Subject: Hong Kong Video FAQ part 2
Date: 2 Apr 1996 09:40:48 GMT
Summary: Everything you wanted to know about finding Hong Kong movies on video

     This company produces the worst-looking tapes from Hong Kong, which is
     too bad since they release a lot of good movies.
Adress

Mei Ah Video Production Co.

Language
        o Tapes: Cantonese
        o Laserdiscs: Cantonese / Mandarin
Subtitles
     Chinese and English
Letterboxing
        o Tapes: All recent releases are letterboxed; older ones are not
        o Laserdiscs: Yes
Hi-Fi sound
        o Tapes: No
        o Laserdiscs: Yes
Tape copy protection
     No
Subjective picture quality (1-10)
        o Tapes: 7-8
        o Laserdiscs: ?
Notable releases
     Drunken Master II; Once Upon a Time in China III; Green Snakes; many
     Chow Sin Che movies. But beware: they also release a lot of
     made-for-video stuff.
Other comments
     One of the better Hong Kong video labels; many good movies, good
     technical quality
Adress
     Unit 15-28 17/F
     Metro Center Phase 1
     32 Kam Hing Street
     Kowloon Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong
     tel 754 28 55, fax 799 36 43

Ocean Shores

Language
        o Tapes: Cantonese
        o Laserdiscs: Cantonese / Mandarin
Subtitles
     English and Chinese
Letterboxing
        o Tapes: Mostly not; some very recent releases are letterboxed
        o Laserdiscs: ?
Hi-Fi sound
        o Tapes: No
        o Laserdiscs: ?
Tape copy protection
Subjective picture quality (1-10)
        o Tapes: 4-6
        o Laserdiscs: ?
Notable releases
     What Price Survival; various schlocky b-movies; Farewell to my
     Concubine
Other comments
     This company's heydays are long since over; they have very few
     interesting releases nowadays, but they have made some interesting "art
     house" releases recently
Adress
     Suite 2103-6 Hang Lung Centre
     2 Paterson Street
     Hong Kong
     Fax: 8908779

Star Entertainment

Language
        o Tapes: Cantonese
        o Laserdiscs: Cantonese / Mandarin
Subtitles
     Only began subtitling recently (English and Chinese) - most releases
     don't have subtitles
Letterboxing
        o Tapes: Yes
        o Laserdiscs: Yes
Hi-Fi sound
        o Tapes: Yes
        o Laserdiscs: Yes
Tape copy protection
     Recent releases are copy-protected
Subjective picture quality (1-10)
        o Tapes: 9-10
        o Laserdiscs: ?
Notable releases
     Most Jackie Chan movies; Once Upon a Time in China I and II
Other comments
     Technically, the most consistently high-class of the Hong Kong
     companies
Adress

Universe Laser & Video

Language
        o Tapes: Cantonese
        o Laserdiscs: Cantonese / Mandarin
Subtitles
     English and Chinese
Letterboxing
        o Tapes: Yes (with a few exceptions)
        o Laserdiscs: Yes
Hi-Fi sound
        o Tapes: Yes (but sometimes the sound is distorted)
        o Laserdiscs: Yes
Tape copy protection
     Older tapes are copy-protected; newer usually not
Subjective picture quality (1-10)
        o Tapes: 8-9
        o Laserdiscs: ?
Notable releases
     Heroic Trio (one of the few that were not letterboxed on tape!); Fong
     Sai Yuk I and II; The Bride With White Hair
Other comments
Adress

Malaysia

Video system
        o Tapes: PAL

Video releases are very quick in Malaysia, which makes the country a popular
source for bootleggers. Tape quality varies a lot, even on legal releases.
Official tapes are recognized by their Bahasa Malaysian subtitles, and often
have commercial breaks. There are also a lot of black-market tapes; these
are ususally uncut and without Malaysian subtitles.
Official Malaysian releases are usually heavily censored for both violence
and nudity, and also often edited down for other reasons (to fit on shorter
tapes?)

