Coming to America ... CYF, on the big screen near you!
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It's been three years since Peace Hotel, the last of CYF's movies in Hong Kong; three years during which his slavering fans have waited for this moment. Here he is, finally: with eyes and guns blazing, crusader against villainy, champion of honour, protector of decency, bulwark against evil ... if I sound giddily ecstatic it's because I am. A big HURRAH! for the advent of The Replacement Killers, and this wish only: may the intervals between films grow ever shorter...
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Contemplating the urban jungle...CYF in TRK. Still my fave pic from TRK (despite the fact that the scene didn't make the final cut). Many thanks to Gordon Chan for courteously sending me the .jpg! |
| COUNTRY: | Release Date: | Box Office (by week, once I'm organised): | Notes: |
| Hong Kong | Jan. 23rd |
Jan. 23-28: US $1,284,623 on 27 screens (#2); Jan 29-Feb 4: US $1,149,598 on 24 screens (#3); Feb 5-11: US $246,243 on 21 screens (#5); Feb 12-18: US $52,470 on 2 screens (#10). Four week run, US$2,732,734. |
HK critics and fans were blase about the film -- most reports criticised TRK as a derivative rip-off of his HK flicks. Some of the silly Asian tropes also irritated HK critics (inappropriate use of Chinese number characters, etc.) (Box office info gleaned from the HK Top 10 site.) |
| Malaysia | Jan. 23rd | US$498k on the opening weekend. No info on the rest of the run. |
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| Singapore | Jan. 23rd | US$449k on the opening weekend. No info on the rest of the run. |
Released under the title "Blood Still Not Cold", and rated PG (!). (And thanks to the HK Top 10 site and to the IMDb TRK page for the info!) |
| South Korea | Jan. 23rd | US$218k on the opening weekend.
No info on the rest of the run.. |
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| Taiwan | Jan. 23rd | US$348k on the opening weekend.
No info on the rest of the run. |
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| United States | Feb. 6 |
Feb 6-12: US$8,046,553, on 1936 screens. From Feb 6-April 30th, the US big-screen run of TRK totalled US $19,011,67. On the US rental charts: June 30-July 6: US$2.2m (#8) July 6-12: US$2.26 (#5) July 13-19: US$1.85m (#8) From June 30th-July 19th TRK grossed US$6.33m in rentals. |
In the US TRK is rated R, apparently because of "violence and strong language". (And thanks to Kie Spring, ShowBiz, and Box Office '98 for the info!) |
| Canada | Feb. 6th | Sadly, I had no idea where to get Canadian Box office info until too late. But I keep hoping to find it archived, somewhere. | In Canada, TRK is 16+ -- apparently our 17-olds are deemed more responsible than are the Americans'. Also, a French-dubbed version of TRK is playing in Quebec, under the title Refus de Tuer. (And thanks to Beric -- a.k.a. "God of Useful Knowledge" -- for letting me know that The Toronto Star posts weekly Canadian Box Office figures. |
| Australia | March 5th |
March 5-11: $630,000 (#4); March 12-18:$456,000 (#5); March 19-25: $196,000 (#11); March 26-April 1: $82,000 (#17). Four week run: $1,364,000. |
TRK was rated "MA" in Australia, according to the IMDb site. "MA" apparently stands for 'Mature Audience', comparable to the American NC17 rating. (And many thanks to Russell Giacometti for alerting me to the activity from down under, sending me detailed box office info, and translating the Australian ratings system!) |
| New Zealand | May 8th | I have no idea. Anyone? | And thanks to Fraserhead for alerting me to the release of TRK in New Zealand |
| Russia | May 16th (approx) | According to Maria Belilovkaia, TRK made US$46,786 in 11 days playing on only 1 screen, in Moscow. But other than that, I've no idea! | And thanks to Maria Belilovkaia for providing box office info and release notes from Moscow! |
| Germany | May 28 |
May 28-31 (opening weekend): DEM 753,932, playing on 297 screens. Other than that .... |
I think it was released as "TRK / Die Ersatzkiller": there's a marvellous .jpg of the German poster at Schroeders kleine Filmseiten. It was rated 18+... And thanks to Alexandra from Hamburg for alerting me to the German release date! The box office & ratings info was gleaned from the IMDb TRK site. |
| The UK | June 5th | June 5-7 (opening weekend): £151,464 on 129 screens; June 8-14: £61,088 on 117 screens; June 15-21: £36,354 on 94 screens. Gross as of June 21st: £359,183. |
And thanks to Chris Hubbard and an anonymous visitor for alerting me to the UK release date! Box office info gleaned from the IMDb's Business Page for TRK. |
| Spain | July 24th | None yet! | And thanks to IŅaki Gil for letting me know about the release date for Spain! |
