Jade Warrior DVD

We take a look at the Jade Warrior DVD, a story inspired by the myth and majesty of the Kalevala. A lovestruck hero fighting against the restrictions of modern life and searching for love beyond time and place and stars upcoming mainland actress Zhang Jingchu. DVD Review here

Other movies starring Zhang Jingchu which you might be interested:
. Rush Hour 3
. Protege
. Seven Swords

PLEASURE FACTORY Opening Soon...

TRAILER ADDED!
A locally-funded controversial movie "Pleasure Factory" that touches on one of Singapore's most "happening" trade will be opening here on 25 October. Directed by acclaimed director Ekachai Uekrongtham ("Beautiful Boxer") and it stars talents such as Yang Kuei-Mei, Ananda Everingham and Loo Zihan. Watch this space for more details. In the meantime, click here for more info

CHARITY GALA PREMIERE CELEBRATING THE 11TH HOUR

Warner Bros. Pictures, Singapore Environment Council (SEC) and Red Dawn Communications have partnered to organize a Charity Gala Premiere on 23 October 2007 for The 11th Hour, produced by Leonardo DiCaprio. Proceeds of the premiere will go to the Green Volunteers Network (GVN), the volunteer arm of SEC.

Details of the Charity Gala Premiere:
Date : 23 October 2007 (Tuesday)
Time : 7:30pm (Running time: 93 minutes)
Venue : Shaw Lido, Level 5 Shaw House, 350 Orchard Road
Tickets : Priced at S$30 or S$50

“We are proud to be distributing this film for its timeliness and relevance to the environmental issues happening in the world”, said Ng Peng Hui, General Manager of Warner Bros. Pictures Singapore. We hope that the audience will be more motivated to get involved in the good cause of saving the environment after they watch this film.”

“Red Dawn Communications is supporting Warner Bros. Pictures in publicizing the movie and educating the public on how to go about solving the climate crisis”, said Angelika Quadt, Group Account Director, Red Dawn Communications. “We hope to encourage everyone come forward and commit to help in reducing carbon emissions.”

The 11th Hour describes the last moment when change is possible. The film explores how humanity has arrived at this moment – how we live, how we impact the earth’s ecosystems, and what we can do to change our course. The film features dialogues with experts from all over the world, including former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, former head of the CIA R. James Woolsey and sustainable design experts William McDonough and Bruce Mau in addition to over 50 leading scientists, thinkers and leaders who present the facts and discuss the most important issues that face our planet.

Narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, The 11th Hour is produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, Leila Conners Petersen, Chuck Castleberry and Brian Gerber, written and directed by Leila Conners Petersen and Nadia Conners.

The film is rated PG in Singapore, and will screen at C athay Cineplex Orchard , Golden Village Plaza Singapura, Golden Village VivoCity, The Cathay Cineplex and Shaw Lido from 1st November, 2007.

Trailer and more info can be found here

[World Cinema Series Media Preview] Cairo Station (Bab El Hadid) (1958)

Don't Underestimate Me

I came, I saw and I was totally in awe.

The World Cinema Series by the National Museum Cinémathèque and co-presented by the Singapore Film Society will showcase the next film in its lineup on 9th October next month. I had the privilege of attending the media preview this evening for the movie Cairo Station by Egyptian director Youssef Chahine, and was thoroughly impressed by the quality of the movie, despite it being made almost 50 years ago.

In attendance today was Yousry Elsayed Mansou, a graduate from The Higher Institute of Cinema in Egypt (in 1981) and an ex-student of the director, and he had shared some valuable insights on the movie which you can read below. Yousry will also be present on screening day to interact with the audience after the movie, and I would encourage one and all to pick his brain to learn more about the movie, and of Egyptian cinema in general too.

Yousry shared that in his 4th year in the Institute, which was the graduation year, they had to sit in a director's workshop, and it was fortunate and lucky that his was with Youssef Chahine, although the director he idolizes was the director who preceded the batch before his! Nonetheless Youssef still remains one of the most remarkable filmmakers today, and is now 81 years old. His latest movie Heya Fawda (Chaos) was screened in competition at the recently concluded Venice Film Festival which ended about 2 weeks ago.

Youssef was born in 1926 and started to make movies from 1949. Cairo Station was made in 1958, and remains the only film in Egyptian cinematic history where the audience demonstrated within the theatre, and almost destroyed the seats. They had also asked for refunds as they didn't like the film, calling the film Ugly. It may seem strange to people today when they watch the movie, why such was the reaction then. It was the first day of screening, and it was removed from release. For 10 years nobody had watched it, until it was screened on television in Egypt, and many then had started to realize its importance.