Kavein Video

Other comments
     "They are one of the major tape distributors in Malaysia. They have
     absolutely the worst transfers of any company I have ever seen. They
     seem to go out of the way to find the worst reels of all the release
     prints and assemble them to make a film. It seems to be a point of
     pride to them that at least 50% of the titles are off screen, and
     frequently the picture just slides off the screen, leaving, for
     example, a couple of inches of black at the top."
     - Louis Smogor (paradox@depauw.edu)

Solid Gold Video

Language
        o Tapes: Cantonese
Subtitles
     English, Chinese and Malaysian
Letterboxing
        o Tapes: No
Hi-Fi sound
        o Tapes: No
Tape copy protection
     No
Subjective picture quality (1-10)
        o Tapes: 5-7
Notable releases
     Heroic Trio; Full Contact
Other comments
     Cool kitschy cover art
Adress
     The Solid Gold Publishers SDN
     BHD No 78
     Jalan Gumabk
     Kuala Lumpur
     Malaysia

Speedy Video

Language
        o Tapes: Cantonese
Subtitles
     English, Chinese and Malaysian
Letterboxing
        o Tapes: No
        o Laserdiscs:
Hi-Fi sound
        o Tapes: Yes
Tape copy protection
     No
Subjective picture quality (1-10)
        o Tapes: 5-6
Notable releases
Other comments
     Also sell PAL transfers of Hong Kong laserdiscs
Adress
     29 & 31, Jalan 1/76, Desa Pandan
     Jalan Kampung Pandan
     55100 Kuala Lumpur
     Malaysia

Triumph Success

Language
        o Tapes: Cantonese
Subtitles
     English, Chinese and Malaysian
Letterboxing
        o Tapes: No
Hi-Fi sound
        o Tapes: Yes
Tape copy protection
     No
Subjective picture quality (1-10)
        o Tapes: 5-6
Notable releases
Other comments
Adress
     Associated Video Distributors SDN BDH
     No. 338, 1st Floor, Wisma Sys
     Jalan Raja Laut
     50350 Kuala Lumpur
     Malaysia

Taiwan

Video system
        o Tapes: NTSC
        o Laserdiscs: NTSC

Video releases in Taiwan are usually very quick, often several months before
the Hong Kong release. Also, virtually all Taiwanese releases are subtitled
in English. This, coupled with the fact that their videosystem is NTSC,
makes Taiwan a popular source for US bootleggers.
Unfortunately, I don't have access to any Taiwanese releases. If you have
any info, please write me!

USA

Video system
        o Tapes: NTSC
        o Laserdiscs: NTSC

The USA Hong Kong movie market is dominated by NYUE Enterprises on the East
coast and Tai Seng Marketing (formerly Rainbow Audio and Video) on the West
coast. Apparently, Tai Seng hold the US copyright and license out movies to
NYUE. There's also World Video in New York, which has a couple of
interesting titles. Between them, these three companies seem to have
released just about every Hong Kong movie made in the last 10-15 years.

Quality on the tapes from these companies varies, usually becuase of the
quality of the master they get. Since the HK manufacturers are moving
towards letterboxed, subtitled releases the US tapes will probably also get
a boost in quality.

NYUE Enterprises

Language
        o Tapes: Cantonese
Subtitles
     English and Chinese
Letterboxing
        o Tapes: Varies, but mostly not on the tapes I've seen
Hi-Fi sound
        o Tapes: No
Tape copy protection
     No
Subjective picture quality (1-10)
        o Tapes: Mostly 5-6; recent releases are better
Notable releases
     A Better Tomorrow; Mr. Vampire; Zu Warriors; many others
Other comments
     According to Tai Seng, NYUE is a distributor that buys from Tai Seng.
     NYUE don't sell directly to customers outside the US, but you can get
     their tapes from various mailorder companies.
Adress
     59-13 68th Ave.
     Ridgewood NY 11385
     USA
     (see Hong Kong Movies Around the World for more addresses to NYUE
     offices)

