CHOWING THE SCENERY

No time to reload! These guns only run out of ammo when the moment is most dramatic! 

A year ago I got hired to illustrate a new poster for the Western re-release of John Woo's seminal Hong Kong 1992 action classic, HARD-BOILED, starring Chow Yun-fat and Tony Leung Chiu-wai. A fun project.

I tried to capture a sense of the energetic fun and explosive excitement of what is widely considered the apex of the heroic bloodshed film genre. I felt the original HK poster of Chow holding a toddler in a diaper (come on, THAT'S NO NEWBORN), although now pretty iconic, somewhat undersold the intense, over-the-top gun-fu spectacle audiences were about to experience. So my main priority was to put some excitement into the piece. (Of course most fans by this point have already seen this nearly 35 year old film multiple times so they know. They know.) 

Until next time... Cheers. And STAY FROSTY.

(Wrong movie, I know.)

Wooing the West

 

I caught John Woo's THE KILLER at Washington D.C.s The Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts in August 1989, (along with a double-bill of his A BETTER TOMORROW films.) And was blasted into the back of the theatre along with the rest of the audience. 

One could argue, that film, starring Chow Yun-fat, Danny Lee and Sally Yeh, was more influential, if not more popular, in the United States (and the UK), than with its native Hong Kong audience who perhaps saw it as just another heroic bloodshed picture. It was commercially successful in HK, but I think it did much more to woo (sorry) western audiences and wake up Hollywood to the amazing work of its writer/director. Of course, John Woo eventually did find a new parallel career working on American films as well as Hong Kong productions. Including a 2024 gender-swapped remake. 

Long unavailable in the West due to corporate mergers and licensing issues, now THE KILLER is not only widely available again, but has been remastered from the surviving negative. It looks and sounds stunning in 4K. 

A year ago I was lucky enough to be hired to produce new artwork for the long awaited "resurrection" of this beloved action film. I often pinch myself that this is really happening. In the year 2025. The irony is not lost on me. I'm doing hand drawn artwork (already replaced by AI) for a physical media release (already replaced by streaming) of an old celluloid film (already replaced by digital) of a story (already replaced by a remake). One could argue that the medium of the 90-minute film has itself been replaced in popularity by YouTube or TikToks or whatever. But let's not even go there.

As I've probably said before... this job combines my love of art, marketing and cinema, so I'll happily ride that train to the end of the line doing promotional art for films. 

 Below is the result.     

Alas, there once was a time when I would routinely drive over an hour to another city to see a film, weekly, by myself usually. But now, I haven't even been to a movie theatre in six and a half years. Times change. And people do too. It's so much easier today to see these foreign films, and movies in general, from the relative comfort of my home. And the cost versus quality is about the same. Physical media on a modern television keeps improving, while the theatre-going experience keeps declining. From lengthy commercials to acrophobia-inducing ticket prices. Given the choice, for the same cost I'd rather own it than see it once. If I tire of the film I can always sell it and get my money back. 

But it's true to say that something is lost amid the convenience. It's not just nostalgia for my youth, although there is some of that. (The power of that can't be underestimated.) I think the ritualistic experience of "going to see a film", much like dropping a stylus on a vinyl record, was something greater than just pressing a button from your couch. It's hard to explain, but, ahh, ... that's a whole other conversation. Don't get me started.  

Anyway.... the bullets and bodies keep flying. Next time. Right here.

WAH WAH

No, that's not a sad trombone. It's YUEN WAH! (Birth name Yung Kai-chi.)

It's a quickie piece I did for fun for a magazine cover. The cover boy is Hong Kong actor/stuntman/action choreographer (and, of course, martial artist) Yuen Wah, of the Seven Little Fortunes performing group from the 1960s—which also featured fellow classmates Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. 

One of his early claims to fame was as the body double for Bruce Lee in FIST OF FURY and ENTER THE DRAGON. Bruce could cartwheel, but not back or front flip. Yuen could do both in his sleep. So they stuck a fast friendship and Bruce hired him to work on several fights scenes with Bruce, as well as play small parts in the films. Wah was actually the one doing the acrobatics for Lee's character.  

With AI poised to make our future entertainment, we are not likely to see the causes and conditions arise for performers like Yuen Wah to entertain us again onscreen. So it's important to recognize and appreciate their unique talents, especially while these actors are still around so they can see what they meant to us film fans.

He's still working, but naturally slowing down a wee bit at 75 years old. He's earned it. But thankfully he's still alive and, of course, kicking. Here's to you. Long live Yung Kai-chi. 

Next up.... John Woo's gun-fu classics get a fresh coat of paint.

PEKING OPERA BLISS

A year ago I was honored with the rare opportunity to provide some new original artwork for one of my absolute favorite films, Tsui Hark's 1986 genre-bending masterpeice PEKING OPERA BLUES.

My love for this movie, which I have exhaustingly chronicled here, has not waned over the decades. So I was thrilled for the priveldge to be involved with the much anticipated and long overdue restoration and revitalization of the film on 4K and Blu-ray.

Given my normal "4-day turnaround" (I typically only have a few days to complete each peice) I usually spend most of the first day watching the film a couple times (I know, hard work) and jotting down some layout ideas. It can be challenging to distill the essense of the movie into a single frame that is at least somewhat representative of the 2-hour experience. I attempted to capture and convey the vibrant energy, colorful pageantry, and vivid characters that Hark and his talented team crafted. 

Asked to do it again I would probably do something quite different, but this is the first design that came out. And I used my full alotted time. I don't enjoy the luxury of test studies. Everything is the "first take", and move on. 

Were the film's matte paintings seemless? Not entirely.

Did they re-use the same (only slightly redressed) street set? Yep. If you looked closely.

Are the general's luscious sideburns and ridiculous eyebrows over-the-top? Absolutely! And I wouldn't have my archetypal Chinese movie villians any other way.

Did that spoil any of the cine-magic? Heck no!  

Hark's (along with Poon Han Sang, his director of photography) were successfully able to cinematically realize a fully immersive fictional world with limited resources through the use of frugal blocking and constructing only what was needed for the camera to see. Two or three-walled rooms accomplished the illusion. The result is a gauzy, romanticised 1913 China. Where the characters are not overpowered by expansive ornate sets, but rather they are constantly the focus of attention. And with gorgeous stars like Sally Yeh, Brigitte Lin, Cherie Chung and Mark Cheng, why would you look anywhere else?

The film spools out at a breathless pace with plots and subplots piling up like a jenga tower. Each one interlocking, building higher and higher to its inevitable thrilling conclusion.

For this US release, by SHOUT FACTORY, I also contributed an extensive image gallery in addition to my menu artwork.

Because of the later deadline for the UK release, by ARROW, I was able to add even more content to the image gallery. 

And for the Australian IMPRINT release, I had even more time, so that image gallery is the largest of the three. They also commissioned me to write a 2500 word essay on the film's production and legacy. And I also produced a 20 minute featurette on the film's marketing materials and other collectible memorabilia.

My hope is that Tsui Hark's masterpiece can now find a home in the hearts of a whole new generation of cinema fans. And the work can have the longevity any work of art deserves.   

Next up... Bruce Lee's body double finally gets the spotlight.