Youssef Chahine had never spoken about Cairo Station during the 20 years, and relations between him and the scriptwriter were at breaking point - they never stopped blaming each other about the failure of the movie with the public. But on thing's for sure, the film was earlier than its time, and perhaps the audience then were not ready for it. In the movie, Youssef Chahine also plays one of the lead roles.

***

I believe Cairo Station marks my very first experience in watching an Egyptian movie (those television soap operas over the RTM channels when I was younger, don't exactly count). And having the opportunity to watch one made by an acclaimed Egyptian filmmaker, was nothing less than a bonus. What provided the icing on the cake, was that it was shown in 35mm print, and that is precisely the attraction of the World Cinema Series.

I was under the uninformed impression that older, black and white movies, will likely to be paced too slow for my liking, or have stories that are quite bland by today's standards. I was so wrong, and Cairo Station absolutely threw those notions out of my mental window the minute I experienced the first few minutes of it. It has an extremely strong story, sophisticated in that it managed to span multiple threads and had ensemble characters, having so much paced so nicely within its 74 minute runtime, and having them all come together neatly for the finale.

Having the events take place within a single day, it centers around 3 lead characters - Kenawi the newspaper boy (played by the director himself), who walks with a limp and gets discriminate against by the working folks at the train station (hence the English title), Hanuma the sultry, sexy soft drink seller (played by Hind Rostrom) and her beau Abu Sri (Farid Shawqi), a porter at the station who's galvanizing his fellow workers to form a union to fight for better wages and welfare. There you have the female lead in a familiar seductress role, an anti-hero, and the hero himself, caught in a love triangle, which starts to turn Kenawi's jealousy and having his love spurned, into a dangerous obsession.

Sounds like a Hitchcock-ian thriller? You bet! It's a dark movie indeed, one which explores the trappings of a misguided soul and his fetish and fantasies of beautiful pin up models, and because of his inability to express himself properly, gets frustrated and even with his relatively low IQ, starts to scheme to get his desires met. But it's not always all about Kenawi, as having the premise set in one of the busiest train stations, it allows for a number of avenues to introduce simple side stories to enrich the main narrative - every anonymous face in the station, definitely has a story to tell.

And what exactly was in the film that had made audiences back then upset? Well, I could offer a few suggestions, but by today's standards, it has seemed that it's already quite common, be it the water soaked clothing that accentuates a woman's curves, or a folio consisting of various scantily clad pin up models, or the many cleavage bearing shots, or perhaps some dancing and flirting amongst a train full of man, giving them that seductive wink? One wonders, but as with most situations, anyone seemed to have been crossing the boundaries, pushing the envelopes, or revolutionizing the way stories are told, would have met with either accolades for doing so, or unfortunate condemnation like what this film received during its very first screening.

But on hindsight, as always, this movie is nothing short of being remarkable. And having already watched it, I will be watching it again when the film screens once more to the general public on October 5th. Mark your calendars, and experience a world class production that has withstood the test of time - 50 years and counting, is no mean feat!

***

After the screening, Yousry shared with us some of the breakthroughs in tradition that this film has had. One, Farid Shawqi the actor is extremely well known for his heroic roles, but here, gets reduced to less than a "superman" he is well known for. Even actress Hind Rostrom was regarded like the Madonna of cinema, and in this movie she has only 1 costume throughout, versus the typically 20-30 costume changes she will have in her movies. These might have presented as a disappointment to their fans and to the audience in general. Two, The main character is a nobody, instead of your usual heroic roles. Three, the movie was filmed entirely outdoors instead of in a studio, and one can imagine the size of equipment those days (on 35mm) that has to be setup during production.

Yousry also provided some additional insights and introduction to Egyptian cinema, for example, sharing with us that the Director of Photography for this movie, Alevise Orfanelli, is credited for having heralded the beginnings of Egyptian cinema way back in 1907, and this year, they are celebrating 100 years of Egyptian cinema.

For those who are interested to learn more, why not attend the screening, and get an opportunity to interact with Yousry too?

Ticketing Information
$8 / $6.40 concession
Free admission for Singapore Film Society members

Counter Sales
Stamford Visitor Services Counter: 10am – 8pm
Canning Visitor Services Counter: 10am – 5pm

Online Booking
(click on Online Booking tab at the bottom of the webpage)

Ticketing Information: 6332 3659
General Enquiries: 6332 5642

Patrons are advised that valid identity pass is required for all screenings.

The Forbidden Kingdom Wrapped Up Principal Photography

Lionsgate, the leading independent filmed entertainment studio, Relativity Media and J&J Productions Limited announced that principal photography for the international production of kungfu action-adventure epic THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM has wrapped, with the last few scenes completed at the massive Hengdian World Studios in Zhejiang Province, China.

