Director Corey Yuen’s thrilling action drama She Shoots Straight has a family of lady cops take on a terrorist cell in Hong Kong with some tragic results. New to Blu-ray from 88 Films.
The Film
She Shoots Straight isn’t an action thriller. It’s not even a heroic bloodshed film. Corey Yuen’s film is a Melodrama. Yes. A Melodrama with a capital “M”. Yes, the film has action scenes and set pieces aplenty. Many of which are as good as any in his career. They take a back seat to the family drama and tragedy that plays out when a female cop (Joyce Godenzi) marries the only son (Tony Leung) in a family of female cops.
Director Yuen, working from a script he co-wrote with Barry Wong (of Hardboiled fame) and Yuen Kai-Chi, is a smart blending of multiple tones and genres. At times, it’s wildly inappropriate with its humor, a newly married man pokes holes in a condom to get a wife pregnant, who wants to put her career first. During others, it is somber to the point of hyperbole; the film features a 20-minute section where literally every woman bawls hysterically at the death of someone. Others feature kinetic balletic action scenes that seem to have influenced everything from Mission: Impossible II to The Raid. Or even bordering on the ridiculous to the point of satire, a woman has an entire operation without anesthesia.
Somehow, Yuen puts it all together, making She Shoots Straight one of the most entertaining, albeit little-seen, HK films of the 1990s.
The Transfer
The 2K Restoration from the Original Camera Negative is another flawless transfer from 88 Films. The transfer is sharp and without defects. The image’s slight grain structure ensures the transfer retains that 35mm cinematic look at all times. Bravo to the boutique label’s continued efforts in bringing their beautiful restoration work to Blu-ray.
The Extras
They include the following;
Audio Commentary with Asian Cinema Expert Frank Djeng
Straight from the Heart: Interview with scriptwriter Yuen Kai-Chi
Alternate English credits
Image Gallery
Original Hong Kong Trailer
The Audio Commentary with Asian Cinema Expert Frank Djeng opens with his credentials. Some of the details include the literal translation of the title and an interesting story about the title; the box office results of the film; the work and career of Joyce Godenzi, who was married to Sammo Hung; the work and career of Tony Leung, aka Big Tony; the Amy Yip cameo in the film; the work of dual cinematographers Moon-Tong Lau, Leung Chi-ming; a discussion of the iconic club shootout’s visual style; the work and interesting life of composer Lowell Lo – who also happens to be an actor as well; ; a discussion of Sammo Hung and his Bo Ho Films, which produced and co-starred in the film – including a charming story concerning Sammo, Joyce and Sammo’s needing shoes; the TVB long-running series The Seasons that inspired this film, even going as far as casting actors from the series; a discussion of the melodramatic sections of the film and the reason why they show up in this film; a discussion of the screenwriters of the film Barry Wong and Yuen Kai-Chi; a larger discussion of the career and work of director Corey Yuen; a discussion of the various voice actors that dubbed the actors some of the onscreen actors did in fact dub their own voice; a discussion of the social and political context that this film was made under; a larger discussion of the various locations that the production used; discussion throughout the commentary track about the various actors and their work here and throughout their career – keep your notes app open, you’ll want to write some of the films down; and much more.
Straight from the Heart: Interview with scriptwriter Yuen Kai-Chi (15:46) – Yuen opens with beginning at Shaw Brothers and goes into how he came to work for Sammo Hung’s production company and specifically Hung’s primary writer Barry Wong quite Bo Ho films. The screenwriter goes onto discuss his theories on screenwriting and how tailoring for a star’s strength is key to his success; what it was like to be a working screenwriter in the 80s and 90s in HK; working with director Corey Yuen and his inventiveness with action; what made Sammo such a great producer and actor; working with the various actors during the production; the challenges of writing the script; and much more. In Cantonese with English Subtitles.
Alternate English credits (2:23) – the opening credits play under the alternate title Lethal Lady, no doubt to cash in on the Lethal Weapon success. The end credits in English play as well.
Image Gallery (2:20) – the image gallery, consisting of various lobby cards, poster art, and production stills, plays over the film’s score.
Original Hong Kong Trailer (2:37) – Cantonese with English Subtitles
The Final Thought
88 films continues to curate only the best in HK Action Cinema. Highest Possible Recommendations!!
