People get ready

There's a train a-comin' You don't need no baggage, you just get on board

All you need is faith to hear the diesels hummin' Don't need no ticket, you just thank the Lord

People get ready Train to Jordan Picking up passengers from coast to coast

Faith is key Open the doors and board them There's hope for all among the love the most

There ain't no room for the hopeless sinner Who would hurt all mankind just to save his own soul

Have pity on those whose choices grow thinner There ain't no hiding place from the Kingdom's throne

Curtis, you consoled my crying heart lots more than only once.

Und: 2005 endete mit 3 guten Filmen in einer Woche. All three (Så som i himmelen, A Good Woman, Vas - Vis et deviens) we definitely recommend to enjoy.

Don't start to lose time, man

It's off to our musical afternoon im Maimonides-Zentrum now. Flo, das Goldchen und Christian sind auch dort. Und noch viele liebe andere. Wish us good luck!

A Touch of Zen

ist der schwachsinnige engliche Titel von "Hsia nu", dem ersten chinesischen Film, von dem ich sicher erinnere, ihn gesehen zu haben, und zwar spät in der Nacht in den ebenfalls späten 70ern im SF, dem deutschsprachigen öffentlich rechtlichen Schweizer Fernsehen, welches mich sozusagen in diese Art Vergnügen eingeführt hat.

Der Film ist 200min lang und heutzutage auf DVD erhältlich. Das ist das Verdienst des Erfolges von " Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" und wie bei all den alten, wieder aufgelegten, Fantasy-kampffilmen aus Taiwan und Hongkong steht aussen auf dem Cover: "A major influence on CTHD.". Bald wahrscheinlich auch: "A major influence for KBVI/II". Was sind doch die Marketingleute und ihr Publikum einfallslos.

Zusammenfassung auf imdb.com:

An artist, Ku, lives with his mother near an abandoned fort, reputed to be haunted. One night, investigating strange noises, he meets the beautiful Yang who is living there. She is being pursued by agents of an Imperial noble who have murdered her family. Ku finds himself caught up in her struggle to survive, and many fierce battles take place before all is resolved. Action adventure with a lyrical feel, this is a kung fu film with a strong spiritual element.

Der Regisseur des Films heisst King Hu. Viele seiner Filme sind empfehlenswert, v. a. "Chung chung lieh t'u, aka Usurpers of Emperor's Power" von 1975 und "Kong shan ling yu, aka Raining in the Mountain" von 1979, die leider noch nicht auf DVD erhältlich sind. In beiden spielt ausserdem Feng Hsu die weibliche Hauptrolle. Das ist die Frau, die mit einer Fusskreisbewegeung im Sitzen einen auf sie geworfenen Speer umdrehen und auf den Werfer zurückschleudern kann. Sie heiratete in den frühen 80ern, soviel ich weiss und hörte mit dem Schauspiel auf.

Ihr Comeback als Producerin bescherte uns immerhin "Ba wang bie ji, aka Farewell my Concubine" mit Leslie Cheung, Fengyi Zhang und der wunderschönen Gong Li. Tsui Hark drehte Ende 1992 ein Remake von Hus "Dragon Gate Inn", wo Brigitte Lin und Maggie Cheung im Bad von Maggies Gasthof einen der elegantesten bitch-fights of all times zeigen, im Laufe dessen Brigitte Maggie alle Kleider auszieht und sich selbst damit bekleidet. Die nackte Maggie kann aber durch einen eleganten Sprung durch eine Fahne doch noch toll gedresst vor dem Typen erscheinen, um den es geht.

Die Filme der "Shaw Brothers" sind heute Kult. Ich möchte aber noch an eine nicht ganz so bekannte Regisseurin erinnern, Ann Hui, deren Film "Zhuang dao zheng, aka The Spooky Bunch" von 1980 ich allen empfehle, denen er bei einem Festival unterkommt. Leider nur auf NTSC-VHS erhältlich. In diesem Film machte Ching Siu Tung Erfahrungen als martial arts director und Josephine Siao, die viel später als Mutter von Jet Li in "Fong Sai Yuk I und II" grossartig war, bringt uns nicht nur zum Lachen wie immer, sondern sieht auch wunderhübsch aus.

Zusammenfassung A Cantonese opera company arrives in Cheung Chau to perform for a rich man, who wants to marry off his nephew Dick to the star of the company Ah Gee. As soon as they arrive, the company is thwarted by a female spirit, Catshit, who turns out to be the precursor of a whole army of spirits sent to pester the uncle and one of the older actors. Only Ah Gee and Dick find out that the danger has something to do with a crime committed by Ah Gee's ancestors. This involved selling bad medicines to soldiers as a result of which a whole platoon of ghosts is out for vengeance.

