RIC MEYERS: KUNG FU EXTRAVAGANZA + FILMS OF FURY at SD Comic Con
July 28th, 2011 by Mr. C
Ric Meyers at San Diego Comic Con 2011 (Kung Fu Extravaganza) - pic by mr c
Ric Meyers’ Kung Fu Extravaganza program at the San Diego Comic Convention has definitely developed into a cult status type of an event over the years and 2011 was no different!
Basically, Meyers gives his blitzkrieg bop version of the best kung fu movie clips from new & retro films alike to satisfy the thirst for blood & violence of the “black belt theater” bulging gut, comic con crowd!
This years Kung Fu Extravaganza started with an appetizer of trailers promoting Eric Jacobus & THE STUNT PEOPLE, a crew of daring, throwback stuntmen/women with their new project called DEATH GRIP! If you don’t know who THE STUNT PEOPLE are then PLEASE, PLEASE check out their filmography! It’ll bound to bring back some memories of Hong Kong action of yesteryear! They also showed a trailer of JUSTICE FOR HIRE, an animation from the mixed martial art inspired comic book! It looks raw & full of action, y’all! Kaboom! After the trailer screenings, Ric Meyers threw in some kung fu nuggets by showing some old clips of Ron Van Clief, Carl Scott, Michael Jai White, Cheng Pei Pei’s COME DRINK WITH ME, & Etsuko Shihomi! Shoot, that got me throwing some compact jabs, uppercuts, & eye gouges into empty space! Sorry to the person sitting next to me!
The main course of the program included the world premiere screening of Ric Meyers’ FILMS OF FURY, THE KUNG FU MOVIE which is a documentary based on the history of kung fu films told by showing…*PAUSE*…you guessed it…movie clips of some of the most influential films in the genre! The film starts out in animated form with a kid looking for the secrets of kung fu when he is suddenly transported to the shaolin temple! This would begin the tale of the history of chop socky films in chronological order that have really influenced western audiences! Kwan Tak Hing, a chinese actor who made folk hero, Wong Fei Hong famous on the screen from the 1940’s-1980’s was mentioned first as well he should be! If you haven’t seen MAGNIFICENT BUTCHER yet, then what are you waiting for?! Shek Kin is another godfather of HK cinema. Some of you might know this legend from Bruce Lee’s ENTER THE DRAGON playing the role of HAN. Director, KING HU was also given some screen time with his classic 1971 wuxia film, A TOUCH OF ZEN! Of course, SHAW BROTHERS film director greats, Chang Cheh, Lau Kar Leung, Sun Chung, & Chu Yuan were also a big influence! Who can forget movies like CHALLENGE OF THE MASTERS, SHAOLIN MANTIS, FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS (one of the most violent films), BLOOD BROTHERS (Ti Lung, David Chiang, Chan Goon Tai), VENGEANCE, EXECUTIONERS FROM SHAOLIN, FIVE DEADLY VENOMS, & the 36th CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN to just name a few. FILMS OF FURY would leave no stone unturned as Bruce Lee, Fu Sheng, Ti Lung, The Venom Brothers, Chan Goon Tai, David Chiang, Lau Kar Leung, Gordon Liu, Sammo, Jackie Chan (Supercop, Police Story, Armour of God), Angela Mao, Cynthia Rothrock, Michelle Yeoh, Jet Li, & Stephen Chow (Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Hustle) were all given some air time! Even American Fu was represented with the likes of Chuck Norris, Carl Scott, & Steven Seagal! (Yes, I know Seagal & Norris are not KF practitioners) Of course, we can’t leave out “GUN FU!” John Woo would be highly praised in A BETTER TOMORROW, THE KILLER, HARDBOILED, & BULLET IN THE HEAD. FILMS OF FURY would do a nice job in segueing into the new millenium with films like CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON, KILL BILL, and KUNG FU PANDA! All in all, Ric Meyers’ new project did a great job in jogging up memories of the past that reminded me of why I love this genre so much! To quote the almighty wise one himself, Po the Kung Fu Panda, “I Love Kung Fu!” . If seeing this film is hard to come by, Ric Meyers also has a book out under the same title.
Tags: films of fury, kung fu extravaganza, ric meyers, san diego comic con
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