Tai Seng Marketing

Language
        o Tapes: Choice of Cantonese or Mandarin (?)
Subtitles
     English and Chinese
Letterboxing
        o Tapes: Some recent releases are letterboxed
Hi-Fi sound
        o Tapes: ?
Tape copy protection
     No
Subjective picture quality (1-10)
        o Tapes: ?
Notable releases
     Most recent Hong Kong movies are available from Tai Seng
Other comments
     Previously known as Rainbow Audio & Video. Accepts no credit cards,
     does not sell outside of USA.
     Recently, Tai Seng have started to market tapes and laserdiscs with
     yellow English subtitles, for the non-Asian market. The prices are in
     the $40-50 range, and this is a provisional release list (supplied by
     Martin S., msauvag@mtl.net):
        o 01- March/April: Organized Crime and Triad Bureau
        o 02- May: Wing Chun
        o 03- June: The Heroic Trio
        o 04- July: Executioners aka Heroic Trio 2
        o 05- August: The Bride With White Hair
        o 06: September: The Bride With White Hair 2
     "Century Home Entertainment is the sole and exclusive licensee of many
     Hong Kong produced video motion pictures. Century Home's exclusive
     marketing agent is Tai Seng Video Marketing, Inc., Tai Seng is the U.S.
     largest distributor of Hong Kong motion pictures and television
     programs reproduced on videotape and laser disc. The Tai Seng movie
     videos include the distribution of programs from Hong Kong's largest
     motion picture producers, including Golden Harvest, Win's
     Entertainment, Mandarin Films, Wong Jing's Workshop, United Filmmakers
     Organisation and Sam Po Film Company." - Linda Lew, Tai Seng Video
     (llew@taiseng.com)
Adress
     170 South Spruce Avenue
     Suite 200
     South San Francisco, CA 94080
     USA
     phone: 1-800-888-3836
     San Francisco numbers:
     phone:(415) 871-8118
     fax: (415) 871 - 2392
     (Only wholesalers can order by these phone numbers)
     e-mail: llew@taiseng.com

The Voyager Company (The Criterion Collection)

Language
        o Laserdiscs: Cantonese
Subtitles
     English
Letterboxing
        o Laserdiscs: Yes
Hi-Fi sound
        o Laserdiscs: Yes
Subjective picture quality (1-10)
        o Laserdiscs: 10
Notable releases
     John Woo's The Killer and Hardboiled; hopefully Bullet in the Head is
     on the way (but don't hold your breath!)
Other comments
     Definitive laser-disc editions of classic films, with lots of
     supplementary material
Adress

World Video & Supply Inc.

Language
        o Tapes: Cantonese
Subtitles
     English and Chinese
Letterboxing
        o Tapes: No
Hi-Fi sound
        o Tapes: No
Tape copy protection
     No
Subjective picture quality (1-10)
        o Tapes: ?
Notable releases
     Tsui Hark's early cannibal oddity We Are Going To Eat You; The Romance
     of Book and Sword
Other comments
Adress
     150 Executive Park Blvd.
     Suite 1600
     San Francisco, CA 94134
     USA
     Fax: +1-415-468-1381

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bibliography

Books

The Asian Film Industry

John A. Lent
Christopher Helm Ltd. 1990
ISBN 0-7470-2000-0

Good chapters on virtually every film-producing country in Asia, and the
Hong Kong bit is interesting.

Asian Trash Cinema: The Book

Thomas Weisser
Introduction by Craig Ledbetter
187 pages. B/W photographs. Colour cover.
ATC/ETC Publications PO Box 5367, Kingwood, Texas 77325, USA.
ISBN : None given
USD 19.95
(Available from Video Search of Miami)

Contents :      A-Z listing with critique
Director Index
Genre Index

Reprints from the Asian Trash Cinema fanzine (with errors corrected), plus
new reviews. The author often seems more interested in gore and nudity than
cinematic merit; wether you consider this a good or a bad thing is a matter
of taste. But if you like the magazine, you'll like the book. A second
volume is probably out by now.

From Bruce Lee to the Ninjas - Martial Arts Movies

Meyers, Harlib, Palmer
Citadel Press 1985
ISBN 0-86369-474-8

This book is great if you want to read about the classic kung-fu films -
Shaw Brothers, Bruce Lee, etc - but unfortunately it stops short when the
fun really begins, ca. 1985.

