Daily Archives: December 23, 1998

Dec 23 1998

Hard Boiled

Tequila goes undercover to try and break up a triad gun running operation. John Woo’s last Hong Kong movie is one of the best action movies ever made.

##Right from the beginning

This movie grabs you from the beginning and doesn’t let go.

##Did you notice…

Did you notice the tracking shot in the middle of the hospital sequence?
It lasts a good 3 minutes. For those of you that don’t know, a tracking
shot is an extended scene in which there’s no edits and no camera angle
changes. That is, the camera just runs the whole time until it’s done. As
you can probably imagine this is a very difficult technique. Every detail
must be planned out for the entire shot ahead of time. It’s difficult under
normal circumstance, but next to impossible in an action sequence. Think
about trying to get all of those explosions and squibs to go off at the
right time. Word has it that it took 45 days of set up and retakes to get
this shot done right!

Dec 23 1998

Enter The Dragon

Lee goes under cover to break up an opium and white slave ring.

I remember the first time I saw **Enter The Dragon**. I was
about 12 years old. It changed my life forever.

==The Story==

Lee is asked by an intelligence agency (the movie isn’t very specific about
which one) to infiltrate Hahn’s organization and find proof about his drug
and slave trade. He’s to do this by attending a martial arts tournament
held by Hahn every few years. Lee has been invited because of his skills as
a martial artist. He’s a Shaolin priest with tremendous skills and has
been invited to the tournament.

While there, he pokes around a bit while the tournament is going on and
finds the evidence he needs. But before he can do anything about it, he’s
caught. Then all hell breaks loose.

==What makes it great==

This was the first time that the mainstream American public was exposed to
the incredible skills and excitement of high level martial artists. Of
course Bruce had played Kato in the Green Hornet television series years
earlier, but there he was limited as to what he could show. After all, he
wasn’t supposed to be the hero then.

In any case, Bruce had an incredible screen presence. There’s a magnetism
to him that draws you into watching him. And he was in top form for this
movie. You watch him take on 20 opponents at a time and although you know
that it’s choreographed, it doesn’t feel like that. In fact, you get the
impression that this man could actually do the things you see him doing,
so natural are his movements. In martial arts movies before this one,
everything always had a very choreographed stiff feel to it. This movied
raised the bar. Martial arts in movies after this one had to have a sense
of realism to be successful.

==The Macguffin==

What makes this movie even plausible is the bad guy’s fear of guns. He’s
so afraid that he won’t even let his body guards carry them. So only
someone of superiour martial skills has any kind of a chance to cross him.

==Did you notice…==

Did you notice [[Jackie Chan]] getting his neck broken. Or how about Samo
Hung (of *Martial Law* in the opening fight?