Slumbering Fist

Duhhhh, sorry it was late. Got confused while editing my post as my head was swimming with so many images ofspears and knives, chains, and fying guillotines. Ashamed even my tired brain would make that flub.

Ky-Fi

OK, for that mistake you're going to have to carry a few more buckets of water up the steps with the knives strapped to your arms .

Slumbering Fist

That I will do, just as soon as I'm done underneath the waterfall with the weighted rings on my arms.

Ky-Fi

OK, I don't want to be guilty of over-hyping, and we all have different tastes----but I would have to say Fist of the White Lotus has just moved to the number 1 spot on my list of favorite Shaw Brothers movies. Sets, costumes, plot, quantity and quality of fight scenes---and totally evil villain with slightly supernatural powers. And if there's a better line in a KF movie than this, then I haven't heard it:

"You must be out of your mind to fight me......with your childish Tiger-Crane style. You've no chance but to join your friend Yao Piao in Hell for more lessons!"

elengineer

I went ahead and grabbed this dvd (oohhhh that CC bill when it comes in...urgh).

I agree it was a pretty cool flick. For some bizarre reason, about three-quarters of the way through the movie I was reminded of the Monty Python and the Holy Grail movie. Specifically the part that concerns Launcelot (John Cleese) rescuing that unwilling prince. I think the quote from the prince's father sums it up rather nicely:

"So I built a castle..it sank into the swamp. So I built a second one...that sank into the swamp. So I built a third one, that burned down, fell over, and then sank into the swamp. But the fourth one..."

I know, weird analogy, but I didn't want to spoil anything. The "multiple-castle-building" was kind of funny. The ending was rather good too.

Other cool parts (no spoliers):
The one girl's sword form in the beginning. That was pretty neat, and I haven't seen a lot of women working on forms like that in the flicks I have seen. Nice form too (both the sword-movements..and oh, well, never mind ) I liked watching the women kick some butt at the beginning of the flick too. That is a welcome change from the typical, "EEEEEEEEEE!!! SAVE ME!" behavior normally seen.

The everpresent multiple-sword-against-one-unarmed-guy fights. These were pretty nice.

The whip-chain against two swords was definitely nice, but I still think the best whip chain I have seen was at the end of Legendary Weapons.

Overall, IMO I give it a definitie thumbs up too.

As far as a favorite, so far (other than Return of the Five Deadly Venoms & FIve Deadly Venoms, in that order) I would have to pick out Dirty Ho. I absolutely love the way the "I-really-know-kung-fu-but-am-not-going-to-reveal-it" behavior was done. I thought the plot and characterization was a little stronger in DH than in FOTWL. I also felt the final 2 on 3 fight scene in DH was much better technically. But, the end fight in FOTWL had a definite charm 'cause of the whole lead-up to it.

Ky-Fi - I can really see why you like FOTWL. It definitely is a nice flick. The last part of the quote is/was awesome. "...join your friend Yao Piao in Hell for more lessons!"...marvelous.

Ky-Fi

elengineer,
Yeah, I would agree that the plot of Dirty Ho is stronger (and less ridiculous), and I would also agree that the final fight of Dirty Ho can't be beat, but as far as all the fight scenes put together, I preferred FOTWL---and the villain is so classic.

I think I know where you got the Monty Python and the Holy Grail image though----it's the opening music of FOTWL----it sounds very similar, and that movie came to mind immediately for me too.

But yes, I too have to stop buying these dang movies .

JHosk

My order finally came today. It was rough not having them afte reading all the people in this thread say how much they were enjoying their new Shaw Bro flicks. I got Return of Master Killer, Legendary Weapons, and Dirty.

Seems like no one mentioned the return of master killer dvd. I popped it in for a quick second over lunch. Its full screen and not widescreen which was a bit disapointing, but not surprising. Picture Quality is pretty good. About on par with Super Ninjas, or maybe even a notch above. From the few minutes I did watch I did notice that the movie seems to suffer more from the cropping than Chineese Super Ninjas. you can tell that the fight scenes and movie in general would be alot better if it was OAR (even moreso than regular). Sound is decent, unlike the original master killer dvd which you need to put the sound on blast (however it is widescreen).

