Episode 191: Pearl Chang: Wolf Devil Director

==Show Notes==
: Pearl Chang wrote/directed/produced and starred in four Taiwanese fantasy films in the 80s, but cinema history has cruelly ignored her wildly imaginative body of work - even though she's one of the few women to ever be a truly be a 'Total Filmmaker'. In this week's episode, we examine her life, work, and discuss her most famous film WOLF DEVIL WOMAN, MIRACULOUS FLOWER and MATCHING ESCORT.
==Films Discussed==
* Films involving Pearl Chang
** The Protectors (1974-75) - TV Show
** Armed Escort (1976) Dir. Chen Ming-Hua
** My Blade My Life (1978) Dir. Chen Ming-Hua
** Miraculous Flower (a.k.a Wolf Devil Woman 3 a.k.a Phoenix the Ninja) (1981) Dir. Hao Fang
** Wolf Devil Woman (a.k.a Wolfen Queen a.k.a. Wolfen Ninja) (1982) Dir. Pearl Chang
** Matching Escort (1982) Dir. Pearl Chang
** Fantasy Mission Force (1983) Dir. Chu Yen-ping
** Dark Lady of Kung Fu (1983) Dir. Pearl Chang
* Touch of Zen (1971) Dir. King Hu
* The Bride with White Hair (1993) Dir. Ronny Yu
== Discussion Notes ==
* Another month of the International Cinema Club!
* Taiwan - the 'illegitimate step-brother' of the Hong Kong film industry
** Players in the Taiwanese New Wave of '82 - Edward Yang, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Tsai Ming-liang
* Pearl Chang, also credited as Pearl Chung, Pearl Chong, Pearl Chung-ling, and Pearl Chang-ling
** Perhaps the only Chinese-language writer, actor, director, and producer of her own films - a legacy admired by our hosts
** The 'Pearl' name only appears in International Finance Development Company works
*** Run by Godfrey Ho and Joseph Li
** Disappeared after a role in a 1985 TV series - not heard of in the West since, 
*** Supposedly moved to Canada? Will urges for a search!
** Durian Dave - Pearl Change expert
** The films of Pearl change - a balance of the beautiful and the ridiculous
*** Common themes: revenge, fast wacky swordplay, 'flowering' of the main character, ridiculous costumes, great hand-made sets, and a dream-like quality
* Fantasy Mission Force - a movie made on Triad-owed favors
==Listener Letters==
* Otto - 
* Thoughts on Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Winter Sleep (2014)
** Will - doesn't remember it that well, but he liked Once Upon A Time in Anatolia (2011)
** Justin - liked The Wild Pear Tree (2018), loves six hour documentary feature that came with it
== Post-Outro Discussion ==
* U.S. Department of Justice revoking 1949 Paramount Decree
** The initial ruling ended the Golden Age of (Factory Line) Hollywood 
** Prohibited movie studios from owning theaters, which limited block-booking that made it tough for independent films to exist 
* Revoking the rule in the U.S. opens the doors to Disney-owned theaters
** Adds to the list of rules that are choking out independent theater business
*** Rules also exist to stop second-run theaters from getting movies if it is still in a first run theater within a certain distance
*** Movie rental stores cannot rent Disney movies until 1-2 months after a disc release
*** Rising costs of getting film reels for repertory theaters
* South Korea limits film release monopolies - https://variety.com/2019/film/asia/korea-law-limit-film-releasing-monopolies-1203369437/
** A South Korean film beat out Marvel's 2019 titan at box office thanks to these kinds of limits
*** Extreme Job (2019) Dir. Lee Byeong-heon
*** Avengers: Endgame (2019) Dir. Joe & Anthony Russo
* Seeing films with a community is important!
* Our hosts lament films you won't get to see in theaters any more
** Pinocchio (1940) Dir. Ben Sharpsteen & Hamilton Luske
** Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) Dir. Geroge Lucas
** Die Hard (1988) Dir. John McTiernan
** Home Alone (1990) Dir. John Hughes
** Deep Rising (1998) Dir. Stephen Sommers
Category:Episodes
Category:International Cinema Club
Category:Pearl Chang