| Jan 10 2008 |
A few people sent me this news from Tokyo Filmex, which took place in late November of 2007, and it's so nice that I had to put it up. Filmex did a single-film tribute to Hong Kong's legendary actress, Angela Mao, as part of their line-up, screening an unsubtitled print of HAPKIDO and bringing Mao over for the event. Mao is one of those actresses whose eyes shoot off the screen like lasers and hunt you down all over the room and she's one of the most convincing action actresses you'll ever see and, on top of that, her brief scene in Bruce Lee's ENTER THE DRAGON is, to my mind, the highlight of the film.
So Angela Mao walks into the room where HAPKIDO is playing and...she bursts into tears. There's about 100 people in the audience and a bunch of press and she just started to cry, saying that she was shocked that so many people remembered her movies after so long. Browse through these clips and you'll understand that it takes real humility for a woman with so much talent to say that. Because if there's anything that Angela Mao is it's unforgettable.
(Here she is posing at Tokyo Filmex)
(The New York Post's Vincent Musetto covers Mao at Filmex)
(HAPKIDO trailer...in Dyali Scope!)
(WHEN TAEKWONDO STRIKES trailer)
(Look at that Wikipedia entry!)
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There's a cheap box set that's full of her awesomeness out there, including a rare comedic turn in DANCE OF DEATH. Whatever happened to the Dragon Dynasty Hapkido DVD, anyway?
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