Remembering Albert Pyun

More sad news within the martial arts and action film community this month as we learned about the passing of Albert Pyun, who has been ill for some time. Condolences to Albert’s friends and family.

From The Sword and the Sorcerer to Cyborg, Kickboxer 2, 1990's Captain America (the first big screen outing for the Marvel superhero), Nemesis, Mean Guns and so many more, Pyun's work has always been important for indie filmmakers and genre fans. To put it in context, his imagination, creativity and resourcefulness became quite the talking point, such as famously reimagining unused sets and costumes for axed Cannon films and furiously writing a fresh script in a weekend, which became the cult classic Cyborg starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. His agile approach to indie filmmaking taught creatives to think outside the box and that there are many ways to reach a creative goal. Like most things judged purely on the surface, some of these films may look like simple B-movies, yet they offer a window into a highly creative filmmaker setting out to achieve something ambitious with a fraction of the resources.

A fascinating early chapter from Pyun’s career must surely be working at production houses in Honolulu during high school, and receiving an invitation by none other than legendary Japanese star, Toshiro Mifune, to travel to Japan for an internship. Reportedly, he was due to intern on Akira Kurosawa’s Dersu Uzala, but the actor decided not to do the film so Pyun found himself instead working on a Mifune TV show under Kurosawa's director of photography, Takao Saito. Pyun later spent time editing commercials before pursuing his dream of filmmaking.

Pyun enjoyed recutting many of his films, which were often stripped back on their story and world-building elements to create leaner action pictures, which also probably played better to international audiences. Cyborg, for example is famously available in director’s cut form as Slinger and better highlights his scope and imagination as a storyteller. It’s all there, and for genre fans and aspiring filmmakers, his work offers a roadmap for a very interesting and accomplished journey. All that said, by all accounts, he just loved making movies and remained as passionate during his final days as he was at the start. RIP Albert (1953-2022), thanks for the memories.