One-and-Only Old School HK Kung Fu thread
07-26-01, 03:53 AM
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One-and-Only Old School HK Kung Fu thread
This is an attempt to gather the growing number of old-school related posts, reviews, and questions related to various "old school" kung fu movies.
This thread here didn't start out that way, but has since become a good source of some reviews and discussion about old-school in general:
http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=121945
Also this recent thread has some other posts:
http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=128430
Many thanks to Iaido for taking the time to write the following introduction to Old-School:
What is “old school” kung fu ?
Generally it is any kung fu film (almost always with a period setting) made between the late 60’s and early 80’s. Hong Kong produced hundreds of kung fu films during this time, many of which over the years found their way to US shores in inner city movie theaters, drive-ins, to UHF tv stations and cable by way of various chop socky Kung Fu/Black Belt Theaters, and flooded the home market with videos. The genre really took off with the success of One-Armed Swordsman in 1969, flourished throughout the 70’s, and began its decline in the early 80’s, eventually by 1985, it was pretty much dead, replaced by modern setting (often Westernized) action films like Police Story and In the Line of Duty.
Who were the kings of kung fu?
The Pepsi and Coke of kung fu films were Golden Harvest and The Shaw Brothers. Shaw Bros. built massive studio city in which their actors and directors lived, trained, and shot their films under a regimen that excluding cameos, still had them making multiple films a year (for example- Chang Cheh directed/wrote no less than 8 films in 1979). Shaw was best known for talent like Chang Cheh, Liu Chai Liang, Gordon Liu, Alexander Fu Sheng, and Ti Lung. Golden Harvest’s talent stable included the likes of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Wei Lo, and Yuen Woo Ping.
What’s up with the quality?
Aside from being made very fast and cheap, unfortunately the term “film preservation” is not very well known in the Hong Kong film industry, particularly with kung fu films, and only in recent years has it began to slowly get some attention (a Hong Kong Film Archive which began in the early 90’s finally opened this year). Kung Fu films were released in the days before the home market, so the intention was, once a film had gathered all the money it could box officewise, it was usually shelved and not taken care of. Even when the home viewing market boomed, the films still were usually copied cheaply, and often times the original prints and negatives were left rotting or destroyed, much in the same way we treated our silent films.
Some Old School Stars
Gordon Lui, Ti Lung, Jimmy Wang Yu, David Chiang, Casanova Wong, Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, Sammo Hung, Pei Pei Cheng, Alexander Fu Sheng, Angelo Mao, The Venoms (Kou Chui, Lo Mang, Sun Chien, Chiang Sheng, and Lu Feng), Chen Kuan Tai, Jang Lee Hwang, and Lieh Lo.
Some Directors
Chang Cheh is sort of the wild, exploitative director, and most prolific, with films utilizing many fantasy elements, weapons, trickery, and almost always bloodshed and gore.
Chang Cheh films:
on DVD...
Five Deadly Venoms
Crippled Avengers (as Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms)
Chinese Super Ninjas
The Kid With the Golden Arm
not on DVD...
Killer Army
Flag of Iron (aka. Spearmen of Death)
Brave Archer
5 Masters of Death
Shaolin Avengers
One-Armed Swordsman
Seven Blows of the Dragon
...and many, many more
Lui Chai Liang aka Lau Kar Leung is a formidable martial artist from a respected martial family. His films examine more cultural and historical aspects and favor more elaborate, masterful fight choreography, than other tricks.
Liu Chai Liang films:
on DVD...
Fist of the White Lotus
Master Killer (aka. The 36th Chamber of Shaolin)
Shaolin Challenges Ninja
The Warrior from Shaolin
Return of the Master Killer
Dirty Ho
not on DVD...
Eight Diagram Pole Fighter
Martial Club
Mad Monkey Kung Fu
Shaolin Executioners
Yuen Woo Ping is one of the most malleable action stagers, beginning his directing career at the tail end of old school kung fu. He was able to make the transition from old school to modern films; his crew/family pretty much pioneered modern wirework, and as a director he is most notable for combing modern and traditional elements.
Yuen Woo Ping films:
on DVD...
Drunken Master
The Buddhist Fist
Magnificent Butcher
Snake in the Eagle's Shadow
Dreadnought
Not on DVD...
Dance of the Drunk Mantis
Sammo Hung an accomplished martial artist, comedian, and action director, who proved himself capable in all whether behind the camera, in front of it, and often times both.
Sammo Hung films:
on DVD...
Odd Couple
Prodigal Son
Warriors Two
The Victim
Knockabout
Enter the Fat Dragon
Again, thanks to Iaido for writing the above.
Now, lets get the discussion rolling...
This thread here didn't start out that way, but has since become a good source of some reviews and discussion about old-school in general:
http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=121945
Also this recent thread has some other posts:
http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=128430
Many thanks to Iaido for taking the time to write the following introduction to Old-School:
What is “old school” kung fu ?
