Mighty Peking Man

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

This campy Hong Kong version of King Kong played at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival (in the Midnight Madness sections), as well as the Toronto Film Festival. Mighty Peking Man is an over-the-top retelling of the great ape story in classic Hong Kong action style. A giant ape (called Mighty Peking Man) has emerged following an earthquake in the Himalayas, and has made its way to the Indian jungles. Lu Tien and Johnny Feng plan to capture the ape and exploit it, so they head out on an expedition to catch the beast. After violent encounters with elephants and other wild creatures they turn back, except for Feng, who on his own meets Samantha, a Tarzan-like woman in a leopard skin who was raised in the jungle. Feng and Samantha fall in love, capture the ape, and take it to Hong Kong. There, of course, the ape escapes its shackles and ravages the city. The big guy eventually climbs the Connaught Centre, the city's tallest building, where he soon meets his demise. ~ Chris Gore, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (Cinemascope)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Features:
  • • cc Theatrical trailer
    • 2.35:1 aspect ratio - enhanced for 16x9 televisions

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Director:

  Ho Meng-hua

• Producer:

  Run Me Shaw, Run Run Shaw, Vee King Shaw, Chua Lam

• Cinematographer:

  Wu Cho-hua, Tsao Hui-chi

• Editor:

  Chiang Hsing-Lung

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Wang Yung-Hua

REVIEW:

• This Hong Kong knockoff of Dino de Laurentiis' costly 1976 remake of King Kong lacks that film's big budget and slickness, but makes up for its shortcomings with an endless onslaught of Eastern-tinged B-movie dementia. If judged by conventional viewing standards, The Mighty Peking Man is riddled with problems. The tone veers wildly from kiddie-show goofiness to surprisingly adult sleaziness and the characterizations are as thin as the cardboard buildings the titular creature stomps flat. The film, however, is a genuine hoot if viewed in a properly campy mindset. The wild script blends a crazy quilt of bits lifted from King Kong, Mighty Joe Young, Sheena: Queen of the Jungle, and even Godzilla into a tall tale that's so action-packed and unpredictable that B-movie addicts will joyfully overlook its threadbare production values. Director Ho Meng-Hua keeps all the carnage moving faster than a bullet train, and the lovely Evelyn Kraft adds some bonus eye candy as the lovely jungle girl who is the Peking Man's only true friend. The Mighty Peking Man is cheap and sometimes downright insane, but it will please schlock enthusiasts because it is never dull. ~ Donald Guarisco, Rovi