FIST AND SWORD

Program Information

To receive advance word of future Fist & Sword screenings and events, email fistandsword@movingimage.us.


U.S. PREMIERE SCREENING
Seven Swords
Sunday, January 14, 2:00 p.m.

Hong Kong, 2005, 150 mins., 35mm. Directed by Tsui Hark. With Donnie Yen, Leon Lai, Charlie Young, Sun Honglei, Lu Yi. As suspenseful and dynamic as it is thoughtful and detailed, Seven Swords is a startlingly realistic adaptation of the acclaimed novel Seven Swordsmen from Mountain Tian by Liang Yu-sheng (The Bride with the White Hair). Stunningly shot on location in China, this new mythological fantasy from wuxia master Tsui Hark is truly an event.

Seven Swords: 2 Disc Ultimate Edition will be released on DVD on
01/16/07 by Dragon Dynasty. For more information, visit
www.dragondynasty.com





Fist & Sword celebrates Black History Month
An Afternoon with Ron Van Clief
Sunday, February 18, 2:00 p.m.

Ron Van Clief, one of the first African-American martial-arts film stars, will discuss his career in a program accompanied by clips from the movies and TV shows in which he starred, choreographed, or served as stunt man including: Black Dragon, Super Weapon, Way of the Black Dragon, The Squeeze, Kung Fu Fever, Bamboo Trap, Fist of Fear, Touch of Death, Fight to Death, Berry Gordy’s The Last Dragon, Oz, Colorz of Rage, The Sopranos, Blazin, Coalition. Grandmaster Van Clief has trained in and taught martial arts for over 40 years and is a five-time World Champion.


Versus
Sunday, March 11, 2:00 p.m.

Japan, 2000, 119 mins., 35mm. Directed by Ryuhei Kitamura. With Tak Sakaguchi. Packed with humor and no-holds-barred B-movie appeal, this entertaining action horror flick blends stylistic and anime-like Yakuza action and Zombie horror elements. Prisoner KSC2-303 is an escaped convict who is ordered by the guys who helped him escape to keep a girl hostage. He refuses to comply, and there's a gun fight, but soon they realize that the dead are coming back to "life" in the forest from which they can't escape.


The Curse of the Golden Flower
Sunday, April 8, 2:00 p.m.

Hong Kong/China, 2006, 114 mins., 35mm. Directed by Zhang Yimou. Zhang's long-awaited reunion with Gong Li (Raise the Red Lantern) also stars Chow Yun-Fat (The Killer). The film blends the epic battle scenes and costume spectacle of Zhang's Hero with the more intimate drama of the films that brought him to prominence.


Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Sunday, May 6, 2:00 p.m.

2004, 137 mins., 35mm. Directed by Quentin Tarantino. With Uma Thurman, David Carradine. The Bride (Thurman) seeks revenge in Tarantino's homage to the Shaw Brothers' king fu classics. Elvis Mitchell of The New York Times called Kill Bill Vol. 2 "the most voluptuous comic book movie ever made."


Exiled
Preview Screening
Sunday, June 10, 2:00 p.m.

Hong Kong, 2006, 100 mins., 35mm print courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. Directed by Johnny To. With Anthony Wong. In 1998 Macau, rival gangs settle old scores before the Portuguese colony is turned over to China. Dave Kehr (The New York Times) wrote that "the film moves from one impeccably executed action sequence to the next, and still finds room for rich characterizations [and] plenty of humor...sheer pleasure."


Red Beard
Sunday, July 8, 1:00 p.m.

Japan, 1965, 185 minutes. 35mm. Directed by Akira Kurosawa. With Toshiro Mifune. Kurosawa’s widescreen drama chronicles the tumultuous relationship between an arrogant young doctor and a compassionate clinic director. Mifune, in his sixteenth and last role for Kurosawa, gives a powerhouse performance as the stern yet empathic director who guides his pupil to maturity.


Rush Hour 3
Preview screening
Sunday, August 5, 1:00 p.m.

2007, 100 minutes. 35mm. Directed by Brett Ratner. With Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker. Inspectors Carter and Lee team up again and head to Paris to fight the underworld gang Chinese Triad. This special preview is made possible by New Line Cinema.


Dynamite Warrior
Sunday, September 16, 2:00 p.m.

Thailand, 2006, 103 minutes. 35mm courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. Directed by Chalerm Wongpim. With Dan Chupong. This supernatural, delirious, action-packed, special-effects filled movie is about a rural man bent on revenge after seeing his parents get murdered.

War
Sunday, October 28, 2:00 p.m.

2007, 103 mins, 35mm. Directed by Philip G. Atwell. Jet Li teams
with action hero Jason Stratham (The Transporter) in this thrillpacked
drama about an FBI agent avenging his partner’s death.

Preceded by
Aris and the Art of
Parkour Bhangra-Fu
2007, 12 mins. Video. Directed by Chrysovalantis Stamelos. With Zack Roberts, Victor Paguia, and Damon Honeycutt. This multi-cultural martial arts short was filmed in Astoria.


Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Sunday, November 18, 2:00 p.m.

2000, 119 mins. 35mm. Directed by Ang Lee. With Chow Yun Fat, Michelle
Yeoh, Ziyi Zhang. Wang Hui-ling, screenwriter of Lust, Caution,
collaborated with Lee on this international blockbuster.


Urban Dragons: Black and Latino Masters of Chinese Martial Arts
With Kamau Hunter and Jose Figueroa in person
Sunday, December 16, 2:00 p.m.

2007, 70 mins. Video. World Premiere. Directed by Kamau Hunter. Produced by Jose Figueroa and Kamau Hunter. This new documentary surveys the history and changing face of Chinese martial arts in urban America. Following the screening, African American and Latino martial arts masters featured in the film and filmmakers Kamau Hunter and Jose Figueroa will be present for a discussion moderated by series curator Warrington Hudlin.