Generally it is any kung fu film (almost always with a period setting) made between the late 60’s and early 80’s. Hong Kong produced hundreds of kung fu films during this time, many of which over the years found their way to US shores in inner city movie theaters, drive-ins, to UHF tv stations and cable by way of various chop socky Kung Fu/Black Belt Theaters, and flooded the home market with videos. The genre really took off with the success of One-Armed Swordsman in 1969, flourished throughout the 70’s, and began its decline in the early 80’s, eventually by 1985, it was pretty much dead, replaced by modern setting (often Westernized) action films like Police Story and In the Line of Duty.
Who were the kings of kung fu?
The Pepsi and Coke of kung fu films were Golden Harvest and The Shaw Brothers. Shaw Bros. built massive studio city in which their actors and directors lived, trained, and shot their films under a regimen that excluding cameos, still had them making multiple films a year (for example- Chang Cheh directed/wrote no less than 8 films in 1979). Shaw was best known for talent like Chang Cheh, Liu Chai Liang, Gordon Liu, Alexander Fu Sheng, and Ti Lung. Golden Harvest’s talent stable included the likes of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Wei Lo, and Yuen Woo Ping.
What’s up with the quality?
Aside from being made very fast and cheap, unfortunately the term “film preservation” is not very well known in the Hong Kong film industry, particularly with kung fu films, and only in recent years has it began to slowly get some attention (a Hong Kong Film Archive which began in the early 90’s finally opened this year). Kung Fu films were released in the days before the home market, so the intention was, once a film had gathered all the money it could box officewise, it was usually shelved and not taken care of. Even when the home viewing market boomed, the films still were usually copied cheaply, and often times the original prints and negatives were left rotting or destroyed, much in the same way we treated our silent films.
Some Old School Stars
Gordon Lui, Ti Lung, Jimmy Wang Yu, David Chiang, Casanova Wong, Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, Sammo Hung, Pei Pei Cheng, Alexander Fu Sheng, Angelo Mao, The Venoms (Kou Chui, Lo Mang, Sun Chien, Chiang Sheng, and Lu Feng), Chen Kuan Tai, Jang Lee Hwang, and Lieh Lo.
Some Directors
Chang Cheh is sort of the wild, exploitative director, and most prolific, with films utilizing many fantasy elements, weapons, trickery, and almost always bloodshed and gore.
Chang Cheh films:
on DVD...
Five Deadly Venoms
Crippled Avengers (as Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms)
Chinese Super Ninjas
The Kid With the Golden Arm
not on DVD...
Killer Army
Flag of Iron (aka. Spearmen of Death)
Brave Archer
5 Masters of Death
Shaolin Avengers
One-Armed Swordsman
Seven Blows of the Dragon
...and many, many more
Lui Chai Liang aka Lau Kar Leung is a formidable martial artist from a respected martial family. His films examine more cultural and historical aspects and favor more elaborate, masterful fight choreography, than other tricks.
Liu Chai Liang films:
on DVD...
Fist of the White Lotus
Master Killer (aka. The 36th Chamber of Shaolin)
Shaolin Challenges Ninja
The Warrior from Shaolin
Return of the Master Killer
Dirty Ho
not on DVD...
Eight Diagram Pole Fighter
Martial Club
Mad Monkey Kung Fu
Shaolin Executioners
Yuen Woo Ping is one of the most malleable action stagers, beginning his directing career at the tail end of old school kung fu. He was able to make the transition from old school to modern films; his crew/family pretty much pioneered modern wirework, and as a director he is most notable for combing modern and traditional elements.
Yuen Woo Ping films:
on DVD...
Drunken Master
The Buddhist Fist
Magnificent Butcher
Snake in the Eagle's Shadow
Dreadnought
Not on DVD...
Dance of the Drunk Mantis
Sammo Hung an accomplished martial artist, comedian, and action director, who proved himself capable in all whether behind the camera, in front of it, and often times both.
Sammo Hung films:
on DVD...
Odd Couple
Prodigal Son
Warriors Two
The Victim
Knockabout
Enter the Fat Dragon
Again, thanks to Iaido for writing the above.
Now, lets get the discussion rolling...
Last edited by elengineer; 07-31-01 at 03:23 PM.
07-26-01, 04:38 AM
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Shaolin Challenges Ninja
In response to elengineer's request for an opinion on "Shaolin Challenges Ninja", here's my 2 cents (or 20 cents...):
-------------------------------------------------
SYNOPSIS:
Like many other Shaw Bros. films, it starts off a little slow. The basic idea is that a Chinese man is somewhat forced into an arranged marriage with a Japanese woman by his dad. She turns out to be a vocal fan of Japanese martial arts and the two clash. It gets pretty silly when they each argue with each other about whether Japanese or Chinese martial arts are superior, and they end up sparring and he keeps winning. She eventually goes back to Japan in disgust. That's when it gets good...
I won't go into the details, but the Chinese man ends up having to defend his words for Chinese Kung Fu and against various Japanese martial arts. 7 (I think) martial arts masters from Japan come to his town to take him on one by one (one a day) and prove their superiority. He then has to figure out the best fighting forms and weapons to use to counter each opponent's unique style (judo, katana, sai, sneaky ninjitsu, etc.)
