Leading up to Labor Day, a federal holiday in the U.S. that is meant to pay tribute to the American labor movement, the Metrograph Theater in New York City kicks off a new series that is a tribute to Tsui Hark, one of the hardest-working people in the film industry.
The series, "Don't Play With Fire: The Films of Tsui Hark," accompanies the limited run of Don't Play With Fire (aka Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind), the director's incendiary third feature. We'll have a review of the restored version next week, ahead of its opening on September 11.
This weekend, the series kicks off with an incredible double-bill (though tickets are sold for each screening individually): Shanghai Blues (1984) -- restored in 4K for its 40th anniversary -- and Peking Opera Blues (1986), which has long been affixed in my mind as one of the greatest movies of all time.
After Don't Play With Fire opens next weekend, other films in the series will roll out: the wonderful fantasy Zu: Warriors From the Magic Mountain (1983), the phenomenal The Blade (1995), which I reviewed on 4K a few months ago, the surprisingly effective Jean Claude Van Damme action pic Knock Off (1998), the superb Time and Time (2000), and his emotional, entirely satisfying A Better Tomorrow: Love and Death in Saigon (1989).
I've seen and can recommend every film in the series. I've only seen two in a movie theater, though, so if you can go, please go! Visit the Metrograph site for showtimes and ticket information.