since then, he’s appeared in both Expendables sequels as well as several other U.S.-based productions, including Universal Solider: Day of Reckoning with Jean-Claude Van Damme and even a one-off appearance earlier this year on the comedy TV series Workaholics. His latest film, Skin Trade, which he produced, co-wrote, and starred in, is scheduled for release May 8.

[RELATED2]

So is it fair to say that Dolph Lundgren has made an American comeback?

“Yeah, that’s fair,” he says. “I was in Europe focusing on my kids. I wasn’t focusing on the business. You have to be in America to do well in show business, especially with the types of movies I do, preferably in Hollywood. There’s a certain energy in the States, and that’s the reason I wanted to come here as a kid when I was only 14 or 15. The last five years, I’ve slowly worked my way back into the business and into the popular culture here, and it feels good. Europe is a great place, but somehow in America if you put in the hard work, you know it’s going to pay off, whereas in other places it’s not so certain.”

Much of the hard work Lundgren refers to happens in the gym. He was very active as a child growing up in Sweden, playing ice hockey and starting karate at a young age. (He earned a third-degree black belt as an adult in 1998.) After moving to America for college on academic scholarships and eventually pursuing an acting career, he got more serious about lifting weights. He trained with Sylvester Stallone for Rocky IV and even worked out for a time in the ’80s with Lou Ferrigno at Santa Monica Body Building Center in California.

His workouts have changed since then, but not all that much. At 6'4", he never had the build to lift prodigious weight; he says he never went above 300lbs or so on the squat or deadlift, even in his younger years. But his training has become more diverse, more fluid than structured.

“I’m more conscious of injuries now than I was when I was 27, so I do more rehab work, more balance work, and more work on the smaller muscles like the rotator cuffs and hip flexors. But I do try to keep some heavy lifting in my routine.

“For being 30 years older, the only difference is I have to take care of myself a little more when I’m not training. In those days you could go out and have 10 tequila shots, stay up all night, and then go to the gym in the morning. If I did that now,” he says with a laugh, “I’d be struggling.”

Per Bernal

He typically trains four or five days a week, implementing a variety of training styles and modalities. For example: He does traditional weight training with the squat, bench press, deadlift, military press—and curls—a couple of days a week; he also mixes in more “functional” training by using a Bosu ball and incorporating strongman lifts, particularly heavy sandbag carries; and he keeps up with his martial arts skill training and hits a heavy bag for conditioning. When he doesn’t feel like lifting in the gym, he loads up a backpack with extra weight and goes for a long hike; he swims when an Olympic-size pool is available to him, such as when staying at a nice hotel; he stretches regularly to maintain flexibility for his martial arts; and he also meditates daily.

“I get bored with too structured of a workout,” Lundgren says. “I think there’s a benefit to having a regimented schedule, like getting up at the same time every morning and having breakfast. But if I have a new workout coming up, it’s exciting for me. If I have the same workout for four weeks, and I’ve done that, it just becomes something like self-punishment. I meditate every morning, and that really helps. It’s like they say: Life becomes a glide instead of an effort. It’s true. Life becomes easier. You don’t hold on to things as much.”

[RELATED3]

Lundgren stays focused

Lundgren’s training may not always be regimented, but he stays consistent with it. Always has. This has obviously helped him land roles throughout the years, most of which have required him to be in shape and proficient at fighting, but Lundgren also credits his active lifestyle—not just the meditation—for improving his mental state.

“All the things I do in my training have helped me feel better and more fit but also more balanced,” he says. “And I think it’s helped me deal with a pretty tough business without getting lost in it. It’s paid dividends for me even in just the last year or two. When I moved back to L.A. and did the first Expendables, I started to put more of an emphasis on my training and meditation and focus a little more on my career. But it takes a while for things to develop. You have to do the roles, and then the movies have to be edited and put out there, and people have to see them. So there’s, like, a two-year or more delay before it gets out there in the ether. I’m feeling good about it now, and people are catching up to it a little more. It gives me a grounded feeling.”

At 57, Lundgren is by no means the old man of Hollywood. Stallone is 68, Schwarzenegger, 67. Lundgren looks forward to having many productive years left in him as an actor, writer, producer, and director. He cites Morgan Freeman and Clint Eastwood as two other Hollywood stars doing some of their best work in middle age and beyond, and he hopes to fall into that category. But as much as he looks to a bright future, he can’t help but look back at himself 30 years ago as Ivan Drago, the role that launched a career still going strong through stints in Europe, Asia, America, and places in-between.

