Vintage Pulp

October 1 2018

DISCO DUELLIST

His martial arts are lethal and his wardrobe is killer.

Above is a poster for the Hong Kong actioner Quan Ji, aka Duel of Fists, which, based on the placement of the English text, you’d actually expect to be called Duel of Nuts. Or are we the only ones seeing that? Anyway, what you get here is the story of a nerdy engineer slash ace martial artist who learns from his ailing father that he has a long lost older brother, the result of a whirlwind affair with a Thai girl. Sent to Bangkok to find his sibling, geek boy eventually discovers him in a fighting ring. A series of circumstances that begins with big brother beating the local crime syndicate’s champion brings the wrath of the bad guys, and the brothers have no choice but to go medieval on the entire mob.

This movie is worth watching for two reasons. First, some of the fighting is Muay Thai, which was obscure to westerners back then and makes Quan Ji one of the first films to showcase that particular discipline. And second, David Chang plays the unsophisticated younger brother while wearing a series of gaudy outfits that you’d absolutely love to have for your next ’70s party. Chang has made more than a hundred movies and was still active just a couple of years ago, but we doubt he ever surpassed the discofied wardrobe he wore here. Despite the Rick James flavor he brings to the party we’d describe the movie as merely adequate. But it did make us want to listen to “Super Freak.” Quan ji premiered in Hong Kong today in 1971.

I’ve met so many girls. Then I come to Bangkok and meet one who sees as much value in primary colors as I do. What are the odds?

By the way in Hong Kong one of our official languages is English, and in English Bangkok sounds like… Well, I’ll explain it in detail later.

I told her what Bangkok sounds like and she loved it. Total keeper.

I know every dojo in the Far East and I’ve never heard of your Studio 54.

You wouldn’t shoot the best electric slider in all of Thailand, would you?

I’m going to demonstrate this one more time. It’s called the hustle and I learned it in the East Village.

Hya… ABBA!

Everybody was Muay Thai fightin’…. HUAH! Those kids were fast as lightning…

You better run, losers and haters! Come back when you learn how to dress!

Depending on the opponent’s particular style and what the deejay is spinning these dance-offs can get pretty violent.

Hong Kong, Thailand, Bangkok, Shaw Brothers, Quan ji, Duel of Fists, David Chiang, Lung Ti, Li Ching, Shaw Brothers, poster art, cinema, movie review

Modern Pulp

July 16 2016

MACHINE POWERED

Sharky's Machine hums along nicely, but only up to a point.

This poster was painted by the Thai illustrator Kwow for the 1981 thriller Sharky’s Machine. Every blue moon or so Hollywood decides to update a ’40s film noir. Sometimes these are excellent movies—Body Heat as a rework of Double Indemnity comes to mind. Sharky’s Machine is based on William Diehl’s novel of the same name, which is a restyling of 1944’s Laura. If you haven’t seen Laura, a detective falls in love with a murdered woman, focusing these feelings upon her portrait, which is hanging over the mantle in her apartment. In Sharky’s Machine the hero, Atlanta vice detective Burt Reynolds, falls in love with Rachel Ward via his surveillance of her during a prostitution investigation, and is left to deal with his lingering feelings when she’s killed.

Ward observed years back that she had been too prudish in how she approached her roles, and we imagine this was one movie she had in mind. We agree with her. Reynolds’ 24/7 surveillance of a high-priced hooker is not near frank enough. This is where vice, voyeurism, and sleaze as subtext should have come together overtly, as it does in Diehl’s unflinchingly detailed novel, rather than as stylized montages, which is what Reynolds opts for.

Sex and nudity aren’t always gratuitous. The plot driver in old film noirs is often sex, but it couldn’t be shown. Remaking a noir affords the opportunity to explore the sexual aspect further, as in Body Heat, where it’s literally the lure of sex with no boundaries—exemplified by that famous (but implied) anal scene—that snares the hero in an insane murder plot. In Sharky’s Machine it’s sexual objectification that is the initial driver. Reynolds loves Ward’s body first and her personality later, but the surveillance that is the key to this is barely explored.