Only watched like 2 minutes of it, but it seems like a pretty classic flick, although I higly doubt it will match the original master killer.....it says on teh back that the venoms have cameos as monks...something to watch for. Overall, I would say its worth the 11 bucks on Amazon. Now I need to order Fist of the White Lotus and Shaolin Challenges Ninja.

Anyone know if the martial club dvd is released ??

elengineer

JHosk - After you watch ROTMK all the way through, could you post your impressions of it here? I haven't seen the flick and would appreciate hearing some data about the plot, writing, choreagraphy, execution of the choreagraphy, the kinds of fights, how bad does the full-screen really detract from the fights, etc, etc...

JHosk

Ok,

Watched the entire Return Of Master Killer disc last night. All in all I would say its an slightly above average Gordon Liu flick. Definitely not up to the original. The plot is very similar to the original. However it takes longer to set up the story line and the training sequenes are not as cool as the original. I'll leave it at that as I don't want to ruin the plot for anyone considering picking it up. Another minor beef I had with the movie is that teh first 25 minutes is basically goofy comedy with no real fight sequences. The original master killer had a more serious tone, while in this one they went for a more upbeat flick. No one even dies in this movie.

The final fight sequence is great though. Its around 20 minutes of straight up old skool action. Where the final fight in the original master killer was brief, this one last much longer.

The dvd quality is pretty decent. It is fullscreen but the the print has only minor wear, and for the most part the picture is reasonably crisp. I was happy with it compared to some of hte other old skool dvds I have gotten in the past. You miss some of the action because of the cropping to full-screen, but it was not as bad as I had first thought it would be. For the most part you get most of the action on the screen. Sound is good.....its on par with the rest of the ground zero releases.

Overall, for 12 bucks this isn't a bad dvd, although its certainly not up the other Shaw Brothers classics. The final fight sequence was great, but the training sequences were a bit of a disappointment. Some of the them were great, but on a whole not as good as the original master killer.

JHosk

elingineer,

I also thought i would mention that there is no cool weapons fight sequences like the original Master Killer. A few fights involving staffs, but thats about it.

If you get this dvd, don't go in with expectations of it matching the first master killer. Its a decent flick, but I doubt I will reach for it as much as the original Master Killer, or some of the other Shaw greats.

Ky-Fi

Thanks for the review, JHosk. Since it's not widescreen, I think I can hold off on buying that one. I haven't seen Martial Club in stores, but that was on the list of releases posted on DVDcult.com. I'm curious about that movie, as I've heard a few people talk about the final fight as one of the all-time best. I would think Killer Army would be out soon, as they've been talking about that for a while--that one should be widescreen, as the VHS is.

"How dare you challenge me......with your so-called kung-fu!!??"

"You cruel bastard, have you no compassion?!"

can't......stop...... quoting.........Fist of .....White...Lotus......

elengineer

JHosk - Thanks for the info. Didja get the chance to see Dirty Ho and Legendary Weapons yet?

all - you know, at the rate we are filling up this thread, I wonder if we should just start a "old-school" thread. hmmmm...

I finally got an order in too. I got my DVDs I ordered from the UK. I must say that Shaolin Temple 3 is really quite nice. It has the standard lame plot, writing, and script, as most martial arts flicks, but the action and the way those people move is incredible.
It was worth the cost of the DVD to finally see Jet Li not surgically attached to a wire and with no-speed ups. Geez that guy can (could?) move. Why he had to turn into The Amazing Wire-Fu Man is completely beyond me. There are a ton of really nice wushu staff routines/moves/fights in this. Also has some really good double sword and broad sword routines/fights too. Overall some really awesome weapons work. Plus, which was really suprising to me, is the person that directed it. I was reading the back cover and all of a sudden Lau Kar Leung's name pops out at me. Considering he directed the flick, I would have expected just a tad bit more in the way of long and intricate fights, but the flick was still awesome.

Now if my DVDs from HK would just get here....aarrrggghhh....I want my Odd Couple! Shaolin Temple 1 and Dreadnaught would be nice too...ack.

JHosk

elengineer,

I think this thread is pretty much considered the old skool thread, but maybe re-naming it we can get some more bodies to contribute, etc. Since they putting HK stuff in the international section, it the first place I go on dvdtalk in the mornings.