When asked what he sees when he looks at the 30-year-old photos of himself in Rocky IV, Lundgren says, “In painting they used to call it ‘the artist as a young man’—the artist always paints himself younger than he is. There’s a magic kind of energy there when I see pictures of myself as Drago. I see the innocence in my eyes. It’s like a boyishness that’s wonderful and beautiful, but I had to go through so much to get to where I am today. I wouldn’t want to do it again, so it’s a bittersweet experience. It’s like in meditation: You have to accept the impermanence of existence. Nothing is permanent. Everything blossoms and dies. So I think two things: I feel happy for having had the opportunity to be in the business and being in shape, and I’m glad I’m in shape now. I’m trying to squeeze as much out of it as I can. I want to keep acting and producing and directing and being fit…and being thankful that I’m still around.”

[RELATED4]

from Bodybuilding Feed http://www.muscleandfitness.com/athletes-celebrities/interviews/dolph-lundgren-plans-stay-spotlight via http://www.rssmix.com/

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itsiotrecords-blog · 7 years

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We all know that being a stuntman is dangerous, but sometimes we forget just how ridiculous their jobs can get. When they’re not jumping off buildings or being dragged behind horses, they’re being being thrown around by explosions or set on fire. Inevitably stunts go wrong, leading to injury, paralysis or, in these tragic cases, death.

#1 Kun Liu in The Expendables 2 One of the calling cards of the popular Expendables movies is their lack of reliance on computer-generated effects. They’re tributes to the old days of action movies, populated with real stunts and providing a welcome retreat from the modern influx of CGI. Though extraordinary to watch, the lack of computer fakery also increases the risk of injury and death for performers. In October 2011, a explosion scene on a rubber boat being shot for Expendables 2 in Bulgaria went horribly wrong. Two stunt people were seriously injured, Nuo Sun and Kun Liu, with the former able to recover but the latter dying in hospital from his wounds. Filming continued, while the actors publicly expressed their sympathies. The film is dedicated to Kun Liu’s memory.

#2 Lu Yanqing in Red Cliff After enjoying great success in his native Hong Kong, director John Woo moved to Hollywood to direct major films such as Face/Off and Mission: Impossible II. Though he enjoyed an initial burst of wild success, as the years went on the commercial viability and critical success of his films decreased. 2009’s Red Cliff represented a change of tack, a return to his native Hong Kong to mount the most expensive Asian-financed production in history. But something went wrong on set when a second unit crew was shooting a scene in which a small boat collided with an ancient warship, starting an uncontrollable fire and injuring several crew members. Trapped in the blaze, the 23 year old Lu Yanqing quickly burned to death. The film went onto gross a huge amount of money and was a major critical success, but the experience was soured for all by this tragic accident.

#3 Jose Marco in Shark Though the movie has been long forgotten, the unfortunate death of stuntman Jose Marco is remembered for its gruesomeness. While shooting an underwater sequence, a shark managed to break through the protective netting that separated Marco from the animal and maul him to death. The film was directed by cult icon Samuel Fuller, who disowned it when the tragedy was used by the promoters to advertise. It didn’t turn out to be a successful strategy, as the movie was quickly hurried out of theaters and doomed to a lifetime of cable obscurity.

#4 Jack Tyree in The Sword and the Sorcerer Other cast members had reputedly warned Jack Tyree about the 80 foot fall from a cliff he performed for The Sword and the Sorcerer, but the 10 year veteran stuntman did it all the same. He had previously performed in Escape from New York, Alligator, Planet of the Apes, Kojak and The Rockford Files, so perhaps his experience prevented others from completely dissuading him. Tragically, he landed just short of the airbag and was killed on impact. Though the jump is included in the finished film, the impact is not.

#5 Chris Lamon in Exit Wounds In terms of Steven Seagal’s career trajectory, 2001’s Exit Wounds came after the inexplicable success of movies like Hard to Kill and Above the Law, but before the glut of low-budget, direct-to-DVD fare that would follow. It was one of a handful of films that attempted to bridge the gap between Eastern martial arts and mainstream hip-hop, such as Cradle 2 the Grave and Romeo Must Die, a gap that few would think needed bridging. The surprise hit was also the cause of the sad tragic death of stunt performer Chris Lamon, who slipped when jumping from the back of a moving van. Two people were involved in the accident and both collided headfirst with the pavement, though the other performer survived with a concussion.

#6 Paolo Rigon in For Your Eyes Only Considering the amount of death-defying stunts in every James Bond film, in some ways it’s lucky that tragedy hadn’t struck any earlier. It was the last day of shooting a bobsled chase for the film when the sled flipped and 23 year old Paolo Rignon was pinned under it, killing him instantly. For Your Eyes Only may not be considered among the best of the Bonds, but it’s often singled out for praise because of its impressive stunts.