It’s a missed opportunity to not only make a better thriller, but to examine this lust-to-love transition as an aspect of all romantic relationships. Reynolds doubled as both star and director of the film, and while his relative newbie status in the latter realm may be a reason he didn’t push the envelope, he still manages in his third outing helming a motion picture to put together a final product that is stylish, dark, and neon-streaked—everything a neo-noir should be. Upon release many critics had problems with tone—violence and humor seemed to clash. Reynolds’ was a semi-comedic cinematic figure and his previous two directorial efforts had been comedies, which may have led to jokes leaking into unusual moments of the film. But these days the mix of violence and comedy is common, so we doubt you’ll be terribly annoyed by these few incongruities.

The main flaw with the movie, besides its chasteness, is not its tone, but that it feels compressed in the latter third, especially as relates to the love subplot. True, the film is already a shade over two hours long, but it’s time that flies by, populated as it is by so many interesting roles and great actors (Bernie Casey, Brian Keith, Vittorio Gassman, Charles Durning). Another seven minutes would not have hurt. Still, we recommend this one. It should have been as bold a noir rework as Body Heat, but there’s plenty to entertain in other areas, and Hollywood may make this film perfect yet—a new version of Sharky’s Machine is in development with Mark Wahlberg in the lead. Hah hah—who are we kidding? They’ll screw it up completely. You already know that.

Thailand, Bangkok, Atlanta, Sharky's Machine, Laura, Burt Reynolds, Rachel Ward, Bernie Casey, Brian Keith, Vittorio Gassman, Charles Durning, Kwow, Mark Wahlberg, poster art, cinema, film noir, movie review

Vintage Pulp

February 18 2016

LIGHTS OUT

When the sun goes down in the city.

Hotels, museums, and restaurants are all important aspects of travel, but what you really need to know is where to score hookers and cocaine, right? Or is that just us? Above, assorted covers from MacFadden-Bartell’s famed sleaze series After Dark, published late 1960s and early 1970s, and which purports to tell readers where and how vice can be found in different cities, as well as the unique variations that exist in each place. Don’t leave home without one. And a pack of condoms.

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

October 5

1945—Hollywood Black Friday

A six month strike by Hollywood set decorators becomes a riot at the gates of Warner Brothers Studios when strikers and replacement workers clash. The event helps bring about the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act, which, among other things, prohibits unions from contributing to political campaigns and requires union leaders to affirm they are not supporters of the Communist Party.

October 4

1957—Sputnik Circles Earth

The Soviet Union launches the satellite Sputnik I, which becomes the first artificial object to orbit the Earth. It orbits for two months and provides valuable information about the density of the upper atmosphere. It also panics the United States into a space race that eventually culminates in the U.S. moon landing.

October 4

1970—Janis Joplin Overdoses

American blues singer Janis Joplin is found dead on the floor of her motel room in Los Angeles. The cause of death is determined to be an overdose of heroin, possibly combined with the effects of alcohol.

October 3

1908—Pravda Founded

The newspaper Pravda is founded by Leon Trotsky, Adolph Joffe, Matvey Skobelev and other Russian exiles living in Vienna. The name means “truth” and the paper serves as an official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party between 1912 and 1991.

October 3

1957—Ferlinghetti Wins Obscenity Case

An obscenity trial brought against Lawrence Ferlinghetti, owner of the counterculture City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco, reaches its conclusion when Judge Clayton Horn rules that Allen Ginsberg’s poetry collection Howl is not obscene.

October 3

1995—Simpson Acquitted

After a long trial watched by millions of people worldwide, former football star O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. Simpson subsequently loses a civil suit and is ordered to pay millions in damages.

October 2

1919—Wilson Suffers Stroke

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson suffers a massive stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed. He is confined to bed for weeks, but eventually resumes his duties, though his participation is little more than perfunctory. Wilson remains disabled throughout the remainder of his term in office, and the rest of his life.