-------------------------------------------------
OPINION:
This film was a total blast! Once the week-long series of fights gets under way, it's really fun to see all the different styles portrayed so well. Similar to "Shaolin Master Killer" in that it's pretty informative as well as entertaining. You can learn about different weapons and styles, and just have fun doing so. Good choreography and energetic performances are solid all the way through. The filmmakers obviously took a view of Japanese martial arts (and possibly Japanese people) as inferior to Chinese, but if you can get past that, you should have a great time watching this one. "Shaolin Master Killer" is another great film from the same folks that I highly recommend as well. I'll shut up for now, but let me know if you want to know anything else about either film...
-------------------------------------------------
SYNOPSIS:
Like many other Shaw Bros. films, it starts off a little slow. The basic idea is that a Chinese man is somewhat forced into an arranged marriage with a Japanese woman by his dad. She turns out to be a vocal fan of Japanese martial arts and the two clash. It gets pretty silly when they each argue with each other about whether Japanese or Chinese martial arts are superior, and they end up sparring and he keeps winning. She eventually goes back to Japan in disgust. That's when it gets good...
I won't go into the details, but the Chinese man ends up having to defend his words for Chinese Kung Fu and against various Japanese martial arts. 7 (I think) martial arts masters from Japan come to his town to take him on one by one (one a day) and prove their superiority. He then has to figure out the best fighting forms and weapons to use to counter each opponent's unique style (judo, katana, sai, sneaky ninjitsu, etc.)
-------------------------------------------------
OPINION:
This film was a total blast! Once the week-long series of fights gets under way, it's really fun to see all the different styles portrayed so well. Similar to "Shaolin Master Killer" in that it's pretty informative as well as entertaining. You can learn about different weapons and styles, and just have fun doing so. Good choreography and energetic performances are solid all the way through. The filmmakers obviously took a view of Japanese martial arts (and possibly Japanese people) as inferior to Chinese, but if you can get past that, you should have a great time watching this one. "Shaolin Master Killer" is another great film from the same folks that I highly recommend as well. I'll shut up for now, but let me know if you want to know anything else about either film...
07-26-01, 05:46 AM
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Misc...
Trigger - (no longer relevant comments deleted) 
With reagrds to some of the opinions you have expressed elsewhere, I bet you would probably like the movie Odd Couple, if you haven't seen it already. The production values/"look" is slightly reminiscent of Magnificent Butcher, but the movie itself is a lot more fun IMHO.
Hkflix - Thanks for the synopsis of SCN. How does the choreagraphy hold up to in comparison to flicks like Dirty Ho, Legendary Weapons (the final fight), Odd Couple, etc? I remember seeing somewhere that Lau Kar Leung/Liu Chia Liang was the director/choreagrapher so I would expect it to be pretty good. I am just wondering if my expectations are justified.
With reagrds to some of the opinions you have expressed elsewhere, I bet you would probably like the movie Odd Couple, if you haven't seen it already. The production values/"look" is slightly reminiscent of Magnificent Butcher, but the movie itself is a lot more fun IMHO.
Hkflix - Thanks for the synopsis of SCN. How does the choreagraphy hold up to in comparison to flicks like Dirty Ho, Legendary Weapons (the final fight), Odd Couple, etc? I remember seeing somewhere that Lau Kar Leung/Liu Chia Liang was the director/choreagrapher so I would expect it to be pretty good. I am just wondering if my expectations are justified.
Last edited by elengineer; 07-26-01 at 10:26 PM.
07-26-01, 07:11 PM
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I copied this off DVDcult.com. Sounds great, but I'm not familiar with any of these titles----does anyone recommend any of them?
****
" This forthcoming set of DVDs will be called the Hidden Chambers collection, because they will utilize a complex interactive matrix that the user must access to view the 3+ hours of content on each DVD. In addition to a full length feature on each disk, there will be nearly an hour of bonus fight footage! There are also additional features such as Wu Tang Clan music videos and more. Ground Zero has graciously provided us with the classic films that will receive this royal treatment:
REVENGE OF THE PATRIOTS
10 MAGNIFICENT KILLERS
FURY IN THE SHAOLIN TEMPLE
RETURN OF THE DEADLY BLADE
SHAOLIN KING BOXER
****
****
" This forthcoming set of DVDs will be called the Hidden Chambers collection, because they will utilize a complex interactive matrix that the user must access to view the 3+ hours of content on each DVD. In addition to a full length feature on each disk, there will be nearly an hour of bonus fight footage! There are also additional features such as Wu Tang Clan music videos and more. Ground Zero has graciously provided us with the classic films that will receive this royal treatment:
REVENGE OF THE PATRIOTS
10 MAGNIFICENT KILLERS
FURY IN THE SHAOLIN TEMPLE
RETURN OF THE DEADLY BLADE
SHAOLIN KING BOXER
****
07-26-01, 07:22 PM
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Oh, I've posted this before, but maybe it'll get read more in this thread. This is a great interview with Lau Kar Leung, and it covers quite a bit of ground of the history of KF movies, and their link with real Chinese martial arts:
http://members.spree.com/molasar/hon...h/lau-int.html
Also, here's the main page with a lot of cool old-school stuff:
http://members.spree.com/molasar/hongkong/ch-index.html
http://members.spree.com/molasar/hon...h/lau-int.html
Also, here's the main page with a lot of cool old-school stuff:
http://members.spree.com/molasar/hongkong/ch-index.html
07-26-01, 09:44 PM
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Ky-Fi - thanks! That's an awesome site (Lau Kar Leung interview)!
