You might be forgiven for thinking that Melbourne really does get the lion’s share of Asian cinema programming here in Australia, and this snippet of news from a reader does nothing to dispel this particular feeling!
On Wednesday nights from 18 May to 1 June, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image is screening six films from iconic Hong Kong director Tsui Hark as part of the Melbourne Cinémathèque program. Some of these are relative rarities: there are very few DVD releases of my personal favourite from this director, The Blade (one in the UK, one French) and our own John Snadden tells me that Dangerous Encounters – First Kind has probably never been shown on the big screen here.
The Blade
The full list of films is as follows; I note slightly shamefacedly that we only have reviews for two of them. If you get along to a screening and feel moved to contribute a write-up, please get in touch!
- 18 May: Dangerous Encounters – First Kind
- 18 May: Once Upon a Time in China
- 25 May: Zu – Warriors from the Magic Mountain
- 25 May: The Blade
- 1 June: Shanghai Blues
- 1 June: The Master
Dates, times and ticket info are on the ACMI site, and there are trailers and more details at Melbourne Cinémathèque. I’m green with envy — here’s hoping someone brings a program like this to Sydney some time!