Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 8/30/2022
On Blu-ray: “Righting Wrongs”
Watching this film was both a lot of fun and very nostalgic. “Righting Wrongs” is a 1986 crime drama, produced in Hong Kong and directed by Cory Yuen. Vinegar Syndrome has released a new restored Blu-ray of the film with not only the definitive version of the film but many extras and various edited versions of the movie.
For those who are unaware of the incredible Hong Kong film industry that flourished in the 1980s and 90s, “Righting Wrongs” is a great introduction to the widely diverse movies that were coming out at that time.
With the introduction of home video in VHS, American distributors started importing martial arts films from Hong Kong that had proven to be very successful with theatrical release in the decades before.
Specialty distributors made sure video stores and movie theaters in various Chinese neighborhoods had these movies as well.
Hong Kong was the dominant film producing capital of Asia at that time. Its films, which ranged from romances to comedies to horror and action, were seen not just in Asia but were popular in markets around the world.
As a very broad statement, the Hong Kong films presented Western-themed films with a Chinese attitude of culture as well as stories that were definitely Chinese. The writers and directors frequently borrowed techniques and subjects from the West – some actually trained in this country – but then added their own perspective.
While there were many Hong Kong films in the video stores, there were many that weren’t. As did many film fans, I started collecting Hong Kong films with copies sold at pop culture conventions. There was an increasing “underground” appreciation for the Hong Kong films with several magazines springing up for fans.
The Hong Kong films were frequently outrageous in handling story elements that made for some very entertaining and original films. Their popularity did not go unnoticed in the American film industry and director such as John Woo, Tsui Hark, Ringo Lam and Ronny Yu were recruited to make films here.
Cory Yuen, the director of “Righting Wrongs” as well as a co-star, has had a career in the United States as an action coordinator. “Righting Wrongs” has some of the best martial arts sequences I’ve ever seen. They are inventive and incredibly fast.
The movie is about a prosecutor (Yuen Biao) who takes matters into his own hands when a crime boss murders a key witness in a trail. A Hong Kong police officer (American martial arts champ Cynthia Rothrock) starts investigating the prosecutor. Some of it is a bit silly, some of acting is stilted but overall it’s very entertaining.
It was Rothrock’s second film and one that helped build her reputation in this country as a martial arts superstar and a staple of made-for-video productions.
In one of the extras on the new disc she spoke of the working conditions on the set that included no script and a translation problem. She praised the stunt team and believed this was some of the best work she has done.
If you want to explore a genre of film that you may not know much about – the glorious Hong Kong industry in its prime – starting with “Righting Wrongs” is a great beginning.