Chow Yun-Fat

Curse of the Golden Flower

Curse of the Golden Flower, a fictionalized historical glimpse into the brutally complicated politics of Emperor Ping's (Chow Yun Fat) reign during the Tang Dynasty, shows the viewer just how far a megalomaniac must go to gain and retain power in medieval China. Lavish sets, massive ceremonial displays, and perversely fascinating battle scenes impress similarly to the special effects Americans have come to love and expect from Chinese action films like Zhang Yimou's previous House of Flying Daggers and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. An intricate plot involving the Emperor's wife, Empress Phoenix (Gong Li) and their three sons, Crown Prince Xiang, Prince Jie, and Prince Cheng, most closely follows the Empress's secret plan to force abdication upon her corrupt husband as revenge for his slowly poisoning her with Black Fungus tea. Opening on the eve of the Chysanthemum Festival, 928 A.D., the Empress obsessively embroiders gold chysanthemums to adorn her army's uniforms while hatching plans with Jai to overthrow the Crown Prince for control of the throne. Meanwhile, a side plot develops as the Emperor's ex-wife and mother to Crown Prince Yu reemerges as Yu's lover. By the time the Festival occurs, family members are pitted against each other in a King Lear-ian web of lies that can only result in demise. The most sophisticated narrative aspect of Curse of the Golden Flower is that as the royal family crumbles, the Emperor's death grip on China remains unwavering. Gorgeous scenes set in the palace and costume design displaying China's upper class decadence cannot fail to entertain. The paradox between good and evil, here, is highlighted by how the Emperor successfully rules despite, and because of, his utter cruelty. --Trinie Dalton

The ill-fated romance between an imperial bodyguard & a prince takes the lovers on a dangerous journey where royal family secrets are revealed. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 08/26/2008 Starring: Jin Chen Yun Fat Chow Run time: 114 minutes Rating: R

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Hong Kong wuxia films, or martial arts fantasies, traditionally squeeze poor acting, slapstick humor, and silly story lines between elaborate fight scenes in which characters can literally fly. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon has no shortage of breathtaking battles, but it also has the dramatic soul of a Greek tragedy and the sweep of an epic romance. This is the work of director Ang Lee, who fell in love with movies while watching wuxia films as a youngster and made Crouching Tiger as a tribute to the form. To elevate the genre above its B-movie roots and broaden its appeal, Lee did two important things. First, he assembled an all-star lineup of talent, joining the famous Asian actors Chow Yun-fat and Michelle Yeoh with the striking, charismatic newcomer Zhang Ziyi. Behind the scenes, Lee called upon cinematographer Peter Pau (The Killer, The Bride with White Hair) and legendary fight choreographer Yuen Wo-ping, best known outside Asia for his work on The Matrix. Second, in adapting the story from a Chinese pulp-fiction novel written by Wang Du Lu, Lee focused not on the pursuit of a legendary sword known as "The Green Destiny," but instead on the struggles of his female leads against social obligation. In his hands, the requisite fight scenes become another means of expressing the individual spirits of his characters and their conflicts with society and each other.

The filming required an immense effort from all involved. Chow and Yeoh had to learn to speak Mandarin, which Lee insisted on using instead of Cantonese to achieve a more classic, lyrical feel. The astonishing battles between Jen (Zhang) and Yu Shu Lien (Yeoh) on the rooftops and Jen and Li Mu Bai (Chow) atop the branches of bamboo trees required weeks of excruciating wire and harness work (which in turn required meticulous "digital wire removal"). But the result is a seamless blend of action, romance, and social commentary in a populist film that, like its young star Zhang, soars with balletic grace and dignity. --Eugene Wei

Two warriors in pursuit of a stolen sword and a notorious fugitive are lead to an impetuous physically-skilled teenage noblemans daughter who is at a crossroads in her life. Special features: ang lee and james schamus commentary: photo montage: link to website: theatrical trailers and much more. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 12/21/2004 Starring: Chow Yun Fat Zhang Ziyi Run time: 120 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Ang Lee

Hard Boiled (Two-Disc Ultimate Edition)

Masterful Hong Kong action director John Woo (The Killer, Face/Off) turns in this exciting and pyrotechnic tale of warring gangsters and shifting loyalties. Chow Yun-fat (The Replacement Killers) plays a take-no-prisoners cop on the trail of the triad, the Hong Kong Mafia, when his partner is killed during a gun battle. His guilt propels him into an all-out war against the gang, including an up-and-coming soldier in the mob (Tony Leung) who turns out to be an undercover cop. The two men must come to terms with their allegiance to the force and their loyalty to each other as they try to take down the gangsters. A stunning feast of hyperbolic action sequences (including a climactic sequence in an entire hospital taken hostage), Hard-Boiled is a rare treat for fans of the action genre, with sequences as thrilling and intense as any ever committed to film. --Robert Lane

Studio: Genius Products Inc Release Date: 09/16/2008 Run time: 126 minutes Rating: R

