MovieChat Forums > The Wrecking Crew (1968) Discussion > Nancy Kwan

Nancy Kwan

posted 13 years ago by kwanfan10
19 replies | jump to latest

Seriously i'm getting annoyed with all the Freya and Sharon Tate posts - Sharon had an "ok" performance however Nancy Kwan was the real star here. She was gorgeous in every scene, her posture and expressions perfect. What a profesional actress!
Her obvious adoration for Matt Helm is apparent as well as her hatred in her for Freyda when she's caught in the room with Matt - She's so believable, and so beautiful.

I know our country was at war in Vietnam at the time so the Asians once again got alot of bashing in this movie, however I think they did it excessively in this film - Calling Yu-Rang's henchmen "apes" for instance, and portraying Yu-Rang as an unfeeling, cold and calculating killer, and yet Nancy Kwan's performance brings her across as a very sexy yet loving human being. Her only flaw is her duty to Contini - Which the producers have us suppose is due to her asian upbringing. After watching this movie several times however I think Yu-Rang was wavering on joining up with Matt if given the proper chance however Contini was always spying on her so she didn't get that chance.

I think the producers went too far in giving her a bad ending - sure everyone died in this movie but she wasn't just killed, she was tortured AND humiliated before her demise. She had a gun for christs sake and yet didn't use it to shoot or at least pistol whip Freya? Notice all the sucker punches Freya committs on Yu-Rang during the fight - always hitting her from behind or when shes down. When Yu-Rang tries to flee she says "Just A minute, I'm not through with you yet" and pulls her back in the room in order to beat her up some more. Yu-Rang's kicks had absolutely no effect on Freya while Freya's blows knock Yu-Rang out everytime! After she finishes off Yu-Rang for the last time she rubs her hands together, as if she had soiled them from slapping and kicking Yu-Rang. To top it all off after Yu-Rang is now dead thanks to Contini betraying her, Freya says "Isn't this fun? Well isn't it?"

Sorry not to me. Nancy stole the show with such a wonderfull performance and I would have liked a different ending.

[–] RumandCoke 12 years ago

Too bad you didn't get your "different ending" and with all due respect you have every right to enjoy Miss Kwan's performance but you shouldn't go on and bash others for liking Sharon Tate's.

This film was a spoof and a satire, you do know that? This film wasn't exactly going to get Miss Kwan any awards her character's name was a dead on spoof of Asian characters: Wen Yu-Rang.

You have to take the Matt Helm series with a grain of salt..it's all in fun, it's not that deep.

With that said I would have to say that I also loved Sharon Tate in this film. She was so funny and beautiful to boot and guess what? She was billed BEFORE Nancy Kwan in the credits.

My advice to you is that if you are so "disgusted" with the fact that so many people enjoy Sharon Tate's performance in this film you should just steer clear of any threads mentioning her very funny and engaging performance in THE WRECKING CREW and head on straight to THE WORLD OF SUZIE WONG and FLOWER DRUM SONG IMDb message boards where you can type away the praises of Miss Kwan to your very hearts contents until your fingers bleed to death.

[–] kwanfan10 12 years ago

I'm not bashing people for liking Sharon Tate's performance. She after all did have an "ok" performance. Her character however was "over the top".

I don't really get the comedic part of Sharon's character. She screwed everything completely up, she almost had to work at it to be that much of a screwup - except for one thing. Her fight with Yu-Rang, which does make her character unbelievable as naturally she would have screwed that up also.

The only thing scene I actually liked with Sharon Tate in this movie when she wanted to prove her attractiveness to Matt Helm and danced a 60's style groovy dance for him. That was believable and very well done - however its not enough to warrant all the praise she's received for her role in the film.

So back on topic since this is a thread about Nancy Kwan.
I think Nancy (at 30 in this movie) is sizzling hot in this movie and more attractive then for instance The World Of Suzy Wong which was filmed when she was only 21.

[–] RumandCoke 12 years ago

Now I understand where you are coming from and you are entitled to your opinion. Your original post was just so hostile and unecessarily nasty. Don't get me wrong, I am a fan of Miss Kwan's as a matter of fact she and Tate were the only reasons I bothered to see the movie in the first place.

Sharon's Tate character was supposed to be over the top. She was a klutz. Her characters winning the fight against Yu-Rang in the "real world" is unbelievable because as you stated for her character to be consistent she would have obviously screwed that up as well. But this is a spoof, EVERYTHING about this movie was over the top.

Her character is a klutz in everything else EXCEPT she knows how to kick some @ss and win...that's where the farce comes in. These Matt Helm movies were not meant to be taken seriously. They weren't going for consistent character development. No one was going to win any awards for their performance.

[–] kwanfan10 12 years ago

Agreed.

Unfortunately or perhaps fortunately Nancy was before her time, and paved the way for other Asian celebrities to come.