elengineer - I personally found the choreography of SCN to be at least up to par with the others. I probably like SCN more since it just has so many different styles (all the Japanese styles and many Chinese styles). And the explanations of the weapons and styles is awesome. If you don't have SCN or Shaolin Master Killer, I highly recommend picking them both up soon. They're just great fun.
elengineer - I personally found the choreography of SCN to be at least up to par with the others. I probably like SCN more since it just has so many different styles (all the Japanese styles and many Chinese styles). And the explanations of the weapons and styles is awesome. If you don't have SCN or Shaolin Master Killer, I highly recommend picking them both up soon. They're just great fun.
07-27-01, 01:15 PM
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Originally posted by Ky-Fi
I copied this off DVDcult.com. Sounds great, but I'm not familiar with any of these titles----does anyone recommend any of them?
****
****
I copied this off DVDcult.com. Sounds great, but I'm not familiar with any of these titles----does anyone recommend any of them?
****
****
SHAOLIN KING BOXER- Karl Maka film I’ve never seen. He’s a guy that makes kung fu comedies (like Dirty Tiger Crazy Frog) which I’m not all that into.
as for the others I'd have to do some searching...so many films with 'Shaolin Temple', 'Killers', and 'Revenge" in them, its easy for a guy to get confused.
07-29-01, 02:09 PM
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Newbie info in the intro?
elengineer, I wrote up a little thing, sort of like a old school intro for newbies, if you think the thread should have it I could post it and you could move it to the top...or not. Its kinda long, but may help?
07-29-01, 02:17 PM
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Post it
Iaido - Do it up. Post it. Thanks!
I have no idea how to actually move a post up within the thread, but at the least I could cut n' paste it into the opening post.
I have no idea how to actually move a post up within the thread, but at the least I could cut n' paste it into the opening post.
07-30-01, 01:35 PM
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Heres that review asked for in the Ground Zero thread...
Shaolin Challenges Ninja-
Refreshing change of pace in the Kung Fu plot scenario, not a Master-Student film, not a revenge film, or a fighting corruption film, but a romantic comedy that tries to examine the social differences between two cultures. You could almost say its the closest kung fu ever came to “When Harry Met Sally” or “Do the Right Thing”. You can find plot synopsis elsewhere, so I’ll just give the Cliff Notes version- “A Chinese man marries Japanese woman- They fight about which martial form is better, Japanese or Chinese- They break up- While trying to win her back, misunderstandings arise between Chinese man and his wife’s fellow ninjitsu compatriots, fighting ensues- Both sides win respect for each other and overcome their differences.” The history between China and Japan is a rocky one, with events like the Japanese atrocities during the World War 2 occupation really souring things. Therefore, the Japanese villain is a common staple used in many Chinese films, however, Shaolin Challenges Ninja takes a slightly higher road by examining these stereotypes (still manages to exploit them in the Japanese side, but hey, you cant be perfect) and showing how conflict can arise over simple ignorance between two cultures.
What can I say about the film? Its a classic and has one of the most refreshing and unique plots in the golden age of kung fu films.
As for the Ground Zero DVD- Well, yes it is a shame that the ShawScope isn’t represented in its fullest, and letterboxing would be nice, but really the film has been seen by more people fullscreen than its proper ratio, anyway, so one must accept the good and forget bad. The picture is typically grainy and soft, with muted colors (which is really a shame here with the nice sets and Yuko Mizono’s kimonos), and some blemishes, but this is acceptable. The audio is pretty distorted here and there, and I really would have liked it to be better.
PROBLEM***During the learning “Drunken God Boxing” scene, my copy had a very shaky picture with trails off and on for about five mins (between the 59 min and 1hr and 4min mark). Anyone else have this problem or is it just me???***
Shaolin Challenges Ninja-
Refreshing change of pace in the Kung Fu plot scenario, not a Master-Student film, not a revenge film, or a fighting corruption film, but a romantic comedy that tries to examine the social differences between two cultures. You could almost say its the closest kung fu ever came to “When Harry Met Sally” or “Do the Right Thing”. You can find plot synopsis elsewhere, so I’ll just give the Cliff Notes version- “A Chinese man marries Japanese woman- They fight about which martial form is better, Japanese or Chinese- They break up- While trying to win her back, misunderstandings arise between Chinese man and his wife’s fellow ninjitsu compatriots, fighting ensues- Both sides win respect for each other and overcome their differences.” The history between China and Japan is a rocky one, with events like the Japanese atrocities during the World War 2 occupation really souring things. Therefore, the Japanese villain is a common staple used in many Chinese films, however, Shaolin Challenges Ninja takes a slightly higher road by examining these stereotypes (still manages to exploit them in the Japanese side, but hey, you cant be perfect) and showing how conflict can arise over simple ignorance between two cultures.
What can I say about the film? Its a classic and has one of the most refreshing and unique plots in the golden age of kung fu films.
