First, the character in "Wait Until Dark" was anything but pitiful: the story was about how she gains self-confidence by defending herself against a murderer. Second, "Kung Fu" had a blind character who was one of the masters. When a Western man says, "I may have trouble on the road. I am sixty-one," the chief of the temple replies, "then take master so-and-so [the blind master]. He is eighty-three." They obviously had different ideas about age.
>>>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 07/28/04 11:42 AM >>> >In Hollywood, the blind are represented in film either as pitiful >victims, such as in "Wait Until Dark," or as comic figures like Mr. >Muckle, who tears apart W. C. Fields's shop in "It's a Gift." Leave it >to the Japanese to come up with somebody like Zatoichi, the blind master >swordsman who was played by the beloved Shintaro Katsu in 26 films >between 1962 and 1989, as well as 100 television episodes based on the >character. ><<<<>>>. > >check out 'zatoichi meets the one armed swordsman' (71 or 72) directed >by kimiyoshi yasuda who directed several zatoichi films... > >the one armed swordsman of film is jimmy wang yu from chang cheh's 67 >film of same name, here's what lisa odham stokes and i write about >chang's film in _city on fire_: > >Chang Cheh's One Armed Swordsman (1967) is generally acknowledged as the >movie >that launched the 1970s' martial arts phenomenon [in hong kong]. While >the film's title announces that this is a swordplay movie - nothing new >in itself - the hero's disability (his sifu's jealous daughter has >chopped off his right arm) produces a different type of character. >Forced to undergo a strict and tough rehabilitative training program, >the protagonist (Jimmy Wang Yu) becomes a 'lean mean fighting machine' >with a blade. Notably brutal for its time, Chang's picture ushered in >an era of the self-reliant individualist that according to [noted hk >film critic] Sek Kei, simultaneously destroyed the image of the weak >Chinese male by featuring 'beefcake heroes in adventure and violence.' >(p. 91) > >in 'zatoichi meets the one armed swordsman, wang yu's character travels >to japan where he intervenes to prevent a young boy's execution and has >a bounty placed upoin him, meanwhile, the young boy's dying father's >last wish is for shintaro katsu's blind swordsman to care for his son, >communication difficulties between the two swordsmen lead to them >fighting one another... > >trivia: tsui hark's 'the blade (95) is a remake of chang's 'one armed >swordsman' by way of a detour through wong kar-wai's 'ashes of time (94) >in which tony leung ka-fai plays a blind swordsman... > >finally: blind swordsman films inspired 71 entitled 'deaf mute heroine' >directed by wu ma, one of number of hk martial arts films featuring >women... michael hoover > > > >-------------------------------------------------------------- >Please Note: >Due to Florida's very broad public records law, most written communications to or >from College employees >regarding College business are public records, available to the public and media upon >request. >Therefore, this e-mail communication may be subject to public disclosure. > >
