Amazons International # 48 ************************** Contents: Hank Okazaki's guide to Asian action movies with warrior women motifs [This issue of AI is a special issue dedicated to the warrior women tradition in Asian action movies. Included is Hank Okazaki's list (with mini-reviews) of such movies, reprinted with permission. (The list has previously been posted to the usenet newsgroup alt.asian-movies). Also included is an excerpt from the alt.asian-movies FAQ with some practical information about getting Asian movies. -- Ed.] Date of Transmission: 28.02.95 ************************************************************** From: yukari@rain.org (Hank Okazaki) Subject: Hank Okazaki's "Girls w/ Guns" HK Movie List Hello again, everyone! The following is an extract from my HK Movies database, covering all the movies that I have deemed to fit into the "Girls with Guns" genre. These movies have modern-day urban settings, and tend to be about cops, gangsters, assassins, drug-runners and gun-runners -- at least some of whom are ultra-cool, super-tough women who are equally proficient in their use of guns and martial arts. Although this list only covers movies I have seen or which I have immediate access to -- meaning that I know this is not a complete list, and I could come up with several more titles if I wanted to -- I am always interested in receieving recommendations, reviews, or offers to trade regarding movies which are not on this list. (Also, there are undoubtedly factual errors or missing data in the entries on this list, and corrections and/or additions are equally welcomed.) Hope this will prove to be of some interest! Hank ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | Hank Okazaki | "All you need to make a film is a girl and a gun"| | yukari@rain.org | |_________________| -- Film maker Jean-Luc Godard | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ************************************************************** Angel (Iron Angels), d. Raymond Leung and Teresa Woo, Hong Kong, 1986, in English (dubbed), with no subtitles. Cast: Moon Lee and Yukari Oshima. Somewhat disappointing. Not enough fight scenes, and they aren't long enough when they occur. The final fight between Moon Lee and Yukari Oshima is good, though. Angel 2 (Iron Angels 2), d. Teresa Woo and Raymond Leung, Hong Kong, 1988, 90m, in English (dubbed), with no subtitles, p. Teresa Woo and Raymond Leung. Cast: Moon Lee, Alex Wong and Elaine Lui. Moon Lee and her partners (one male, one female) are the "Angels," and they're on vacation in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) when they find out that a school-chum of the male Angel is now a gun-runner plotting a revolution in Malaysia with his private army. The Angels decide to stop him. Angel Mission (aka "Angels Project"??), Hong Kong, in Mandarin, with English subtitles. Cast: Sibelle Hu and Moon Lee. Pretty good. Not "grade A" Moon Lee, but she and Sibelle are charming, as is "the Dwarf" -- an undercover cop w/ whom Sibelle spends a couple of days a little "too close" for comfort, while travelling in search of a witness. Great scene where she pisses on him, on accident. (There seems to be another film, going by the same name -- starring Yukari Oshima.) Angel of Vengeance, Hong Kong, in Cantonese, with English subtitles. Cast: Yukari Oshima. A stinker -- two virtually independent plotlines, the stupid of which gets the lion's share of screen-time (a student working on a thesis about 'body & soul' wants to know what it's like to be a whore; her mother is a madam; her new potential-boyfriend helps her to do 'research'). Yukari Oshima is the only decent thing about the movie, and her scenes are much too few and short, and her 'revenge moment' gets spoiled by goofy choreography. Angel