Saturday, November 28, 2015

The Lady From Sham Shui Po


Today's show is an imaginary sound track for the Hong Kong noir The Lady from Sham Shui Po co-directed by Wong Kar Wai and Orson Welles.
Starring Marlene Dietrich, Maggie Cheung, Joseph Cotten and Simon Yam.

Bending the time space continuum to make this film, just imagine the possibilities.....




Track listing:
  • Trois Morceaux En Forme de Poire - Erik Satie  
  • Illusion - Nat King Cole
  • The Flower of Tachai Blooms in Chien Men - Erhu and Cheng Duet
  • Apres Moi - Eartha Kitt
  • Luar Do Serato - Marlene Dietrich
  • Pearls of the Ravine - Cheng solo
  • Guardian Angels - Mahalia Jackson with Harpo Marx
  • Love Without End - Carrie Koo Mei 
  • Non Domenticar - Peggy Lee
  • Take Good Care of Him - Kong Ling and the Fabulous Echoes
  • Poinciana - Nat King Cole
  • Dark Eyes - Tshornye Graza, P. Leschtchenko and his orchestra
  • Black Market - Marlene Dietrich
  • Purple The Schemer - Billy May
  • The Sorrow of Lady Wang Chao-Sun - Lui Hung





Friday, November 27, 2015

Lucky Cat S11 E08 - Allen Toussaint Tribute, Reggae 7s & Yunnan Aubergine Recipe


Another ALL VINYL show for your listening pleasure.
RIP Allen Toussaint.
 










Playlist:
  • War No Right - Denise Darlington (Studio One 7")
  • Yes We Can Can - Lee Dorsey (Saturday Night Fish Fry Soul Jazz 2xLP)
  • Mean Man - Betty Harris (Saturday Night Fish Fry Soul Jazz 2xLP)
    Break in the Road - Betty Harris (Saturday Night Fish Fry Soul Jazz 2xLP)
  • Cry to Me - Jusy Mowatt (Jamaican blank 7")
  • Heart of the Knight - Lennox Brown (Jamaican blank 7")
  • Green Collie - Roy Richards (Jamaican blank 7")
  • You're No Good - Marcia Griffiths (Jamaican blank 7")
  •  I Love You - Simms and Robinson (Wordisc label 7")
  • Crying Over You - Simms and Robinson (Wordisc label 7") 
  • Leave Her Alone - Derrick Morgan (Beverley's label 7")
  • The Flower of Tachai Blooms in Chien Men - Erhu and Cheng Duet (10" LP Spring in Date Garden, China Record Company)
  • I Can Never Go Home Anymore - The Shangri-Las (Golden Hits of the Shangri-Las, Phillips LP)
  • Tiptina - Dr John (Gumbo LP, Atlantic)
  • New Orleans - Big Boy Myles (The Greatest 15 Hits on ACE LP)
  • Stu Mambo Cha Cha Cha - Marino Marini and his Quartet (10" LP Happy Music from Italy, Durium)


 


Simon Yam and Joseph Cotten

This Saturday's show will be an imaginary soundtrack for a romantic Hong Kong noir thriller. Think Wong Kar Wai meets Orson Welles for a few jugs of rice wine in the rain... Starring Marlene Dietrich, Maggie Cheung, Joseph Cotten and Simon Yam.

Just doing some research and look at how similar these photos of Joseph Cotten and Simon Yam are!  Both wonderful actors with charismatic faces, a twinkle in the eye and both can really smoke the hell out of a cigarette!





Come Drink With Me on Netflix

Netflix has recently added lots of old Shaw Brothers films - hurrah!  Including this stunning wu xia masterpiece with the beautiful Cheng Pei Pei.  

May I also recommend a documentary on there - General Tso's Chicken. It's basically the story of the Chinese American diaspora told through food.  This dish is not familiar here in the UK, I'm not sure what the equivalent is.  One of our national dishes is chicken tikka massala, a subverted Indian dish that has been created to appeal to British palates.  It would be interesting to see a documentary made about that.

Talking of documentaries there's a good one on Chinatowns of the world on BBC iPlayer Radio now: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0380gh0






Saturday, November 21, 2015

Lucky Cat S11 E07 - Andy Martin on Chinese Cinema

Here's last weeks' show where I was joined writer and musician Andy Martin to discuss his book Chinese Cinema: A Study of Chinese Films from 1905 to 2005.



Links
Buy the book:
http://www.lulu.com/shop/andy-martin/chinese-cinema/paperback/product-21225752.html

Andy's UNIT band web site:  
http://www.unit-united.co.uk/

Andy Martin's Top 10 Hong Kong Films

1. Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind directed by Tsui Hark


2. Boat People directed by Ann Hui


3. Tiger Cage directed by Yuen Woo Ping (produced by Michelle Yeoh's ex husband Dickson Poon, fact fans)


4. Daddy, Father and Papa directed by Clifton Ko Chi Sum


5. Men Behind the Sun directed by Mou Tun-Fei
This film documents unbearable atrocities carried out by the Japanese in a chinese prisoner of war camp in Harbin. I watched a clip on Youtube and it is so disturbing I am unable to post anything.  I notice is turns up in this list of the 50 most disturbing movies of all time!
Go search for yourself.  This looks so horrific, I cannot watch!

6. Cageman directed by Jacob Cheung


7. Young and Dangerous directed by Andrew Lau


8. 15 directed by Royston Tan, set in Singapore


9. Too Young directed by Derek Yee starring Jaycee Chan (Jackie's son)


10. Beseiged City directed by Lawrence Ah Mon



Andy recommends this East London shop for all your HK movie needs: Umit & Son
http://www.timeout.com/london/shopping/umit-son


 

Monday, November 02, 2015

Lucky Cat S11 E06 - Halloween Tunes & London Korean Film Festival

In this week's episode I play some spooky tuneage for Halloween, pay tribute to the sadly departed HK movie legend Tien Feng and interview Hyujin Cho, producer of the London Korean Film Festival.

The London Korean Film Festival celebrates it's 10th year in 2015 with a bumper programme.  I'm very excited that director Chung Chwang Hwa will be giving a Q&A and 3 of his films will be screening:

  • Voodoo Women  - Smiley Smith (Zombie Horror CD Collection, Chrome Dreams CD)
  • Vampire - The Upsetters (Loch Ness Monster, Trojan LP)
  • Legend of Sleepy Hollow  - The Monotones (Zombie Horror CD Collection, Chrome Dreams CD)
  • Dracula Prince of Darkness  - King Horror , thought to be Laurel Aitken (Loch Ness Monster, Trojan LP)
  • Kung Fu Master  - Solo Banton (Music Addict, Jahtari EP)
  • Last Blade  - Disrupt (Music Addict, Jahtari EP)
  • Yunnan Reggae  - Lao Hei (soundcloud)
  • Arriran  - Various (Korean Folk Volume 1 LP)
  • Zombie Jamboree  -  King Flash and the Calypso Carnival (Zombie Horror CD Collection, Chrome Dreams CD)
  • Duppy Dance  - Aquarius Soul Band (Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular 2015)
  • Hell Below  - Crystal Generation (Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular 2015)
  • Mr Brown  - Cliff and the Organizers (Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular 2015)


The Taiwanese director made these films in Korea with Korean cast and crew...including the 1967 martial arts movie A Swordsman in the Twilight.

There are also more populist movies in the Audience Choice strand of the festival.  HK actor Simon Yam stars alongside Kim Yun-seok, Kim Hye-soo, Lee Jung-jae and Gianna Jun in the heist movie The Thieves, which in 2013 was the secondhighest grossing movie of all time at the Korean box office.  



Playlist: