Tagarchief: David Carradine

Bill’s meest masochistische moment

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Het is alweer twintig jaar geleden dat de eerste Kill Bill: Vol 1 werd uitgebracht. Ik zag de film destijds in Parijs. Nadat Tarantino na Jackie Brown zes jaar geen nieuwe film had uitgebracht, waren de verwachtingen hooggespannen toen Kill Bill in de bioscoop verscheen. Ook ik was erg benieuwd naar zijn hommage aan diverse genres als martial arts, samoerai films en spaghettiwesterns en ik was aangenaam verrast. Vanaf de eerste scène zat ik op het puntje van m’n stoel. En toen ik na zo’n twee uur de bioscoop uitliep, was ik vol lof over QT’s nieuwe meesterwerkje.

Empire publiceerde onlangs de hommage: ‘88 Reasons We’re Still Crazy About Kill Bill’ over alle fantastische momenten in het tweeluik. Er zitten veel momenten in de eerste Kill Bill die ik tot mijn favoriete scènes kan rekenen; de bitch fight met Vernita Green, de zwartgallig komische scène in het ziekenhuis, de ultra-bloedige confrontatie met de Crazy 88 in House of the Blue Leaves, het climactische duel met O-Ren Ishii, en de fantastische cliffhanger op het einde. Toch kies ik voor het meesterlijke begin als mijn favoriete scène, een scène die gek genoeg ontbreekt in het Empire overzicht.

Het is hét moment waarop ik direct in de film werd gezogen. Het is een redelijk simpele scène. Eerst komt het Shaw Brother logo, gevolgd door het campy titeltje: Our feature presentation. Een heerlijke verwijzing naar de jaren 70’ grindhouse films waar Quentin in zijn jeugd zo van genoten heeft. En dan volgt de zware ademhaling van een vrouw.

Er verschijnt een nieuwe titel ‘revenge is a dish best served cold’, – old Klingon proverb -, een Star Trek referentie waarmee QT zijn handtekening al zet voordat het eerste beeld verschenen is. En dan komt dat fantastische eerste beeld. We zien een close-up in zwart/wit van een bloedende, toegetakelde bruid (Uma Thurman), en we horen dat iemand haar nadert. We zien cowboylaarzen over de houten vloer lopen die bezaaid is met kogels. De man stopt voor de bruid. En dan komt die perfecte eerste zin: ‘do you find me sadistic?’. Terwijl de ongeziene man zijn monoloog doorzet, veegt hij het gezicht van de bruid af met een zakdoek waar ‘Bill’ op geborduurd staat. De twee belangrijkste personages zijn hiermee op onvergetelijke wijze geïntroduceerd.

Nadat Bill zijn monoloog heeft afgerond vertelt de bruid dat ze zwanger van hem is, maar nog voordat ze haar zin volledig heeft uitgesproken schiet Bill haar door het hoofd met een oorverdovend schot: BLEM!!! Een waar schrikmoment. Zelfs de tweede keer toen ik de film keek, en bewust op dat moment zat te wachten, schrok ik me nog te pletter. De korte intro-scene wordt meteen gevolgd door een typische Tarantino credit sequence, ondersteund door het toonzettende ‘Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)’ van Nancy Sinatra. Vanaf dat moment wist ik het al zeker; deze film wordt een favoriet van me. Als je zo intens geniet van een begin, weet je dat de film je goed ligt. Verder kon ik niet wachten om meer van Bill te zien (David Carradine heeft een geweldige stem), maar wijselijk wordt zijn gezicht pas getoond in het tweede deel, terwijl hij wel in aardig wat scènes in volume 1 zit. Nog een meesterlijke zet van de meester.

The Tao of Kwai Chang Caine

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

The Shaolin priest Kwai Chang Caine is the protagonist of the legendary tv-show Kung Fu from 1972. In every episode, the half Chinese and half American martial arts expert (played by David Carradine) experiences an adventure in the old West. To succeed in helping others and resolving situations, he uses the ancient wisdom he has learned in the Shaolin Monastery in China where he has spent his childhood and early adult years. Below are fifteen aphorisms from the first season that I really like. Many are adapted from or derived directly from the Tao Te Ching, a book of ancient Taoist philosophy attributed to the sage Lao Tzu.

“If one words are no better than silence… one should keep silent.”
— Caine

“All creatures, the low and the high, are one with nature. If we have the wisdom to learn they may teach us their virtues. Between the fragile beauty of the praying mantis and the fire and passion of the winged dragon, there is no discord. Between the supple silence of the snake and the eagles claw there is only harmony as no two elements of nature are in conflict. So when we perceive the ways of nature, we remove conflicts within ourselves and discover a harmony of body and mind in accord with the flow of the universe.”
— Master Kan

“Life sustains life. And all living creatures need nourishment. Yet, with wisdom, the body learns to sustain in ways that all may live.”
— Master Kan

“I do not eat meat. I do not believe in killing to eat.”
— Caine

“Weakness prevails over strength. Gentleness conquers. Become the calm and restful breeze that tames the violent sea.”
— Master Kan

“In one lifetime, a man knows many pleasures: a mother’s smile in waking hours, a young woman’s searing touch and the laughter of grandchildren in the twilight years. To deny these in ourselves is to deny that which makes us one with nature. Acknowledge them and satisfaction will follow. To suppress a truth is to give it force beyond endurance.”
— Master Kan