Terminators, Hong Kong, 1990, in Cantonese, with no subtitles. Cast: Sharon Yeung (butch cop), Michiko Nishikawa (female villain), Carrie Ng (bad guy's ex-girlfriend) and Kara Hui Ying Hung (Sharon's partner). A tough, gritty movie with amazing action sequences. Stars a tough/butch actress named Sharon Yeung, as a policewoman. Amazing scene right at the end, w/ her hanging from a phone wire and attacking a guy in a car. Michiko Nishikawa plays the female villain, who forcefully injects two of the heroines with heroin over a period of time sufficient to get them addicted. The main bad guy (played by one of those guys who is always playing suave gangsters or police inspectors) is a real slime. Angel Terminators 2, Hong Kong, in Cantonese, with English subtitles. Cast: Sibelle Hu, Moon Lee and Yukari Oshima. Excellent! Great performances from all 3 "bad girl" heroes! Avenging Quartet, d. Siu Wing, Hong Kong, 1992, 95m, in Cantonese, with English subtitles, p. Chan Fai Ling. Cast: Cynthia Khan, Moon Lee, Yukari Oshima, Michiko Nishiwaki, Waise Lee, Chin Ka Lok and James Ha. Asian Trash Cinema summarizes the plot thusly: "Chinese female-cop Cynthia Khan teams up with powerhouse Moon Lee to stop two bad girls from Tokyo, Yukari Oshima and Nishiwaki Michiko, who are plotting to steal a valuable painting from Waise Lee." Additional plot complications: Waise is a fugitive mainlander, who was Cynthia's lover in the past (she was a mainland cop, but came to HK to seek out her old love). And Moon Lee is a streetwise, cool HK gal who just happens to fall for Waise, too. (Oh yeah -- the painting hides important secrets about Japan, too...) This is an uneven movie, but it's worth it just to see the "big four" girls with Guns stars in one movie... Beauty Inspector (aka Beauty Investigator), d. Hsu Hsia, Hong Kong, 1992, in Cantonese, with English subtitles. Cast: Moon Lee (Li Sai Feng) and Yukari Oshima. A pretty good girls-with-guns story in which Moon Lee and her "pretty-girl" partner are somewhat unorthodox, semi-bumbling junior cops trying to prove themselves to their boss. Involves undercover work in a night club, and a fair amount of comedy (the girls bicker a lot) mixed in with lots of "unwelcome advances by slimy men" scenes. Yukari Oshima is cool, as usual, as the mysterious Japanese assassin. Black Cat, d. Stephen Shin, Hong Kong, 1991, 96m, in English (dubbed), with Dutch? subtitles, p. Dickson Poon. Cast: Jade Leung and Simon Yam. Very good! Jade Leung is an exciting new, rising star. This remake of "La Femme Nikita" matches the original in many respects, and surpasses it, in others. Black Morning Glory (The), d. Casey Chan, Hong Kong, 1993, in Mandarin, with English subtitles, p. Casey Chan and Andrew Leung, Gold Harbour Films. Cast: Michelle Reis (Lee), Lau Suk Ming, Lester Chan and Waise Lee (Lee Chi Hung?). Michelle Reis plays a fashion designer who discovers her boyfriend is involved in a counterfeiting ring around the same time that one of the counterfeiters is killed by a female assassin on a motorcycle who bears a striking resemblance to her.... Turns out the two women grew up together, and as little girls both used to play with the same boy, who is now a lawyer vacationing back in the little town where they all grew up. Trouble stalks Michelle's two characters, after a crucial piece of counterfeiting equipment falls into one of their hands. The action reaches its climax in the small coastal town where they grew up, as various pieces of the past comes back to haunt... Pretty good drama, and Michelle Lee in assassin-mode is fun to watch. Not necessarily for those who require constant fighting action, though. Bogus Cops, d. Leung Ka Yan, Hong Kong, in Mandarin, with English subtitles, p. Veronica Yip, Leung Ka Yan, Liu Shu Hui and Eric