#7 Joseph Leonard Svec in The Right Stuff The Right Stuff is an engrossing movie that tracks the history of aviation and space travel through the eyes of a few brave men. Based on real events, a tragedy occurred when filming a scene recreating a real life incident involving famous test pilot Chuck Yeager. In 1963 Yeager was flying an NF-104 fighter plane when it began to stall and fill the cockpit with smoke. Yeager was able to survive by ejecting, but Joseph Leonard Svec, the stuntman recreating the scene, was not. A smoke canister simulating the smoke from the failing vehicle filled Svec’s helmet, knocking him unconscious before he could eject. The plane then hit the ground, killing him on impact.

#8 A.J. Bakunas in Steel In a rare case where the stunt has become more famous than the movie itself, stuntman A.J. Bakunas attempted a record breaking jump from the 22nd floor of a construction site, a height of 96 meters. He had committed to the decision after his previous world record had been shattered by fellow thrill-seeker Dar Robinson. It was an act of spectacular bravery that would quickly turn deadly. As a young man, Bakunas quit his job as a gym teacher to become a stuntman. Since his first performance in Dog Day Afternoon he had earned a wide reputation for the quality of his falls. His father and a crowd of over a thousand others watched as Bakunas attempted the amazing jump. He performed it perfectly, but the airbag split on impact and he died the next day from his injuries.

#9 Harry L. O’Connor in XxX XxX, perhaps most notable among its young male audience for introducing them to the curves of Asia Argento, was a massive financial success that grossed $277 million and earned a sequel three years later. Unknown to many, however, the production was also marked with a tragic death. Stuntman Harry L. O’Connor was killed when filming a para-sailing scene when he accidentally smashed into a bridge at an extremely high speed. Director Rob Cohen chose to include the footage from the deadly take in the finished film, cutting away before the final impact.

#10 Sonja Davis in Vampire in Brooklyn A notable turkey in the career of horror icon Wes Craven, the critical reputation of Vampire in Brooklyn couldn’t have been helped by the death of one its stunt performers, Sonja Davis. While every accident on this list was undeniably tragic, her unfortunate demise seems especially needless. The stunt was a 45 foot backwards drop, the impact of which should have been cushioned by the airbag she was provided. Because of its poor positioning, however, she instead bounced off it, colliding with the building she had fallen from before smashing into the ground. Reports from afterwards indicated that the airbag had been placed in a different position than she had anticipated, and the bag itself was not equipped to deal with such a large fall. Worst of all, three of Davis’ children were present on set to watch her perform the stunt. No emergency staff were available after the injury, so the crew were forced to wait an agonizing 15 minutes for an ambulance to arrive. Davis was then taken to the hospital, where she spent 13 days in a coma before passing away. Davis had been enjoying an extraordinary career as a stunt performer, serving as a double for Angela Bassett, Janet Jackson and Whoopi Goldberg, and appearing in movies like Timecop and Deep Cover. Around the time of her death, friend and industry professional Bob Minor called her the top black stuntwoman in the business.

Source: TopTenz

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adishpuri-blog · 7 years

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ASTAD DEBOO

Astad Deboo -the lord of contemporary dance is known to captivate audiences with his spectacular performances and creating a dance of his own by assimilating Indian and western techniques. He has created over 70 works in the span of more than four decades. He was the first contemporary dancer to perform at the Elephanta festival, Khajuraho festival and at the Great Wall of China. He was commissioned by Pierre Cardin to choreograph a dance performance and has given performances for the royal families of Sweden, Bhutan, Japan, Thailand and Presidents of India A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Pranab Mukherjee. At 70, his fluid dance movements can put any young dancer to shame. This immense energy within him to continue his passion at this age is commendable.

In a candid conversation, Astad Deboo shares what ignites the fire within him to create and recreate dance styles that are new to the world.

At the age of 70, you are able to express with your body extraordinarily. What keeps you going?

It’s been heard saying, that I am getting old (laughs). But, it’s also heard saying that audience leaves the stage wanting for more every time I perform. The passion and the fire are still there. Life goes under a lot of opposition, but it keeps me challenged. Some people say you have done so much, one cannot harp on that. I will keep doing, what I am doing. I stage 30 performances in a year and have appetite for more. I started learning Indian classical dance at the age of six and at 22 I was in London learning contemporary dance forms. I have been trained in the Martha Graham Technique and the Jose Limon’s technique in New York. In these four decades, I have evolved by learning different dance styles and created my own dance style. My dance style is minimal and controlled. I incorporate Kathak, Kathakali and Butoh (Japanese theatre form) in my dance. I am also trained with Pina Bausch in the Wuppertal Dance Company, Germany and with Alison Chase of the Pilobolus Dance Company.

How rewarding has been four decades of dance journey?

In my journey there have always been surprises. As I began my journey as a solo performer way back in 1969, I left the shores of India in search of a language which I could inculcate into my body to create a style which is distinct. For a decade I was a solo performer. And then I felt restricted. As the gurus were not very welcoming, some of the students who may have wanted to come on board kept away. So, I started looking into the performing arts disciplines. Through last two decades, I have collaborated with various performing disciplines. I have worked with Dadi Pudumjee, Gundecha brothers, Pink Floyd, Tim McCarthy, Pina Bausch, Thang-Ta martial art group, Pung cholom dancers of Manipur amongst others.

How fulfilling has it been working with hearing impaired children and street children?

I have always been very much involved with the deaf community. I started my work with deaf in 1988, with the deaf theatre company The Action Players. They were primarily actors and to whom I introduced dance. Then I taught eight Bharatnatyam dancers from the Clarke School of Deaf, Chennai. They came into my life, when I had already been working with the deaf for 18 years. With this group, I was able to create a full-length 60 minutes solo work with them. And that was quite a fleet for them, but it was challenging for me too. Then I started working with street children of The Salaam Baalak Trust. I began a work with 16 young boys and girls from the street and my first creation with them was ‘Breaking Boundaries’. From there I selected eight young boys who joined me into my production “Interpreting Tagore”. Many of them now work with great masters like Dadi Pudumjee, Anupama Rao and others. Presently I am working with the deaf at Sheela Kothawala school for Deaf , Bangalore. They will be performing in 2017. It’s a challenging process and it has its moments. There is a joy when you see these challenged performers across the boundaries. I also push the envelope in bringing them to a standard which will showcase their talent.

Has there been adequate financial support with the rising popularity?

Support is still a challenge. It’s not only for me but for many of my colleagues. Sometimes it’s a miracle, that how we artists create with practically nothing. In Delhi, I am performing a fresh piece ‘Eternal Embrace’ after four years. My other new performance with Manipuri drummers hasn’t come to Delhi yet. It’s been to all Indian cities. There are no invitations and no sponsors. It is the lack of invitation to come and showcase my work. Even in Mumbai, my home city, I only get to showcase my work once in two years. But, at least I know in two years I have a platform. I am hoping that within sometime I am being able to bring my Manipuri work to Delhi. I still face a lot of problems in India and abroad. I have a name, but it doesn’t equate into funds. I have been producing my own shows in India, but abroad they are sponsored. Sponsors believe I am expensive. But, now my canvas has grown ten-fold, so I charge for what I perform. I believe dancers are the most underpaid of artists. It is sad, that with 47 years of professional performances, I have to face all this.

What are the new exciting collaborations and performances coming up?

My collaboration overseas is too many. I am collaborating with Korean drummers and Mridangam drummers, that will come to India end of 2017 or beginning of 2018. I will be acting and dancing in a play ‘Hamlet’ directed by a Korean director, where I play Hamlet’s father the Ghost, that I will be performing in London. I haven’t done much acting in India; I did it in late 80s in London. I am collaborating with two dancers from Colombia College of Dance in Chicago along with two of my dancers. A Swedish choreographer Rani Nair has been looking into the archives of my solo work. We both will be performing in August 2017 in Sweden. In 2017, I will also be performing in Hyderabad, Thane, Kolkata, Seoul, New York, Sweden, Chicago, Korea and other places.

What is the inspiration behind ‘Eternal Embrace’ that premiered in Delhi at ‘The Natya Ballet Dance Festival 2016’?

‘Eternal Embrace’ is inspired by Sufi poet Bulleh Shah’s poem ‘Maati’. This particular work is collaborated with music composer Yukio Tsuji, a Japanese living in New York. This work was commissioned last year by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York for the Islamic wing. One has read poems of Rumi but I asked some of my think-tank what else we can do. They sent me poems of Bulleh Shah from which I chose ‘Maati’. It was premiered and was well-received. Every creation has its own time frame, that time it was a 45 minutes piece. Sometimes you create a work and with time, when you reflect back you are not happy. Yukio himself wasn’t happy with music. At times I re-visit my earlier work and I realize it was so naïve. So, we completely reworked on it with a different music. I was very keen that I share this work to the Indian audiences. It is my first 60 minute solo performance in last 10 years. I am interpreting the poem ‘Maati’, there is my style of movement, Kathak and Kathakali Abhinayam. Yukio is performing live with instruments like zither, shakuhachi flute and percussion and he also sings. There is element of annihilation in the poem. I have used his thoughts in my work. I am just expressing that there was a war that happened. It is kind of relating to today’s scenario. If you look at what is happening in Syria or at our own Kashmir problem, there is constant war happening even today.

