Customer Reviews

Asian Cult Cinema

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

I had high hopes for this but but was bitterly dissapointed when I finally got it. This book has more errors in it than I have been able to count, and I did start to count. The picture captions are incorrect, the movie information is incorrect, the plot summaries are incorrect! I can't believe he even watched some of the films the information is so wrong! I have been an HK fan since the late 60's and I have seen or own many of these films, so I know what the plots and casts and years of release are... Believe me this book is the _worst_ I have ever seen.

Talented actresses are insulted, he just describes their decorative value and whether or not he likes them. This is fine on a personal web site but I can't condone it for a supposed reference work. Major players and stars are blown off, like Chow Sing Chi, just because he doesn't like their films... The worst part is that the print reviewers give this junk a glowing review! What's wrong with them??? Just because this! guy claims to know what he's saying doesn't mean he does.

If you can, buy The Essential Guide to Hong Kong Movies by Rick Baker and Toby Russel. These guys get it RIGHT! Other good choices are, Hong Kong Action Cinema by Bey Logan, and Sex and Zen and a Bullet in the Head by Stefan Hammond & Mike Wilkins. They are well written and have correct information.

Asian Cult Cinema is a bad book. The reviews are flawed and the information is either flat out wrong or badly researched. The movie synopises are down right absmal
and headache inducing. I bought a copy of this book back in 1997. After reading it and doing my own research I sent the writer a huge list of corrections. I recieved a postcard with a note of acknowledgement. A few years later it was reprinted with the same errors.

Instead of buying this book go out and get a copy of Hong Kong Babylon. At least the writers went out and did their homework and put some time and effort into it. A.C.C. is flat out aweful. I would avoid it like the plague. Even the pictures are mislabeled. At his website he charges high prices for videos that are availible elsewhere. You even have to be a member just to purchase these videos. For shame.

Don't even think about it!

All of the other reviews have it right -- the book is full of errors, making it very unreliable as an information source. The opinions expressed in Asian Cult Cinema are also, shall we say, eccentric -- check out the review of Woo's Hard Boiled as an example of what I mean. Plus many important movies aren't included, for no reason I can discern (where's Magnificent Warriors, for example?) I did like the first appendix, which summarizes older martial arts movies in a quick, useful way. But you can probably get that kind of information elsewhere. Avoid.

The heading says it all. Packed with literally hundreds of errors and written on the level of a sexually obsessed ten year old, this is one dreadful book. The fact that this was published by a major house is a sad statement indeed. Avoid!

Being a huge fan of HK flix I was excited to have another resource. Unfortunately this one falls way short. The reviews are confusing and insulting at times. All actresses are judged on their appearence as opposed to their acting skills and actors other than the biggest names are rarely recognized. From the information given and the blaring errors in synopsis I would guess that some movies reviewed were not even viewed!

Try Bey Logan's HK Action Cinema or Sex & Zen & A bullet in the Head by Stefan Hammond & Mike Wilkins instead.

Weisser's expertise has been in question since long before this book appeared in 1997. Other reviewers here note that it has mistakes, but they really underrepresent the sheer volume of errors in the book which, shockingly, is still in print to this day, even as better volumes have long since supplanted it as a reference work. Shameful that it's still out there, what with it's incorrect and inconsistently spelled names, mistitlings, spoilers and plot synopses that make it all too painfully clear that Weisser and his contributors have not actually watched literally dozens of the films included in the book. Please save your money.

A lot of people will complain that the reviews are too subjective, but that can actually be a good thing. Once you've read a lot of reviews, you can see where your opinions coincide or diverge from the opinions of the reviewer.

However, in addition to the MANY MANY factual errors throughout the book, it soon becomes all too apparent that Weisser, or whoever really wrote the reviews gathered in this volume, has never actually seen a large percentage of the films in this book! Or, at best, has fast-forwarded through some and written descriptions based on his misinterpretation of the films. Frequently it seems as though reviews are written by reading the liner notes and/or other reviews and trying to guess what might actually happen in the film. Too often, it's not even that accurate.

Buy virtually any other book on HK/Asian movies and you'll be much happier and more informed in the long run. Actually, buy any book on Asian travel, culture or cooking and you'll gain more useful insight on Asian cinema than you will from work of fiction.

To think trees died to print this... what a waste!

While none of the other reviewers or reviews for this book are wrong, there are some things to keep in mind before you decide if this book is for you:

1) This is essentially the only printed movie guide book encompassing most all Hong Kong films up to 1997 (reviews for the past few years can easily be found on the web). It's not complete but it's much easier turning pages than trying to read links on a web site.

2) Bear in mind that most of these reviews were originally written for a small fazine/magazine called "Asian Cult Cinema," whose readers were more interested in martial arts and Category III movies (softcore/NC-17 movies). To compile the book, he has added reviews of more mainstream/movies released overseas but think of this author as the Joe Bob Briggs of HK movies without the humor or writing ability. It is not the perspective of a professional reviewer.

3) yes, it is opininated and he may be wrong in his opinions of actors and certain movies but he does award 4-stars to the obvious best of the best so again, it's a safe starting point. I think the frustration lies in its complete unevenness - there are reviews that are thoughtful, insight, informative and educated. There are others that give away plot points or seem to have been written by a 13-year old just discovering salacious movies ...

In summation, if you are fairly to completely unfamiliar with the best HK movies to start with, this book, for lack of a better choice is a good place to start. Do not read this book from beginning to end. You will become annoyed at its shifting writing styles and readibility. But you can skim through to get nice overviews of the best HK movies out there - for those who are interested in the non-dubbed works of Jaackie Chan, Samo Hung, Jet Li, Chow Yun Fat and other major players, there is a nice chronological filmography of each in the back and you can then just jump to each review or use it as a jumping point to search Amazon.com or the internet. The other reviewers aren't wrong about this book but it does have some usefulness.

On page 222 he attributes a starring role in "Ninja Strikes Back" to Bruce Li, uh no, sorry. That's a Bruce Le actioner. If he can't get his Bruce Lee clones straight, what does this say about his expertise? I wrote my matser's thesis on Bruce Lee clones so maybe he should have called me for help on this one!

Being an obcessive fan and collector of HK film, I too found plenty of errors in this text. And yes, he does review almost completely on his own opinion...however, isn't that his right? Isn't that what a review is? I can't think of any other film guide that isn't just as opinionated. Has anyone ever read Leon Maltin's video guide? Just because you don't agree with his opinion doesn't mean he's being overly subjective. Anyways, the errors can be quite frustrating, but the book is still worthwhile. The amount of films he covers in the text is vast and he should be commended for going beyond the usual overview of mainstream HK cinema usually found in books of this sort. Previous reviewers have compared this book to other similar texts...such as Sex and Zen and a Bullet in the Head. While it may be better written and contain less errors, Sex and Zen... is just as opinionated and, I would say, covers only about half of what Weisser's does. Quanity vs. quality; it just depends on what you are looking for. To summarize, it's really not that bad. And since most people see HK film as either Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, or generic Chinese guys jumping around, you should at least give the guy credit for trying to serve the genre's true fans.