Tsang. Cast: Veronica Yip, Tsang Chi Wai and Leung Ka Yan. "Girls with Guns" cop-comedy with big-busted Veronica Yip. Brave Young Girls, d. Luk Kam Bo, Hong Kong, 1988, 93m, in Cantonese, with English subtitles. Cast: Yukari Oshima, Kara Hui Ying Hung (?) and Shing Fui On. Burning Ambition, d. Frankie Chan, Hong Kong, 1989, in Cantonese, with English subtitles, p. Frankie Chan, Long Shong. Cast: Yukari Oshima, Frankie Chan, Kara Hui Ying Hung and Simon Yam. Bury Me High, d. Tang Chi-Li, Hong Kong, 1990, in Mandarin, with English subtitles. Cast: Moon Lee, Sibelle Hu, Yuen Wah, Tang Chi-Li and Chin Pei. Complicated plot, involving the supernaturally influenced fates of the descendents of various people buried in different spots on a sacred mountain. Also involves a small country which experiences a military coup led by bad-guy / dictator Yuen Wah. Some good FX, and fight scenes, but unfortunately Moon Lee doesn't quite get her share of kung fu action, and Sibelle Hu doesn't really do any hand-to-hand fighting. City Cops, d. Lau Kar Wing, Hong Kong, in Mandarin, with English subtitles, p. Joe Siu, w. Berry Wang. Cast: Cynthia Rothrock, Michiko Nishikawa, Ken Tong, Miu Kiu Wai, Shing Fui On and Suki Kwan. Combat at Heaven Gate, 100m, in Mandarin (?), with English subtitles. Cast: Sibelle Hu. Crystal Hunt, Hong Kong, 1991, in Mandarin, with English subtitles, Cheung Yau Production Co. Cast: Donnie Yen, Sibelle Hu, Carrie Ng, Liu Chia Hui and Michael Woods. Features -- like "Cheetah on Fire," which I suspect this film was made back-to-back with, using the same cast -- Michael Woods, the African-American "villain" from ITLOD 4. Dignified Killers, d. Chen Chu Huang, Hong Kong, in ??, with English subtitles. A fun little film about revenge. Starts out as a "boys'" film about triad stuff, but turns into the story of a woman who goes after the man who wronged her, with the help of four of her nightclub- hostess girlfriends, all wearing reflective silver jumpsuits! Dreaming the Reality, d. Simon Yun Ching, Hong Kong, 1991, 102m, in Cantonese, with English subtitles. Cast: Moon Lee, Yukari Oshima and Sibelle Hu. Moon Lee and Yukari Oshima are sisters who have been raised/trained by their foster father to be professional assassins, along with their rather cruel brother. Sibelle Hu is an ex-cop from HK, now living in Thailand with her rather naive brother -- who wants to make a living in the local boxing ring. (Sibelle's role could easily be a continuation of her role in Angel Terminators 2, if that character had retired to Thailand....) Eventually, their no-good foster father sends the two sisters on a perilous mission in (you guessed it!) Thailand, where they get separated -- Moon Lee ending up recovering from injuries sustained with Sibelle and Bro., and helping them with some local troubles. In the end, some long-buried family difficulties among the assassin clan finally get resolved -- needless to say this requires lots of ammo, explosives, and a small army of bad guys.... Generally speaking, this movie had good characters and action sequences; my only complaint is that Yukari should have got more on-screen time and character development (but I say that about almost any movie she's in!)