Forty-two years after its original release, King Hu's Come Drink With Me remains one of the seminal classics of Hong Kong martial-arts cinema, influencing films ranging from Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill double-feature. Making his first and only feature for the legendary Shaw Brothers studio, Hu broke with tradition to create an innovative action classic, beginning with the astute, history-making casting of ballet-trained actress Cheng Pei-pei as the film's sword-and knife-wielding heroine. Cheng is simply magnificent as Golden Swallow, a female agent who infiltrates an evil gang of bandits with the help of kung fu master Drunken Cat (Yueh Hua) in order to rescue a kidnapped official. As the pair cut a swath of destruction through the enemy ranks, Come Drink With Me introduces many of the stylistic and technical conventions that would quickly become staples of Hong Kong martial arts films, including supernatural skills, pioneering wire work, expertly choreographed fight scenes, and meticulously detailed compositions. Newly reissued on the Dragon Dynasty label, Come Drink With Me (tentatively scheduled for a 2009 Tarantino remake) boasts a wealth of DVD extras, including audio commentary by Cheng and Hong Kong cinema expert Bey Logan, an appreciation of King Hu by acclaimed Hong Kong action director Tsui Hark, exclusive interviews with Cheng (who played the villainess in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and costar Yueh, a retrospective look at the film with Logan, and trailers. A definitive presentation of a martial arts classic, this is highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (J. Shannon)
Come Drink With Me
Genius, 91 min. in Mandarin w/English subtitles or English-dubbed, not rated, DVD: $19.98 September 29, 2008
Come Drink With Me
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