Heroic Purgatory: An Asian Cinema Podcast

S5E8 - Project A

In this episode of Heroic Purgatory, we tackle a classic, Jackie Chan's Project A. We hope you enjoy our discussion. Website link: https://www.heroic-purgatory.com/2025/07/s5e8-project-1983.html Follow the show on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/heroicpurgatory.bsky.social Follow Jason: https://bsky.app/profile/filmnohito.bsky.socia

S5E7 - War of the Arrows

In this episode of Heroic Purgatory, John and Jason travel to the Kingdom of Joseon to witness the Qing invasion of Korea in the War of the Arrows (2011). Both hosts characterized this film as a fairly straightforward historical action flick, albeit one with excellent action scenes, pacing, and historical accuracy. We hope you enjoy our discussion. Website link: https://www.heroic-purgatory.com/2025/07/s5e7-war-of-arrows.html Follow the show on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/heroicpurgatory.bsky.social Follow Jason: https://bsky.app/profile/filmnohito.bsky.social

S5E6 - The Sword of the Beast (with guest Jack Eason)

In this episode of Heroic Purgatory, John, Jason, and invited guest Jack (Optimism Vaccine) discuss Hideo Gosha's 1965 chanbara film, The Sword of the Beast. Far from a simple minded samurai flick, the film reflects the anxieties, tensions, and complex politics of the time by deconstructing the faux nobility of a past era. We hope you enjoy our discussion. Website link: https://www.heroic-purgatory.com/2025/07/s5e6-sword-of-beast-with-guest-jack.htmIn Follow Jack Eason: https://bsky.app/profile/jackeason.bsky.social Listen to Optimism Vaccine: https://www.optimismvaccine.com/ Follow the show on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/heroicpurgatory.bsky.social Follow Jason: https://bsky.app/profile/filmnohito.bsky.social

S5E5 - Dragon Inn

In this episode of Heroic Purgatory we put on our wuxia hats and EastmanColor glasses for King Hu's 1967 iconic piece, Dragon Inn. It is a film of many influences coalesced into a Ming dynasty tale of brave warriors standing up to an evil eunuch's army, with beautiful action pieces and big emotional swings. We discuss how the film holds up today and how it compares with the more recent Tsui Hark produce New Dragon Gate Inn (1992). We hope you enjoy our discussion. Website link: https://www.heroic-purgatory.com/2025/05/s5e5-dragon-inn.html Follow the show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeroicPurgatory Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/filmnohito

S5E4 - Hero (2002)

This week in the Heroic Purgatory podcast, we talk about Zhang Yimou's 2002 wuxia film, Hero, staring Jet Li, Maggie Cheung, and Tony Leung. A film as beautiful as it is controversial, Hero is one of the director's best known works, toping both Chinese and international box offices and catapulting the filmmaker into the world of commercial mainstream filmmaking. We hope you enjoy our discussion. Website link: https://www.heroic-purgatory.com/2025/05/s5e4-hero-2002.html Follow the show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeroicPurgatory Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/filmnohito