... Fatal Chase, d. Chik Ki Yee, Hong Kong, 1992, in Mandarin, with English subtitles. Cast: Shing Fui On, Waise Lee and Yukari Oshima. Fatal Termination, d. Andrew Kam, Hong Kong, 1988, 88m, in Cantonese, with English subtitles. Cast: Moon Lee, Simon Yam, Ray Lui and Philip Ko. Moon Lee is a nice housewifey mom who gets *real pissed* when her little girl is kidnapped. Along with her cop husband, she goes after the bad guys in a big way. (Includes the unbelievable scene in which the little girl is being dangled by her hair outside a fast-moving car while Moon Lee, draped across the hood, is fighting with the people in the front seat.) Forbidden Arsenal, d. Yuen Chun Man and Cheng Siu Keung, Hong Kong, 1991, 90m, in Cantonese, with English subtitles, p. Dickson Poon. Cast: Cynthia Khan, Waise Lee, Too Shu Chun and Loretta Lee. This cousin to the "In the Line of Duty" series is less spectacular than many of those films, but it has some good moments -- especially at the end. Cynthia Khan is the HK cop who teams up with a womanizing Taiwanese cop (Waise Lee) and a cop from Mainland China, in an effort to bring down an international gun-smuggling ring. Heroic Trio, d. Johnny To, Hong Kong, 1992, 88m, in Cantonese, with English subtitles, p. Ching Siu Tung, Paka Hill Film Production Co., dis. Tai Seng, w. Sandy Shaw, m. William Hu, ad. Bruce Yu. Cast: Maggie Cheung, Anita Mui, Michelle Yeoh, Anthony Wong, Damian Lau and James Pak. Heroic Trio 2: Executioners, d. Johnny To and Ching Siu Tung, Hong Kong, 1993, 85m, in Cantonese, with English subtitles. Cast: Maggie Cheung, Anita Mui and Michelle Yeoh. In the Line of Duty (Royal Warriors) [AKA Police Assassins], d. David Chung, Hong Kong, 1986, 85m, in Cantonese (some Japanese), with English subtitles, p. Dickson Poon. Cast: Michelle Khan (Michelle Yeoh), Michael Wong and Hiriyuki Sanada (Henry Sanada). Michelle Khan is truly amazing in this classic pull-out-all- the-stops "Girls with Guns" movie, which is still one of the best of the genre. Excellent fight choreography and stunts, and tons of action -- including a final scene in which Michelle really "brings down the house"!!! Possibly my favorite Michelle Khan/Yeoh role to date. Hiriyuki Sanada shows off some very impressive moves in his supporting role as Mr. Yamamoto, a Japanese cop who helps Michelle take on the bad guys. [AKA Police Assassins.] In the Line of Duty 2: Middleman, d. Cha Chuen Yi (Cha Fu-Yi), Hong Kong, 1987, in Mandarin?, with English subtitles, p. Dickson Poon, D & B Film Co., dis. Ocean Shores Video, Inc. Cast: Cynthia Khan, David Wai/David Wu, Elvina, Kong Yan Yin and Kim Maree Penn. In the Line of Duty 3 (Force of the Dragon, Yes Madam 2), d. Brandy Yuen and Arthur Wong, Hong Kong, 1988, in Mandarin, with English subtitles, p. Dickson Poon and Stephen Shin. Cast: Cynthia Khan, Michiko Nishikawa, Hiroshi Fujioka and Stuart Ong. I *love* this movie! Cynthia Khan makes you *believe* that she can go toe-to-toe with any guy in a fight, but Michiko ends up being the ultimate foe. The brutal last-battle is amazing. In the Line of Duty 4 (Witness), d. Yuen Woh Ping, Hong Kong, 1989, in English (dubbed), with no subtitles. Cast: Cynthia Khan, Donnie Yen, Michael Woods and Michael Wong. Along with "Righting Wrongs," this movie has the best fights I've seen in the "Girls with Guns" genre. This is the first Cynthia Khan movie I saw, and it made an instant believer out of me. Some great fights involving moving vehicles. Donnie Yen is stunning too. The fight between Donnie and Michael Woods (the African American "villain" in the movie) is excellent. Inspector Wear Skirts 4, Hong Kong, 1992, in Cantonese, with no subtitles, P.U. Productions Limited, dis. Try Ease Limited. Cast: Cynthia Khan, Moon Lee (Li Sai Feng), Richard Ng, Dick Wei and Kara Hui Ying Hung. The goofiest of the ITLOD spinoffs I've seen. Has some good scenes, incl. spoofs of the Wong Fei Hung movies, drunken boxing, and the "bus chase" scene from Police Story. "Kicking Buddha" (Min Wu trans.), Hong Kong, in Mandarin Japanese (some scenes), with English Chinese subtitles. Cast: Yukari Oshima. What a sleeper! I wish I knew the real English title of this film because it's way above average for a triad/cops/girls with guns flick. The rather complex plot holds together pretty well, and there's lots of good action, with