Her role as the dragon lady in this movie was outstanding - she had the look and she had the attitude. Everything except for the fight scene was great as I have mentioned. In modern times that catfight would have have lasted 5 minutes of solid action instead of repeated one punch knockouts which only served to prop up Sharon Tate's character while weakening Nancy's.

Asian's usually got the bad end of the stick up onto this point in Hollywood though as expected however a few years later Bruce Lee changed all this! He choreographed the fight scenes in this movie but was obviously not allowed free reign as he made all the asians (including Yu Rang) out to be chumps in Kung Fu - but then again even Chuck Norris sucked at it also back then.

It's interesting to note that it was the closing of the Vietnam war (and the realization that the US could not win the war) and the rise of Bruce Lee along with the Kung Fu and Hawaii 5-0 series that brought about more respect for Asian characters on both television and in movies.

So yes Nancy was ahead of her time, and had to work in a stereotypical somewhat racist hollywood, but somebody had to be the first. She was one of the first Asians who actually got to play the role of an asian in Hollywood - although a year later she was given the part of a Native American in "The Mcmasters", it show's her versatility.

To me it's just incredible that she has not been given the recognition she deserves! Where is her star on the Hollywood walk of fame? An Oscar for lifetime achievment should also be included. Unfortunately it's a shame she might not live to see this recognition for her work.

[–] Radeon970 11 years ago

Jealous jealous jealous...it must suck to be you, who do you think you are..some pseudo wannabe movie critic??

[–] kwanfan10 11 years ago

Jealous of what? Nancy Kwan is the hottest actress ever to be on screen.

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] kwanfan10 10 years ago

The perv is you *beep* lover or whatever the heck you call yourself. You keep following me around like a Homo commenting on my posts. You are not only gay but childish. How old are you?

GET IT THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULL. SHARON TATE DIED 44 YEARS.
I DISLIKED HER PERFORMANCE IN "THIS" MOVIE. I DON'T GO AROUND BASHING HER PERFORMANCES IN OTHER MOVIES OR STALKING PEOPLE ALL OVER IMDB WHO HAVE LIKED HER PERFORMANCE.
GET OVER IT ALREADY AND QUIT BEING A WANKER

HERES THE LINK AGAIN TO FORUM FOR PEOPLE OF YOUR PERSUASION AND AGE
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3595501/board/?ref_=nm_bd_sm

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] kwanfan10 10 years ago

Wow took you 5 months to come up with that reply, and you made a new account just to come on here and stalk me and troll. What a no life wanker.

The quote you are taking of mine is about Anne Archer who is easily 15 years older then me. I thought she was Sexy when I saw her in a movie as a teen. Why dont you check your info before you post. If nobody ever thought any actresses were sexy and had fantasies about them Hollywood wouldn't exist.

Too bad about Sharon Tate, but still doesnt make up for that fact that she sucked in this film. Boo hoo. Go cry with your other little friends.

Now do *beep* off stalker troll.

Im done with you, have owned you over and over. YOU ARE IGNORED. Wish I could meet you in person so I could rearrange your pimply face.

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] kwanfan10 10 years ago

Your trolling/stalking has gone too far Lance

Think you can hide behind your monitor?

[–] Bilwick1 7 years ago

Nancy Kwan was gorgeous. Her performance of "I Enjoy Being a Girl" in the movie FLOWER DRUM SONG is incredibly sexy.

[–] bcamphome 10 years ago

Ask any biologist or geneticist: the gene pool is enhanced by mixing races, not "diluted."

[–] Sparky1932 9 years ago

Nancy Kwan's character Yu Rang showed she could be hard and unsympathetic. In the scene where Elke Sommer (Linka) was machine gunned to death in that rotating lift , Nigel Green (Contini) just shrugged it off with a " how unfortunate" quip. Yu Rang followed that up with a sarcastic "Tch..Tch" reaction. But very sexy !

[–] kwanfan10 8 years ago

She had no choice other then to brush it off, sympathetic or not. Even though it was Contini's fault for ordering the men to fire without first identifying the target and for letting Helm back into the restaurant rather then gunning him down to begin with. However it happened in Yu Rang's restaurant with her henchmen and Contini could very well blame her for it all and we know he hates failure.

This also placed Yu Rang next in line to be his new girl which apparently she was not thrilled with (look at her face when he invites her to dinner at the chateau).

How she continued to remain loyal to him after the Linka incident is incredible. She was too loyal! Contini showed a complete disregard for the lives of his people which in the end leads to Yu Rang's demise when he kills her for no reason in a weak attempt to get Helm. She was in too deep to betray him at this point however, and the opportunity to do so had disappeared when she left the hotel room in the earlier scene.

I wish she would have taken Helm up on that offer of 5 million with no strings and no questions. She sure looked sorry when Freya beat her up and she couldn't escape. She even turned to Matt for help but too late.

Anyways this was an incredible performance by Nancy Kwan, that is so overlooked in her career. She looked great and yes was far sexier then even the World Of Suzy Wong.

[–] 8 years ago

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