Filming started on May 2, 2007. The 17-week production took place at various locations in China, including Anji, Dunhuang, Fangyan, Xianju, Wuyi Mountain and Hengdian.

Lionsgate plans to release THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM in the United States in Spring 2008 and will co-release the film with The Weinstein Company. Lionsgate UK will self-distribute the film in the United Kingdom. The Weinstein Company will handle distribution in Spain, France and Latin America. Relativity Media is handling foreign sales on the picture.

THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM marks the second project that Relativity has produced and financed and that Lionsgate has marketed and distributed as a joint effort.“The combination of a formidable crew, together with the spectacular locations and studio sets has made this an incredible journey for all of us. We have accomplished so much more than I would have ever imagined possible. I cannot wait to show what we have achieved to the world,” commented producer Casey Silver (LADDER 49, HIDALGO, the upcoming LEATHERHEADS). The film is produced by Casey Silver Productions in association with Relativity Media and in co-production with Chinese studio Huayi Brothers Media Group (KUNGFU HUSTLE, THE BANQUET).

Directed by Rob Minkoff (THE LION KING), THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM brings together the two top international martial arts superstars, Jackie Chan (SHANGHAI KNIGHTS, DRUNKEN MASTER, the RUSH HOUR trilogy) and Jet Li (THE ONE, HERO, FEARLESS) for the first time in movie-making history.

Also starring in the film are Michael Angarano (ALMOST FAMOUS, LORDS OF DOGTOWN), Collin Chou (THE MATRIX RELOADED, THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS) and renowned Chinese actresses Crystal Liu Yi Fei (LOVE OF MAY, RETURN OF THE CONDOR HEROES) and Li Bing Bing (THE KNOT, LOVE FOR ALL SEASONS).

“Working in China with some of its biggest stars, both in front of and behind the camera, has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” declared Minkoff.Bringing his extraordinary eye to the film’s visual scheme is Academy Award®-winning director of photography Peter Pau (CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, BRIDE WITH WHITE HAIR, THE PROMISE); while famed action choreographer Woo-Ping Yuen (CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, THE MATRIX, HERO, FEARLESS) has created a host of ingenious fight sequences, including a few that take place between the characters played by Jackie Chan and Jet Li.In developing the film’s original screenplay, screenwriter John Fusco (HIDALGO, the Academy Award®-nominated SPIRIT: STALLION OF THE CIMARRON) wove in characters from the famous Chinese legends “Journey To The West” and “The Eight Immortals,” as well as the martial arts novel “The Bride With White Hair.” These classic elements are joined with the modern-day story of a kungfu-obsessed teenager to create a film that delivers non-stop martial arts action while also exploring the deeper meaning of kungfu.

Executive producers on the project include Ryan Kavanaugh of Relativity Media (3:10 TO YUMA, TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY) and Raffaella De Laurentiis (THE LAST LEGION, BACKDRAFT). The production marked a happy return to the region for De Laurentiis, who was in China and Hong Kong to produce 1986’s TAIPAN and 1993’s DRAGON: THE BRUCE LEE STORY. “The dynamics of filmmaking in Asia have changed tremendously since I was last here,” De Laurentiis remarked. “The industry has made enormous strides and our collaboration with Huayi Brothers Media Group has been very fruitful.”

The focus is now shifting to South Korea, where the visual effects will be created by a consortium of the top visual effects houses, assembled specifically for the movie: Macrograph, Inc., Digital Tetra Inc. (DTI) and Footage. It will be the first time that a non-Korean film with a complex and ambitious special effects profile will undergo post-production work in South Korea, a market that in the last decade has seen a rapid expansion of its filmmaking capabilities.

Said Silver, “For a film that has crossed so many boundaries and set numerous precedents, it was only fitting to have a top-notch Korean visual effects team come on board. We’ve been fortunate to assemble the best and brightest from Macrograph, DTI and Footage, and I believe they will bring the film to another level.”Added Minkoff, “Korea is on the cutting edge of media in Asia, so I am excited to see this team work their magic.”“DTI Pictures has always dreamt of working on such a major project,” said Yoon Suk Lee, the CEO of DTI.THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM may represent a watershed moment for the South Korean film industry, which is poised to take on more Hollywood-based projects. “Being a part of an international production of this scale will help to further develop the company,” commented Tae Jung Han, the President of Footage. “Macrograph’s goal has always been to become a global CGI house,” added Dr. Inho Lee, the CEO of Macrograph.