Remo Williams`
- Thread starter Flying Spaghetti Monster
- Start date
I loved the movie, and I'm a huge Destroyer fan. They're a prefect blend of action, wit, and coolness.
Politics doesn't play much of a role in the books, except for the fact that they work for the President. There's certainly no hate in the books, if anyone's made fun of, it's usually done affectionately. The Presidents are always shown as good guys and sympathetic characters.
Politics doesn't play much of a role in the books, except for the fact that they work for the President. There's certainly no hate in the books, if anyone's made fun of, it's usually done affectionately. The Presidents are always shown as good guys and sympathetic characters.
That's good. But the question is: how many of the 20 steps did you actually used in bringing a woman to sexual ecstasy? I personally have rarely found it necessary to go beyond 7.
Ah...Lesson 36.
Then Remo asks, "What number was today's lesson? Sure wasn't 36..."
Chiun: "You would call it '4'. I would call it 'embarassing.'"
you know, looking at this thread it's just a reminder how many good lines this action movie has. It's funny but the humor comes from the characters and the relationships. that's my favorite kind of comedy, and that means that the film doesn't have to be labeled a comedy. Another buddy of mine force fed me films recently such as Superbad and Supertroopers and whole bucnch of other new comedies and despite the fact that the writers through in as many obnoxious and vulger lines as possible in the hopes that one of them would hit, I really didn't laught that much, and when I did laugh, I didn't feel good about it. When I watch REmo, and I laugh at it's kind of cheesey humor, I enjoy the fact that I laugthed. another example is Midnight Run, one of the best action comedies ever. Crammed with action, but the humor comes from the characters trying to deal with the situation and each other. Ed Wood is another favorite of mine, it's funny as shit, but the bond between Ed and Bela are what make it work. These kind of relationships are what make it work. These movies might have less jokes than a lot of comedies, but I laugh harder, and I feel better, because while watching I understand the people from which the humor is derived.
Thy don't work for the President. They work for Smith, and Smith doesn't work for anyone. The only real authority the President has is to issue the order to shut down CURE, in which case Smith destroys all records and then takes a suicide pill. The President can give advice, make requests, and is kept briefed, but that's all. CURE's charter gives Smith total freedom to do what he feels is best without regard to any authority or the rule of law. Kennedy set it up that way so that no one would be able to use CURE for political gain.
Chiun would be insulted at the suggestion that he is employed by a mere President and it would be even worse if he were employed by a buearucrat who takes orders from a President. Smith's total autonomy is one of the few reasons that Chiun can stand working for him.
The Chiun in the books is substantially more casual about assassination than the one in the movie is. Sure, movie Chiun talks a good game, but the one in the books slaughters people for what we would consider minor slights and annoyances, such as signing too loudly. And he does it in such an audacious manner that you can't help but love him for it, just accepting it as one of his many quirks.
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... you mean "Emperor Smith"... ask Chiun if ya don't believe me. ;-)
Please don't tell him about my mistake. I would like to keep my head firmly attached to my neck. *nervously looks over shoulder*
It's nice to see that there are fans of the movie and books here. With the recent (hopefully temporary) demise of the series, I was beginning to wonder if there were any out there at all.
Fans of both the movie and series might be interested in reading The Movie That Never Was. It's the original screenplay that followed the book continuity more closely.
What I would like to see is a wide-screen DVD release of the movie. Pan and scan just doesn't do it justice. I think it's a very underrated movie. It was nominated for an Oscar (Best Makeup: Carl Fullerton) and two Saturns (Best Fantasy Film and Best Supporting Actor: Joel Grey).
Maybe someday we'll see Remo and Chiun on the big screen again.
Remo "Chuin? You are a real pain in the ass!"
Chuin (without missing a beat) "That is because it is the shortest route to your brain!"
Remo "Chuin you are perfect" (or words to that effect
)
Chuin "No...I am better than that!"
