A Day with Yukari Oshima

After initial entry and a browse of vendors selling classic martial arts film memorabilia, we were ushered into the cinema to view the classic Hong Kong action film OULTAW BROTHERS, in which Yukari starred alongside Frankie Chan.

Born in Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, Japan, in December 1963, Yukari studied Goju Ryu Seigokan Karate in Junior High. This gave her grounding in Martial arts. After seeing Jackie Chan on the big screen, Yukari knew what she wanted to do with her life. Her college room had a picture of Chan the Man on the wall.

Yukari got small and larger roles in Japanese TV series, Bioman being her most famous.

But it was in 1986 when Sammo Hung was looking for Martial artists to star in Shanghai Express (Millionaires Express in some regions) that Yukari's fortunes changed. Hong Kong beckoned, and it was about to get real.

OUTLAW BROTHERS

Once seated, Rick Baker introduces Vincent Lyn to the stage to talk a bit about his part in the film and his work with Yukari in the film.

Outlaw Brothers 1990 is a fast-paced action film where Yukari plays a cop named Tequila who goes after a car smuggling ring, only to get embroiled in a much larger Drug smuggling organisation.

Where all settled in now to get into the film, it's a real classic piece of Hong Kong cinema, and we all get into the fights and the comedy. Some of the stunts are breathtaking, and even though I have seen the film numerous times before, and on the big screen as well, it still manages to captivate an audience.

After our 90 minutes of high-octane action, it's break time for some refreshment before we're back into the cinema for the appearence of Yukari Oshima on stage .

Yukari Oshima takes to the stage

This was a full-on interview that spanned her career from her college years to her training in Karate. She explained how getting into Hong Kong cinema was a dream but also scary, especially as an unknown on the set of Shanghai Express in 1986. She couldn't speak Cantonese and followed around Yasuaki Kurata as she could converse with him. And he had a good experience working in Hong Kong by this time.

Shanghai Express gave Yukari a chance, and roles came about. The same year as Shanghai Express, she starred in Book of Heroes opposite Yasuaki Kurata. But Yukari said her big break was starring in ANGEL in 1987; this was a huge film across Asia and also got a worldwide release by RCA Columbia on VHS. I remember it being talked about at the time, and it was the first of many action films from the region featuring femme fatales. Babes with guns genre.

Yukari went on to talk about Outlaw Brothers as it was such a big film for her. Frankie Chan had pulled out all the stops to get the perfect cast, and the action was top-notch. Yukari explained how, whilst filming a fight scene, there was one move sequence she couldn't get right. Multiple takes, and they were thinking about using a double. Frankie said he would call a friend to help explain it if he could come and show her.

She was stunned when it was Jackie Chan who came to the set to go through the scene with Yukari, A person she had admired for a long time.

Yukari Oshima as Madame Yeung in Angel 1987

Yukari explains the fight scene Jackie Chan came to help with, with a scene of Yukari and Jackie in the background on the set of Outlaw Brothers

Yukari talked about how her films were big hits in the Philippines. At a fan event, the crowds were huge and mobbed her like she was the Second Coming. She explained how, in the region, she was marketed as Cynthia Luster ( a name also used in the UK releases). She said she was signing autographs, and one young girl came for an autograph and she obliged, but when the young fan saw it she threw it away, and Yukari couldn't understand.

It was only after management told her that she was known as Cynthia Luster over there that she was saying i never heard of this name. Since then, she has signed her name as both Yukari Oshima and Cynthia Luster. It was all a marketing ploy to cash in on familiar names, as the likes of Cynthia Rothrock were so big at the time.

It was a funny story to hear, though, and she told it so well.