| Japan | Summer/fall? | None yet! | It may not have been released in theatres yet, but TRK is apparently available for rental, at least to American military personnel ... According to YLB, as of August 12th TRK had climbed to the #9 spot for rentals in U.S. military bases in Okinawa, Japan. (And thanks to YLB for the info!) |
There's still lots of missing info, and no news from the PRC, except that pirated VCDs are freely available in at least one city... The IMDb TRK Release Dates page reveals that in addition to the countries listed above, TRK opened in Thailand (April 10th); Estonia and Mexico (April 17th); Bulgaria and Iceland (April 24th); Brazil (May 1st); Argentina, Slovakia, and Switzerland (May 21st); France (May 27th -- I believe the title was "Tueur Pour Cible"); the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden (May 29th); Kuwait and Hungary (June 3); Norway (June 12th); Portugal (July 17th); South Africa (July 31); and Slovenia (August 6th), as well as playing at the Helsinki Film Festival September 21st. The IMDb TRK site also gives rating information for Norway (18+) and Sweden (15), but I don't know anything about those runs, either. Also, I saw a post by FARGOES in soc.culture.malaysia entitled "TRK release in India" (it was a TRK review for a Madras paper), dated June 26th, so I assume the film was released in India but I know nothing more. I can only conclude that readership of God of Actors needs further expansion. ;)
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CYF on the set of TRK in May of 1997 ... Pic courtesy of Next Magazine. |
Release dates: January 23 (Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, HK)/ February 6 (North America) / March 5 (Australia) / May 8 (New Zealand) / May 16 (Russia) / May 28 (Germany) / June 5 (UK) / summer or fall (?) Japan. Columbia Pictures, distributed by Sony. Also known as Blood Still Not Cold (Singapore); Refus de Tuer (Quebec); Tueur Pour Cible (France).
First, the bad news. All those rumours are true .... You will laugh out loud, in some scenes of TRK, at the utter hokeyness of it all. You will snicker, occasionally, as cartoonish villains stride onto the screen in slow motion. You will chortle (or be annoyed, depending on your personality) at any number of scenes in which Mira Sorvino gratuitously takes off her clothes. And you will not see the CYF we know and love, in TRK: no humour, no sensuality, no passion ... not even that manic Chow grin. Pretty grim? Yes. But rest assured ... he's still the real deal.
With his too-hip-to-be-true shades glinting under the street lights, CYF strides through this movie as if he were the hero of a Schwartzenegger movie... racking up bad guys by the dozen. I mention Schwartzenegger movies because it seems to me that they've modelled CYF's start on his: reduce the lines to a minimum, eliminate expressivity. And CYF's accent may explain some of the need for that, but it's a grating formula to fans used to the easy cameraderie of his HK films. Casting CYF as a loner motivated by a strong sense of honour provides for some gratifying moments to Chow fans, but it leaves TRK without the brotherhood themes that appeal to so many of us in HK film.
For these reasons, TRK is bound to disappoint Chow fans, who know how much better than this he can be. But all the same .. this ain't no Rich and Famous III. The Replacement Killers is 100% successful action entertainment: neon lights, slick camerawork, superbly choreographed violence, and Chow Yun-Fat ... in his incarnation as the god of guns. If I did snicker (sometimes) in this movie in some scenes, there were others in which I was positively exalted with glee to see CYF in action again. In a street scene in Chinatown, shot from above: CYF dressed in a spiffy white suit moves through a crowd of others dressed in dark colours ... I tell ya, it sends shivers up my spine. There are some wonderful moments in this movie ... even if it is a Hollywood trash flick. Winnifred's (W)Rating: 7/10. (Arthouse Rating: 2/5. Entertainment Value: 5/5.)
The Plot? Triad boss Terence Wei (Kenneth Tsang Kong) forces fellow immigrant John Lee (CYF) to perform hits in order to safeguard the mother and sister Lee has left behind in China. But when he is ordered to commit a murder even more morally repugnant than usual (:P) he refuses, and must then protect himself and his family from the vengeance that pursues them. On the run, Lee enlists the help of a reluctant forger, Meg Coburn (Sorvino).
Why Would I Like This Movie? Fast-paced, stylishly-shot mayhem ... neon lights reflected in CYF's sunglasses. It may not appeal to everyone, but it definitely appeals to me!
Why Wouldn't I Like This Movie? As mentioned above: the sadly limiting nature of CYF's character. The Extreme Cheesiness of certain scenes ... the cartoonish villains, the hilariously spontaneous shedding of clothes by Meg Coburn (though NB out of deference to HK sensibilities, there's not even an onscreen kiss). The B-movieness of it all.
