Kung Fu Movies Save Lives!

Was talking about classic kung fu movies the other day, and been rewatching a lot with regards to the casting for a new project...so a perfect time to mention the release of a great new book by an old friend in martial arts movie-dom, Dr.Craig D Reid.

Kung Fu Movies save lives!When Craig was 16, he was suffering from cystic fibrosis and was informed by his doctors that he'd be dead within 5 years, and had to look forward to 30 pills a day and frequent hospital visits until then. But after attending a screening of Bruce Lee's Fists of Fury/The Big Boss, Craig decided to do something about it himself. Wanting to study Chinese amrtial arts and culture, Craig immersed himself in the world of martial arts movies and cultre and frquently came across the concept of people diagonosed with fatal diseases or illness overcoming the odds through the study of Chi-gong and being reborn as martial scholars.So in the late 1970s, he moved to Taiwan, and by becoming the first American stuntman in Chinese kung fu films in Taiwan, he found a qi teacher. Five months after learning Chi, he’s been off all medication and therapies since. To show his health improvement was not superficial, in 1986 he walked 3000.2 miles across America, 26 miles/day.According to Quentin Tarantino, when it comes to martial arts cinema, the 1970s is the most important decade for the genre. Apart from kung fu films becoming an international phenomena and being brought to the masses, the 1970s had major breakthroughs in fight choreography and filmmaking, and we saw the rise of the genre’s most influential actors/directors, like Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Chang Cheh, John Woo and Yuen Woo-ping.Reid packs every review with a plot summary, behind the scenes info about the movie and the people making them and much more, with over 500 reviews in the book. Its a great read and highly recomended for anyone with more than a passing interest in the kung fu movie genre.Big thumbs up to Dr. Craig for a great book, had the pleasure of working with him on Robin Shou's The Red Trousers/Lost Time project a few years ago, and he's a true martiala rts scholar and gentleman.the book can be ordered from www.amazon.com