Wow. HK horror never ceases to amaze with its sheer over-the-top weirdness. Now I have to see it too I guess! But did it seem to you that there might have been something cut out of that scene? Is there a chicken killing moment cut out? (possibly by a squimish and/or hyper animal-cruelty sensitive gwailo asswipe?)Or did I just imagine that?
Hmm, you could be right. I have never watched the film so I can't tell (I've already made arrangements to get it. :D ). The clip is taken from a Chinese dubbed VHS so if it's cut it's either the guy who posted it on YouTube or maybe a question of a cut HK version in the same was as "The Beasts" was cut for HK cinema release but uncut in the English dubbed export version. I'm getting an English dubbed print of "Brutal".
I've just looked up the film in both "The Essential Guide to Hong Kong Movies" and the "Asian Trash Cinema - the book" but altho both of them reviewed the film none of them mentioned the chicken killing scene.
Well in the Weisser case you can't even be sure he's actually SEEN the movie he's reviewing so I'd take that with a grain of salt. It's just one of those cuts seemed a little odd to me. Maybe not, maybe nothing is there at all.
I passed this film numerous times in the video store. I think a friend of mine has it. Those Weisser quips never cease to make me laugh. How that guy continues to reap even a modicum of positive notoriety amazes me to no end. The same goes for his partner in lies, Ric Meyers.
I just don't get it! What I really mean is I don't get HIM!! One thing is putting out a book that is SO full of badly researched info but another thing is continue to do it!
I can fully understand it was difficult in the early days of HK film collecting. When ATC the mag started to be published I was reviewing these films myself for fanzines and yes it was difficult to get correct info. Or info at all.
But times change and the keyword here is it WAS difficult. Past tense! However, Weisser has made NO attempt to correct many of the mistakes in his book. The most current edition is the third one and yet there are SO MANY mistakes it's amazing.
Linn Haynes once made a comment to me (in a Dvdmaniacs thread) that his copy of the book was full of handwritten corrections all over.
Linn also mentioned that BEWITCHED had never been released to home cinema format EVER! Not in ANY format. And yet it was reviewed in Weisser's book. :/
A spaghetti western aficionado friend of mine told me Weisser can't show his face at Spaghetti western cons cos he's the laughing stock. Apparently he also reviewed films in his spaghetti western book that were never made. :/
The truly sad thing is I really liked ATC and Thomas Weisser & Craig Ledbetter in the early days. Back then it was a thrill to read that magazine. They were so enthusiastic about finding these films. Weisser could have been a respected and knowledgeable person like Linn Haynes but instead everyone is laughing at him. Sad.
Well, I guess it's possible to have seen BEWITCHED in a theater during its release in a Chinatown somewhere, but that doesn't excuse all the years of made up information. All his books are like this. The Japanese fantasy and horror, spaghetti western and HK books. I can't speak for the Japanese erotica books, but I can assume they are just as bad.
True, he could have watched it during a screening at Chinatown cinema but it most likely wouldn't have been during its original run. The film is from '81 and Weisser stated in ATC #1 that he discovered HK cinema in '85. But of course none of that matters, it's just sad to see he didn't care enough to treat HK cinema with more respect.
If that's the case, then he treats NO genre with respect, lol. I have a good stack of those ATC and ACC issues and even though they got more accurate later on, those early ones it was like he was just making up a plot to go along with a name. It's just plain weird. Also, he later changed the format of his digest to exclude HK movies (for the most part) and to only have mostly Korean, Thai and Japanese film reviews and exposure. He said in response to some disgruntled readers he was gonna print what HE wanted to read about. I would assume it would be easier for him to make up imaginary movies from Korea and Thailand since so few of those get wide release outside of their native countries.
Haha, yeah you could very be right on that one. I noticed his turning away from the old HK film faves long ago and it always annoyed me because I always felt he did so because he became kinda snobbish! He began to look down upon the old trash & gore films.
"Naked! Screaming! Terror!" #4/5 was special issue filled entirely with short reviews of HK films. That issue was later released as the ATC/ACC book (with many additional reviews obviously) and if you compare his star ratings of the nastier films in those two releases you'll notice that in many (most?) cases he omitted at least one star, i.e. making them sound like lesser good films. Just ridiculous if you ask me!