The Encyclopedia Of Martial Arts Movies

Scarecrow Press
USD 69.50

According to the authors:
"The Encyclopedia provides all the information available to the authors on
nearly 3,300 films, covering the genre from the 1920's through the summer of
1994. Entries include a listing of the production company, the cast and
crew, distributors, running times, reviews with star ratings wherever
possible, and alternate film titles. A list of Japanese film series, and one
of the stars' pseudonyms, in addition to a 7,900 name index, are also
included."

This is a library reference book, but it can be ordered from J.A.R.S Video
(see the mailorder section).

The authors can be reached by e-mail at: bogies1@aol.com

The Essential Guide to Hong Kong Movies

Authors : Rick Baker & Toby Russell
Foreword : John Woo
315 pages, B/W photographs. Colour cover.
Eastern Heroes Publications, PO Box 409, London SE18 3DW, UK.
ISBN : 1-899252-00-2
GBP 12.99 - USD 26.00
Originally limited to 1000 copies, but a new printing will appear
in August 1995. There's also an American edition on the way,
from St. Martin's Press.

Contents :      Kung Fu/Swordplay (A-Z listing)
Modern Day Action (A-Z listing)
Erotic/Fantasy/Horror (A-Z listing)
Hong Kong Film Personalities Directory

Each movie gets a star rating and a paragraph detailing the main actors and
a plot outline. Many illustrations - film stills and publicity shots.
A thick, slick book which is a good place to start if you've just got into
HK movies. My main criticism is that many crap movies get way too good
reviews, and the bogus renaming of some films (e.g. The Last Blood to
Hardboiled II and Burning Paradise to Once Upon a Time in China V!) It's a
good but slightly unreliable reference book.

The Essential Guide to Hong Kong Movies vol. 2: The Best of Eastern Heroes

140 pages, with full colour sections
GBP 7.99
USD 25 (including p&p, from the EH shop)

A compilation of articles from the first 19 issues of Eastern Heroes
magazine.

Hong Kong Action Cinema

Author: Bey Logan
191 pages, B/W & colour photographs.
Titan Books, 42-44 Dolben Street, London SE1 0UP, Great Britain
  (send large stamped SAE for mail order catalogue)
ISBN: 1 85288 540 7
GBP 14.99

Chapters: 1. In the Beginning: From Peking Opera to a Shaw Thing
          2. Bruce Lee: The Dragon Discovered
          3. Lau Kar Leung: The Undisputed Martial Arts King
          4. Jackie Chan: The Clown Prince of Kung Fu
          5. Samo Hung: The Multi-Talented Star
          6. Chinese Ghost Stories: The Far Eastern Flights
             of Fantasy
          7. Heroic Bloodshed: The Ballistic Ballet of John Woo
          8. Comedy Capers: Carry On Out East
          9. Fighting Feamles: The Far East's Favourite Females
             of Fury
         10. The Next Generation: New Dragons Rising
         plus glossary and bibliography

This is it - the first comprehensive book to cover modern day Hong Kong
action cinema as well as its history! Previous books have either been
collections of film reviews, or have been too old to cover the exciting last
ten years. This well-made book is the perfect introduction for beginners,
and even if you know every fact in it it's still worth getting just for the
picture material.
A US edition can be expected to turn up eventually.

Kung Fu - Cinema of Vengeance

Author: Verina Glaessner
Lorrimer
ca. 1974
or:
Bounty Books
ISBN 0-517-518317
printed 1974

I haven't seen this book from British publisher Lorrimer, which specialized
in horror/cult movie litterature in the 1970's, with books like Italian
Western: The Opera of Violence and Cut: The Unseen Cinema. But it should be
interesting, considering the quality of other Lorrimar books.

The Martial Arts Films

Author: Marilyn D. Mintz
Publishers: A. S. Barnes & Co. Inc, Cantebury, NJ 08512, USA
            Thomas Yoseloff Ltd, Magdalen House, 136-148 Tooley Street,
              London SE1 2TT, UK
ISBN: 0-498-01775-3

An academic, but readable, book printed in 1978 that discusses the use of
martial arts techniques in film and television. The book is split into 3
sections : Comedy & Tragedy; Action & Philosophy; Technique & Aesthetics.
American, British, Chinese and Japanese films from the 1920's to the 1970's
are covered.