As for the Ground Zero DVD- Well, yes it is a shame that the ShawScope isn’t represented in its fullest, and letterboxing would be nice, but really the film has been seen by more people fullscreen than its proper ratio, anyway, so one must accept the good and forget bad. The picture is typically grainy and soft, with muted colors (which is really a shame here with the nice sets and Yuko Mizono’s kimonos), and some blemishes, but this is acceptable. The audio is pretty distorted here and there, and I really would have liked it to be better.
PROBLEM***During the learning “Drunken God Boxing” scene, my copy had a very shaky picture with trails off and on for about five mins (between the 59 min and 1hr and 4min mark). Anyone else have this problem or is it just me???***
07-30-01, 02:08 PM
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hey
Iaido -
Thanks for posting all of that. I cut n' pasted it up into the first post. I didn't get all the formatting right, but I will have to take care of that later.
I hope you don't mind but I did make someslight changes. They are the following:
1) Grouped each director's films with their name and bio.
2) Added "Odd Couple" under Sammo's films
3) Added Liu Chia Liang's alias Lau Kar Leung
Again, there are some formatting details such as bold, underlining, and getting the paragraphs/spacing correct that I need to take care of. I will do those a little later. Please leave thy post up until everybody is happy with the way it is included in the thread-opener.
If you do not like any of the changes, just let me know. Also, if there is anything else you wish to add, please let me know.
Thanx!!!
(notes added below: 31-Jul-01)
Ok, I think I have finished formatting the thing. There are some slight differences mainly due to the change of putting each director's film list underneath their description. Let me know how it looks.
Also added one item:
4) added "Pedicab Driver" under Sammo's films not available on DVD.
Thanks for posting all of that. I cut n' pasted it up into the first post. I didn't get all the formatting right, but I will have to take care of that later.
I hope you don't mind but I did make someslight changes. They are the following:
1) Grouped each director's films with their name and bio.
2) Added "Odd Couple" under Sammo's films
3) Added Liu Chia Liang's alias Lau Kar Leung
Again, there are some formatting details such as bold, underlining, and getting the paragraphs/spacing correct that I need to take care of. I will do those a little later. Please leave thy post up until everybody is happy with the way it is included in the thread-opener.
If you do not like any of the changes, just let me know. Also, if there is anything else you wish to add, please let me know.
Thanx!!!
(notes added below: 31-Jul-01)
Ok, I think I have finished formatting the thing. There are some slight differences mainly due to the change of putting each director's film list underneath their description. Let me know how it looks.
Also added one item:
4) added "Pedicab Driver" under Sammo's films not available on DVD.
Last edited by elengineer; 07-31-01 at 06:40 AM.
07-31-01, 01:14 PM
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Re: hey
Originally posted by elengineer
Iaido -
Thanks for posting all of that.
If you do not like any of the changes, just let me know. Also, if there is anything else you wish to add, please let me know.
Thanx!!!
Iaido -
Thanks for posting all of that.
If you do not like any of the changes, just let me know. Also, if there is anything else you wish to add, please let me know.
Thanx!!!
PLEASE CHANGE> No sooner do I cry about Mater of the Flying Guillotine being a good example of a "lost" or "damaged" film, then I read in Film Threat today that a cleaner, appartently longer, master print has been found. Some little indie company that realesed stuff like Gonin and Evil Dead Trap in theaters, has fresh new copies of Mater of the Flying G making the rounds at college and indie theaters. So you can erase the whole second paragraph about Master... in Whats up with the quality? Now, if only someone would put that new print on DVD.
08-03-01, 11:07 PM
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Hey Iaido,
I saw the new Ground Zero release of Shaolin King Boxer on the shelves, and I think they've done a case of title changing again. It did have lots of extras, but I didn't see Karl Maka in the credits. It did list Chen Kwan Tai and Meng Fei(KF-Punch Of Death), and the summary hyped it up as looking like a Shaw Bros production----but I have no idea what the original title was. Also no clue as to whether it was letterboxed or not.
I picked up the Tai Seng Martial Arts Theatre disc of Eagle's Claw. I think JHosk had recommended that one, and I had read a good review of it somwhere. Pretty good old-school movie. Letterboxed, clear print, and a decent plot, with some great fight scenes---although more empty-hand stuff as opposed to the weapons fights so prevalent in the Shaw movies.
I saw the new Ground Zero release of Shaolin King Boxer on the shelves, and I think they've done a case of title changing again. It did have lots of extras, but I didn't see Karl Maka in the credits. It did list Chen Kwan Tai and Meng Fei(KF-Punch Of Death), and the summary hyped it up as looking like a Shaw Bros production----but I have no idea what the original title was. Also no clue as to whether it was letterboxed or not.
I picked up the Tai Seng Martial Arts Theatre disc of Eagle's Claw. I think JHosk had recommended that one, and I had read a good review of it somwhere. Pretty good old-school movie. Letterboxed, clear print, and a decent plot, with some great fight scenes---although more empty-hand stuff as opposed to the weapons fights so prevalent in the Shaw movies.
08-04-01, 12:42 AM
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Could someone say a few words about Five Fingers of Death and Killer Army?