Awesome ending to a fun movie! I thought Joel Grey was fantastic as Chuin
Vons
Chuin (without missing a beat) "That is because it is the shortest route to your brain!"
Remo "Chuin you are perfect" (or words to that effect
)Chuin "No...I am better than that!"
Awesome ending to a fun movie! I thought Joel Grey was fantastic as Chuin
Vons
Playing a villain in Trek is another future Trek alum: patrick Kilpatrick.. who was in DS9
One of my favorites is Bidding War, which explores the political tormoil that results when Sinanju's contract with CURE expires due to a funding snafu (which sometimes happens with illegal black budget operations that technically steal funds from other agencies). Chiun and Remo travel the world meeting with the leaders of various countries that are interested in aquiring the contract, though most either aren't good enough for Chiun or can't afford to pay his price, or both. Eventually, South Korea, fearing (incorrectly) that Pyongyang has secured Chiun's services, send an invasion force scross the DMZ, much to the surprise of the American forces guarding it, who were unable to stop it due to being set up to prevent an invasion from the North. It becomes fairly obvious to Emperor Smith that Chiun is worth any price he asks, for no other reason than the fact that his presence on the open market is very likely to start World War III, and to Chiun that there is no one else worthy enough to work for in this age of Presidents and despots. Pope John Paul II was Emperor Smith's only real competition in the bidding war, and he bowed out graciously after the customary meeting because he didn't desire Chiun's services.
The movie couldn't be done today, at least not the same way. The white guy playing an Asian went out of style some time ago, and all of Asian actors who could play a good Chiun are dead. The only people I am aware of who could have come close are Mako and an elderly Bruce Lee, for totally different reasons.
The movie couldn't be done today, at least not the same way. The white guy playing an Asian went out of style some time ago, and all of Asian actors who could play a good Chiun are dead. The only people I am aware of who could have come close are Mako and an elderly Bruce Lee, for totally different reasons.
I had a book from the Destroyer series. I think it was Terror Squad but I don't remember. It was like hostage crisis on an airplane, and they made a pretty young woman strip on the plane. maybe they raped her.
It was very different from the film
It was very different from the film
I found this on the net spmewhere, and this guy describes exactly why this is a great film:
You know, it’s a shame, but there’s a term which isn’t thrown around much in filmmaking nowadays, and that term is “bubble-gum”. That may sound like a bad label, but hear me out on this. The term was originally introduced as a way of categorizing, not films that were based on comic books, but instead a comic book-style of filmmaking. It was about the environment and how the filmmakers treated its distance from reality. Bubble-gum films took place in an alternate universe, where men could train themselves to balance their weight on their two index fingers while watching soap operas. Where the scaffolding covering the entire Statue of Liberty wasn’t protected by any security whatsoever, and therefore our heroes could feel free to train whilst balanced on the torch of said lady. And in a world where the sounds of a man getting punched in the head sound like a tribal drum and the sounds of our hero disappearing from frame are the audible comic book equivalents of a written “Whoosh!” This is what Remo Williams brings to the table. It’s a bubble-gum, comic book, action-adventure-comedy, with more guts and ingenuity than most filmmakers working today are even capable of dreaming of.
You know, it’s a shame, but there’s a term which isn’t thrown around much in filmmaking nowadays, and that term is “bubble-gum”. That may sound like a bad label, but hear me out on this. The term was originally introduced as a way of categorizing, not films that were based on comic books, but instead a comic book-style of filmmaking. It was about the environment and how the filmmakers treated its distance from reality. Bubble-gum films took place in an alternate universe, where men could train themselves to balance their weight on their two index fingers while watching soap operas. Where the scaffolding covering the entire Statue of Liberty wasn’t protected by any security whatsoever, and therefore our heroes could feel free to train whilst balanced on the torch of said lady. And in a world where the sounds of a man getting punched in the head sound like a tribal drum and the sounds of our hero disappearing from frame are the audible comic book equivalents of a written “Whoosh!” This is what Remo Williams brings to the table. It’s a bubble-gum, comic book, action-adventure-comedy, with more guts and ingenuity than most filmmakers working today are even capable of dreaming of.
