FLYING SWORD HEROES: Gravity Defying Tales from Taiwan

Selected Highlights! (full schedule at https://www.atproctors.org/flying-sword-heroes-gravity-defying-tales-from-taiwan) The Assassin (2015) 7pm Thursday, Aug. 14 and Friday, Aug. 22 Director: Hou Hsiao-hsien Shu Qi, a Taiwanese actress and longtime veteran of the Hong Kong film industry, plays a veteran assassin, trained from birth to kill for her masters. But now a sense of justice and mercy is beginning to compromise her kill count, making her wonder if the people who polish mirrors and repair robes might be more deserving of justice and mercy than the rich people who order her around. Made with meticulous attention to realism in its combat, clothes, and furniture, this is a gem of a movie, crafted, refined, and polished until it gleams. A Touch of Zen (1971) 7pm Friday, Aug. 15 and 2pm Sunday, Aug. 24 Director: King Hu Star: Hsu Feng (w/Sammo Hung!) Astonishing is the only word for it. This is the kind of movie you surrender to and walk out of the theatre with your soul in better shape than when you came in. Starting as a ghost story, it slowly spins its web as a scholar (Shih Chun) living next door to a haunted house, falls for the woman warrior he first mistakes for a ghost (Hsu Feng). By the time he finds out she’s on the run from the government, he’s caught in her grip and willing to go wherever she goes. And so is the audience, as this movie delivers bamboo forest fights, martial arts transcendence, and Zen Buddhism. This film made Hsu Feng’s ferocious swordswoman a major star and established that King Hu had more on his mind than mere swordplay. The Swordsman of All Swordsmen (1968) Director: Joseph Kuo Star: Polly Shang-kuan Running a breakneck 85 minutes, the film begins with Tsai Ying-jie (Tien Peng) setting out to kill the five martial arts masters who murdered his parents. He’s spent 20 years preparing for this moment, so he’s understandably bummed when things go awry almost immediately and he winds up owing his life to Flying Swallow (Polly Shang-kuan) whose father actually orchestrated the murder of his parents, and also to Black Dragon (Chiang Nan) who tells Tsai that he owes him a duel to the death once his vengeance is served. Bloody, brutal, and full of thorny moral conundrums that can only be solved by killer chopsticks and razor-blade-lined hats, this flick was such a huge hit it spawned two sequels, including “The Ghost Hill,” the crazy climax to the trilogy that we are excited to share on another date. Dragon Inn (1967) 7pm Saturday, Aug. 16 and 2pm Saturday, Aug. 23 Director: King Hu Star: Polly Shang-kuan King Hu’s razor-sharp wuxia landmark turned the lonely desert inn into a blood-soaked waiting room for destiny while setting the box office on fire. When a power-mad eunuch executes a loyal general, the general’s kids become next on the chopping block. But not so fast — mysterious heroes start arriving at the remote Dragon Inn, where the wine flows cheap and the blades fly cheaper. Is that traveling swordsman just here for a drink, or to slice through a dozen assassins before dessert? With more tension than a teapot full of gunpowder, Dragon Inn redefined the martial arts movie, and inspired generations of filmmakers. Reign of Assassins (2010) 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 17 and Saturday, Aug. 23 Co-Directer: John Woo Star: Michelle Yeoh Lady assassin Drizzle (Kelly Lin) knows that it's a cutthroat world, so when she steals the sacred remains of a monk, she doesn’t just make enemies, she becomes one giant target. Her solution? Go under the knife and emerge as...Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”). Reborn as a tofu-slicing housewife, Drizzle settles down with a kindhearted courier and tries to forget the whole murder-for-hire thing. A genre-hopping spectacle, “Reign” delivers gravity-defying action, romantic longing, and some of the most stylish assassins this side of a fever dream. From a nympho bride to a killer with a Technicolor coat, every blade-wielding freak hides a tragic backstory. The Ghost Hill (1971) 7pm Thursday, Aug. 21 Star: Polly Shang-kuan While this is the final installment in the “Swordsman” trilogy, no familiarity with the others is required to have a blast. Polly Shang-kuan reprises her Flying Swallow character, alongside Tien Peng’s Tsai Ying-jie, and this time they decide to storm Hell itself in revenge for the death of Flying Swallow’s dad. After all, when life has been this cruel, you want to speak to a supervisor! Lord Chin, the Ruler of Hell, likes to bathe in boiling oil and he’s guarded by the Left and Right Judges, the Ox Head Demon, the Murdering Wonder Child, and Soul Hunter Yaksha, so this won’t be easy. Fortunately, Flying Swallow and Tsai have a just cause and an entire hobo army to help them crash through the styrofoam caves of doom. Shot by a cinematographer who films fight scenes like he’s storming the beach at Normandy, the visuals come flying at your eyes fast and furious in this delirious, blood-soaked fantasia.

Event Links

Tickets: https://go.evvnt.com/3170528-0

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