I have seen references to FFOD as well as seeing it on the shelf, and heard it was good, but am interested in a little more detail. Plot, choreagraphy, types of fights, overall quality, etc...
Also, I know the DVD isn't out yet, but it would be appreciated if someone could give a mini-review of Killer Army!
THX all!
I have seen references to FFOD as well as seeing it on the shelf, and heard it was good, but am interested in a little more detail. Plot, choreagraphy, types of fights, overall quality, etc...
Also, I know the DVD isn't out yet, but it would be appreciated if someone could give a mini-review of Killer Army!
THX all!
08-04-01, 05:59 AM
#17
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Hey - haven't visited this thread in awhile - very nice update to the first post 
Also - I'll try to check out Odd Couple... I've seen Buddhist Fist - not bad, but kinda boring unless I'm in the mood. I've also seen a few others in that list.
Any chance of adding a section of known to be "Kung-Fu Theatre" films (on DVD or not)? I'd be interested if we could collectively come up with a list of films that we know for sure were on Kung-Fu theatre.
Also - I loved The Blade - and you know how I feel about some of these old-school flicks, would I be wise to check out One Armed Swordsman?
Also - I'll try to check out Odd Couple... I've seen Buddhist Fist - not bad, but kinda boring unless I'm in the mood. I've also seen a few others in that list.
Any chance of adding a section of known to be "Kung-Fu Theatre" films (on DVD or not)? I'd be interested if we could collectively come up with a list of films that we know for sure were on Kung-Fu theatre.
Also - I loved The Blade - and you know how I feel about some of these old-school flicks, would I be wise to check out One Armed Swordsman?
08-04-01, 09:54 AM
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Elengineer,
Haven't seen 5 Fingers of Death, but I've got Killer Army on VHS.
Excellent SB movie, from '79 or '80, I believe--Shaw Brother's peak, IMO. The Venoms guys are new refugees into a town during civil war in China, and although they don't know each other at first, they kind of team up to fight the corrupt militia that's running the town. Cheng Cheh was cranking out so many movies that I do find some of them to have more of a "factory" feel than maybe a movie like Master Killer, but Killer Army is still a great KF movie with tons of classic Venom fights. I personally liked it slightly better than Kid With the Golden Arm, although it's got a similar feel. The main hero uses a 3 sectional staff, so there's a lot of that, and also spears, double short swords, and broadsword(maybe more, that's all I can remember now )
BTW, thanks for your "Odd Couple" review--you've piqued my interest in that one.
Haven't seen 5 Fingers of Death, but I've got Killer Army on VHS.
Excellent SB movie, from '79 or '80, I believe--Shaw Brother's peak, IMO. The Venoms guys are new refugees into a town during civil war in China, and although they don't know each other at first, they kind of team up to fight the corrupt militia that's running the town. Cheng Cheh was cranking out so many movies that I do find some of them to have more of a "factory" feel than maybe a movie like Master Killer, but Killer Army is still a great KF movie with tons of classic Venom fights. I personally liked it slightly better than Kid With the Golden Arm, although it's got a similar feel. The main hero uses a 3 sectional staff, so there's a lot of that, and also spears, double short swords, and broadsword(maybe more, that's all I can remember now
) BTW, thanks for your "Odd Couple" review--you've piqued my interest in that one.
08-04-01, 02:58 PM
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Originally posted by Ky-Fi
Hey Iaido,
I saw the new Ground Zero release of Shaolin King Boxer on the shelves, and I think they've done a case of title changing again. It did have lots of extras, but I didn't see Karl Maka in the credits. It did list Chen Kwan Tai and Meng Fei(KF-Punch Of Death), and the summary hyped it up as looking like a Shaw Bros production----but I have no idea what the original title was. Also no clue as to whether it was letterboxed or not.
Hey Iaido,
I saw the new Ground Zero release of Shaolin King Boxer on the shelves, and I think they've done a case of title changing again. It did have lots of extras, but I didn't see Karl Maka in the credits. It did list Chen Kwan Tai and Meng Fei(KF-Punch Of Death), and the summary hyped it up as looking like a Shaw Bros production----but I have no idea what the original title was. Also no clue as to whether it was letterboxed or not.
http://www.dvdcult.com/rev_ShaolinKB.htm
Originally posted by elengineer
Could someone say a few words about Five Fingers of Death and Killer Army?
I have seen references to FFOD as well as seeing it on the shelf, and heard it was good, but am interested in a little more detail. Plot, choreagraphy, types of fights, overall quality, etc...
Could someone say a few words about Five Fingers of Death and Killer Army?
I have seen references to FFOD as well as seeing it on the shelf, and heard it was good, but am interested in a little more detail. Plot, choreagraphy, types of fights, overall quality, etc...
Another dark and dirty Chang Cheh masterpiece
There is a certain charm to a Chang Cheh film. It's a sense of futility and dread. You just know things are going to go bad, and when you think it won't get more brutal, somehow, Chang Cheh can always make it worse. Five Fingers of Death (aka. King Boxer) is a classic film in two ways. First it is your usual Chang Cheh grindhouse film with the master director in top form. Second, Five Fingers is one of the films that helped Western audiences gain exposure to kung fu flicks in the early 70's. It may not be the greatest Chang Cheh work or even the greatest kung fu film, but it is certainly not without its gruesome eye gouging, hand smashing, hot coal training, disemboweling, supernatural-glowing-fist-power charms.
