An important first part in a less important film |
 HKCinemagic : Indeed, things are getting serious
with Dark War ! |
| Vincent Sze : Ah yes, Dark War ! Ohlala (laughs). That was a nightmare for me. I was offered the role of a killer adapted from a manga. But we didn't have the rights so we could never use the official names. I think the name of the manga was Heat or anyway it was a manga by the same author. It was a drawing style quite close to City Hunter. |
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| HKCinemagic : Was the garb of “Maniac Cop” your idea? |
| V S : The tattoo came from me because for the production I was nothing. And I had to stand out of the crowd. And even if I didn't like doing this film, I told myself I really had to do my best as an actor. Thus I considered Dark War as a trial run. And so, I went to see tattooists the evening before leaving, a bit in a hurry. I had a tribal tattoo done stretching from the arm to the neck. |
« maniac cop » doing his job
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| HKCinemagic :
At the creation of the role, you didn't have any lines?
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| V S :
There was no script. |
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| HKCinemagic : And the idea of the Bruce Lee-like little shouts of the character?
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| V S :
It was the postproduction's idea and I have never taken part on the postproduction. It wasn't live sound on the set, so everything was dubbed in postproduction. |
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| HKCinemagic :
But at least it has enabled you to meet
Yasuaki Kurata ! |
| V S : Indeed, it's really one of the few positive things I can keep from this film. He also practises Karate Shito Ryu so when I saw him on the set, I greeted him as in a dojo, I called him Sensei. I have a lot of respect for that gentleman. He's both a master in his martial art and in the film industry. |
A small fight with the “sensei” Yasuaki Kurata
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| HKCinemagic :
By the way, you have a start of a fight against Kurata in the film but it's very short. Was it scheduled at the beginning or due to time restraints?
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| V S : Kurata and I improvised and the choreographer [James Ha] helped us. He asked me what I could do. I was like: “I do you a turn, a mawashi… I do you everything ! Is it ok with you?”. Him: “ok, fine, do it” (laughs). That's all. And then, the producer Leung Kar Yan also took part in the choreography. The arm moves came from him, the leg techniques from me. |
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| HKCinemagic : And what about Jamie Luk?
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| V S : Jamie Luk !
Oh, poor guy ! He couldn't do anything ! He wanted to do something good but he had to handle so much pressure from the producer. Poor guy! We had a few drinks together after every shooting day and he felt bad. He did quite a lot of work but he had so much pressure from above. |
 An explosive… and dirty ending!
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| HKCinemagic : What about the shooting conditions in the Philippines ? |
| V S : They weren't nice. It rained, there were cyclones… Especially for the last scene, the gunfight in the factory. It was unpleasant because it was dirty. The scene when I get into the factory, I kick an iron box on the ground. It was really crap, there was oil, fat, earth. And furthermore it was raining while we were shooting. The most difficult scene was when I got kicked in the head and I had to roll on the floor. After that, I stank! When we drove back, other actors moved away from me (laughs). |
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| HKCinemagic :
After Dark War, there is a new break in your career. Had it disgusted you?
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| V S : A little. I went back to France , to get some fresh air. We didn't even have a premiere for the film release. It just got released in a crappy cinema in Wan Chai. It doesn't exist anymore now but, even at that time, it was close to being pulled down. It was Jamie Luk himself who had invited me to see the film (laughs). I was so disappointed that I went back to France. The best in the film for me is Kurata. As for the rest honestly… It wasn't a great period for cinema in HK I must say. Even so, I did another film after Dark War. I had signed up with Impact, Andy Lau's agency. And this agency got me a Christian film, The Final Turn, from a production firm called Media Evangelism. It's a film which has never been sold. Actually it was financed by the Hong Kong government, by the anti-drug department. The government doesn't do business so you can only see it in schools and libraries. |
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