Taiwan Cult Cinema | Offscreen
For the first B-to-Z of this summer, we head for Taiwan. The country produced great classic films, but also plenty of weird cult curiosa, of which we'll present two perfect examples.
While not quite as well known as King Hu, Joseph Kuo nevertheless made several low budget wuxia favorites. Kuo's “The 18 Bronzemen” can hold its own next to Liu Chia-liang's classic “The 36th Chamber of Shaolin”, which it predates by two years and often got paired with as a double bill.
“The First Error Step” shows a side of Taiwan that was never shown in the “healthy realism” films of its period. The success of this film noir started a whole new wave of exploitation films, known as the Taiwan Black Movies.
18 Bronzemen
Joseph Kuo earned his title as one of the great kung fu directors with this spectacular film. A son of a Ming general wants to avenge the murder of his father. First he has to endure two deadly tests in the Shaolin temple, one of which involves 18 bronzemen.
The First Error Step (Never too late to Repent)
This first Taiwanese film noir focuses in bloody detail on the life of Ma Sha, imprisoned for fifteen years after killing a client of a brothel. One of the most controversial pictures ever made in Taiwan.
Offscreen photostream