Photo credit – Amit Kumar and Ritam Banerjee

#astad deboo #art online #art blogs in delhi #Art Festival in India

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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Best Martial Arts Movies on Netflix Right Now

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There are so many great martial arts movies on Netflix. Always with a watchful eye on foreign film, Netflix has acquired many of the most talked about titles, fresh off the boat from Asia which remains the cutting edge of the genre. Netflix also has a solid collection of the classics, so many groundbreaking films that launched enduring franchises.

With movies ranging from internationally recognized masterpieces to cheesy and gratuitously ultra-violent flicks, it’s time for “Netflix and Kill” as we take revenge on the villains who dishonored our family and the Shaolin Temple. Here is a selection of some of the latest actioners to have recently become available on Netflix, which longtime fans may have overlooked. And for those newbies to the genre, here are also some of the must-see classics, just to get you started.

Ip Man (2008)

U.S. Only

When Donnie Yen launched this fictionalized account of Bruce Lee’s master, it was so popular that several copycat Ip Man films came out in its wake (Ip Man is a real historical person so there’s no copyright on the character). There were so many that Ip Man films can almost constitute a genre on its own. However Yen’s Ip Man tetralogy is the original and the strongest.

Netflix has all four installments, but start at the beginning. It’s a franchise that demands to be viewed in order. Each film has its qualities, so much so that fans debate which is the best. The storyline builds complexity with each sequel, from the introduction of a child Bruce Lee until Ip Man visits Bruce in San Francisco. That never really happened, but it’s in the latest chapter Ip Man 4: The Finale, which was released on Netflix this summer. Donnie Yen, who appeared as the blind Chirrut Imwe in Rogue One, also recently played Commander Tung in Mulan.

Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy (2018)

Master Z is a spinoff of Donnie Yen’s Ip Man franchise. It follows Cheung Tin Chi (Max Zhang), a rival defeated by Ip Man in Ip Man 3. To ramp things up, Master Z adds Dave Bautista as a devious restaurateur and Michelle Yeoh returning to her martial roots after her scene-stealing roles in Crazy Rich Asians and Star Trek: Discovery.

It’s directed by Yuen Woo-Ping, the renowned fight choreographer behind Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and the Matrix films. He took over as fight choreographer in Ip Man 3, replacing Jackie Chan’s martial big brother Sammo Hung. Master Z aspires to create its own franchise, and it was announced last year that Zhang is on board for a sequel.

The Grandmaster (2013)

Other Ip Man films had to stand out from the shadow of Donnie Yen. While Herman Yau’s The Legend is Born: Ip Man and Ip Man: The Final Fight added cameos of Ip Man’s real-life son Ip Chun, The Grandmaster elevated Ip Man to a critically acclaimed arthouse film. The Grandmaster is from internationally recognized auteur, Wong Kar-wai, and garnered a dozen wins at the Hong Kong Film Awards, plus two Oscar nominations.

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Tony Leung stars as Ip Man alongside Zhang Ziyi and many authentic Kung Fu masters, including Yuen Woo-Ping who serves as choreographer and appears as Ip Man’s teacher. Beyond the choreographic artistry, The Grandmaster is a sumptuous spectacle. Wong knows he has two gorgeous lead actors and frames their faces like a Rembrandt painting. This is one of the most beautiful martial arts films ever made.

Triple Threat (2019)

The ‘Triple Threat’ is three of the hottest martial arts stars crossing the Pacific now: Iko Uwais, Tony Jaa, and Tiger Chen. Jaa recently appeared in Furious 7 and xXx: The Return of Xander Cage (he’s also in the aforementioned Master Z); Chen was a stuntman on Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and the Matrix sequels, and did some uncredited work for John Wick: Chapter 3 Parabellum; Iko is discussed in the next recommendation.

Triple Threat stacked the deck by adding even more martial firepower with Scott Adkins, Jeeja Yanin, Michael Jai White, and Michael Bisping. It’s a throwback tribute to the old days of grindhouse fight flicks like what Cannon Films was putting out in the early ‘80s, updated for the new millennium. For those unfamiliar with any of these action stars, here’s a starting place.

Headshot (2016)

Headshot is an underrated ultra-violent example of what Indonesian fight films are doing lately. It’s like the martial arts take on torture porn. The sets are dark dingy dungeons. There is gratuitous bloodletting, bone breaking, knife slashing, flesh chopping, and ass kicking, with so many slo-mo blood spit-takes that they punctuate all the fights like money shots.