I still find the Weisser books of some value. It's good for finding titles to search for and for just some absent minded thumbing, but the reviews are often laughable and as for the facts, well ... Still, his magazine is one of the very best out there (that it's one of the only ones left doesn't hurt)but that is mostly for some of the excellent contributions of others and for the many interviews with great Japanese directors and HK performers. Ya just gotta take the good with the bad.
Absolutely! And if I sound disgruntled it's mostly because I'm disappointed. I SO wish he hadn't screwed up so royally as he did.
I SO wish he would have left out the made-up reviews and shit.
I loved ATC when it came out and last year I decided to take up a subscription again.
And I use the ATC book ALL the time for looking up titles. It's unfortunate that his book is like the bloody IMDb: good for finding titles but every time you do find a cool title you have to go somewhere else for accurate info.
I have written to him once a couple of years back; I made him aware of a mistake in an issue of the mag and he wrote me back and said thanks and was polite and even openly answered my question about why it went sour between him and Ledbetter.
So if you take away all the bullshit he's a really nice guy. The problem is just every time you try and use his publications you're confronted with the bullshit. :-(
Yes, but he wouldn't have to worry about people being rude to him if he'd only stop with the false write ups and made up plot synopsis'. I have no use for any tome that is overflowing with intentional errors. I can't imagine paying the large sum for his spaghetti western book knowing full well it's riddled with obvious mistakes. It's too much money to pay for simply a list of titles, IMO, and even some of those are supposedly made up.
I remember reading a review for "STREETFIGHTER 4" in his magazine back in the mid 90's. After searching for that one for some time I discovered it was actually THE EXECUTIONER 2 as a friend of mine had a wide Japanese version VHS without subs.
One of his most laughable made up reviews is for this film quoted below. Aside from the exclamations and question marks, the review at bottom is EXACTLY as it is written in Weisser's useless Asian Cult Cinema book. This "review" is on page 46...
CRIPPLED HEROES: MORTAL COMBAT (1983???) and directed by a Chan Cheh(!!)
"Lou Chu is the blind warrior. Lo Wang is the deaf-mute fighter. Lu Fang plays the no armed kickboxer(!?!?!?) Sun Chen is the legless female (!!!???) boxer. And Chan Cheng (yes, the director) is unbearable as the village idiot. They all band together, using deadly tiger-style kung fu, to fight evil Tin Tan Wong in this chopsocky hybrid."
Hi, Jack. This post is unrelated to BRUTAL SORCERY, but I was going through a book I have called THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HORROR MOVIES. I bought it years ago and I could have sworn out of the dozens of reference books I had, one of them had a review for BEWITCHED. Well, this tome only goes up to 1984 (it's that old). There's a review for it in here and it describes the film to a tea even with stars and everything as well as other info about the production. There's also other Shaw horrors in here in addition to as many horrors from around the world you could ever hope to find. Great book, too. I hear there are errors, of course (I don't recall any of significance right off hand), but I thought I'd say that SOMEBODY had seen the film somewhere. Possibly Weisser ripped his review from Phil Hardy's book?
Brian, thanks for letting me know. I actually have that book but, uh, I have too many books and unfortunately it's one of the ones I still haven't really had time to go thru properly.
Interesting that it has BEWITCHED in it and you could very well be right about Weisser. The funny thing is years ago I read a review of some film and the reviewer said he thought some of the reviews in the ENCYCLOPEDIA would have had to have been made up because the films were unavailable, haha. Oh well. I guess we'll never find out the complete truth to all this.
Btw, this week Stephen Gladwin in the US sent me a dvdr of BRUTAL SORCERY. Yay! (it's from the unsubbed VCD so I'll still be on the lookout for a dubbed or subbed print).
[VHS/HK/fullscreen/English dub/no subs]
[VHS/Japan/in Chinese/Japanese subs]
Wow. HK horror never ceases to amaze with its sheer over-the-top weirdness. Now I have to see it too I guess!
ReplyDeleteBut did it seem to you that there might have been something cut out of that scene? Is there a chicken killing moment cut out? (possibly by a squimish and/or hyper animal-cruelty sensitive gwailo asswipe?)Or did I just imagine that?
