FIST AND SWORD:
MARTIAL ARTS FILM CLASSICS
With support from the Independence Community Foundation.

Friday evenings at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, January 15
UNLEASHED
2005, 102 mins. Directed by Louis Leterrier. With Jet Li, Morgan Freeman, Bob Hoskins, Kerry Condon. Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita, The Professional) wrote and produced this outlandish saga about a ruthless assassin (Jet Li) who was literally raised in captivity—as a leashed dog—and tries to redeem himself with the help of a blind piano tuner. Roger Ebert wrote: “It has all the martial arts action any Jet Li fan could possibly desire, choreographed by Yeun Wo-ping, who is the Gerald Arpino of kung fu and creates improbable but delightful ballets of chops and socks, leaps and twists, and kicks and improvisations.”

Program Introduction
Guest Curator, Warrington Hudlin
The martial-arts film is the world's most popular cinematic genre. There were once at least a half-dozen cinemas in New York City where martial-arts films were shown on the big screen. Alas, the Music Palace, the Sun Sing, the Pagoda, the Rosemary, the Canal Cinema, and the Bijou have all closed their doors. Moving Image is pleased to provide New Yorkers the opportunity to once again see these films on the big screen. This monthly series will continue throughout the year, showcasing films from China, Japan, Korea, and elsewhere. A special bonus with each screening will be a discussion with a martial-arts master on the film's interpretation of the martial arts forms it depicts.