guns and kung fu -- well choreographed, edited, etc.. Many good performances by actors I don't know by name - most all the villains, the noble brother who joins the triad in order to track down his sister, the HK cop who aids Yukari Oshima (playing a Japanese "international cop"). Killer Angels, d. Lui Jun Go, Hong Kong, 1989, 92m, in Cantonese, with English subtitles. Cast: Moon Lee (Lee Choi-Fung), Yukari Oshima and Liu Chia Hui. An absolute classic. All three of the "Blue Angels" -- led by Moon Lee, who goes undercover as a nightclub chanteuse -- are wonderful, and Yukari Oshima's "jealous bad girl in a leather jacket on a motorcycle with a shotgun" is unforgettable. The butch Angel, who goes undercover dressed as a man in order to case the nightclub, is very cool -- as is the 'schoolgirl' looking Angel who beats up the witness she's protecting whenever he hits on her. Lady Super Cop, d. Chong Shiao-Shiong, Hong Kong, 1993, 86?m, in Cantonese, with English subtitles, Perfect Films Production Co. Cast: Carina Lau, Waise Lee, Teresa Ho, Chan Wai Man and Eric Tsang. Lethal Panther, d. Godfrey Ho, Hong Kong, 1990, ph. Benny Chan. Cast: Sibelle Hu, Yoko Miyamoto and Lawrence Ng. Magnificent Warriors, d. David Chung, Hong Kong, 1987, 89m, in English, with Dutch subtitles, p. Dickson Poon. Cast: Michelle Khan (Yeoh), Richard Ng and Matsui Tetsuya. One of the first 3 Michelle Khan movies, from the period before her "retirement." Michelle is a biplane pilot/spy working against the occupying Japanese forces in China in the late 1930s or early 1940s. Richard Ng is a poncho-wearing itinerant swindler who accidentally gets tangled up in Michelle's mission to rescue a local ruler, who is pretending to support the Japanese occupation forces while actually working to subvert their hold on his province. Some nice stunts, and Michelle w/ a bullwhip (Indiana Jones-style) and comic relief from Richard Ng make it fairly watchable, but it's definitely not up to the standards of Yes Madam! and Royal Warriors/In The Line of Duty. [The Indonesian version with Dutch subtitles that I saw was nearly ruined by the terrible English dubbing and the annoying musical score.] Naked Killer, d. Clarence Fok Yiu Leung, Hong Kong, 1992, 90m. Cast: Chingmy Yau (Yau Suk Ching), Carrie Ng, Simon Yam, Kelly and Svenwara Madoka. On Parole, Hong Kong, in Mandarin, with English subtitles, PanAsia Films Production Co. Cast: Kara Hui Ying Hung. Outlaw Brothers, d. Frankie Chan, Hong Kong, 1988, with English subtitles. Cast: Frankie Chan, Yukari Oshima and Michiko Nishikawa. Pink Bom(b)!, Hong Kong, in Mandarin, with English subtitles, Super Power Motion Pictures Co. Cast: Waise Lee, Cynthia Khan, Fenny Yuen, Lee Siu Yin and Gloria Yip (as the "hooker"). "Cynthia Khan, Lee Siu Yin, and Fenny Yuen take a tour bus to Thailand. They pick up a hooker (Gloria Yip) with stolen mob money. Thai gangsters want their money back and the tour guide (Waise Lee) helps them fight for their lives. Very funny fantasy dream sequences and good fights between Khan and the gang." Police Story 3: Supercop, d. Stanley Tong, Hong Kong, 1991, 90m, in Mandarin, with English subtitles. Cast: Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung and Yuen Wah. An HK cop (Jacky Chan) and a Mainland cop (Mickelle Yeoh) infiltrate a drug gang by helping to "spring" one of its leaders (Yuen Wah) from a prison camp in Mainland China. Queen's High, d. Chris Lee, Hong Kong, 1991, p. Dickson Poon. Cast: Cynthia Khan, Simon Yam, Kim Maree Penn and Eddie Malher. Raped by an Angel (Naked Killer 2), d. Lau Chang Wei (Jeff Lau), Hong Kong, 1993, in Mandarin, with English subtitles, p. Wong Ching, Wong Jing's Workshop, w. Wong Ching. Cast: Chingmy Yau (Yau Suk Ching), Carrie Ng, Mark Cheng (as villain) and Simon