Hmm, you could be right. I have never watched the film so I can't tell (I've already made arrangements to get it. :D ). The clip is taken from a Chinese dubbed VHS so if it's cut it's either the guy who posted it on YouTube or maybe a question of a cut HK version in the same was as "The Beasts" was cut for HK cinema release but uncut in the English dubbed export version. I'm getting an English dubbed print of "Brutal".
ReplyDeleteI've just looked up the film in both "The Essential Guide to Hong Kong Movies" and the "Asian Trash Cinema - the book" but altho both of them reviewed the film none of them mentioned the chicken killing scene.
ReplyDeleteWell in the Weisser case you can't even be sure he's actually SEEN the movie he's reviewing so I'd take that with a grain of salt. It's just one of those cuts seemed a little odd to me. Maybe not, maybe nothing is there at all.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, mr. Weisser! Why, oh why did you do it, Thomas??? :/
ReplyDeleteI watched the clip again and it sure does look cut!!
I passed this film numerous times in the video store. I think a friend of mine has it. Those Weisser quips never cease to make me laugh. How that guy continues to reap even a modicum of positive notoriety amazes me to no end. The same goes for his partner in lies, Ric Meyers.
ReplyDeleteGreat site, Jack!
V5 (Brian from coolasscinema.com)
I just don't get it! What I really mean is I don't get HIM!! One thing is putting out a book that is SO full of badly researched info but another thing is continue to do it!
ReplyDeleteI can fully understand it was difficult in the early days of HK film collecting. When ATC the mag started to be published I was reviewing these films myself for fanzines and yes it was difficult to get correct info. Or info at all.
But times change and the keyword here is it WAS difficult. Past tense! However, Weisser has made NO attempt to correct many of the mistakes in his book. The most current edition is the third one and yet there are SO MANY mistakes it's amazing.
Linn Haynes once made a comment to me (in a Dvdmaniacs thread) that his copy of the book was full of handwritten corrections all over.
Linn also mentioned that BEWITCHED had never been released to home cinema format EVER! Not in ANY format. And yet it was reviewed in Weisser's book. :/
A spaghetti western aficionado friend of mine told me Weisser can't show his face at Spaghetti western cons cos he's the laughing stock. Apparently he also reviewed films in his spaghetti western book that were never made. :/
The truly sad thing is I really liked ATC and Thomas Weisser & Craig Ledbetter in the early days. Back then it was a thrill to read that magazine. They were so enthusiastic about finding these films. Weisser could have been a respected and knowledgeable person like Linn Haynes but instead everyone is laughing at him. Sad.
- and thanks, Brian, I appreciate that.
ReplyDeleteWell, I guess it's possible to have seen BEWITCHED in a theater during its release in a Chinatown somewhere, but that doesn't excuse all the years of made up information. All his books are like this. The Japanese fantasy and horror, spaghetti western and HK books. I can't speak for the Japanese erotica books, but I can assume they are just as bad.
ReplyDeleteTrue, he could have watched it during a screening at Chinatown cinema but it most likely wouldn't have been during its original run. The film is from '81 and Weisser stated in ATC #1 that he discovered HK cinema in '85. But of course none of that matters, it's just sad to see he didn't care enough to treat HK cinema with more respect.
ReplyDeleteIf that's the case, then he treats NO genre with respect, lol. I have a good stack of those ATC and ACC issues and even though they got more accurate later on, those early ones it was like he was just making up a plot to go along with a name. It's just plain weird. Also, he later changed the format of his digest to exclude HK movies (for the most part) and to only have mostly Korean, Thai and Japanese film reviews and exposure. He said in response to some disgruntled readers he was gonna print what HE wanted to read about. I would assume it would be easier for him to make up imaginary movies from Korea and Thailand since so few of those get wide release outside of their native countries.
ReplyDeleteHaha, yeah you could very be right on that one. I noticed his turning away from the old HK film faves long ago and it always annoyed me because I always felt he did so because he became kinda snobbish! He began to look down upon the old trash & gore films.
ReplyDelete"Naked! Screaming! Terror!" #4/5 was special issue filled entirely with short reviews of HK films. That issue was later released as the ATC/ACC book (with many additional reviews obviously) and if you compare his star ratings of the nastier films in those two releases you'll notice that in many (most?) cases he omitted at least one star, i.e. making them sound like lesser good films. Just ridiculous if you ask me!
