In the last two years watching (or at least talking about) the films of the Orient, namely Hong Kong, has been the hip bandwagon for film fans to jump on. Now, I'll admit that I've been right there with them, toe to toe with some gweilo that have fancied themselves too cool for human shoes, and it's not a pretty sight. However, the problem of latching on to a trend is something better discussed in an article about Stone Temple Pilots, I'm here to tell you about my introduction and the Detroit state of the Hong Kong "scene."

Like many other fans of Hong Kong cinema, it was John Woo's The Killer that got me hooked. After that I wanted to know everything there was to know about films from Hong Kong. Yet, my quest for information soon ran into a dead end. I wallowed around in a muck of rumour. I was told that Woo had at least two other films, Hardboiled and Once a Thief but my source was less than reliable. And, after calling every video store listed in the Ann Arbor phone book I was sure that I had been mislead.

Luckily those whippersnappers at "Film Threat" kept me up to date and in the know with a nice article written about Woo while Hard Target was in production. Even "Spin" had something to say on the matter a few months later. By that time I had seen all of the "important" Woo films (those made after and including A Better Tomorrow Part One). Despite the nausea I experienced during Once a Thief, I was still hungry for more Hong Kong films but I was stuck in a rut again without either a good source of videos or a guidebook to quality.

Then it happened. Bless you Jeff Dunlap, roommate and pal of mine, for picking up the first issue (is it the last?) of Colin Geddes' Toronto-based zine, "Asian Eye," a fantastic overview of the works of four major directors along with a whole lot of other reviews of films from all parts of the "Far East." And thank you to "Orbit" which led me to the Evergreen Supply Store on Lahser and Eight Mile in Southfield which boasts the most impressive collection of Hong Kong films, new and old, I have ever seen under one roof.

Now, if you're one of the unlucky people who have not been exposed to Hong Kong films, you're probably in for a treat. Do what I did and see The Killer. Most Blockbuster Video stores have it but don't rent it there, especially if its under the "Cops & Robbers" section because not only is it the shorter version but it's also dubbed. Go ahead, treat yourself to the Criterion Collection edition. Mooch off your friends that have laser disc players and see one of the best films of the Eighties. You might not agree with me, especially if your a stodgy U of M film professor with a penchant for Bergman movies but I'm pretty sure that is the best film to make you see the light. Melodramatic, yes. Silly, perhaps. Incredible, definitely.

After checking out all of the titles "Asian Eye" recommended (except for the Ringo Lam and Tsui Hark movies — but that's an article in itself) I was hungry for more. I didn't want to walk in and blindly pick any title so, after finding all of the movies that looked like they had Jackie Chan or Chow Yun-Fat in them, I started looking for a new source of movie information. I wrote to Mr. Geddes in hopes of retrieving the second issue of "Asian Eye" (for which he still has my money!) but never got a reply. So I tried some of the other zines listed in the back of his. No reply from "Trash Compactor" either but I did get the inaugural issue of "Cineraider" from Richard Akiyama of Hawaii. That's when the roof caved in.

This zine had some useful info about venues for Hong Kong films in Los Angeles so when I make the trip I'll be sure to put it to use and a nice little article about the Pacific Rim Distribution Company but as far as I know, no Asian film has ever played the Southwyck 11 of Toledo, Ohio. The twenty-odd reviews of Hong Kong films were okay too, but...

There in the middle of the magazine was a feature section called "Sex and Zen" in which the more risqué Hong Kong films were reviewed, accompanied with stills from some of the films and publicity shots of some of the more bustier actresses. Okay! Okay! Maybe T&A rating of films are something that "Cineraider" does. That's all fine and good, isn't it? No harm done. I'll just move on to another publication that will provide me with useful, and I should stress the word pertinent, information.

I should have known I was in trouble when I picked up Damon Foster's zine, "Oriental Cinema" from the picture from Raped By An Angel on the cover. Inside were pin-up-type photos of Nina Lee, Maggie Cheung, Sally Yeh, Anita Mui, and Amy Yip, among others. Actually, overall, "Oriental Cinema" isn't that bad of a magazine and it isn't that sexist. Mr. Foster's sense of humor, the actual amount of historical information, and the lack of the term "girls with guns," keep this zine afloat above the "Cineraider" and certainly above the "Asian Trash Cinema" book.