“Before we wake, we cannot know that what we dream does not exist. Before we die, we cannot know that death is not the greatest joy.”
— Caine

“If a man dwells on the past, then he robs the present. But if a man ignores the past, he may rob the future. The seeds of our destiny are nurtured by the roots of our past.”
— Master Po

“It does not end. The journey goes on, from one time to another. Nothing dies that was ever something.”
— Caine

“Young Caine, when I was a boy I fell into a hole in the ground and I was broken and could not climb out. I might have died there, but a stranger came along and saved me. He said it was his obligation that for help he had once received he must in return help ten others. So that good deeds would spread out like the ripples from the pebble in a pond. I was one of his ten. And you become one of mine. And now I pass this obligation on to you.”
— Master Po

“Peace lies not in the world, but in the man who walks the path.”
— Master Po

“I have three treasures which I hold and keep. The first is mercy, for from mercy comes courage. The second is frugality, from which comes generosity to others. The third is humility, for from it comes leadership. Hold and keep them not in memory, but in your deeds.”
— Master Po

“We are one. Yet we are not the same. Ten million living things have as many different worlds.”
— Master Kan

“See the way of life as a stream. A man floats, and his way is smooth. The same man turning to fight upstream exhausts himself. To be one with the universe, each must find his true path, and follow it.”
— Master Po

“Between father and son there is a bridge which neither time nor death can shatter. Each stands at one end needing to cross and meet. The bridge of which I speak is love.”
— Master Po

Dungeon Classics #2: Death Race 2000

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

FilmDungeon’s Chief Editor JK sorts through the Dungeon’s DVD-collection to look for old cult favorites….

Death Race 2000 (1975, USA)

Director: Paul Bartel
Cast: David Carradine, Simone Griffeth, Sylvester Stallone, Mary Woronov
Running Time: 84 mins.

Is there really a movie about a future race in which contestants have to kill people to score points? Yup. This is it. And it gets even better: old people and children earn more points! The top racers are the cape and mask wearing Frankenstein (David Carradine), who has more mechanical parts in him than Darth Vader, and Machine Gun Joe (a young Sylvester Stallone), who got his name by unloading his machine gun in the audience. Other drivers include the outrageously named Nero the Hero and Herman the German. Oh, and the drivers all have navigators, who not only read maps, but also have sex with the drivers in between laps! Who needs Google Maps? The makers obviously had a lot of fun shooting this cult classic and they never forgot what they were making; a funny, violent action B-movie. The tagline says it all: ‘In the year 2000 hit and run isn’t a felony… it’s the national sport!’ Followed by the abominable Death Race 2050 in 2017.

Death Race

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Written by: Paul W.S. Anderson
Cast: Jason Statham, Joan Allen, Ian McShane, Tyrese Gibson

Year / Country: 2008, USA, Germany, UK
Running Time: 106 mins.

Death Race is supposed to be a remake of Death Race 2000, a Roger Corman produced cult gem from the seventies. While there is certainly resemblance; it is all about a gladiator-like futuristic car race, there are many differences as well. Death Race 2000 was a cynical, humoristic and over the top look at the future, while Death Race doesn’t seem to be more than a straightforward action flick. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, the target audience just might be a little different.

In 2012, a financial crisis threw the Western world into chaos. Jensen Ames (Statham) is an ex-racer who is framed for murdering his wife. In jail he has to replace legendary driver Frankenstein in the internet hit ‘Death Race’. While Ames makes a great Frankenstein, the real monster is warden Hennessey (Joan Allen) who directs the deadly race to make a killing from the broadcasting. But Ames is not one to simply play ball. He has an escape-plan to execute, a conspiracy to solve and enemies to exterminate.

The plot is very predictable, but the concept works well enough to forgive the film this flaw. It seems that in every movie director Anderson directs, he does one thing extremely well and a lot of other things very wrong. In this movie it is the action that blows off the screen. The internet streaming footage is also fabulous. His writing skills leave a lot to be desired though. This is mainstream Hollywood work.

Statham has become quite the badass action star. I preferred David Carradine in the Frankenstein role in the original, but Statham is nevertheless okay. However, Tyrese Gibson is a lousy replacement for Machine Gun Joe. Watching Sylvester Stallone in that part was a thousand times cooler, though it is not entirely Gibson’s fault. The script doesn’t give him much to work with. In the acting department, there is great support from Joan Allen as queen bitch and Ian McShane as Ames’ biggest supporter.

That leaves one comment to be made; the ending is excruciating. But since the largest part of the film is about racing, this movie can be called a modest success. It is certainly the best thing Anderson has done in years.

Rating:

Biography: Paul W.S Anderson (1965, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK) gained some notoriety in his native England with his ultra-violent feature debut Shopping in 1994. Its relative success allowed him to direct action / sci-fi films in Hollywood, including the financially successful Mortal Kombat. In 2002 he resurfaced another video game adaptation, Resident Evil. He next was given the helm for the long-awaited film adaptation of the popular Dark Horse comic book, AVP: Alien Vs. Predator.

Filmography (a selection): Shopping (1994), Mortal Kombat (1995), Event Horizon (1997), Soldier (1998), The Sight (2000, TV), Resident Evil (2002), AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004), Death Race (2008), Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010), The Three Musketeers (2011), Resident Evil: Retribution (2012), Pompeii (2014), Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016), Monster Hunter (2020)