Yam? Righting Wrongs (Above the Law), d. Corey Yuen, Hong Kong, 1987, 100m, in Cantonese, with English subtitles. Cast: Yuen Biao, Cynthia Rothrock, Melvin Wong, Roy Chiao/Roy Chow, Karen Shephard and Peter Cunningham. An instant classic. Cynthia Rothrock's best movie by a mile. Contains a handful of the best fight scenes I've seen. Vintage Yuen Biao. A gritty movie that's not bound by the conventions of the unmitigatedly happy ending... Sea Wolves, d. Cheng Siu Keung, Hong Kong, 1990, with English subtitles, p. Dickson Poon and Stehen Shin. Cast: Cynthia Khan and Simon Yam. Supercop 2: Project S (Once a Cop), d. Stanley Tong, Hong Kong, 1993, in Mandarin, with English subtitles. Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Yu Rong-Guang (as evil boyfriend), Chu Yun (as little sister)?, Yukari Oshima (cameo at beginning), Eric Tsang and Jackie Chan (cameo). Tiger Cage 2, Hong Kong, with English subtitles. Cast: Donnie Yen, Rosamund Kwan, Cynthia Khan and Michael Woods. Way of the Lady Boxers (aka Madam the Great), Hong Kong, in Mandarin, with English subtitles. Cast: Sibelle Hu and Sharon Yeung. Two HK cops (incl. Sharon Yeung -- the butch woman cop from Angel Terminators 1) team up with Mainland China cops (led by Sibelle Hu) to stop gun traffickers. Decent, but not stunning fight scenes. The "jump from top of tall building to drift down on ballon" stunt was nice. Wonder 7, d. Ching Siu Tung, Hong Kong, 1994, in ?, with English subtitles. Cast: Michelle Yeoh. "Decent action movie about a motorcycle-riding gang." Yes Madam '92: A Serious Shock, d. Stanley Wing Siu, Hong Kong, 1992, in Mandarin, with English subtitles. Cast: Cynthia Khan, Moon Lee, Yukari Oshima, Waise Lee and Lawrence Ng. The most harrowing and dramatically intense "girls with guns" movie I've seen. Excellent acting performances by Moon Lee, Yukari Oshima, and Cynthia Khan. This movie breaks new ground in the genre. Yes Madam!, d. Corey Yuen, Hong Kong, 1985, in ??, with English subtitles, p. Samo Hung. Cast: Michelle Khan (Michelle Yeoh), Cynthia Rothrock, Dick Wei, Tsui Hark, Anthony Wong, Samo Hung, Richard Ng and Wu Ma. Michelle Khan is great. Cynthia Rothrock's best movie after "Righting Wrongs." Tsui Hark has a funny role as the counterfeiter. Features the crazy-moustache guy from Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars, as the knife-fighting guy. ************************************************************** Below you'll find excerpts from the alt.asian-movies FAQ file. The FAQ file is posted regularly to the newsgroup, and is maintained by md2holle@mdstud.chalmers.se (Lars-Erik Holmquist). -- TG This FAQ is now fully HTML-ised, which means that the best way to read it is with Mosaic or a similar www-browser! The latest version of the FAQ can be found at the Hong Kong movies WWW-page: http://www.mdstud.chalmers.se/hkmovie/ This FAQ is also made available for ftp at ftp.funet.fi pub/culture/tv+film/hongkong where you can also find other Hong Kong movie related files. Please note that this FAQ is intended to be about getting Hong Kong films on video, and not a general "Hong Kong Movies FAQ" -- although that would be very nice to see as well! 1. Frequently asked questions Where do I find Hong Kong films on video/laserdisc? The best place to find Hong Kong films is always at local chinese shops. Look around; no matter where you live, you're almost bound to have a chinese grocery store somewhere close. And they almost certainly will have movies. You may have to ask around a bit, you may have to go to the store and talk to the owners a few times to gain their confidence -- a basic knowledge of actor and movie names in chinese will help tremendously -- but don't give up. If you're lucky, they have the movies out on the shelves, in boxes, so you