A news item which has popped up all over the web over the weekend (and has a Weinstein Company Press Release to back that up) is that Quentin Tarantino is going to remake King Hu's wuxia classic "Come Drink With Me" (aka Big Drunk Hero, aka the film that will make you fall in love with Pei Pei Cheng). Ten minutes into the original and you will see just how much of a wellspring of ideas (many of which have turned into cliches over the past 40 years) were started right here. As a bonus the film has held up remarkably well. This begs the oft cited question of "Why?" when remaking a classic. Well I'm inclined to give Quentin Tarantino the benefit of the doubt, as he takes hundreds of pieces from many sources, mixes things up, and turns out something original feeling in the end anyway.
Come Drink With Me purists (and there are enough fans out there to allow for a big screen showing of both this film and the balls-to-the-wall sequel Chang Cheh's Golden Swallow at the Ontario Cinematheque and Fantasia a few years ago) may want to beware a bit, because something tells me that there will be several major tweaks in the final film. Expect a cameo from Pei-Pei Cheng (who does this sort of thing both large and small even before Ang Lee came along and offered her the meaty Jade Fox role in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.) Of course at the rate that Quentin Tarantino mentions upcoming projects (even if this one was mentioned by his $$ Patrons, TWC) this has a 1 in 10 chance of getting made anyway.
Seriously, any martial arts fans who haven't seen this, you are missing out not just on an important piece of martial arts cinematic history, but a seriously butt-kicking good time! Cheng Pei-pei is (arguably) the first female action film star, as she owns just about everyone who crosses her path while looking good to boot. King Hu's cinematography and editing were light years ahead of the genre, and the choreography, while not as lightning-fast and intense as what we are used to nowadays, is both intricate and fluid. If you own a region-free DVD player (and really, what card-carrying fanboy or fangirl doesn't?), hook up the Celestial pictures region 3 disc. It includes great extras, including a highly informative commentary track from Bey Logan, Cheng Pei-pei, and her daughter, up-and-comer Marsha Yuan! (And give yourself bonus geek points if you can spot a young Mars in one of the scenes in the inn.)
QT attaches himself to so many possible projects, I really can't see this one happening. And I'm rather surprised that the Weinsteins wound go so far as to back this with a press release. Didn't QT just lose them a whole lot of money with GRINDHOUSE? Somehow I can't see some kung fu remake being a huge mainstream success and that's exactly what he (and the Weinsteins) desperately need right now.
this news makes me nauseous. seriously. i have been pissed off for 3 days. you can't even get a copy of the original movie on dvd here. region 3 was the only way to see this.
please, tarantino, just leave this alone and go make your 'big red one'. oh, sorry, i mean 'inglorious bastards.'
....and(I almost forgot):"Kill The Bride("Kill Bill:Volume 3")".
Has the Weinstein's only hit (since the new company) been Clerks 2? Like seriously, they'd be better off whoring Kevin Smith and possibly Robert Rodriguez (on his own without Quentin especially) than they will be whoring Tarantino. Scary Movie 4, I don't think, didn't do what they thought it would. Clerks 2 actually became a surprising hit for them and it seems like they haven't put anything in theaters since, except for Grindhouse which we all know flopped because of Tarantino. Never heard bad shit about Rodriguez's part, just Quentin's.
quentin, why not take a page from king hu, and read up on some great american novel, visualize its mythic grandeur nobody else has ever done before, reference some famous american painterly style, and then come up with your own take on violence/spirituality/gender equation to influence all future generations of american filmmakers? wait, that takes too much time. just remake.
ed, you are too true and too funny.
Lucas was shameless in his Star Wars marketing and retinkering BUT he took about a hundred different things and made the first Star Wars in 1977 which was unique and original and it stood on its own.
QT, on the other hand, has probably 2 nearly great films to his credit: Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown, with Jackie being based on a novel.
So that leaves one unique, original, fresh film: Pulp Fiction.
As much as I liked Kill Bill 1, I never could enjoy it beyond being a kind of "Greatest Hits" tribute reel. It works on that level.
However, for me at least, it never came close to transcending what it was copying to be something fresh and original a la Star Wars or something.
Everything else QT touches gives us fanboys a bad name -- all the HK and genre fans I know are INFINITELY smarter and sharper than the QT/Harry Knowles-kind-of-stereotype of us.
"Quentin, I get it. I get your references. I saw those flicks too and they rocked. Now what? What have *you* got to say as a filmmaker?"
Tarantino is a breath of fresh air in a barren motion picture landscape of prepackaged formulaic time-killers.
Grindhouse flopped, yes, but I saw it and wow... what a great idea. It was a fun and unique experience at the movies that night! Zombies don't only exist in Planet Terror. The American movie-going public is filled with brain-washed droids content to watch the same movie (except with new actors and titles) over and over again.