Lo Leih plays a kung fu student living with his master and his master's daughter. When an old friend and former fellow student drops by, they spar and his master determines that Lo Leih needs to seek training elsewhere, with his friends teacher, because Lo Leih wont improve unless under new tutelage. With the promise that if he improves and wins a kung fu tournament he can marry his masters daughter, Lo Leih leaves and finds that in the new school, his kung fu is extremely weak and they relegate him to an errand boy. Soon though, he begins to show signs of improvement and gains his teachers trust so much, that the teacher wants him to learn Iron Palm and represent the school in the tournament.
Conflict comes in the form of a rival school that wants to win the tournament at all costs. They go so far as to hire a couple of Japanese heavies, and an Iron headed rouge to bust up Lo Leih's school, and eventually, Lo Leih's hands so he cant learn the Iron Palm. Also not helping matters is a backstabbing member of Lo Leih's school who helps out the rivals. Of course, breaking Lo Leih's hands only gets him mad, so he learns the Iron Palm anyway, makes it to the tournament and wins. Normally a kung fu movie would end there, but Chang Cheh will not let a viewer get off so easily. No, there is much more bloodshed and tragedy to be delivered, and it is piled on at the end in a great revenge fueled finale.
The Steeplechase DVD is fairly weak, with a very grainy, muddy bad vhs-like picture and some muddled sound,... however, it is widesceeen and uncut, so its not horrible if you are an old school fan and you can find it cheap. I first rented the vhs, dubbed it, then found the DVD cheap and went ahead and bought it. Its definitely one of those fan things, if you like the film you may be able to forgive the bad picture quality, if you hate the film, you'll despise it all around. It belongs in that bargain kung fu DVD bin with Front Row's Drunken Master- great movie, but lackluster DVD.
Last edited by Slumbering Fist; 08-04-01 at 03:35 PM.
08-04-01, 09:10 PM
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Iaido, thanks for the link--I hadn't checked out DVDcult in a while. And, sorry for doubting your knowledge of old school titles. As pennance, I have set up an array of hanging sandbags in my living room, which I will proceed to headbut until I can't stand up .
.
08-05-01, 02:45 PM
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Blood of the Dragon (aka Deadly Silver Spear?) 1978
Found this $5 cheapie put out by a company called Platinum Disc Corporation. I’ve also seen that they have Wang Yu’s Screaming Ninjas (aka Ten Fingers of Steel) Don’t recall reading any reviews of this title or company before, so here’s one...
The plot is about a group of rebels trying to overthrow the Mongols who have taken over, and the Mongols wanting to obtain a list of all the secret rebels and their meeting place. A mortally wounded rebel gives the list to a young, cute, wiseass, street urchin and tells the urchin to deliver it to Prince Ma. Along the way, the kid is attacked, but our hero, the loner warrior, White Dragon (Jimmy Wang Yu), saves the kid and helps him deliver the message. However, it ends up that one of the many people White Dragon has defeated and disgraced over the years just happens to be Prince Ma’s father, so, White Dragon halfheartedly fights, retreating, and the prince basically carves White Dragon’s spine up before he escapes. (Thus we enter into the Wang Yu Disadvantage Theory, which says: “When Wang Yu is at a disadvantage, armless, wounded, against a supremely more powerful enemy, his films are always better because we route for him more.” It’s the exact opposite of the Bruce Lee: “I Kick Everyone’s A** Theory”). Badly wounded or not, when White Dragon sees that that the message they tried to deliver was important and the prince is a patriot, he knows that they must make amends and get the list to the Prince. The normal complications arise as the Mongol forces converge against the wounded White Dragon as he tries to 1.) not bleed to death and 2.) get Prince Ma to accept the message.
The action is actually pretty average, forgettable, other than the big fight at the end where White Dragon must impale 30 or more guys with his spear. Wang Yu always did better when his stuff was outrageous, and this one just misses that mark. Directing consists of the usual late 70’s reverse photography jumping and weird zoom shots. The soundtrack (obviously inserted on the film by some US/Euro distributor) is pure 70’s prog rock and adds a nice giggle to the proceedings.
DVD Quality- Picture is pretty worn and washed out in most scenes (I had to readjust my blackness, color, and tint levels), though as the film goes on many of the scenes get shaper. Black levels were too dark in the night scenes, some of which is incomprehensible. The pan and scan unfortunately makes some of the fighting hard to follow since it was filmed tight, particularly in the gore close ups. The sound is clear with little drop off, hiss, or muddiness, just the occasional splash of reverb here and there. It has a few chapter stops, brief Wang Yu biography, and a three question quiz (when you answer wrong they show you a gore shot from the film). Now, is it worth $5?- I’d say yes, considering I would’ve spent almost as much to rent the film, its not so bad, a fair old school film, not spectacular, on a mediocre but cheap DVD.
Found this $5 cheapie put out by a company called Platinum Disc Corporation. I’ve also seen that they have Wang Yu’s Screaming Ninjas (aka Ten Fingers of Steel) Don’t recall reading any reviews of this title or company before, so here’s one...
