The House of Flying Daggers may not be in town long since it was late in arriving. The echo game probably works fairly well on a smaller screen, but the bamboo grove must be enjoyed on a large one.

Long before the Alamo Drafthouse gladdened the hearts of Austin moviegoers with its once-a-month Hong Kong showcases, the old Riverside 8 drew overflow crowds an hour before showtime, which was 12:30 in the morning on every other Saturday. Lines began forming well before midnight, and some people were always turned away.

And the Texas Union delighted full houses with the latest (and older movies also) from Stephen Chow, Jet-Li, Chow Yun-Fat, Anita Mui, Maggie Cheung, Bridget Lin, Jackie Chan, and many, many others. When I was cleaning out a desk drawer this weekend I found a Union program list from February, March, and April of an unknown year. There were multiple showings each of Drunken Master, The Blade, Hard-Boiled, Supercop III, High Risk, The Tai-Chi Master, and The Legend of Fong Sai-Yuk. I saw every one, on Sunday afternoon where possible.

The popcorn was fresh, the crowds were happy. There I learned the Golden Harvest beginning musical theme and to know whether somebody’s speaking Cantonese or Mandarin.

Hurry up, Alamo Drafthouse South!