35mm Double Feature: FIVE FINGERS OF DEATH/A CHINESE GHOST STORY at the Vista, Los Feliz

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2018 11:59p: *Hong Kong Double Feature! FIVE FINGERS OF DEATH [aka KING BOXER] (1972, dir by Chang-wa Jeong; 35mm, AGFA/Celestial, Hong Kong) & A CHINESE GHOST STORY (1987, starring Leslie Cheung, prod by Tsui Hark dir by Siu-Tung Ching; 35mm, Fortune Star, Hong Kong)

*Special Note: We have secured the restored 35mm print of FIVE FINGERS! While we are 99% sure we have secured an amazing 35mm print of A CHINESE GHOST STORY, if anything happens, we will be replacing the 2nd part of the double bill with a 35mm print of the Shaw Brothers’ Gordon Liu starring martial arts classic DIRTY HO (1979, dir by Chia-Liang Liu; 35mm, Hong Kong)

There is an indescribable joy for the movie lover to attend a great double-feature. A good double feature somehow restores your faith in humanity. A great Hong Kong double bill is like a gift from heaven.

Our Hong Kong double feature looks at two stone-cold Hong Kong classics, the early 1970’s revenge martial arts movie FIVE FINGERS OF DEATH (also known as KING BOXER), and the late 1980’s gonzo fantasy-action-horror-comedy masterpiece A CHINESE GHOST STORY.

FIVE FINGERS OF DEATH is really the Hong Kong/Shaw Brothers movie that first broke through with the US audience. It follows the story of wildly talented, young martial arts student Chi-Hao, as he trains, wins, is sabotaged, trains again, and returns with an iron-fist power ready to take revenge on those who set out to destroy him and his loved ones.

We get crazy musical motifs that come out of nowhere to let us know Chi-Hao is really pissed. His hands GLOW RED! Quentin Tarantino unabashedly drew from this movie for KILL BILL. And we can see why. It somehow balances a series of stunning fight sequences with a touching romance, seriousness, and emotion that elevates this movie to the level of classic.

THEN:

A CHINESE GHOST STORY is like Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson got together and had a baby that was then raised by drunken Shaolin Monks and who just told stories of Chinese ghosts and demons.

This movie has it all: claymation skeletons, a battle with a 50 foot tongue, a trip to the Underworld to fight the Lord of Hell himself, hilarious musical numbers, a swooningly romantic love story. . .

This Programmer remembers the first time he saw this movie, almost 20 years ago, at the New Beverly on a double bill with Peking Opera Blues. It was a magical night. He kept wondering when the awesomeness would slow down. It never did.

Come see a double feature where the awesomeness will never end.

POSSIBLY:

If, for whatever reason, our 35mm print of A CHINESE GHOST STORY falls through, we’ll be screening the 1979 Shaw Brothers produced, Gordon Liu starring classic DIRTY HO (on 35mm!). DIRTY HO is one of the most underrated masterpieces in all of the Shaw Brothers canon. Gordon Liu stars as Prince Wang who takes thief Yue Wong (the Dirty Ho of the title) as his apprentice.

Together they train and prepare to stop a number of assassination attempts on Prince Wang’s life. DIRTY HO is one of the quickest moving, most constantly enjoyable, packed with some of the greatest choreographed fight sequences, in all the Shaw Brothers’ canon. So rest assured, no matter what, this double bill will definitely kick ass.

Best always,

Craig Hammill

35mm Secret Movie Club Programmer.Organizer

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

TICKETS: Tickets for all our events are available online at https://www.eventbrite.com/o/secret-movie-club-15536251778 or through each individual event on our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/secretmovieclub35mm/. Unless otherwise noted, all our movies screen at The Vista Theater, 4473 Sunset Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90027.

We also make tickets available at the Vista Box Office.

REFUNDS: We will honor all refund requests as long as they are made 24 hours or more before the listed start time of the screening. After that, no refunds. Sorry.

HOW DOES SECRET MOVIE CLUB 2018 SUMMER SEASON ALL-ACCESS PASS WORK: If you buy an ALL-ACCESS PASS (access to all 21 movies we’re showing from July-September 2018), you get entrance into every single movie we show throughout our Summer 2018 Season. This is our best deal at $135.00 (roughly $6.40 per movie). This offer is available through the following EVENTBRITE LINK:

https://smc_summer2018_allaccesspass.eventbrite.com

If you decide to buy the ALL-ACCESS PASS and have already bought a series pass or individual ticket, just write us: secretmovieclub@curiousproductions.com and we’ll issue you a refund for the tickets you bought before the all-access pass.

The All-Access Pass is available for purchase until Saturday, July 7, 2018 @ 11:59pm which is the night of THE FLY, our first movie of the summer season. After that, series passes and individual tickets will remain available.

With the ALL-ACCESS PASS, we generate a special list with your name on it. All you have to do is come to our table ahead of each movie, give us your name, and get your ticket.

HOW DOES A SERIES PASS WORK: If you buy an Individual Series Pass, you gain entrance to all movies in that series. This is our next best deal after the 2018 Summer Season All-Access pass. If you know you can make a series in July but not a series in August, this is the way to go.

The price of each Series Pass depends on how many movies we show in that series. So for instance if we are showing 6 movies in the series, the pass would cost $54 (or $9 per movie). If we are showing 4 movies in that series, the pass would cost $36, and so on.

You can buy the Series Pass through any individual Eventbrite link for a movie in that series. Then, we generate a special list with your name on it. All you have to do is come to our table ahead of each movie, give us your name, and get your ticket.

MOVIEPASS (as of June 2018): While we do accept and want you to use your MoviePass, we advise all moviegoers to first check the current MoviePass rules and regulations to make sure they can still use their MoviePass for our events. Secret Movie Club and the Vista Theater are not associated with nor responsible for any changes in policy on the part of MoviePass.

CONCESSIONS: The Vista Concessions stand is open for all our events. So you will always have access to popcorn, soda, candy, coffee the works!

PARKING: The Vista has no dedicated parking lot. Thankfully, there is parking in the residential areas around the Vista Theater. Just plan to get to the theater 20 minutes earlier than normal so you have enough time to park, walk to the theater, get your tickets, get in line. Make sure you read the street signs! Hillhurst and Sunset Drive tend to be the best for street parking. Avoid Rosalia and Commonwealth as they have permit-only parking rules. We don’t want any Secret Movie Clubbers getting parking tickets.

SHOWTIMES: We screen our movies before or after the Vista’s official movies. This is why most of our showtimes are either at midnight or between 10am-11am in the morning. Always check the listed showtime before buying your ticket.

MAILING LIST: We started as a secret email list way back in April of 2016. In respect to our origins, we will always announce our upcoming seasons, special events, and speakers with the ability to get tickets via the email list first before posting to Facebook or anywhere else. If you’d like to get on the secret email list, email us at: secretmovieclub@curiousproductions.com.

OTHER QUESTIONS: You can always email us at: secretmovieclub@curiousproductions.com . We work to respond asap within receipt of your email. If you don't get a response within 48 hours, please email us again.