Hey, everybody! It's achillesgirl.
Wait, don't run away! I'm just dropping in to write this blog for Two Fisted Podcast, an Asian Action and Horror podcast hosted by Amber aka The Ninjasquid and me, Sylvia aka achillesgirl.
This post is a visual companion piece to the Two Fisted Podcast Episode about Wang Lung Wei's 1985 film Hong Kong Godfather. Oooh, doesn't that sound fancy?
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| Original Movie Poster - "East Tsim Heroes" Yeeeeaaaaah. |
The source for the Wang Lung Wei pre-Shaw biography is the article below.
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| I believe this is from a circa 1981 Southern Screen magazine. |
It's too blurry for me because I'm just a novice reader. If anybody can find a clear scan, I would be delighted to translate the whole thing and post it on my blog.... or better yet, if you'd like to translate it then I'd be ever so happy and grateful. Below is another article I (or you) need to translate.
If you're an uber-nerd like me, you freak out because the credits do not appear on the Celestial remaster. Never fear; you can see the film's original opening credits here:
Big thanks to Sam Shimada for finding the video for me. The original closing credits can be seen here:
And now for something really cool!
Below is our interview (edited) , conducted via email in April 2012, with Wayne Archer about his participation in Hong Kong Godfather, as well as some other neato background information. Big thanks to Mr. Archer for his generous agreement to be interviewed!
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| ~with Leung Kar Yan in the final fight scene~ |
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| Poor Wayne Archer! ...killed by Norman Tsui Siu Keung. |
Initially while I was in the UK, I studied karate, taekwondo and a little wing chun and lau gar, which provided a good foundation. But my true passion was traditional Chinese kung fu and especially the weapons of Chinese martial arts. I did not agree with the system of teaching that weapons could not be learnt for many years. While I was never a great fighter, I truly believe I learnt more watching kung fu movies and practicing what I had seen alone. I spent many hours on the lawn with my weapons, practicing. I managed to kill an area of the grass by my constant practice. I rarely went out, except to my classes. I guess I would have been classed as a sad loner by most, but I never cared.
Entering the HK film industry
Hong Kong Godfather was my first film. I got the opportunity when we went to the Hong Kong nightclub "Hollywood East". As fans of Hong Kong cinema, we knew this was at that time a popular hangout for the movie stars. For me, meeting the stars I had seen on screen for so many years was an honor. We bumped into Tsui Siu Keung there and started talking. Tsui told Victor Appiah, a friend of mine from London, that they needed Westerners for a new movie so he arranged to go for a casting.
I did not intend to cast. I just wanted to visit the studios because I was a big fan of Shaw's kung fu movies. But while I was there, Wang Lung Wei asked me to do a short action sequence with the fight coordinator. At that time my kicking ability was fairly good, especially in the early days when there was not the influx of Western martial artists that would follow later. I think they were quite pleased with my performance and offered me the part, which was frankly a shock.
We were offered HKD 400.00 per day but frankly, this was irrelevant. I would have done it for free just to appear with the people from the movies I loved. Just to be having access to the Shaw Brothers lot was payment enough, as this place was like a Mecca to a fan such as myself.
Filming the final fight scene in Hong Kong Godfather
Actual filming was not so long but there was a lot of waiting around. Most of my time was dealing with assistants and the stunt team. No real injuries were suffered apart from a few bumps to the head. The worst was that I had been to the beach the day before and my back was badly sunburnt, so falling down a flight of stairs was not ideal. As is typical of Shaw Brothers, the copious amounts of blood made my suit beyond even the best dry cleaners.
As for the film making process, I guess it was pretty standard. Shaw's, and especially the triad genre, was pushing the boundaries as far as possible in terms of violent action, which was just routine and expected in those movies.
For any martial artists out there who thinks it's easy to film fight scenes, it's not. I will be the first to admit that most Westerners cannot perform like that even the most inexperienced Hong Kong actors who know little or no martial arts, except for the few notable exceptions who I won't need to mention, as fans of Hong Kong movies will be well aware who they are. As for myself, I had a hard time with it, and I know many others did too. Hence a lot of stunt doubling. Not so much because they weren't good martial artists but the timing and fluidity was a real issue. Many could not come to terms with this, especially myself.