Includes a selected filmography and useful bibliography, as well as over 200
b&w stills and posters.
- Ian Parkin (twod@tdl.com)

Offbeat Video Sourcebook

Author: Dennis L Murry (murry@agora.rdrop.com)

US$ 24.95 ppd from:
Offbeat Publishing
1972 N.E. Third St.
Suite 252
Bend, Oregon 97701

This ringbound book lists an amazing 2500 video sellers, from "floorcovering
instructional videos" to (ahem) "Prehistoric Bimbos in Armageddon City" with
Asian videos inbetween. Not light reading, since it consists mostly of
addresses with a company-supplied description, but if you're on the lookout
for something special in the way of videos it's worth a look.

Magazines and fanzines

Asian Eye

253 College Street #108
Toronto, Ontario
Canada  M5T 1R5

price: $7 including Canada/US postage (payable to Colin Geddes)

The first issue is recommended as a very good starting point if you want to
read more about Hong Kong movies. And a second issue is out after a long
wait:
"I do not exaggerate - the second issue of Asian Eye is finally ready and
looks excellent! 95 pages long ... well worth the wait." - Lisa Roosen-Runge
(lrr@discovery.ca)

Asian Trash Cinema

PO Box 16-1917
Miami, FL 33116
USA
phone: 305-576-4045
e-mail: astrcinema@aol.com

price: single issues are $6.00, 6 issues (one year) for $30.00.

Financed by bootleg-merchants Video Search of Miami, this sometimes feels
more like a glorified advertising sheet for VSoM products than a genuine
fanzine. Editor Craig Ledbetter has recently left to pursue European Trash
Cinema on his own.
Previous issues of ATC have been a curious mix of excellent material and
ignorant ramblings; wether the new editor will improve the standard remains
to be seen.

Bright Lights Film Journal, no. 13

PO Box 20120,
Cincinnati
Ohio 45220-0120

price: $5
e-mail: bright@iglou.com
WWW: http://www.crl.com/~gsamuel/bright.html

"I've just picked up a copy of Bright Lights, and I agree, it's excellent.
There are introductory articles which provide background material for new
fans (these should be especially useful to fans of Quentin Tarantino who
want to learn more about Hong Kong films). There are specialized articles
which will interest more experienced viewers. There's a fascinating
interview with John Woo. And there are beautiful black and white stills on
almost every page: in my opinion, Bright Lights is worth much more than the
cover price of $5 just for the stills alone." - Bill Bliss
(bliss@access1.digex.net )

Cineraider

PO Box 240226
Honolulu HI
96824-0226

price: 3 issues are $12 in the US, $18 elsewhere (airmail)

"A highly informative fanzine, about 80% HK reviews. Cineraider has its
finger firmly on the pulse of Hong Kong, and consistently provides reviews
of movies not found in other publications. Cineraider is published 2-3 times
a year."
- Stefan Hammond (hkfilms@aol.com)

Eastern Heroes

PO Box 409
London, SE18 3DW
England

Rick Baker is probably the biggest Hong Kong movie enthusiast/ entrepeneur
in the U. K., and Eastern Heroes is a good info-packed though slightly
sloppy fanzine. Apparently Rick is planning to expand the 'zine into a
professional magazine, and in the meantime has published a couple of
"special editions" of the fanzine.

Fatal Visions

Fatal Visions Pty Ltd
c/o Michael Helms
PO BOX 133
Northcote
Victoria 3070

price: A$4.50 per issue, A$24 for 6 issues

"This is a Melbourne based magazine that has a regular article called
'Chinatown Beat', which is usually 3-4 pages long. Issue 15 also featured an
article on Ringo Lam."
- Ian Parkin (iap@scammell.ecos.tne.oz.au)

Film Extremes

PO Box 409
London, SE18 3DW
England

Published by Ken Miller (of horror fanzine Imaginator, one of the first in
Britain to touch on HK movies) and Rick Baker (Eastern Heroes) this is
roughly half Hong Kong and half horror/ underground. Published irregularly,
I only know of 2 issues. Issue 1 had a big interview with Chow Yun Fat, #2
had Ching Siu-Tung.

