85 mins, 60 mins, 62 mins

The young, naive Annie enters a hotel to spend the night - without knowing that it's this special kind of hotel, that serves more than breakfast. Curiously she walks around and watches the maids doing their job. She's especially fascinated of a forbidden room, where a silent, strange person lives.

Imagine, if you will, the visual cacophony of Fellini (director of 8 1/2 and Juliet of the Spirits), the over-the-top action of Jerry Bruckheimer (producer of Armageddon and Gone in 60 Seconds), and the manic emotions and frenetic editing of Russ Meyer (Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!)-you have just gotten an inkling of the glorious pop cinema of Hong Kong. Deadful Melody, starring Brigitte Lin, one of the most magnetic actresses in the world, is a prime example. The ancient Chinese world of martial arts is ruled by six clans, the leaders of which all want to get their hands on the Magic Lyre, a musical instrument of near-apocalyptic destructive power. In their ruthless pursuit, they murder the entire family of the Lyre's guardian-all except for the youngest daughter, Snow, who falls down a waterfall clutching the Lyre. This sequence starts the movie with a bang, for kung fu in HK movie terms means much more than it did to Bruce Lee; the clan leaders are virtually supernatural beings, with names like Master Ghost and the whip-wielding Cold Hearted Seductress. Anyone properly trained in martial arts can fly and explode things from afar, which results in some pretty spectacular battles. Snow, of course, returns to take revenge after learning to play the Lyre and gaining enormous power. Brigitte Lin is never less than hypnotic; while this role isn't as complex as Asia the Invincible in Swordsman II, it's cut from the same cloth: imperious, cool, yet aching with loss and grief. The plot is a dizzying web of Machiavellian scheming and surprisingly rich emotions that will keep you riveted; if you can't follow it, don't worry-flying warriors clash and explode every few minutes. -Bret Fetzer.

While The Godfather was making moviegoers an offer they couldn't refuse, La Vallée was wowing art-house crowds with its flower-powered search for paradise in the jungles of New Guinea. It's there that an adventurous diplomat's wife (Bulle Ogier), hoping to find the forbidden feathers of a rare exotic bird, embarks on a deeper, more personal quest when she encounters a makeshift family of hippies seeking an unmapped valley from which visitors are said never to return. Like the structurally similar cult films from its era (including Walkabout and Aguirre: The Wrath of God), La Vallée dazzled the post-'60s subculture with free-spirited adventure and enigmatic beauty, captured here through the peerless lens of cinematographer Néstor Almendros. The hippie vibe seems mildly dated but its sensual context is timeless, and a climactic encounter with the primitive Mapuga tribe retains an intense cross-cultural mystique. Pink Floyd's celebrated soundtrack is mostly heard as background ambience, but it effectively enhances the film's compelling atmosphere of mystery and expectation. -Jeff Shannon Lush, sensual, and aurally hypnotic, this renowned cult classic from Barbet Schroeder (Barfly, Reversal of Fortune, More, Maitresse) was shot by the legendary Nestor Almendros, and scored by Pink Floyd. Set in the rainforest of New Guinea, a restless diplomat's wife, played by Bulle Ogier (Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, Maitresse), goes in search of a rare bird's priceless feathers. In the process she meets up with a group of hippies seeking spiritual and sexual enlightenment. Together they are transformed when they encounter the indigenous Mapuga tribesman and the secret "valley of the gods".

Cartoonist Hal Foster's medieval hero, the Scandinavian Prince Valiant, comes to the screen in all his Dutch-bob-haircut glory in this 1954 film directed by Henry Hathaway (Kiss of Death). Robert Wagner plays the title role and does a bang-up job of it, convincingly portraying the heroic prince as he enters the court of King Arthur (Brian Aherne) in England and becomes (with some tutelage from Sir Gawain, played by Sterling Hayden) a Knight of the Round Table. Determined to restore his dethroned family to their proper seat back home, Valiant takes on the Black Knight (James Mason), who plans to do away with Arthur and then finish his misdeeds back in Scandia. Under such pressure, the prince, quite understandably, falls in love with Princess Aleta (Janet Leigh). Hathaway proves to be the perfect director for this material, as his fluid skill, moderate forcefulness, and adaptability to genre necessities keep the film from teetering too far in the direction of pulp-or self-seriousness. -Tom Keogh.

In this video you will see a demonstration by Master Kanazawa performing one of his newly created katas and you will see first hand why he worldly acclaimed as karates most talented technical Japanese kartae master. There is also several matches from the 1996 ISKA World championships in Milan Italy as well as a spoectacular shotokan karate demonstration that is on the cutting edge and is extremely creative to say the least.

A pure old-school martial arts movie, beloved by aficionados, that also appeals to nonfans simply as a rousing action film. The often-imitated fact-based plot (see The Karate Kid) centers upon the rigorous training process undergone in the mid-19th century by the anti-Manchu Chinese patriot San Te (Gordon Liu). It's depicted as a grueling voyage into the unknown. Cast out of his home village when he stands up to the cruel warlord (Lo Lieh) who slaughtered his parents, the refugee seeks out the martial monks of the Shaolin Temple, who steer him through a torturous series of "chambers"-horrendous ordeals designed to build strength and agility-before he's even allowed to study boxing or swordfighting. Finally he defeats a rival by inventing a brand-new weapon, the three-section chain-linked staff. But innovation can be carried only so far; when San Te suggests opening a "36th chamber" in the temple that would teach Shaolin techniques to the populace at large (so that they can fight the nasty Manchus) he is drummed out of the corps. Naturally he returns to his home village, slaughters the baddies, and prepares to open China's first public Shaolin-style kung fu school. Many of the pupils San Te recruits in the final reel became legendary martial artists in their own right, the "Fathers of the Church" of the Chinese kung fu tradition. This is strong action entertainment with real historical resonance. -David Chute.