Bump N grind

Grindhouse is a term thrown around quite a bit nowadays. Tracing its roots back to the turn of the last century, grindhouse sprung from the reutilization of burlesque theaters that were closed down and then turned into showcase venues for exploitation films.

Theaters and drive-ins became popular destinations to see low-budget, low-moral films dealing with illicit drug use, promiscuous sex and teens dancing to hot jazz music at all hours of the night. Grindhouse exploitation cinema comes to the Hollywood Theatre in this continuing tradition with its weekly installments of ass-kicking, low-budget, films. Coming soon: Invincible Shaolin and 7 Grandmasters.

Invincible Shaolin is a film directed by “the godfather of Hong Kong cinema” Chang Cheh and stars the Venom Mob. It is a historical fiction film about the Shaolin’s rivalry with the Qing dynasty.

The movie pits the North Shaolin against the South Shaolin in an all out kung fu showdown. When a group of North Shaolin experts are challenged to face Southern Shaolin novice warriors, feet fling and fists fly.
Unfortunately, the Northern Shaolin end up killing the Southerners and the Southern elders send champions to face the Northern dispatchers.

Cheh’s 16-year career was heavily influenced by Sergio Leone’s Spaghetti Western films and Japanese samurai films of the period. His films often portray sword-yielding warriors cutting through rooms of enemies, resulting in waves of blood and piles of bodies.

As the years progressed, Cheh started pumping out four to five films a year, eventually establishing a cadre of ninja warriors he labeled “The Venoms.” Cheh’s films were the first to display the notion of “heroic bloodshed,” where honor, loyalty and brotherhood are emphasized, influencing future directors such as John Woo, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino.

Next comes 7 Grandmasters from Joseph Kuo. This 1978 film follows a kung fu teacher that sets out to find and beat the seven grandmasters to prove himself as the greatest kung fu warrior in the world. He takes on each one with a different animal style, concurrently teaching a young student to follow his path of kung fu mastery.

Kuo has 52 years of experience with directing, writing, producing and scoring credits under his belt. Kuo has made films across many genres including romance, period martial arts, kung fu action and cop films. He is most well known for his Wuxia-style kung fu films and is one of the leading directors in Taiwan in the ’70s. His film, King of Swords, broke the box office record as the highest-grossing Taiwanese film in Hong Kong. It earned him the nickname of “Million Dollar Director.”

The Hollywood Theatre provides myriad odd and awesome films to tantalize and entertain the masses. With this event, the theater captures the grindhouse spirit by offering vintage exploitation films and awesome kung fu action every week to keep their patrons fighting in the aisles—in a good way.

The two films showing this month are classic Chinese masterpieces that even the Wu Tang Clan quote in their songs. Invincible Shaolin and 7 Grandmasters are part of a long tradition of Hong Kong kung fu films that, although are part of a long-standing exploitation institution, stress values that weren’t prevalent in contemporary films of the time. Brotherhood, honor and tradition are core values of Chinese cinema and help these films stand the test of time.