Martial Arts 50 Movie Pack Collection

For the first time the legends of martial arts are gathered in the ultimate DVD collection that will provide countless hours of adrenaline-filled action.System Requirements:Martial Arts Classics 50 Movie MegaPack - Kung Fu Arts Shaolin Deadly Kicks Black Cobra Black Cobra 3 Chase Step by Step Deadly Duo Ninja Champion Spirits of Burce Lee City Ninja Four Shaolin Challengers Brave Lion Snake-Tiger-Crane Black Fist Head Hunter Black Godfather Fist of Fear Touch of Death Street Fighter Eapons of Death Fighting Mad Return of the Kung Fu Dragon Image of Bruce Lee Death Machines Sister Street FIghter Karate Kids USA Death of a Ninja Ten Fingers of Death Ninja Empire Real Bruce Lee Hands of Death Shadow Ninja Four Robbers Infernal Street Weapons of Death Big Fight Ninja Death I Ninja Death II Ninja Death III Tiger Love Guy with the Secret Kung Fu Kung Fu Kids Break Away Impossible Kid Ninja Heat Black Cobra 2 Shaolin Temple Ninja: The Protector Heroes of Shaolin Part 1 Heroes of Shaolin Part 2 Snake Fist Cynamo The Master: Max The Master: Out of Time Step Runnig Time 4223 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: PG UPC: 826831070148 Manufacturer No: 07014-7

Anna and the King (Full-Screen Edition)

What's a director to do? Andy Tennant's previous film was the highly enjoyable Cinderella romance Ever After, which vanished from theaters and became a video hit. Then Tennant made this gorgeous, nonmusical version of Anna and the King, and once again felt the sting of box-office failure. Both films deserved better, and this Anna is certain to eventually find the appreciative audience that eluded it in theaters. In many ways, this delightful costume romance transcends the latter-day quaintness of The King and I to offer a more lavish and rewarding version of the story of Anna Leonowens, based on her diaries and first told in Margaret Landon's 1944 novel.

In an otherwise admirable performance (although many felt her miscast), Jodie Foster struggles with her Victorian accent as Anna, the grieving widow who arrives in Siam in 1860 with her young son. Having accepted a post as tutor for the many children of the polygamous King Mongkut (Chow Yun-Fat), Anna finds herself drawn to the progressive monarch, whose passions swirl in a turbulent political climate. If the chemistry isn't entirely there, this culture clash still has plenty of regal charm, and Luciana Arrighi's production design is appropriately magnificent. Humor and politics are given equal measure, and Chow Yun-Fat is arguably the most endearing king to date--powerful yet tender, forceful but anguished by the heavier burdens of leadership. Bai Ling's intense performance as the tragic lover Tuptim adds emotional depth to one of the most underrated films of 1999. --Jeff Shannon

Academy Award winner Jodie Foster and international action star Chow Yun-Fat bring to life the epic true story of a woman who challenged the heart of a king and inspired the destiny of a nation. English school teacher Anna Leonowens has traveled to Siam to educate the fifty-eight children of King Mongkut. If she has preconceived notions about the East, the King has similar notions about the West. But amid the danger of growing political unrest, their respect for each other slowly turns into something more.

The Killer

This 1989 rouser is apocalyptic pulp--the bloodiest, showiest, most shamelessly sentimental specimen of Hong Kong's gangster melodramas. A torch singer named Jennie (Sally Yeh) is accidentally blinded during a slaying in a night club, and Chow Yun-fat's sad-eyed Jeff, a self-lacerating assassin, drags himself out of retirement to take on one last job--rubbing out a major mobster for major bucks--so he can pay for the singer's cornea transplant operation. But Jeff pauses to ferry a wounded child to the hospital during this final outing, and because of this a cop finally gets a good look at him: "He was seen on the job," snarls a saturnine Mr. Big, "and I want him wasted." Armies of thugs converge on the saintly slayer. Some of writer-director John Woo's flourishes are kitsch classics (doves flying upward in a candlelit church), while the action sequences are rapturous. "Life's cheap," a character opines. "It only takes one bullet," but in this case it actually takes about a dozen spewing bullet hits to kill anyone, as soulful triads in mirror shades and duster overcoats blaze away with high-tech weaponry. (A favorite trick involves grasping an enemy by the lapels, pulling him into a waltz embrace, and pumping several slugs into his duodenum.) Danny Lee, Chow's costar in City on Fire, is the intense, young officer who fixates on the killer's contradictory personality. --David Chute

Bulletproof Monk

The tremendous charisma of Chow Yun-fat anchors this entertaining comic-book romp. Bulletproof Monk centers around a monk with no name (Chow) dedicated to protecting a sacred scroll that can give world-manipulating power to anyone who reads it. A hidden Nazi has been pursuing the scroll for 60 years and has finally caught up with the monk in present-day New York City; meanwhile, the monk suspects he may have found a disciple in a petty thief (Seann William Scott, Dude, Where's My Car?, American Pie) who's learned kung fu from watching double-feature chopsocky flicks. Don't let the presence of Chow Yun-fat lead you to expect much substance--this doesn't have the emotional scope of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or the visual panache of Hard-Boiled. But Bulletproof Monk is a cheerful, tightly edited, unpretentious action flick with flashes of humor, good for a mindless evening's entertainment. Also featuring Jaime (a.k.a. James) King (Blow). --Bret Fetzer

