Heroic Grace

5/2/03 to 5/17/03

  • Blood Brothers, May 16

  • Upcoming
    Films
  • Upcoming
    Events
  • Selected
    Objects
  • Past
    Films
  • Past
    Events

Past Films

  • THE 36TH CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN

    • Saturday, May 17

    This legendary film has inspired filmmakers, martial artists, and even hip-hop stars. A Chinese commoner joins the Shaolin temple and learns secret combat techniques.

  • RETURN TO THE 36TH CHAMBER

    • Saturday, May 17

    Freewheeling follow-up to 36th Chamber parodies the first film's seriousness yet still supplies bone-breaking action, and ushers in the 1980s vogue for martial arts comedies.

  • BLOOD BROTHERS

    • Friday, May 16

    John Woo was assistant director on this widescreen epic of love, loyalty, and betrayal. A bandit, a brooding young general, and a neglected wife form a triangle whose devotion turns treacherous.

  • INTIMATE CONFESSIONS OF A CHINESE COURTESAN

    • Thursday, May 15 7:30

    Martial arts traditions transposed to a brothel. Perversity meets swordplay, and the result is "pulp poetry."-Tony Rayns

  • VENGEANCE!

    • Thursday, May 8

    The film that heralded the emergence of 1970s kung-fu archetypes, and an inspiration for John Woo's Hard-Boiled: male bonding, revenge, and masculine honor, as a brother seeks vengeance.

  • GOLDEN SWALLOW

    • Saturday, May 3

    This loose sequel to Come Drink with Me pairs that film's heroine with Jimmy Wang, a wandering swordsman with a death wish.

  • ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN

    • Saturday, May 3

    Charismatic, sullen Jimmy Wang loses his arm, learns to fight one-handed, and conquers his sneering foes in this key link between swordplay and kung-fu genres.

  • COME DRINK WITH ME

    • Friday, May 2

    Larger-than-life heroine Golden Swallow joins forces with a drunken minstrel to battle comically menacing kidnappers in King Hu's first swordplay film, drawing on Japanese samurai epics and Chinese Opera traditions to thrilling effect.