With Marvel’s release of the Shang-Chi trailer on Monday, expect kung-fu movies to start making a big comeback in the coming year (if they haven’t already; see Raya And The Last Dragon, the renewal of Warrior on HBO Max, and the recently premiered reboot of the classic show Kung-Fu). It’s likely that no one is more ecstatic about this turn of events than RZA, who based the Wu-Tang Clan’s entire aesthetic on hs Saturday afternoon forays to the matinee to catch the latest Shaw Brothers movies growing up in Staten Island, New York.
RZA is about to pay further homage to his first love as he revives his 36 Cinema platform he started at the outset of the pandemic, which hosts weekly screenings of classic kung-fu and blaxploitation films with live commentary from RZA and weekly guests. His new programming slate is fitting titled “Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater” and kicks off — heh — this Saturday, April 24 with a screening of Heroes Of The East at 9 pm ET with Portland’s Hollywood Theatre’s head programmer Dan Halsted.
Celebrating the announcement, RZA also resurrected his Bobby Digital persona for a new single called “Pugilism” — the first such release since 2008’s Digi Snacks album. It’s the first single from RZA’s upcoming fourth solo album, Bobby Digital: Digital Potions, which he’ll share more info about during this Saturday’s screening.
Listen to “Pugilism” above and get tickets for the inaugural Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater showing of “Heroes Of The East” here.