The first time I ever saw A Tale From The East was at the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles. The New Beverly is an excellent place for Hong Kong movie fans and film fans in general. They screen the classics in 35mm for only $8. Sometimes, they even screen some of the more obscure films out there. When it was announced that Aces Go Places 4 was screening there, I didn’t want to miss my chance to see it on the big screen. But it was paired with A Tale From The East, which I had never heard of. It starred a few big name actors including Joey Wong and David Wu. It would make sense that I would’ve heard of this movie before, but many people hadn’t. I went to the screening a bit skeptical, but afterward, I thought it was an incredible experience. But...I could tell why no one has bothered to watch it.
A Tale From The East is about Little Princess, her bodyguard, Huang Zhin (David Wu), and an evil overlord (unsubtly named Blood Devil) who are sent from the Ching Dynasty to present-day Hong Kong. Little Princess and Huang Zhin are in possession of a precious pearl that Blood Devil is after, but the two are helped by Chu Kor Yee (Joey Wong) and her brother, Chu Tat Lit (Billy Lau). Along with a sci-fi novelist (played by actual sci-fi novelist, Ni Kuang) and two comic-relief electricians (Eric Kot and Jan Lam), they must protect the pearl from a getting into Blood Devil’s hands.
A Tale From The East is about Little Princess, her bodyguard, Huang Zhin (David Wu), and an evil overlord (unsubtly named Blood Devil) who are sent from the Ching Dynasty to present-day Hong Kong. Little Princess and Huang Zhin are in possession of a precious pearl that Blood Devil is after, but the two are helped by Chu Kor Yee (Joey Wong) and her brother, Chu Tat Lit (Billy Lau). Along with a sci-fi novelist (played by actual sci-fi novelist, Ni Kuang) and two comic-relief electricians (Eric Kot and Jan Lam), they must protect the pearl from a getting into Blood Devil’s hands.
I must say that watching a movie at the New Beverly in 35mm with an enthusiastic audience can make any movie much more entertaining to watch. Bastard Swordsman, Fist of Fury, and A Fist Full of Talons are all amazing films to watch on the big screen. Case in point, the audience watching A Tale From The East was evidently having a blast. It’s an extremely entertaining film to watch with an audience. And that’s about it.
Let’s take a good look at this film. The characters and story are nothing to write home about. There’s a immensely cheesy romantic subplot between Joey Wong and Daivd Wu. The film is also all over the place. It feels like the filmmakers couldn’t decide what genre the film should be. Sometimes it’s an action movie, sometimes it’s a horror movie, sci-fi, romance, fantasy. It’s a bit of everything. Despite the abundance of variety, this movie feels a bit typical and it seems like a strange mix of an 80’s movie and a 90’s movie.
Let’s take a good look at this film. The characters and story are nothing to write home about. There’s a immensely cheesy romantic subplot between Joey Wong and Daivd Wu. The film is also all over the place. It feels like the filmmakers couldn’t decide what genre the film should be. Sometimes it’s an action movie, sometimes it’s a horror movie, sci-fi, romance, fantasy. It’s a bit of everything. Despite the abundance of variety, this movie feels a bit typical and it seems like a strange mix of an 80’s movie and a 90’s movie.
This movie features embarrassing film parodies and random over-the-top silliness as its main source of comedy. Eric Kot and Jan Lan’s comic-relief may be way too excessive at times. This movie contains incredibly lame humor throughout. But still, the audience was laughing like crazy. There’s even a scene in which Eric Kot and Jan Lam break out into song-and-dance about the prices of the food you eat and it left the crowd in stitches. My mom had gone to see this movie with me and said “What are we watching?” as she continued laughing.
I was kind of glued to the screen. It was strangely hard not to watch. The movie demands attention with its fantasy wire-fu, delirious editing, and for its vast amount of variety. There is a decent amount of action in A Tale From The East, all of which have a massive amount of wires and special effects. It certainly doesn’t compare to many other action films at the time, but it still remains quite mesmerizing.
I was kind of glued to the screen. It was strangely hard not to watch. The movie demands attention with its fantasy wire-fu, delirious editing, and for its vast amount of variety. There is a decent amount of action in A Tale From The East, all of which have a massive amount of wires and special effects. It certainly doesn’t compare to many other action films at the time, but it still remains quite mesmerizing.
I could very easily see why people haven’t seen this movie. And if they did, they’d probably hate it. Because, simply put, this movie's crap. But if you're watching it with a loud audience, you’d laugh your way through it. A Tale From the East easily ranks as one of the funnest experiences I’ve had watching a movie with an audience at a theater. Alone at home? Skip it.
*Eric Kot and Jan Lam also broke out into song-and-dance in City Hunter, which also starred Joey Wong.
Poster from Zenn Posters
The three rare images used in this review come from the back cover of the Ocean Shores laser disc. The person who gave me these images has chosen to remain anonymous, but special thanks to him anyway.
*Eric Kot and Jan Lam also broke out into song-and-dance in City Hunter, which also starred Joey Wong.
Poster from Zenn Posters
The three rare images used in this review come from the back cover of the Ocean Shores laser disc. The person who gave me these images has chosen to remain anonymous, but special thanks to him anyway.