This stars Iko Uwais, who is breaking into Hollywood with appearances in features like Mile 22 and Stuber, a small cameo in The Force Awakens and most notably, the lead role in Netflix’s original series Wu Assassins. What’s more, he’s cast as the ‘Hard Master’ in the upcoming Snake Eyes: G. I. Joe Origins.

Savage Dog (2017)

U.S. Only

The ‘underground no-holds-barred tournament’ is a hackneyed martial plot device, but this one pits today’s top film fighters against each other. The lead is Scott Adkins, who starred in dozens of indie actioners like this, as well as appearing in Doctor Strange and Ip Man 4. Marko Zaror, aka the Latin Dragon, hails from Chile and is most recognizable for playing multiple clone assassins in Machete Kills. And Cung Le is a real-life MMA champion who played a villain in The Grandmaster.

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All three actors sell their strikes by really hitting each other–not at knockout force but enough to injure a normal person. There’s fighting in mud pits, huge folding knives, machete chopping, shotguns, machine guns, grenades, and some excellent hand-to-hand. It’s not a film to watch for the plot. It’s all about the fights.

Haywire (2011)

U.S. Only

Another real-life MMA champ turned actor, Gina Carano, has entered the spotlight again as Cara Dune in The Mandalorian. Haywire was her first feature film leading role, directed by Steven Soderbergh. It’s unheard of for a reputed director to cast an untested female actress as a lead in an actioner like this. And despite conflicts between the director and distributor, as well as the digital alteration to deepen Carano’s voice, her nascent talent for action and screen presence are on full display. Carano made several more indie actioners, along with appearing in Fast and Furious 6 and Deadpool, however Haywire remains her most interesting work.

Furie (2019)

Female Strong films have always been a staple in the martial arts genre. Furie was Vietnam’s biggest box office hit as well as the Oscar International Feature entrée and rightly so. It’s a beautiful film–Vietnam offers such texture, lush villages, boat communities, harsh ghettos, big cities, so colorful exacerbated by brilliant lighting schemes–and everything is cast in reds, blues, greens and purples.

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But it’s Veronica Ngo that makes this outstanding. Ngo plays a debt collector single mom whose daughter gets kidnapped by organ harvesters. As the fights escalate in intensity (as they should in any decent martial arts flick), Ngo pulls off some complex, albeit implausible, long take sequences that are a good dozen moves deep, re-establishing herself as Vietnam’s leading action diva. She also appears in The Old Guard on Netflix.

BuyBust (2018)

Anne Curtis, a Filipino TV star, astonished her fans with this savage actioner. She plays a member of a DEA squad that gets lured into a drug kingpin’s trap in a labyrinthian shantytown and must fight their way out. After a few minutes of setup, the rest is just fight scenes. The poor folk living in the shantytown attack them in droves, like a zombie horde.

Most of this is shot in the dark, in the rain, with weird neon light. It’s a lot of shanking, not crisp choreography but rolling in mud, gritty and brutal. There’s an extraordinary long take action sequence toward the end that earns Curtis her fight cred. For fans of martial arts movies, it’s all about long take fight scenes, because sophisticated choreography takes real skill to sustain.

Shadow (2018)

Shadow is from one of China’s most celebrated filmmakers, Zhang Yimou. It’s an arthouse film that screened at noted international film festivals in London, Toronto, and Venice, and it is opulent cinema. All the sets, locations and costumes are awash with monochromatic filters as a yin-yang parable, a symbolic device that works visually and dramatically.

Flesh tones and candlelight appear especially bright and warm in contrast. So does the blood. It’s a little long-winded for those just looking for action, but the fights are imaginative and artistic, and the overall production is breathtaking. This is wuxia–the romantic Chinese genre of swords and sorcery that underpins so much of Kung Fu cinema.

The Foreigner (2017)

In Hollywood, Jackie Chan is stereotyped for his action comedies despite several serious actioners from Asia. This is the first Hollywood feature that shows Jackie’s ability to do a non-comedic thriller. In The Foreigner, Jackie plays a former special operative that re-activates himself after his daughter is killed in an IRA terrorist bombing. Pierce Brosnan stars as a translucent caricature of Irish politician Gerry Adams.

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These are not Jackie’s signature lighthearted acrobatic fights. Instead this is hard-hitting street fights as Jackie doles out the damage on the road of vengeance. Reminiscent of his films like Police Story: Lockdown and Shinjuku Incident, this is Jackie playing tragic roles, which is challenging for many of his western fans to digest.

Baaghi (2016)

Bollywood has been gaining steadily in the martial arts genre and Tiger Shroff is a prime example. Baaghi showcases India’s indigenous martial art of Kalari, and yes, there are lavish song and dance numbers typical of Indian film. Tiger is a great dancer too. If you’re not into Bollywood, just get through the first hour when the fight scenes unleash.