I still find the Weisser books of some value. It's good for finding titles to search for and for just some absent minded thumbing, but the reviews are often laughable and as for the facts, well ...
ReplyDeleteStill, his magazine is one of the very best out there (that it's one of the only ones left doesn't hurt)but that is mostly for some of the excellent contributions of others and for the many interviews with great Japanese directors and HK performers. Ya just gotta take the good with the bad.
Absolutely! And if I sound disgruntled it's mostly because I'm disappointed. I SO wish he hadn't screwed up so royally as he did.
ReplyDeleteI SO wish he would have left out the made-up reviews and shit.
I loved ATC when it came out and last year I decided to take up a subscription again.
And I use the ATC book ALL the time for looking up titles. It's unfortunate that his book is like the bloody IMDb: good for finding titles but every time you do find a cool title you have to go somewhere else for accurate info.
I have written to him once a couple of years back; I made him aware of a mistake in an issue of the mag and he wrote me back and said thanks and was polite and even openly answered my question about why it went sour between him and Ledbetter.
So if you take away all the bullshit he's a really nice guy. The problem is just every time you try and use his publications you're confronted with the bullshit. :-(
Yes, but he wouldn't have to worry about people being rude to him if he'd only stop with the false write ups and made up plot synopsis'. I have no use for any tome that is overflowing with intentional errors. I can't imagine paying the large sum for his spaghetti western book knowing full well it's riddled with obvious mistakes. It's too much money to pay for simply a list of titles, IMO, and even some of those are supposedly made up.
ReplyDeleteI remember reading a review for "STREETFIGHTER 4" in his magazine back in the mid 90's. After searching for that one for some time I discovered it was actually THE EXECUTIONER 2 as a friend of mine had a wide Japanese version VHS without subs.
One of his most laughable made up reviews is for this film quoted below. Aside from the exclamations and question marks, the review at bottom is EXACTLY as it is written in Weisser's useless Asian Cult Cinema book. This "review" is on page 46...
CRIPPLED HEROES: MORTAL COMBAT (1983???) and directed by a Chan Cheh(!!)
"Lou Chu is the blind warrior. Lo Wang is the deaf-mute fighter. Lu Fang plays the no armed kickboxer(!?!?!?) Sun Chen is the legless female (!!!???) boxer. And Chan Cheng (yes, the director) is unbearable as the village idiot. They all band together, using deadly tiger-style kung fu, to fight evil Tin Tan Wong in this chopsocky hybrid."
A massive WTF??? is in order.
Haha, yeah, well, what can I say. That IS rediculous!
ReplyDelete"ridiculous" with an "i", dammit!!
ReplyDeleteDon't feel bad, Jack. I should have typed a 'K' for the first word instead of an 'L', haha. Weisser's propensity for error is infectious!
ReplyDeleteHahaha.
ReplyDeleteHi, Jack. This post is unrelated to BRUTAL SORCERY, but I was going through a book I have called THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HORROR MOVIES. I bought it years ago and I could have sworn out of the dozens of reference books I had, one of them had a review for BEWITCHED. Well, this tome only goes up to 1984 (it's that old). There's a review for it in here and it describes the film to a tea even with stars and everything as well as other info about the production. There's also other Shaw horrors in here in addition to as many horrors from around the world you could ever hope to find. Great book, too. I hear there are errors, of course (I don't recall any of significance right off hand), but I thought I'd say that SOMEBODY had seen the film somewhere. Possibly Weisser ripped his review from Phil Hardy's book?
ReplyDeleteBrian, thanks for letting me know. I actually have that book but, uh, I have too many books and unfortunately it's one of the ones I still haven't really had time to go thru properly.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that it has BEWITCHED in it and you could very well be right about Weisser. The funny thing is years ago I read a review of some film and the reviewer said he thought some of the reviews in the ENCYCLOPEDIA would have had to have been made up because the films were unavailable, haha. Oh well. I guess we'll never find out the complete truth to all this.
Btw, this week Stephen Gladwin in the US sent me a dvdr of BRUTAL SORCERY. Yay! (it's from the unsubbed VCD so I'll still be on the lookout for a dubbed or subbed print).