Film Threat

9171 Wilshire Boulevard
Suite 300
Beverly Hills CA 90210
USA

price: single issue $4.99, 6 issues $11.85 (USA), $21.85 (outside)

Every issue includes a ca. three-page column about Hong Kong movies called
Hard Attack, written by Craig Ledbetter.

Hong Kong Film Connection

P.O. Box 867225
Plans, TX. 75086-7225
USA
e-mail: davidlz@aol.com

price: $15 for one year (8 issues)

This newsletter has developed into a well-rounded fanzine that is absolutely
essential reading for HK film fans. Very informative news section, good
reviews and many exclusive interviews.

Hong Kong Film Magazine

R. Chu
601 Van Ness Ave
#E3728, SF, CA, 94102
USA

price: $15 for six months subscription

I justed picked up the third issue of this fanzine, and it looks very good
indeed. Hopefully it will be coming out on a more regular schedule in the
future.

Kung-fu Girl magazine

c/o Keith Allison
718-201 SW 16th Avenue
Gainesville FL  32601.
USA
email: afn08959@afn.org

"Sample copies are $4 ppd and yes, we do trades
a lot of the time."

"KFG is a xeroxed FANZINE, not a professional publication. We cover a myriad
of topics, from the films and television of Hong Kong, Japan, and the rest
of Asia, to discussions, rants, and raves about anything from food to music
to culture to history to crummy jobs--anything really. We're not a film zine
in the strict since, which is the beauty of a fanzine. Issues have been
large in the past--as much as 92 pages, and we publish sporadically, about
four times a year. We also thing Lee Van Cleef as THE MASTER is pretty
funny, way more amusing than David Carradine."
- Keith Allison, editor

Impact

M.A.I. Publications
Revenue Chambers
St. Peter's Street
Huddersfield HD1 1EL
England

price:21.50 UK,
24 Europe surface, 36 Europe air,
45 World-wide,

This English magazine covers all sorts of action movies; mostly
Schwarzenegger/Segal/van Damme stuff, but there is also a 2-3 page column
called China Beat with the latest news about Hong Kong movies. They have
also had several specials on people like Jackie Chan, Mihelle Yeoh, Yuen
Biao, John Woo etc.

MAMA - Martial Arts Movie Associates

care of:
William Connolly
6634 DeLongpre #4
Hollywood, CA 90028

$10.00 per year

Long-running fanzine.

Oriental Cinema

Distributed by:
Draculina Publishing
P O Box 696
Centralia, IL 62801
USA

price: single issue $4 plus $1 postage

Damon Foster's fanzine is probably the oldest running fanzine focusing on
Asian films, and he still loves to aggravate the hell out of people, bless
his obnoxious little soul. Under the chaotic surface and between the
Godzilla and Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers stuff lurks lots of well-informed
writing on Hong Kong movies, and also interesting material on movies from
countries like India and the Philippines.

Psychotronic Video

3309 Rt. 97
Narrowsburg
New York, 1276-6126

price: $4

Not a Hong Kong movie fanzine, but a good place to start if you're looking
for bootleg tape sellers.

Video Watchdog

P.O. Box 5283
Cincinatti, OH 45205-0283
USA
tel: (513) 471 - 8989

price: 6 issues for $24 (bulk) / $35 (1st) inside the USA
$33 (surface) / $45 (air) outside

This excellent magazine is "The perfectionists guide to fantastic video",
and usually has a couple of reviews of major Hong Kong releases in every
issue. The info is always firstclass and includes details on running times,
different versions etc.

Video Watchdog Special Edition

address as above

price: $8.95 / $10 (USA), $11 / $13 (outside)

This yearly publication contains a long and useful list of video sources,
including several for Asian films. Also has contributors' picks for the
years best releases, which includes many Hong Kong films.
-- 
.- Lars Erik Holmquist
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Hong Kong Movies Homepage:
.http://www.mdstud.chalmers.se/hkmovie/
