Author:
John
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Date Posted: 03:17:37 07/07/02 Sun
I have to admit that I don't watch much television. In fact, I think during an entire month my viewing goes something like this: see 3-4 episodes of Mad TV, catch a couple of Now shows with Bill Moyers, watch Nova or Frontline (but only if the subject interests me), and check out the latest episode of Travels in Europe with Rick Steves.
So, when I moved last September I decided to redirect the $468/year cable TV bill toward my travel fund. Let's see, $39 a month for basic cable that I don't watch much of or a trip to Thailand? My courier flight is only $400 during peak Summer travel season and cheaper or free during the rest of the year. Easy choice.
I do admit that when I had cable I did watch something every couple of days, primarily Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Travel Channel and Comedy Central. The choice to drop cable was made much easier because the company here only includes the Sci Fi channel in their Premium Digital Package. The prices are already insulting enough, so I refused to continue supporting the greedy cable bastards.
Do I even need a TV? Hell, yes! I still have a VCR, a laser disc player and DVD. When I want cheesy TV I pull out an old episode of Mystery Sciene Theatre 3000. God I love that show. I collected about 30-40 when I had cable. I also have a few other shows and of course my movies. I wish I had Babylon 5 on tape. I have a few of the movies, but none of the episodes like Curt does. Maybe I can borrow some of those some day, eh Curt?
When I want a little cheap home entertainment I read or I rent a movie. Now that I'm broke and living alone again I have A LOT OF TIME AND NEED FOR CHEAP ENTERTAINMENT. I've been averaging about 10-14 movies per week for the last six months thanks to 2for1 rentals on Tue & Wed.
I am fortunate to have the best damn video store only a couple of miles away. They have adopted DVD with a vengeance and if it has been released in that format this store will have it. They also take suggestions on purchases and I'm told that if you ask for it and it's made on video the store will buy it. So far they've purchased all of the 20 odd films I've requested. They have an incredible foreign film collection too.
Well, given the rate at which I am watching these things it's only natural that I would eventually have to find new film frontiers to conquer. One day, in despiration for something new and unusual I looked through the Hong Kong section. No, I'm not a big Jet Li fan and although Bruce Lee was an amazing man I don't care for his films. I'm also not terribly interested in seeing a Chinese version of a Quentin Tarentino shoot'em up film, which seems to be what about half of the films in this section looked like. However, the other half dealt with sword wielding warriors and chinese mages. They looked like fun, and to my surprise they truly were!
One of my favorite films (before discovering Hong Kong films) is Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I bought the DVD the day it came out. I had never seen a movie like it before and I loved every moment of it. Well, now I have found the origins of this film in the Hong Kong cinema. This is a world of magic. Chi energy (as in Tai Chi, accupuncture/accupressure, and Feng Shui) is real. People can fly, carried by the power they have mastered. Kung fu is made deadlier by mystical forces. Ghosts and monsters exist. It's all very much like a Hercules film or Jason and the Argonauts, but here we're dealing with Chinese myths instead of Greek.
My first rental turned out to be one of the best of them all, Chinese Ghost Story III. My reasoning went something like this. I wanted something with the supernatural and not just fight scenes. Any film worth making sequels to probably has something going for it (I admit this isn't a strong argument) and so the Chinese Ghost Story films were probably popular with the audiences. Parts I & II were usually rented which is also a good sign. Being a purist I would normally dread spoiling a good series by watching it out of order but I have to admit that with no previous experience with these films I had rather low expectations and didn't really care what got spoiled because I thought I would never get around to seeing the others.
I loved this movie. I give it a strong (9). The surprising thing about this series and most of the Hong Kong films is the excellent humor laced throughout. The films are fantasy and just when they are about to take themselves too seriously they are saved by some fine humor.
I've learned a great deal about Chinese myths and folklore by watching these films. Their culture is incredibly different from ours and when you begin to watch these films or read their stories it will seem almost like learning about people on another planet. I love this aspect, as well.
I ended up watching parts I & II also, all in reverse order and I can tell you that this is the best way to see them! The story doesn't evolve from film to film. Essentially, everyone loved the first film and so they made more in the same mold, making them better and funnier. If you really like number III then watch the other two for more of the same, but know that they will not be quite as good as the last.
The idea is that our main character seeks shelter in an old abandoned temple and encounters the ghost of a beautiful woman whose spirit is bound to the earth because the evil villain has not laid her ashes to rest, but holds them in a secret place thus controlling her to some extent for evil purposes. The ghost is played by the gorgeous Joey Wang in all three films. The evil sorcerors are always great villains and the hero always has some powerful ally such as a Taoist Priest, a Buddhist Master, or a great swordsman. The magic flies fast and furious, just like the weapons and the fists. All in all, great fun.
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