Director Corey Yuen’s thrilling action drama She Shoots Straight has a family of lady cops take on a terrorist cell in Hong Kong with some tragic results. New to Blu-ray from 88 Films.
The Film
She Shoots Straight isn’t an action thriller. It’s not even a heroic bloodshed film. Corey Yuen’s film is a Melodrama. Yes. A Melodrama with a capital “M”. Yes, the film has action scenes and set pieces aplenty. Many of which are as good as any in his career. They take a back seat to the family drama and tragedy that plays out when a female cop (Joyce Godenzi) marries the only son (Tony Leung) in a family of female cops.
Director Yuen, working from a script he co-wrote with Barry Wong (of Hardboiled fame) and Yuen Kai-Chi, is a smart blending of multiple tones and genres. At times, it’s wildly inappropriate with its humor, a newly married man pokes holes in a condom to get a wife pregnant, who wants to put her career first. During others, it is somber to the point of hyperbole; the film features a 20-minute section where literally every woman bawls hysterically at the death of someone. Others feature kinetic balletic action scenes that seem to have influenced everything from Mission: Impossible II to The Raid. Or even bordering on the ridiculous to the point of satire, a woman has an entire operation without anesthesia.
Somehow, Yuen puts it all together, making She Shoots Straight one of the most entertaining, albeit little-seen, HK films of the 1990s.
The Transfer
The 2K Restoration from the Original Camera Negative is another flawless transfer from 88 Films. The transfer is sharp and without defects. The image’s slight grain structure ensures the transfer retains that 35mm cinematic look at all times. Bravo to the boutique label’s continued efforts in bringing their beautiful restoration work to Blu-ray.
The Extras
They include the following;
The Audio Commentary with Asian Cinema Expert Frank Djeng opens with his credentials. Some of the details include the literal translation of the title and an interesting story about the title; the box office results of the film; the work and career of Joyce Godenzi, who was married to Sammo Hung; the work and career of Tony Leung, aka Big Tony; the Amy Yip cameo in the film; the work of dual cinematographers Moon-Tong Lau, Leung Chi-ming; a discussion of the iconic club shootout’s visual style; the work and interesting life of composer Lowell Lo – who also happens to be an actor as well; ; a discussion of Sammo Hung and his Bo Ho Films, which produced and co-starred in the film – including a charming story concerning Sammo, Joyce and Sammo’s needing shoes; the TVB long-running series The Seasons that inspired this film, even going as far as casting actors from the series; a discussion of the melodramatic sections of the film and the reason why they show up in this film; a discussion of the screenwriters of the film Barry Wong and Yuen Kai-Chi; a larger discussion of the career and work of director Corey Yuen; a discussion of the various voice actors that dubbed the actors some of the onscreen actors did in fact dub their own voice; a discussion of the social and political context that this film was made under; a larger discussion of the various locations that the production used; discussion throughout the commentary track about the various actors and their work here and throughout their career – keep your notes app open, you’ll want to write some of the films down; and much more.
Straight from the Heart: Interview with scriptwriter Yuen Kai-Chi (15:46) – Yuen opens with beginning at Shaw Brothers and goes into how he came to work for Sammo Hung’s production company and specifically Hung’s primary writer Barry Wong quite Bo Ho films. The screenwriter goes onto discuss his theories on screenwriting and how tailoring for a star’s strength is key to his success; what it was like to be a working screenwriter in the 80s and 90s in HK; working with director Corey Yuen and his inventiveness with action; what made Sammo such a great producer and actor; working with the various actors during the production; the challenges of writing the script; and much more. In Cantonese with English Subtitles.
Alternate English credits (2:23) – the opening credits play under the alternate title Lethal Lady, no doubt to cash in on the Lethal Weapon success. The end credits in English play as well.
Image Gallery (2:20) – the image gallery, consisting of various lobby cards, poster art, and production stills, plays over the film’s score.
Original Hong Kong Trailer (2:37) – Cantonese with English Subtitles
The Final Thought
88 films continues to curate only the best in HK Action Cinema. Highest Possible Recommendations!!
88 Films’ Blu-ray Edition of She Shoot Straight is out February 24th.
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