Morose – Dead End (2019)

DEAD END (1969) offers a rather unusual attempt by director Chang Cheh and his two stars, Ti Lung and David Chiang, to craft a contemporary drama that has nothing in common with the martial arts spectacles this trio made for the Shaw Bros. studio throughout the 1970s (THE HEROIC ONES, DUEL OF THE IRON FIST, THE NEW ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN, BLOOD BROTHERS, SHAOLIN TEMPLE, FIVE SHAOLIN MASTERS, etc.). Here Ti Lung plays Zhang Chun, a disaffected young ladies' man in Hong Kong (ca. 1968) who has difficulty holding down a job or showing any responsibility whatsoever, yet he thinks he's worthy of a rich girl, Wen Rou (Li Ching), whom he first meets when he comes to her aid after her Mercedes Benz has broken down on a highway. They embark on an unlikely romance, arousing the ire of her protective brother (Chen Hung Lieh), who proceeds to make life rough for Zhang, whose acquisition of a gun leads a to a predictable tragic turn of events.

In the filthy slums of New York, wealthy people have built luxury apartments there because of the view of the picturesque East River. While they live in opulence, the destitute and dirt poor live in crowded, filthy tenements. At the end of the street is a dock on the East River; to the left are the luxury apartments and to the right are the slums…

In the filthy slums of New York, wealthy people have built luxury apartments there because of the view of the picturesque East River. While they live in opulence, the destitute and dirt poor live in crowded, filthy tenements. At the end of the street is a dock on the East River; to the left are the luxury apartments and to the right are the slums. The Dead End Kids, led by Tommy Gordon (Billy Halop), are a petty gang of street urchins who are already well onto a path to a life of crime…

On “Dreaming Is Dead Now”, multi-talented wonder Skinny Pelembe meditates on grief, heartache, stunted aspirations and fresh possibilities in post-recession Britain. A patchwork of personal and musical touchstones, the Johannesburg-born, Doncaster-raised artist weaves together memories and observations, sun-dazzled California folk diced with the murkier corners of the UK dance lineage. It’s an exaltation of flawed, multi-faceted Britain, its imperfections and contradictions held up to be seen and celebrated.