The plot is about a group of rebels trying to overthrow the Mongols who have taken over, and the Mongols wanting to obtain a list of all the secret rebels and their meeting place. A mortally wounded rebel gives the list to a young, cute, wiseass, street urchin and tells the urchin to deliver it to Prince Ma. Along the way, the kid is attacked, but our hero, the loner warrior, White Dragon (Jimmy Wang Yu), saves the kid and helps him deliver the message. However, it ends up that one of the many people White Dragon has defeated and disgraced over the years just happens to be Prince Ma’s father, so, White Dragon halfheartedly fights, retreating, and the prince basically carves White Dragon’s spine up before he escapes. (Thus we enter into the Wang Yu Disadvantage Theory, which says: “When Wang Yu is at a disadvantage, armless, wounded, against a supremely more powerful enemy, his films are always better because we route for him more.” It’s the exact opposite of the Bruce Lee: “I Kick Everyone’s A** Theory”). Badly wounded or not, when White Dragon sees that that the message they tried to deliver was important and the prince is a patriot, he knows that they must make amends and get the list to the Prince. The normal complications arise as the Mongol forces converge against the wounded White Dragon as he tries to 1.) not bleed to death and 2.) get Prince Ma to accept the message.
The action is actually pretty average, forgettable, other than the big fight at the end where White Dragon must impale 30 or more guys with his spear. Wang Yu always did better when his stuff was outrageous, and this one just misses that mark. Directing consists of the usual late 70’s reverse photography jumping and weird zoom shots. The soundtrack (obviously inserted on the film by some US/Euro distributor) is pure 70’s prog rock and adds a nice giggle to the proceedings.
DVD Quality- Picture is pretty worn and washed out in most scenes (I had to readjust my blackness, color, and tint levels), though as the film goes on many of the scenes get shaper. Black levels were too dark in the night scenes, some of which is incomprehensible. The pan and scan unfortunately makes some of the fighting hard to follow since it was filmed tight, particularly in the gore close ups. The sound is clear with little drop off, hiss, or muddiness, just the occasional splash of reverb here and there. It has a few chapter stops, brief Wang Yu biography, and a three question quiz (when you answer wrong they show you a gore shot from the film). Now, is it worth $5?- I’d say yes, considering I would’ve spent almost as much to rent the film, its not so bad, a fair old school film, not spectacular, on a mediocre but cheap DVD.
Last edited by Slumbering Fist; 08-05-01 at 02:48 PM.
08-06-01, 04:59 PM
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...
Iaido - thanks for the reviews. I think I am going to see about grabbing a copy of Five Fingers sometime soon.
Ky-Fi & Trigger - Let me know when you guys see Odd Couple, I'm interested to know if your opinions will match mine. Geez I love that flick.
Ky-Fi & Trigger - Let me know when you guys see Odd Couple, I'm interested to know if your opinions will match mine. Geez I love that flick.
08-07-01, 12:40 PM
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Re: ...
Originally posted by elengineer
Iaido - thanks for the reviews. I think I am going to see about grabbing a copy of Five Fingers sometime soon.
Iaido - thanks for the reviews. I think I am going to see about grabbing a copy of Five Fingers sometime soon.
08-12-01, 01:21 AM
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Query
Everybody -
What are your favorite old-school related websites? I would be especially interested in seeing ones that are good at providing reviews of movies and DVDs (other than DVDCult).
Places that sell old-school DVDs/VCDs/ and
VHS tapes would also be good ones to list.
Heck, just about anything old-school related, like history, interviews, etc would be awesome.
Could ya'll post a few of your faves?
I could even plagarize the format of Trigger's "newbie" thread and stick the sites in the opening post if people want.
Thanks.
What are your favorite old-school related websites? I would be especially interested in seeing ones that are good at providing reviews of movies and DVDs (other than DVDCult).
Places that sell old-school DVDs/VCDs/ and
VHS tapes would also be good ones to list.Heck, just about anything old-school related, like history, interviews, etc would be awesome.
Could ya'll post a few of your faves?
I could even plagarize the format of Trigger's "newbie" thread
and stick the sites in the opening post if people want.Thanks.
08-12-01, 01:06 PM
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Re: Query
Originally posted by elengineer
Everybody -
What are your favorite old-school related websites?
Everybody -
What are your favorite old-school related websites?
http://www.hkmdb.com/
http://www.shawstudios.com/
http://members.nbci.com/LLMakJ/oldskool/oldskool.html
http://www.dvdcult.com/kungfudvd.htm (of course)
http://www.ground-zero-ent.com/
http://www.crashcinema.com/
http://members.hometown.aol.com/_ht_...mtbrand=AOL_US
http://www.kungfuflix.com/MAIN.html
...as far as concise info on just old school films, I’ve run across many sites that did pretty well, but none that really had a wealth of info covering lots of old school films. Mostly, reviews will be brief, ”Cool” or “Hated it” or just have a rating, and if there is any bio info its only on Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee. Believe me, when I have the time to design a website, that’s what it will be- the ultimate old school website. I’ll search around some, see if any have gotten better.