Ultimate romantic Kitsch on April 7

Almost A Love Story(1996) Directed by Peter Chan written by Ivy Ho Plot Summary: Jun arrives in Hong Kong from mainland China, hoping to be able to earn enough money to marry his girlfriend back home... Leon Lai .... XiaoJun Li Maggie Cheung .... Qiao Li Eric Tsang .... Pao Au-Yeung rest of cast listed alphabetically Len Berdick .... U.S. Immigration Officer Christopher Doyle .... English Teacher Michelle Gabriel Irene Tsu .... Aunt Rosie Kristy Yang .... XiaoTing Li Every Time We Say Goodbye (1986) Directed by Moshé Mizrahi witten by Moshé Mizrahi Plot Summary: An American flyer who joined the RAF before his country was in the war is recovering from a leg injury in Jerusalem... Tom Hanks .... David Cristina Marsillach .... Sarah Benedict Taylor .... Peter Anat Atzmon .... Victoria Gila Almagor .... Lea Moni Moshonov .... Nessin Avner Hizkiyahu .... Raphael (as Avner Hiskyahu) Esther Parnass .... Rosa Orna Porat .... Mrs. Finkelstein Nissim Azikri .... Shaltiel (as Nissim Azikry) Moshe Ivgy .... Daniel David Menachem .... Elie Avi Keidar .... Sammy Alon Abutbul .... Joseph Dafna Armoni .... Clara (as Daphne Armony) Man Who Cried, The (2000) Directed by Sally Potter written by Sally Potter Plot Outline: A young refugee traveling from Russia to America in search of her lost father falls for a gypsy horseman... Christina Ricci .... Suzie Cate Blanchett .... Lola John Turturro .... Dante Dominio Johnny Depp .... Cesar Harry Dean Stanton .... Felix Perlman Oleg Yankovsky .... Father Thom Osborn .... Man in Village Frank Chersky .... Man in Village Daniel Hart .... Man in Village Peter Majer .... Man in Village Hana Maria Pravda .... Grandmother Ayala Meir .... Child Abraham Hassan .... Child Lloyd Martin .... Child Uri Meir .... Child

4 hilarious nights in April, as long as we're here

About to start off on April's Eve^st 2000 hrs. with 1941 (1979) directed by Steven Spielberg written by Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale Plot Outline: Hysterical Californians prepare for a Japanese invasion in the days after Pearl Harbor. Dan Aykroyd .... Sgt. Frank Tree Ned Beatty .... Ward Douglas John Belushi .... Capt. Wild Bill Kelso Lorraine Gary .... Joan Douglas Murray Hamilton .... Claude Crumn Christopher Lee .... Capt. Wolfgang von Kleinschmidt Tim Matheson .... Capt. Loomis Birkhead Toshirô Mifune .... Cmdr. Akiro Mitamura Warren Oates .... Col. 'Madman' Maddox Robert Stack .... Maj. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell Treat Williams .... Cpl. Chuck 'Stretch' Sitarski Nancy Allen .... Donna Stratton Lucille Benson .... Gas Mama (Eloise) (as Lucille Bensen) Jordan Brian .... Macey Douglas John Candy .... Pvt. Foley Wayne's World 2 (1993) directed by Stephen Surjik written by Mike Myers Plot Outline: The inseparable duo try to organize a rock concert while Wayne must fend off a record producer who has an eye for his girlfriend ..... Mike Myers .... Wayne Campbell Dana Carvey .... Garth Algar Lee Tergesen .... Terry Dan Bell .... Neil Tia Carrere .... Cassandra Wong Richard Epper .... Guy at Concert Jenny McShane .... Girl at Concert (as Jennifer Miller) Duke Valenti .... Security Guy Benny Graham .... Security Guy Christopher Walken .... Bobby Cahn Gavin Grazer .... Scott Googy Gress .... Gate Security Guy Heather Locklear .... Herself Bob Odenkirk .... Concert Nerd Robert Smigel .... Concert Nerd Les Visiteurs(1993) Directed by Jean-Marie Poiré written by Christian Clavier, Jean-Marie Poiré Plot Summary: A medieval nobleman and his squire are accidentally transported to contemporary times by a senile sorcerer... Christian Clavier .... Jacquouille la Fripouille/Jacquard Jean Reno .... Godefroy de Papincourt, Comte de Montmirail Valérie Lemercier .... Frénégonde de Pouille/Béatrice de Montmirail Marie-Anne Chazel .... Ginette la clocharde Christian Bujeau .... Jean-Pierre Isabelle Nanty .... Fabienne Morlot Gérard Séty .... Edgar Bernay Didier Pain .... Louis VI le Gros Jean-Paul Muel .... Marechal des Logis Gibon Arielle Séménoff .... Jacqueline Michel Peyrelon .... Edouard Bernay Pierre Vial .... Wizard Eusebius/Monsieur Ferdinand François Lalande .... Priest Didier Bénureau .... Intern Beauvin Frédéric Baptiste .... Freddy