You can read another interview with Mr. Archer on the Golden Ninja Warrior Chronicles blog. He also generously allowed us to post these behind-the-scenes photographs taken by him during filming. Too much awesome!
Actual filming was not so long but there was a lot of waiting around. Most of my time was dealing with assistants and the stunt team. No real injuries were suffered apart from a few bumps to the head. The worst was that I had been to the beach the day before and my back was badly sunburnt, so falling down a flight of stairs was not ideal. As is typical of Shaw Brothers, the copious amounts of blood made my suit beyond even the best dry cleaners.
As for the film making process, I guess it was pretty standard. Shaw's, and especially the triad genre, was pushing the boundaries as far as possible in terms of violent action, which was just routine and expected in those movies.
For any martial artists out there who thinks it's easy to film fight scenes, it's not. I will be the first to admit that most Westerners cannot perform like that even the most inexperienced Hong Kong actors who know little or no martial arts, except for the few notable exceptions who I won't need to mention, as fans of Hong Kong movies will be well aware who they are. As for myself, I had a hard time with it, and I know many others did too. Hence a lot of stunt doubling. Not so much because they weren't good martial artists but the timing and fluidity was a real issue. Many could not come to terms with this, especially myself.
You can read another interview with Mr. Archer on the Golden Ninja Warrior Chronicles blog. He also generously allowed us to post these behind-the-scenes photographs taken by him during filming. Too much awesome!
A big shout out to image archivist Greg Freeman for his help accessing the above photos.
There is simply not enough time or space to discuss everything about Hong Kong Godfather but here are what I think are fan fave highlights:
Our bud Sam Shimada posted a cool video tour of the Wing On Gong Si shopping mall where Hong Kong Godfather (and several other HK films) was filmed. He also has a very cool Asian cinema blog with tons of good HK cinema stuff.
Steve at Chopsticks on Fire wrote this fun blogpost: Five Things to Love Abut Hong Kong Godfather
...so I had to immediately jump on his bandwagon and write this: Five More Things to Love About Hong Kong Godfather. See Sek Kin's tube socks in their full glory!
Steve'b blog is Chopsticks On Fire . There's more party over at Steve's youtube channel, drunkenmonkeykungfu.
Check out Steve's bitchin' tribute video!
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| Johnny Walker and Siu Fung |
Two Fisted Podcast would also like to thank the following magnificent bastards for all their help, encouragement and support:
The illustrious Ken Brorsson from the Podcast On Fire Network. Without Ken, there would be no us. It's just that simple and amazing.
The wonderful NYAFF translator Frank Djeng (also a core member of the old Tai Seng Entertainment company) for his "Learn Movie Cantonese" segment. If you have any questions about his lesson on 大
Also, Shaw Studios and Venoms expert Tom Fardy is on facebook. Thanks for your input, Tom.
My bro Brian from Cool Ass Cinema Richard Tronsden, Paul from Chanbara Spurt, and The Gentlemen's Guide to Midnight Cinema and Byron Brauner. John Shelton, who is always there for me with ideas, music and support.
Go have fun with Yuen Biao's Face, Levi Boldock and The Beardy FB Page. Our sister-in-arms, Dangerous Meredith Lewis has a great action analysis blog!
Korean popstar PSY fuels me. Go watch him Right Now!
Hong Kong Godfather film information is on HKCinemagic and that imdb page. You can youtube the crap out of this movie but I suggest the Celestial restored film with the original Cantonese soundtrack on Amazon because quality is important.
Please shoot the shit with us, Ninjasquid and achillesgirl, on our facebook page The Heroic Sisterhood. I get so bored, please talk to me.
Two Fisted Podcast tweets here. You can email us at twofistedpodcast@yahoo.com.
Visit our podcast network website at Podcast On Fire and the Facebook page.
And listen to the Hong Kong Godfather podcast!
Comments welcome!
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| Cheers! |