Second Thoughts on TRK....Several things struck me, when I saw TRK the second time. First, I enjoyed it much, much more than I did the first time around!!!!I think it was the fact that, having assimilated the fact that it would not be the CYF of his best HK film, I felt free to enjoy it as an American action flick. The cheesiness didn't seem as annoying, and I felt more positive towards CYF's character than I did in my first impressions of the film. In particular [MAJOR SPOILERS -- SPECIFIC SCENES DISCUSSED IN DETAIL], I was moved by the scene in which Lee arrives at the temple to get the passport from Allan, and finds him dying. Though it's not a very long scene, the interaction between Lee and his friend does allow us a moment of drama. When CYF says "I'm sorry, Allan," and again in the following scene, when Meg Coburn says "I've thought for whole days about that one thing, that one good deed that would wipe out all the bad things I've done.... Do you ever feel like that?".... Admittedly, I'm an extremely sappy person, but I was touched by those scenes. As specific criticisms -- two things. First, I agree completely with the point that Stephanie Zacharek mentions in her TRK review for Salon. Not making it clear, in the scene in which Lee's conscience gets the better of him, that it is the kid who is the target of the hit, undermines the scene dramatically. CYF displays wonderful acting in that scene -- but you can't appreciate it if you're thinking "what's the big deal about killing that cop?"... Second, it seems to me that the titular Replacement Killers get a pretty poor showing. The one dies blandly in the theatre; at the other's demise we don't even see the scenes in which CYF sneaks up on him. A shot of the window CYF presumably climbs through, and then -- out of nowhere -- a menacing gun at the guy's head. Call me crazy, but that seems a mite anticlimactic. Now back to happier thoughts: the action sequences! I *loved the opening and closing sequences, and most of the action scenes in between. In the opening sequence, I love the effect of the accelerating beat and the slow-motion arrival of Chow, and I love the part in which he whirls around, silhouetted in three mirrors, and pauses, swiveled, before turning to stare at his reflection. Whew! In the closing sequence, of course, there's the moment when the doors slowly open, but also I loved the part when Sorvino blows Jurgen Prochnow away, and the scene in which Chow leaps onto the hood of the car. From the rest of the movie: well, of course, the swooping arrival of Lee on the dolly in the carwash; the first fight sequence in Meg's office....I love that bit where Sorvino bolts down the hall shouting "JOOOOOOOOOOHN!" and he whirls around to get her pursuer while she fires at his first opponent. Great stuff... But in general, as I said, the action sequences were a hit with me. I would definitely recommend a second viewing (at least to fans of Chow Yun-Fat), once you're over the chagrin of the first viewing. (And let me add: the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth times I saw it was also great fun ... :P Let no one say I'm not doing my bit for the TRK box-office!) |
The Stars: Chow Yun-Fat and Mira Sorvino get their names above the title, appearing as John Lee and Meg Coburn, respectively... If you don't know the latest scoop on CYF, you haven't yet read my Chow Yun-Fat: God of Actors fan page. Mira Sorvino is a veteran actress, best known perhaps for her Oscar-winning role in Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite. Upcoming projects ... well, frankly, I don't know. She recently appeared in the horror film Mimic.
The Director: TRK was directed by Antoine Fuqua, formerly known only for his music videos (including Coolio's "Gangsta something-or-other"). The Replacement Killers was his first film. On the basis of TRK, he was slated to direct the next Sean Connery flick, an actioner called Entrapment.
The Movie Moguls: The Replacement Killers was made for Columbia Pictures and distributed in the US by Sony Pictures Entertainment. It was produced by WCG Entertainment and features sound credited to Dolby Digital / SDDS. The budget for The Replacement Killers was us$26m (hk$201m).
The Cast: Aside from our stars, TRK features a plethora of familiar faces in secondary roles. Michael Rooker appears as hunted cop Stan Zedkov; Jürgen Prochnow appears as the lieutenant of triad boss Terence Wei, played by veteran HK actor Kenneth Tsang (Tsang Kong). Other cast members (in credits order, according to the IMDb) include Steven Garcia, Patrick Kilpatrick, Frank Medrano, Til Schweiger, and Danny Trejo.
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The Crew: Ken Sanzel wrote the script for TRK (excerpts of which are available at David Lee's The Coolest Actor in the World page). Peter Lyons Collister was the cinematographer. Harry Gregson-Williams gets the music credit; Noami Shohan was in charge of Production Design. Arianne Phillips designed those stylish outfits; Jay Lash Cassidy was in charge of film editing. All the WCG people are listed as executive producers (John Woo, Terence Chang, and Christopher Godsick) along with a fourth, Matthew Baer. Bernie Brillstein and Brad Grey are credited as mere producers, and Michael McDonnel received a third rank credit as co-producer.