On one hand there is a wealth of information (undercut sometimes by a strange way of cross-indexing and alphabetizing; example: A Better Tomorrow is listed under A, not as "Better Tomorrow, A"), on the other is the term "girls with guns." By sheer bulk alone, the "girls with guns" side wins hands down.

Like his Spaghetti Western book, "Asian Trash Cinema: The Book" by Thomas Weisser is chocked full of sexist remarks. "The girls look great!" is a selling point for more than one of the film reviews. Mr. Weisser even counts "girls with guns" as a distinct genre in the index at the back of the book. He constantly focuses on the features of the actresses in the films which is best demonstrated by the inordinate amount of photos included featuring women (the ratio of photos of men to women is something like 10:1). Just with the constant use of the term "girls with guns," Mr. Weisser undermines his own authority of being a movie reviewer. Did you like it because of the script, direction, or cleavage?

It's sad to say, but one of the better video guides that I've read recently has been the catalog for Far East Flix. Good prices but very bad on answering the phone or returning responses to letters so I can't really recommend the company until they tell me if they have the uncut version of Hardboiled. Also, they seem to use movies being dubbed as a selling point and not an unfortunate circumstance that cannot be avoided.

What is it with the Asian women fetish? I know that it exists but I don't know why. Is it that they have been long associated with being submissive geisha-types? Whatever you yank yer bean to is your own business but I wish that you'd keep it in your pants while writing movie reviews. Otherwise, you end up sounding as sexist as "Film Threat"'s coverage of The Mask and Carmen Diaz's body. I wonder how "girls with guns" fanatics would deal with strong American women characters.

I completely support the notion of kick-ass women taking charge in movies (and, even more, women taking charge in the production of movies). I think it's good that there are so many Hong Kong heroines but they have a long way to go to be completely equal (I'm sure that a true feminist film critic would find a world of problems with The Heroic Trio).

I watch these movies because most of them are terrific. I watch them to learn how another culture makes movies. I watch for acting, direction, editing, story. I don't watch to get my jollies off on Asian women's bodies. I feel that the movies of Hong Kong are a valuable addition to any movie-lover's knowledge of the cinema (and one that might just disappear in a few years), not a new source of unintentional erotica. Sure, some movies are sexy but I don't think that all of these heroines were meant to be masturbated to. Come on, guys, get your minds out of the gutter, out of your old ideas of objectifying women's bodies, and on to the issue at hand; there's some kick-ass movies being made in that little island country and it's worth your while to check them out.

For all your HK video and laser needs, CdC recommends the following stores:

Happy Laser House INC, 1899 E Wattles at John R, (810) 524-4742

Evergreen Supply Company — Complete line of Oriental Groceries and Video Rentals, On Lahser, just N of 8 Mile, Southfield, Tel (810) 354-8181

Zines and Magazines

First, the zines. There are several that deal (almost) exclusively with Hong Kong. Asian Trash Cinema (P.O. Box 5367, Kingwood, TX 77325, $20/4 issues) is a slick, digest-sized quarterly, edited by Craig Ledbetter, concentrating on reviews, interviews, and a virulent letters section. Cineraider (P.O. Box 240226, Honolulu, HI 96824-0226, $10/3 issues), edited by Richard Akiyama, is also digest-sized and issued irregularly. Pick up the most recent issue, #2, for an enlightening piece by Gere La Due. Hong Kong Film Monthly (601 Van Ness Ave., #E3728, San Francisco, CA 94102; $15/6 issues), edited by Rolanda Chu and Grant Foerster, is an 8½ x 7" xerox 'zine (soon to be glossy) with excellent reviews, bios, and reliable filmographies. Oriental Cinema (Draculina Publishing, P.O. Box 969, Sentralia, IL 62801, $3.50/issue), edited by Damon Foster, is a glossy 8-1/2 x 11 rant zine covering Hong Kong, Japan, and points beyond. Another zine we know of but haven't seen is M.A.M.A. (6635 DeLongpre #4, Hollywood, CA 90028, $10/4 issues), edited by Bill Connolly.

The only company we know of that deals exclusively in this material is Gere La Due's Dragon Art (P.O. Box 9307, N. Hollywood, CA 91609). Gere has a wide array of material including posters, stills, lobbies, soundtracks, t-shirts, magazines, and more. As customers ourselves, we can vouch for the quality of her stock and the prices (this field is new enough that a collector can still score primo items without going broke). Write for her catalog.