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Bollywood choreography leans towards one shot, one move action with lots of wirework and overdone flying slow-motion shots, however Tiger is glorious to behold in such shots. He poaches scenes from other martial arts films, even Jackie Chan’s signature end credit stunt fails, called NGs (no goods) in Asia. However, Tiger’s fights are a delicious masala mix of martial arts, worthy of a taste for the uninitiated.

Baahubali: The Beginning (2015)

There is nothing like Baahubali. It was the most expensive Indian film and the highest grossing, spawning a sequel, Baahubali: The Conclusion, as well an upcoming Netflix original series Baahubali: Before the Beginning. It is an unparalleled fantasy film, so visually ostentatious with eye-popping CGI effects and absurd plot twists that it is astonishingly entertaining. The battle sequences are ridiculously corny and creative. There’s song and dance, and silly romance, and some of the most outrageous chariot warfare, sword fights, and insane weaponry ever. Netflix has both Baahubali films in the original Tamil language version and the Hindi version with subtitles.

Wira (2019)

Hairul Azreen is a bright martial newcomer from Malaysia who has starred in several major action films, but this is his first strictly martial feature. It’s another ‘underground no-holds-barred tournament’ with Azreen as the reluctant champion blackmailed into competing. Nevertheless, Azreen is a genuine Taekwondo champion and delivers an extraordinary long take warehouse fight (warehouse fights are another timeworn cliché, but satisfying like comfort food).

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Fify Asmi also shines as Azreen’s fighter sister, and Yayan Ruhian (John Wick: Chapter 3 Parabellum) plays a classic righthand hitman with minimal dialog and maximal impact. The single take drone footage is groundbreaking.

Love on Delivery (1994)

Stephen Chow is known for an irreverent third wall breaking slapstick comedies, called Mo Lei Tau. Most know his CGI-driven parody Kung Fu Hustle (also on Netflix), and Shaolin Soccer. Love on Delivery is an earlier work with the same comic sensibilities playing on classic Kung Fu tropes. Chow plays a coward trying to woo the always cute Christy Chung, the hottest student at his Judo dojo. It’s Chow at his sharpest Mo Lei Tau humor with hairpin comic turns and Easter egg film homages. What’s more, as a pre-CGI film, the cheesy special effects just add to its campiness. If you like Chow, this is a must-see.

The Karate Kid (1984)

The Karate Kid launched a four-film franchise, a Saturday morning cartoon, a redux with Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith, and the YouTube series Cobra Kai, which is now headed into its third season. Netflix has all three of the original Daniel-san (Ralph Macchio) and Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) films (the fourth was a spinoff–The Next Karate Kid–starring a young Hilary Swank as Miyagi’s new student). Nothing beats the original ‘Wax on, wax off’ as Daniel-san, the pioneering martial arts nerd who overcomes his rivals and gets the girl, Ali (Elizabeth Shue), who is way out of his league. The Daniel-san films are all good and follow a continuous story arc, but nothing beats the original.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)

U.S. Only

If Daniel-san was the pioneering martial arts nerd, Scott Pilgrim is the epitome. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is based on a graphic novel and its novel cinematic style rips panels right out of a comic book. Michael Cera plays Scott, a loser who must battle the seven evil Xs to win his love. The film, which just celebrated its 10th anniversary in mid-August, flopped in the theaters because it was way ahead of its time but has since become a major cult favorite.

The Real Martial Arts Behind Cobra Kai and The Karate Kid

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The movie features early performances by Anna Kendrick, Brandon Routh, Chris Evans, and Brie Larson, plus songs by Beck. But it’s the martial arts here because making Cera into a convincing fighter takes a lot of special effects magic and a top-notch choreographer. That magic came from Brad Allen, a former member of Jackie Chan’s Stunt Team, who also worked on the Kingsman franchise and will be directing the fight unit for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Double World (2020)

Director Teddy Chan brings this brand-new visionary wuxia film based on a popular Chinese MMORPG that boasts millions of players. It’s yet another no-holds-barred tournament, but not underground. It’s at the behest of the Emperor, set in a fantasy medieval world with dragons, giant scorpions, and fanciful arms and armor.

Double World is a dazzling piece of eye candy with high-flying wirework fights choreographed by Hong Kong veteran Stephen Tung. It’s like an anime come to live-action, the sort of sensational experience that would’ve been great on the big screen, but the pandemic sent it straight to streaming. Netflix astutely picked it up for the international market.

Mortal Kombat (1995)

U.S. Only

When it comes to video game films, this classic was a game changer. Now celebrating its 25th anniversary this August, Mortal Kombat launched two animated sequels and a live-action sequel with another live-action on the way for 2021. The original film is as cheesy as ever, but still retains its charm.