Other crew credits are given by the IMDb listed alphabetically, as follows: Douglas B. Arnold (sound); Richard Conkling (assistant editor); Peggy Davis (III) (first assistant editor); Jim Dyer (unit production manager); Allan Graf (stunt co-ordinator); Paul Guyot (assistant to Chow Yun-Fat); Wendy Kurtzman (casting); David Lazan (art director); Al Leong (stunts); Andrew Loschin (apprentice editor); Kris Fullan Martinez (production co-ordinator); Edgar Pablos (post-production assistant); Joe D. Ramsey (special effects); Claire S. Raskind (casting); Ralph Sall (music supervisor); and Jeffrey Wetzel (assistant director). |
CYF in Hollywood ... as he joked to Next Magazine about the inferiority of American food. |
And loud cheers to all these contributors to CYF's glory!
Just another gratuitous TRK banner, pilfered from the IMDb...
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Commercial and Media Sites:
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On-line Reviews of TRK:
By the way, the video trailer for TRK appeared on the tapes for Starship Troopers and Desperate Measures. No information is too trivial ... And special thanks to Calder and Darryl Amaki for passing on the news about the TRK video trailers!
Posters: The beauty of this North American release biz is that we don't have to go through the agony of tracking down souvenirs from HK. The poster to TRK should be available from any local cinema store (if I can buy it in Montreal, you oughta be able to find it), and they may well order it for you, if it's not in stock. But you can also buy the poster on-line, apparently, at Class Act, a Chicago-based company recommended by Winston Gor and Dan Century, and at Pix Poster Cellar, a store based in Boston patronised by Kent and by David Lee.
Music: This was a long and complicated story, but by the time I'm writing this (July 7) I'm sure everyone knows the score [pun intended]. The final word is that no soundtrack was released for The Replacement Killers, but the score itself is available (see below).
If you want to get ahold of the actual songs, you have to go to the artists themselves. The Crystal Method's song "Keep Hope Alive" (the techno hit of the opening scene) is apparantly available on their debut album, Vegas, which as far as I know managed to stay on the charts for some weeks, in Jan-March. I also really liked the Tricky song "She Makes Me Wanna Die" -- though NB people who bought the original version report it much less techno than the one in TRK. According to Johnathan Doyle, the version in TRK is a remake, available as an import CD from Tricky under the title "She Makes Me Wanna Die (Weekend Mix)". (If your local store doesn't stock it, I think you can order it online from CDNOW.) A comprehensive-looking list of the songs and artist of TRK is available at the IMDb.
For me, the only song which really stood out in the film originally was the haunting Indian-sounding melody of the Chinatown sequence. That melody ("The Temple"), the melancholy music of the closing sequence (as we watch the fall through the electric wires) and many others, are available on the TRK score, written by Harry Gregson-Williams and released by Varese Sarabande Records, Inc.. In essence, the score consists of all the wordless "background music" of the film, packaged with some attractive TRK pix and an image of CYF and Sorvino on the front. You should be able to order "The Replacement Killers Original Motion Picture Score" from your local music store, if you don't feel like buying it online.
(And thanks to Kaitlin, Kimberly, Paige, Johnathan Doyle, Rob MacLean and Tony for their info on the music of TRK!)
The Trailer: The medium-sized version (8Mb) is available at Dave's The Coolest Actor in the World in quicktime. Kevin's CYF RealVideo Archive is also worth a look.
(And many thanks to Ethan Hunt, Winston Gor, Soundwave, Eddie, Kai, Jeff, Andy Pfeiffer, and Dan, for help finding the trailer on-line!)
T-shirts: I have heard from someone who has successfully ordered the TRK t-shirt from the official Sony The Replacement Killers page... muahahahaha! The shirt apparently says "Kill or Be Replaced" on the front, and TRK on the back. Personally I feel the shirt is kind of minimalist -- I mean, couldn't they have included an image, or something? -- but I'll probably order one anyways. (And thanks to Johnathan Doyle for reporting the results of his attempt!)
The Shades: CYF's shades in TRK were Georgio Armani Model # GA654S, which retail for US$166. I heard that they were Colour #707, a shiny silver frame with black temples, but according to Jeff Koga's sadly-defunct John Woo Shades page,
"there apparently is no such color in existence, at least on the Sunglasses International site. Instead, the one on the site that closely matches her description is Color #915, which have grey lens and a rusty silver frame with black temples." Now you know ... (And thanks to Cpt Koons and Dave for their help with the sunglasses ...)
IN THE BACKGROUND: The background image is of CYF in a scene cut from the final TRK print: an image I was sent by Gordon Chan.
You are probably the only person who has ever accessed this web page, while I myself have logged on Back to Chow Yun-Fat: God of Actors or to my page of CYF movie reviews, pix, and links (frames or non-frames versions)...
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