That sounds way too much like Section 31. Even assuming Smith is trustworthy, what happens if his successor isn't?
Simple, really. In the beginning, Smith had no successor. Only four people knew the origination even existed, including him. Most of it's agents believed that they worked for other Federal agencies. And Smith was the only one who knew how it all worked. It was specifically designed to fall apart without him, because it was originally meant to be a temporary measure to combat organized crime. No one on the ground floor ever considered that CURE might have to outlive Smith.
Later, much later, be does begin to groom a successor, someone whom he chooses very carefully. And if that successor fails to live up to CURE's standards, Remo will kill him. It is as simple as that.
Sinanju is a very precise weapon, and very versitile, and very effective.
There is no defense capible of stopping them. And for this reason alone, their presence removes the need for deception and duplicity of the sort utilized by Section 31. CURE doesn't bother planting sympathetic agents in foreign governments, Smith just has Remo and Chiun stroll into the Head of State's bedroom in the middle of the night for a polite chat. It is a very effective form of diplomacy.
Sinanju is also a very fickle weapon. Remo is a red-blooded American, as patriotic as Smith. Chiun is a very old Korean who holds tightly to tradition. Neither would work for a person who offended their very different senses of honor, and neither would work without the other. This places a hard limit on what any Director of CURE can do, because Sinanju is the ultimate weapon and doing anything to offend their sensibilities is simply insane.
Without Sinanju, CURE has a huge survailence network and some supercomputers, which is great for blackmail, but CURE's only defense is secrecy; anyone can take the Director out if they know about him. And Remo is likely to take out any Director who dares to corrupt CURE, particularly one who ignores a suicide order from the sitting President.
Of course, that leaves us with Remo's successor to worry about, which won't be for a very long time. Sinanju longevity is such that 80 is considered middle aged.
All of Murray's books were good - I liked his run as much as the Sapir/Murphy originals. My absolute favorites, though, are the ones with Mr. Gordons. There's nothing better than reading about the Masters of Sinanju fighting a crazed killer android.
The books that were heavy into mysticism weren't my favorites, but I remember liking this one. The image of Remo's reanimated corpse killing an entire army was just too cool.
There's no doubt as to Smith's trustworthiness. He is described as having an inordinate amount of patriotism and integrity. He is also described as having a complete lack of imagination, so much so that has has failed every Rorschach test taken (he is incapable of seeing anything on the paper but blotches of ink). These qualities combined made him the perfect candidate for the head of CURE. In fact, when Kennedy first offered him the job, Smith threatened him with a citizen's arrest right there in the Oval Office. It wasn't until the President convinced him of the country's dire need that he consented to run the organization.
The problem of Smith's successor came up early in the series. The head of a large computer corporation stumbled upon Smith's secret, kidnapped him, and set himself up as the new head of CURE. Remo and Chiun, not knowing any better, bought his story and continued to work for him. When Smith finally escaped, the impostor sent Remo to kill him as a traitor, and would have if Smith hadn't convinced him to go directly to the President and ask who was really in charge.
When the series ended, Smith had an assistant (which I never much cared for) who would probably take over when Smith finally passed.
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Dusty Ayres
Commodore
There's no doubt as to Smith's trustworthiness. He is described as having an inordinate amount of patriotism and integrity. He is also described as having a complete lack of imagination, so much so that has has failed every Rorschach test taken (he is incapable of seeing anything on the paper but blotches of ink). These qualities combined made him the perfect candidate for the head of CURE. In fact, when Kennedy first offered him the job, Smith threatened him with a citizen's arrest right there in the Oval Office. It wasn't until the President convinced him of the country's dire need that he consented to run the organization.
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So, Smith is just like Maxwell Smart, or Red Grant, then.
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So, Smith is just like Maxwell Smart, or Red Grant, then.
How old is Chiun?