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The fight choreography is mediocre at best. While the hero (Robin Shou) and villain (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) had martial training as did many of the stunt performers, the other lead actors did not, and it shows. Pat E. Johnson, who is a genuine Tang Soo Do master and choreographed the original Karate Kid, does his best, yet the fight choreography remains dated. Fight scenes have come a long way since then. Nevertheless, there’s that earworm soundtrack that combined techno with traditional Japanese instruments, didgeridoos, and Tuvan throat singing that makes all the fights somehow better. Finish him!

Bloodsport (1988)

The testosterone-fueled battle between Jean-Claude Van Damme and the hulking Bolo Yeung has become fodder for so many internet memes that it has made Bloodsport a ‘must-see.’ This is yet another ‘underground no-holds-barred tournament’ film, but this time it is based on the highly disputed claims of an alleged fighter named Frank Dux. Nevertheless, despite the clichés, it’s a cult classic. Van Damme is at the peak of his physicality and his signature splits remain his gift. And Bolo is at his villainous best, raging like some steroidal psycho beast.

The Flying Guillotine (1975)

The Flying Guillotine is the ultimate medieval assassin weapon, a frisbee hat on a cord that when thrown over a victim, lops off their head which can be retrieved for a trophy with a quick yank. It’s a totally made-up weapon, but as ludicrous as it may be, it had legs. The Flying Guillotine launched a series of sequels and knockoffs, including a 2012 CGI-soaked redux.

Directed by Ho Menghua, who directed a lot of splatter horror films, and starring Chen Kuan Tai, a venerated Kung Fu star with nearly 150 credits, it’s another wuxia classic that became a cult film favorite, so much so that flying guillotines appear in many other successive unrelated films like The Heroic Trio and The Machine Girl.

Opium and the Kung Fu Master (1984)

An anti-drug propaganda film from Shaw Brothers Studios, this stars Ti Lung as Tit Kiu Sam, a real-life Kung Fu master although this story is completely fictitious. Ti Lung usually plays gentlemen swordsmen, but here he delivers a poignant dramatic performance as a master compromised by drug addiction. He also brings some incredible fights, facing off against multiple gangs of opponents alone, showcasing his incredible command of both drama and action. Ti Lung has over a hundred films to his credit, mostly martial arts but some strictly dramatic. This also stars the mighty Chen Kuan Tai and the cross-eyed comic relief Yue Tau Wan.

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978)

One of the most common plot devices in Kung Fu movies is esoteric training. The hero gets violated somehow, then must find some hidden master who trains Kung Fu using the weirdest methods so the hero can take revenge for the finale. Even The Karate Kid follows this storyline, but The 36th Chamber of Shaolin is the King Daddy.

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Gordon Liu plays San Te, a Confucian scholar who flees to Shaolin Temple when his school is outed as rebels by the dastardly Manchus. There he endures an outrageous series of trials to learn Kung Fu, invents a new weapon, the three-section staff, and returns for vengeance. But it’s all about the training methods which comprise the central section of this classic. The film spawned two sequels Return to the 36th Chamber of Shaolin, and Disciples of the 36th Chamber, both of which are also on Netflix.

Legendary Weapons of China (1982)

For weapon aficionados, this is a masterpiece, an epic showcase of cold arm choreography and wuxia cinema. Legendary Weapons of China stars blood brothers Lau Kar-Leung and Lau Kar-Wing, two of the most prominent fight choreographers in the game, displaying their incredible virtuosity with a wide array of traditional Kung Fu weapons in a parade of duels. Backed by Shaw Brothers stable actors Gordon Liu, Alexander Fu Sheng, and Kara Hui, this film was the basis of many of the samples for the Wu-Tang Clan compilation album “Legendary Weapons.”

The Five Venoms (1978)

This classic wuxia directed by Chang Cheh launched the ‘Venom Mob,’ a celebrated team of martial filmmakers. The original stars of The Five Venoms (a.k.a. The Five Deadly Venoms), Chiang Sheng, Phillip Kwok, Lo Meng, Lu Feng, Sun Chien, and Wei Pai, all made dozens of movies each, many together, shaping the industry for generations (Lo Meng made the most with over 90, the most recent being Ip Man 4: the Finale).

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

It’s a tale of intrigue and masked masters of the poisonous styles of centipede, lizard, scorpion, snake, and toad. Among the choreographers was Grandmaster Leung Ting, the last student of the real life Ip Man. Considered one of the top Kung Fu cult favorites, the soundtrack poaches from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Poison Clan rocks the world!

The post Best Martial Arts Movies on Netflix Right Now appeared first on Den of Geek.

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