can just go in an pick by the english titles. But more probable is that they have bootleg copies of some kind, with the label only marked in chinese. Then you'll have to be a bit more creative. Find pictures of actors you want to see, try to get the names of actors and movies in chinese (mandarin or cantonese transcripitons; or chinese writing, of course). A shop where I live cuts out the newspaper advertisements for the movies they have and display them, so that I can just point at whatever looks interesting and the staff helps me find it. If you're absolutely, 100% sure that there are no chinese shops where you live, you may have to resort to mail order. There are various companies in the US that sell Hong Kong movies; you can find them in fanzines. A good listing of mail order suppliers can be found in the new Video Watchdog Special Edition; see the bibliography for more info. But beware that firstly, these are quite often illegal copies, and generally of bad quality. You're always better off if you find a chinese shop that rents laserdisc, or original tapes, or even copies from original tapes. Secondly, many of these companies are pretty unstable, since they're basically just a guy with two VCR's, so it's quite probable that they just keep your money and not send you anything. Always check if a company takes major credit cards, that means that they at least are up to some kind of minimal legal standards; and pay with card if you've got one. Don't just send a cheque to somebody on the basis of an ad, no matter how cheap they are or how many movies they seem to have. But be careful and you'll be OK. [This is followed by a list of mail order outlets in the US. Not included here for brevity; get the FAQ if you want this information. It also contains a lot of other useful information. -- TG] 3. The bluffer's guide to chinese actor's names If you walk into a chinese video shop and ask for "Chinese Ghost Story", or "Jet Li", or "John Woo" films, the only thing you're likely to get is a blank stare. Just about all Hong Kong films have English names, but that doesn't mean that these names have anything to do with the Chinese ones. And what's more, almost all actors and directors have taken english names -- which can be quite different from their real names! Mostly, you'll know an actor by a dreamt-up English first name, and the real chinese sur-name. Jet Li, for instance, is actually Li Lian Je -- but that's in Mandarin, so to a Cantonese he's actually Lei Lin Git! Not very obvious if you didn't know it! Here is a small guide to some famous actors. This will make your first encounters with chinese video shops much easier! (Original list by Timo Juhani Rautiala (tra@phoenix.oulu.fi)) [I have excerpted the female names from the list; not all of these are necessarily warrior types, go by Hank Okazaki's list above -- TG.] English Cantonese Mandarin Actors/actresses: "DoDo / Carol Cheng" "Jeng Yue Ling" "Zheng4 Yu4 Ling1" "Jacky Cheung" "Jeung Hok Yan" "Zhang1 Xue2 You3" "Leslie Cheung" "Jeung Kwok Wing" "Zhang1 Guo2 Rong2" "Maggie Cheung" "Jeung Maan Yuk" "Zhang1 Man4 Yu4" "Cynthia Khan" "Yeung Lai Ching" "Yang2 Li2 Qing1" "Michelle Khan / Yeoh" "Yeung Ji King" "Yang2 Zi3 Qiong2" "Rosamund Kwan" "Gwaan Ji Lam" "Guan1 Zhi1 Lin2" "Michelle Lee / Reis" "Lei Ga Yan" "Li3 Jia1 Xin1" "Brigitte Lin" "Lam Ching Ha" "Lin2 Qing1 Xia2" "Anita Mui" "Mooi Yim Fong" "Mei2 Yan4 Fang1" "Sally Yip Sally Yeh" "Yip Sin Man" "Ye4 Qian4 Wen2" ********************************************************** * Amazons International * * Thomas Gramstad, editor: thomas@smaug.uio.no * * Administravia: amazons-request@math.uio.no * * Submissions: amazons@math.uio.no * ********************************************************** "A Hard Woman is Good to Find" -- The Valkyries