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Check out the full WHATEVER HAPPENED TO VIC DIAZ? archive right here

On this episode of WHATEVER HAPPENED TO VIC DIAZ? we’re heading into the jungle with Filipino thespian Vic Diaz in the 1978 Vietnam war drama THE BOYS IN COMPANY C, starring Stan Shaw, Andrew Stevens, and Craig Wasson. Similar in structure to Full Metal Jacker (and featuring R. Lee Ermey in a very similar role), it’s a sometimes odd, sometimes hard-hitting look at a controversial war that also includes a whole lot of soccer for some reason. It’s pretty good, and very different than the usual fair we cover on this podcast. CHECK IT OUT!

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Find the entire We Do Our Own Stunts archive right here

On this episode of WE DO OUR OWN STUNTS we’re going back in time! Back before SNAKE IN THE EAGLE’S SHADOW or DRUNKEN MASTER, when Lo Wei reluctantly gave Jackie Chan permission to – finally – make the kung fu comedy he always wanted. The result was HALF A LOAF OF KUNG FU, which Lo Wei immediately shelved until the international success of Jackie’s Yuen Woo-ping-directed films made him rush it into cinemas. How is it? Listen and find out!

Check out the Accented Cinema video essay Someone Made a Movie to Diss Jackie Chan right here:

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The entire WE DO OUR OWN STUNTS archive is available right here.

On this episode of WE DO OUR OWN STUNTS, we continue our chronological look at the career of Jackie Chan and – surprise – Jackie is famous now! After the massive success of Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow and Drunken Master, Jackie returns to Lo Wei who decides to dust some unreleased Jackie features off the shelf and rush them into cinemas. The first is the supernatural kung fu comedy SPIRITUAL KUNG FU, which features five bright white “ghosts” in red fright wigs (who arrived on a meteor) teaching Jackie the five style fists, while a murder mystery plays out in the shaolin temple! Features Jackie shoving living animals down his pants and ghost busting (via urination). CHECK IT OUT!

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It’s an ALL COMICS episode of JodoWOWsky with our hosts examining three Alejandro Jodorowsky graphic novel collaborations throughout the late 70s and 80s. We start with a deep dive into THE EYES OF THE CAT, the (sorta!) first collaboration between Jodorowsky and the legendary Moebius from 1978. It’s gorgeous, highly experimental, and we even discuss a recent attempt to make a videogame adaptation! Then we move on to the often baffling THE JEALOUS GOD, a collaboration between Jodorowsky and Silvio Cadelo first published in Heavy Metal in 1985. And finally we finish with Jodorowsky’s first young adult comic THE MAGICAL TWINS with his frequent collaborator Georges Bess, first published in 1987. All this and the latest Jodorowsky news. CHECK IT OUT!

 

Pick up copies of THE EYES OF THE CAT and THE MAGICAL TWINS (along with other Alejandro Jodorowsky work) at https://www.humanoids.com/.

Penelope by Leonora Carrington, staged by Alejandro Jodorowsky in 1957

Your hosts are Cinema Smorgasbord regulars Doug Tilley (@Doug_Tilley) and Liam O’Donnell (@LiamRulz), but they are joined on this adventure by the always wonderful Julia Marchese!

Julia is a filmmaker, actor, writer, film programmer and podcaster. Julia’s first film was Out of Print, a documentary about the importance of revival cinema and 35mm to culture. The film has played all over the world in film archives, art house cinemas and universities. The 35mm print of the film is now housed at The Academy Film Archives. Her next project is a short film adaptation of Stephen King’s short story “I Know What You Need”. She is the co-host of Horror Movie Survival Guide, a weekly podcast that takes a deep dive into a different horror film each week, focusing on how to become the final girl. You can follow her on her social media platforms

Check out the George A Romero Foundation’s recently announced HORROR X @GARFHorrorX on Twitter

juliamarchese.com

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It took 12 episodes to get here, but after the box-office success of SNAKE IN THE EAGLE’S SHADOW, Jackie Chan suddenly finds himself a bankable martial arts star. So why not do it all again, only better? DRUNKEN MASTER reunites Jackie with basically everyone who worked on the previous film, including producer Ng See-yuen, director Yuen Woo-ping, and stars Hwang Jang-lee, Dean Shek and Simon Yuen, and the result is a global smash that launched Jackie’s career and set both a pattern for the next stage of his career, as well as provided material for dozens of rip-offs, tributes and sequels. Join us on the latest episode of WE DO OUR OWN STUNTS where we discuss Jackie’s recent birthday, the death of Jimmy Wang Yu, and talk all about 1978’s DRUNKEN MASTER. Check it out!

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Over 10 episodes of WE DO OUR OWN STUNTS we’ve seen Jackie Chan struggle for respectability and recognition in martial arts films. There have been high and low points, but we always knew his launch to stardom was coming.. and now here it is! On this episode we’re looking at Yuen Woo-ping’s SNAKE IN THE EAGLE’S SHADOW, the film that was Jackie’s first step towards international stardom. But how did it come about? We look at how Jackie was leant to Seasonal Films, his first meeting with producer Ng See-yuen, his history with Yuen Woo-ping’s family and plenty more. CHECK IT OUT!

Check out the entire WE DO OUR OWN STUNTS archive right here.

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PRAISING KANE returns with one of Carol Kane’s finest performances, and a truly bizarre cult item. It’s 1978’s THE MAFU CAGE, and we guarantee you’ve never seen anything quite like it. Featuring incest, colonialism, orangutan murder and so much more, the film has gained a strong following over the past decade, and we’re here to find out why. But we’re not alone! Joining us is Cinepunx contributor and film programmer Adrianna Gober to help us unlock the secrets of The Mafu Cage!

Check our some recent interviews with Carol Kane about her career and her Academy Award nominated performance in HESTER STREET.

Here’s an interview from The New Yorker Radio House

and Here’s an interview with Vulture.

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We made it! Ten(-ish) movies deep, Jackie Chan’s career is floundering. Desperate for a hit, Lo Wei pairs him with James Tien and Bruce Leung for a western-inspired fantasy action epic featuring bizarre twists, excessive face-ripping, and music shamelessly stolen from Star Wars and.. heck.. let’s make the whole thing 3D! MAGNIFICENT BODYGUARDS may have been Jackie’s final film before his breakthrough role in SNAKE IN THE EAGLE’S SHADOW, but it’s far from forgettable. Let’s check it out!

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On a landmark episode of WE DO OUR STUNTS we continue our chronological look at the career of Jackie Chan with his first great movie: 1978’s SNAKE & CRANE ARTS OF SHAOLIN! Directed by Chen Chi Hwa (who would later collaborate with Jackie on POLICE STORY), the film is about a marital arts student (played by Jackie) who is guarding “Eight Steps of the Snake and Crane”, a martial arts manual. Filled with excellent choreography and a sarcastic sense of humor, we’re inching ever closer to the combination of kung-fu and comedy that would turn Jackie into an international star. Check it out!

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On this episode of FORGOTTEN GEMS? we’re looking at the winner of the 1978 Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize, Marco Ferreri’s BYE BYE MONKEY (aka CIAO MASCHIO) starring Gerard Depardieu! You might think a film about a grown (french) man adopting a baby chimp after finding it nestled in a giant animatronic King Kong would be loads of fun, but BOY is it not! It’s cynical, often irritating and very unpleasant, so let’s talk about it!