20 King of Spears (Lau), meet annually for a duel to see who is the superior martial artist. After years of ending in a draw, they each take on a student (with Lau’s student played by Hung and Hung’s student played by Lau) to determine who is the better teacher. DIRECTED BY: Lau Kar-Wing. WRITTEN BY: Raymond Lai, Raymond Wong. WITH: Sammo Hung, Lau Kar-wing, Mars, Dean Shek. 1979. 97 min. Hong Kong. Color. Scope. Cantonese. Not Rated. DCP. Brand-new DCP restoration, provided by Mei Ah Entertainment Group. Skinny Tiger and Fatty Dragon Sammo Hung reunited with Lau Kar-wing and Karl Maka for this kinetic comedy full of intense action sequences. Baldy, a fast-talking detective and his Bruce Lee-obsessed partner, Fatty, stumble upon the robbery of a jewelry store, which puts them on the trail of a triad crime syndicate. Along the way they end up in plenty of situations where Fatty’s martial arts skills are needed to get them out of trouble. Hung and Maka’s playful banter keep the tone light through brutal fight scenes as they track down Lau’s delightfully over-the-top crime boss, Cocaine Wing. DIRECTED BY: Lau Kar-wing. WRITTEN BY: Tsang Kwok-chi. WITH: Sammo Hung, Karl Maka, Carrie Ng, Woo Fung. 1990. 105 min. Hong Kong. Color. Cantonese. Not Rated. DCP. Brand-new DCP restoration, provided by Mei Ah Entertainment Group.
culminating in an unforgettable duel. Long unavailable on any home media or streaming platform, License to Steal is evidence that even when Hung isn’t the director or star, his jovial spirit guides the work he produces. DIRECTED BY: Billy Chan. WRITTEN BY: Johnny Lee. WITH: Joyce Godenzi, Agnes Aurelio, Yuen Biao, Richard Ng. 1990. 90 min. Hong Kong. Color. Cantonese. Not Rated. 35mm.
Mr. Nice Guy
Mr. Nice Guy Sat, May 27 | 7:30pm | TMT
Rival gangs in the midst of a war encounter their worst nightmare: a TV chef skilled in martial arts. When a drug deal gone wrong gets caught on tape, it’s up to Jackie (Jackie Chan) to protect the evidence in a nonstop chase through the streets of Sydney, Australia, riding horse carriages and rolling over table saws along the way. Made at the onset of Chan’s and Hung’s careers in America, and marking their final collaboration as director and star, Mr. Nice Guy is a last hurrah to an era of Hong Kong cinema. DIRECTED BY: Sammo Hung. WRITTEN BY: Edward Tang, Fibe Ma. WITH: Jackie Chan, Richard Norton, Miki Lee, Barry Otto. 1997. 88 min. Hong Kong. Color. Scope. English. Not Rated. 35mm.
She Shoots Straight
She Shoots Straight with License to Steal Fri, May 26 | 7:30pm | TMT She Shoots Straight
Joyce Godenzi (Hung’s real-life wife) plays a police officer who skips the pleasures of her new marriage to take on a team of Vietnamese criminals led by frequent Hung collaborator Yuen Wah. When they target her husband, she goes out for revenge with action par excellence. An alumnus of the Peking Opera troupe “Seven Little Fortunes” that started the careers of Hung, Wah, Jackie Chan, and Yuen Biao, director Corey Yuen masterfully choreographs action into a ballet of frightful stunts and a symphony of bullets. Hung not only produced the film but shows up in a minor role. DIRECTED BY: Corey Yuen. WRITTEN BY: Yeun Kai-Chi, Barry Wong. WITH: Joyce Godenzi, Carina Lau, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Yuen Wah. 1990. 87 min. Hong Kong. Color. Cantonese. Not Rated. 35mm. Print courtesy of the Academy Film Archive. License to Steal A master thief with catlike agility ends up behind bars when her partner-in-crime sister betrays her to collect all their loot. Once she’s out of prison, she’s out for vengeance as her sister enjoys the spoils of the heist gone wrong. What seems like the melodramatic premise to a straight-to-video caper is elevated to pure comic delirium
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