As part of TCM's Asian Images series, they're running Sam Fuller's THE CRIMSON KIMONO (1959), with James Shigeta tonight at 8PM (EST) and THE MOUNTAIN ROAD (1960) with James Stewart and Lisa Lu at 9:30 PM (followed by FLOWER DRUM SONG and KILL A DRAGON).

Here's the link to Yvonne Teh's recent interview with Lisa Lu, which mentions MOUNTAIN ROAD:
http://www.bcmagazine.net/hk.bcmagazine.is...58/03-lisa.html

On a related note, last Thursday, TCM ran CHINA DOLL (1958) starring Victor Mature and Li Li Hua. Li Li Hua is, of course, the famous Shaw Bros. star (EMPRESS WU, THE MAGNIFICENT CONCUBINE, BOXER REBELLION) and CHINA DOLL marked the very first time a bonafide Hong Kong movie star made a film in Hollywood. I was hoping that TCM host Robert Osborne and his special guest, scholar Peter Feng, would note this in their intro to the film. They didn't. They didn't even mention Li Li Hua. So I checked their post-film discussion the next morning (I had set it on timer to tape) and there was no mention of her in the part that I got. Unfortunately, the timer went off in the middle of their discussion, so I don't know if they ever did mention her by name. Somehow I doubt it. That irks me.

That *is* pretty annoying that they didn't even mention Li Lihua, considering she's one of the greatest Chinese actresses, one who's career spans from pre-Communist Shanghai to a memorable role at the end of her career in the 70s in King Hu's FATE OF LEE KHAN.

I did pick up CHINA DOLL on DVD just for a glimpse of Li in her prime. With the exception of QIU HAI TANG, a film she made in Shanghai in 1942, it is the earliest of her films available on DVD--and the only one from the 1950s. That's a shame, since it seems that the 50s was her best period. At Shaws during the 60s, when she wasn't playing empresses, she was often playing roles too young for her.

Anyway, after watching the film, it's pretty obvious why she didn't return to Hollywood. Why consent to being a "China Doll" when she was one of HK cinema's top actressses?!

Here's a great picture from the late 50s that shows Li Lihua exhibiting the bearing of the true movie queen that she was.
http://hkmdb.com/db/people/image_detail.mh...display_set=eng

Brian --

Thanks for linking to my interview with Lisa Lu. And if you did watch THE MOUNTAIN ROAD, please share your opinion of it from the viewpoint of an Asian cinema fan.

For my part, I had the pleasure of watching Lisa Lu, Kenneth Tsang, Frederic Mao and a very talented young stage actress named Mercy Wong in the HK Repertory Theatre's DE LING AND EMPRESS CI XI on Monday evening. A real treat. Maybe the best live performing arts performance I've been treated to since moving to Hong Kong -- and believe you me when I say that there have been many. Weird/ironic but true: Hong Kong cinema may be in the doldrums but the local theatre scene is flourishing -- with recent HK Repertory theatre productions including ones scripted by Raymond To (PEKING OPERA BLUES; SHANGHAI BLUES; HU-DU-MEN; etc.) and Roy Szeto (A CHINESE GHOST STORY III; WICKED CITY; etc.), etc.

I taped MOUNTAIN ROAD, but didn't watch it because I was at the "Evening with Tatsuya Nakadai" event at Film Forum last night honoring the great Japanese actor, who was brought over in conjunction with a current retrospective of his films. I'll do a separate post on the event and try to watch MOUNTAIN ROAD this weekend.

Like most of the films in this TCM series, it's interesting, and unheralded (and I reckon unsuccessful with audiences at the time; very few of these have "external reviews" or many "user comments" on the IMDb). Lu is good in the film, and she did get some mention this time by Osborne and Feng.

While awkward at times, James Clavell's Western, WALK LIKE A DRAGON, with James Shigeta, Nobu McCarthy, and Jack Lord (and Mel Torme as a gunslinger) has emerged as my favorite. Also Shigeta and Carroll Baker in BRIDGE TO THE SUN. This is a veritable Shigeta fest: In a way he was the Asian-American Sidney Poitier, but the films were too obscure for a true breakthrough.

Hello,

It's funny what "sticks" with audiences and what doesn't. Moreover, American audiences are not alone in overlooking obscure gems.

The one movie that I've been wanting to catch for many years now is a four-part Taiwanese wuxia/ghost story anthology from 1970 called "Four Moods" starring Li Li-hua in one of its segments. It's really difficult to track down despite being co-scripted and co-directed by King Hu (Hu Jinquan), Li Han-hsiang (Li Hanxiang), Pai Ching-zue (Bai Jingrui), and Lee Hsing (Li Xing) (BTW, Pai and Lee are two names forever linked with Brigitte Lin for filming so many of her early commercial weepies.) Although Universe released a VCD in 2001, it soon went OOP with no apparent plans to re-release it on DVD or with English subtitles.

Despite advances in home theatre technology and the media programming environment--the widespread availability of DVDs and the pressing need to fill cable/satellite programming time with entertaining product--it sort of distressing that you can purchase multiple bells-and-whistles editions of well-known blockbusters but films that you genuinely want to see--"Four Moods" in my case--are generally ignored by disc makers and channel programmers. I think it's neat that TCM at least puts up "China Doll" and "Mountain Road" on the calendar to give viewers an opportunity to glimpse the generally unheralded. Not so for the thousands of non-Shaws/Cathay/Golden Harvest films that have made between 1950 and the present.

(To Yvonne and anyone else in HK): Have you gotten to see Jim Chim perform live? How good is the local avant garde scene and whom do you reckon will make the jump to film?

Don't know if you know but FOUR MOODS played as part of the Li Han Hsiang programme at the HKIFF last year. Saw it and, as you might expect of a four-part anthology, found it on the uneven side. Thought Bai Jingrui’s segment was mediocre (5.0 on the brns.com scale) -- it didn't help that it's music threatened to give me a migraine! -- and Li Xing’s segment only a little bit better (6.0). OTOH, really liked the section directed by King Hu (8.0) and thought it was very recognizably his film while that by Li Han Hsiang's was delightful and all the better for not being much like other Li Han Hsiang films -- be it the bawdy comedies, huangmei operas or period dramas -- that I have seen (7.5).

Yi Lee, might I suggest that one way for you to go is to come over to Hong Kong for one HKIFF. It's got a pretty good record of having at least one really good old Hong Kong/China movie retrospective programme a year -- e.g., in addition to last year's Li Han Hsiang programme, this year brought us a complete Edward Yang retrospective as well as a chance to get to know the films of Zhu Shilin (three of whose films I caught and am kicking myself for not having checked out more) while the 2005 and 2006 had a rare Sun Yu retrospective and amazing Kong Ngee retrospective respectively.

Haven't seen Jim Chim perform live. Among other things, SIMPLY ACTORS was enough, thank you very much. As for local avant garde scene: I'm not much of an avant garde person in general, I'm afraid -- being more of an old fogey of a culture vulture when it comes to the live performing arts (e.g., I'm the type who goes for classical rather than alternative, etc. music!). But as far as drama is concerned: right now, it seems like one is more likely to see (former) film people move to the stage rather than vice versa -- with Jim Chim being very much the exception rather than the rule.

Hey Yvonne,

Thanks for the information. I'm mentally making preparations to attend the HKIFF one of these years or, if not that, a major HK Film Archive retrospective.

In regards to theatre, I was under the impression that Andy Lau's Focus Films was cultivating lots of new talent in front of and behind the camera. I just assumed some of the more interesting newcomers were coming from the local drama scene instead of the usual TV route.