This spectacular adventure follows a mysterious and powerful monk on his mission to find a worthy protege to take over his job of protecting the world from evil! Studio: Tcfhe/mgm Release Date: 05/18/2004 Starring: Chow Yun-fat Jamie King Run time: 104 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Paul Hunter

The Corruptor (New Line Platinum Series)

Nick Chen (Chow Yun-Fat) is not your average New York cop. Working in Chinatown has its multifarious cultural nuances and its fair share of ubiquitous enticement, both of which are reflected in detective Chen's weary face. He had to get into bed with the highest echleons of the Chinese Mafia as a way of augmenting his own career, while maintaining a semblance of control over the dime-a-dozen hoods who proliferate on this turf. To make matters worse, he now has to break in rookie detective Danny Wallace (Mark Wahlberg), who has asked to be assigned to the Chinatown division. Apparently Wallace is infatuated with all things Chinese, or is suffering from "Yellow Fever," as his fellow colleagues would have us believe. Chen, not one to suffer fools gladly, takes young Wallace under his protective wing, oft-warning the shady powers of the neighborhood not to sink Danny into their sordid pool of corruption. But before he knows it, both he and Wallace are caught in a deadly ring of double-crosses, shady-dealings, murders, and car chases. And all of this under the suspicious eye of Internal Affairs.

Part Serpico and part Hard Boiled, this film seems at first to be a major departure from director James Foley's previous work. However, Foley has frequently revealed a keen eye and understanding for emotionally complex relationships, especially between teacher and pupil (Glengarry Glen Ross) or father and son (At Close Range). This movie is no different. In fact, Foley's meticulous attention to the relationship between the wise, morally burdened Chen, and the naïve, innocent Wallace morphs this otherwise tedious plot into a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Hats off to Chow Yun-Fat and Mark Wahlberg, whose sympathetic chemistry creates an authentic and deeply personal connection, a factor that proves crucial to the film's poignant, disturbing finale. --Jeremy Storey

A hard-hitting tale of deception violence and betrayal in new york citys chinatown. You cant play by the rules when there arent any. Features: audio commentary by director james foley music videos from the best selling soundtrack behind the scenes featurettes and in-depth cast and crew bios and more. Studio: New Line Home Video Release Date: 02/03/2004 Starring: Chow Yun-fat Mark Wahlberg Run time: 100 minutes Rating: R Director: James Foley

Anna and the King

What's a director to do? Andy Tennant's previous film was the highly enjoyable Cinderella romance Ever After, which vanished from theaters and became a video hit. Then Tennant made this gorgeous, nonmusical version of Anna and the King, and once again felt the sting of box-office failure. Both films deserved better, and this Anna is certain to eventually find the appreciative audience that eluded it in theaters. In many ways, this delightful costume romance transcends the latter-day quaintness of The King and I to offer a more lavish and rewarding version of the story of Anna Leonowens, based on her diaries and first told in Margaret Landon's 1944 novel.

In an otherwise admirable performance (although many felt her miscast), Jodie Foster struggles with her Victorian accent as Anna, the grieving widow who arrives in Siam in 1860 with her young son. Having accepted a post as tutor for the many children of the polygamous King Mongkut (Chow Yun-Fat), Anna finds herself drawn to the progressive monarch, whose passions swirl in a turbulent political climate. If the chemistry isn't entirely there, this culture clash still has plenty of regal charm, and Luciana Arrighi's production design is appropriately magnificent. Humor and politics are given equal measure, and Chow Yun-Fat is arguably the most endearing king to date--powerful yet tender, forceful but anguished by the heavier burdens of leadership. Bai Ling's intense performance as the tragic lover Tuptim adds emotional depth to one of the most underrated films of 1999. --Jeff Shannon

Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 04/15/2008 Rating: Pg13

The Replacement Killers

After he betrays a ruthless crime boss a professional hit man becomes the target of an army of killers and fights to survive the most violent shoot-out of his career. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 09/27/2005 Starring: Chow Yun-fat Michael Rooker Run time: 88 minutes Rating: R Director: Antoine Fuqua

The director of Chow Yun-fat's first Hollywood outing, music-video veteran Antoine Fuqua, seems to be trying to squeeze the charismatic Asian superstar into a conventional American action-hero mold, and the results are dispiriting. Fuqua never lets this high-spirited actor smile, fetishizing him as a gunslinging clotheshorse in a series of garish, scenery-smashing battle scenes. As a paid assassin whose former employers turn against him, Chow enlists the help of an illegal documents specialist played, with surprising grit, by Mira Sorvino, and then spends most of the time fending off squads of killers in mirror shades. The movie is art-directed and photographed fit to kill (even the most routine incidents are eye-gougingly colorful) and edited to a hip-hop beat. It's garishly superficial. The frequent gunplay duels may keep action fans riveted, but they'll hate themselves in the morning. --David Chute