Watched Dirty Ho last night...pretty classic. probably won't get to watch Legendary Weapons for a few weeks, as I'm on vacation starting tomorrow. I really want to put an order in for Fist of the White Lotus, but I got to save some beans for spending cash while I'm gone. Probably order Fist of White Lotus and The Victim (an early Sammo film), and I also want to get Warriors Two from that guy on ebay who sells his dvds dutch. Heard alot of good things about it. Hopefully, Ground Zero will come out with a new batch of old skool flicks soon. There are plenty of old skool flicks avaible but I'm running out of quality selections. I don't want to resort to something like saving my money....that would be awful.

My want list (of availoble dvd) is:
Warriors Two
The Revegner (coming in the mail)
Fist of the White Lotus
Shaolin Challenges Ninja
The Victim
Hot, Cool, & Vicious

Not too bad...once my want list was like over 50 titles....

Dreadnaught and Shaolin Temple are great flicks. Dreadnaught uses alot of comedy but the final 20 minutes is straight up fighting with some great Wo-Ping choreography.

Jas

elengineer

I finally (yea!) got my order of DVDs in from HK. Popped in Odd Couple w/ Sammo.

DAAAAAA-YYUUMMMM!!

Did you ever watch a movie and think, "that was good" or , "not bad", or, "wow that was some nice stuff!" ? Then, despite being really fairly pleased with that flick, you pop in a different movie, and just "know" that you are watching something incredible? Kinda like riding a world-class roller-coaster...you can ride other coasters and they are great, but you just "know" a top-notch one after you ride it.

Virtually non-stop from beginning to end. The absolute best spear work I have ever seen. I can't remember off the top of my head any better sword work either. There was some incredibly intricate 2 on 1 choreagraphy too. This is just one of those movies that the fights make you sit-up, your eyes open about 10x their normal size, and you get dry mouth 'cause your jaw is just laying open on the floor for sooooo long.

There were some instances of undercranking (speed-ups). But nothing that detracted overly much from the film. There were a couple of times where it was just undercranked so slightly as to enhance the moves virtually perfectly. Kinda like how JC used wires in DM2.

The comedy was awesome too. Both intentional (due to the writing) and unintentional (due to the subs). The situational comedy and attitudes were just awesome.

The basic plot was pretty weak, but I thought the writing was actually pretty good, and the comedic writing and execution were really good. Lots of fun since Sammo and Lau Kar Wing played both the masters, and each others pupils.

Other people might feel differently about this flick, but it definitely goes into my overall top five favs next to (in no particular order), Prodigal Son, Warriors Two, Miracles, and DM2 (followed closely in no particular order by Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, Drunken Master, Fist of Legend, and Return/Way of The Dragon).

For the peopel who have seen OC before, which person was Lam Ching Ying? I know he is listed as being in the flick, But I couldn't tell who he was at first viewing. Thx.

elengineer

Has anybody heard anything else about the release of the Killer Army DVD yet? I have been keeping an eye out but have seen zilch.

Slumbering Fist

Amazon now says Sept 11th for Killer Army. Still no listing for Martial Club though, Damnit.

I finally received Shaolin Challenges Ninja, Legendary Wepons and Fist of the White Lotus. Only had time last night to watch the bonus fights on Shaolin..., will probably have a marathon tonight. Also got a really cheap copy of Jimmy Wang Yu's Blood of the Dragon if anyone wants a review. And yeah, we do need to get the "official" old school thread going because this is getting silly. I'll be happy to contribute.

elengineer

Ok, I went ahead and made an "official" old-school thread here:
http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=128795


iaido - Tht would be cool if you could post a quick review of the JWY flick over in the new thread. Personally, I would also appreciate seeing an opinion on Shaolin Challenges Ninja, as I haven't heard a lot about that title.

Thx.

Slumbering Fist

elengineer, will do.... Tell you what, I'll even make a little synopsis thing if you want...like an old school breakdown of films and history to put in the "Old school" thread, you know, breaking down some directors, stars, and films, DVD availibility. I was toying with it last night. I'll work on it and those two reviews this weekend.