The Shaws Shown on TV's Black Belt Theater ( Drive-In Theater ) DVD List

[shaolinkng7]

Black Belt Theater, better known as Drive-in Theater when the show aired on MetroMedia stations, was the weekly show that aired martial arts films during the 80s. There were a few other syndicated martial arts movie packages from Cinema Shares, Golden Harvest and others, but Black Belt Theater remained on television the longest, rivaled only by USA Network's Kung-Fu Theater. During it's run Black Belt Theater brought to television at least 63 movies from Shaw Brothers Studios. In fact most of the films shown on Black Belt Theater were from the Shaws, which is the big reason to it's success. The shows distributor was World Northal, who also distributed the same films to theaters. World Northal's bankruptcy, combined with MetroMedia being turned into the FOX network, brought an end to Black Belt Theater. Shortly after VHS bootlegs of Shaw Brothers films began showing up in stores, almost all mastered from the Black Belt Theater edits. The accepted story among most Shaw Brothers fans is that while World Northal was going into bankruptcy, one of the employees realizing he was facing unemployment, and possibly being owed back pay that World Northal could no longer pay, stole all the Beta masters of the edited for television films and in turn began making his own bootlegs. These were copied by other bootleggers, and then others, until they saturated the market. Another theory is that World Northal themselves distributed tapes that would eventually become the bootlegs, even using the same boxes that the bootlegs had. And that they were so cheap that instead of paying for someone to pan and scan the movies onto video tape decided to use the already existing television edits. I find this second theory more credible for the following reasons:

# 1] World Northal's deal with Shaw Brothers for the North American television broadcast rights allegedly included the rights to distribute the films on home video. These contracts were written up before Shaw Brothers realized how big the home video market would become. The home video rights were simply bundled into the broadcast television and cable rights.

# 2] If someone stole all the beta tapes from World Northal, then why have only Shaw Brothers bootlegs shown up? Larry Bensky was the World Northal employee who edited all the movies in the Black Belt Theater packages for television, and for that got an extra screen credit "Edited for Television by Larry Bensky" which was added to the end of every movies original opening credits. In the Shaw Brothers bootlegs the part of the opening credits where Larry Bensky's credit goes the screen is blacked out completely and replaced with "Copyright Shaw Brothers" so that you would never realize the edited for television credit was there. Only Shaw Brothers movies edited by Larry Bensky have shown up on the bootleg market. Bensky edited versions of other films shown on Black Belt Theater, such as "Four Invincibles" and "Kung Fu Conspiracy" have not shown up on the bootleg market. Most of these movies show up on the bootleg market under alternative titles, meaning they were either sourced from Europe or from Ocean Shores Video. And some movies, such as "Manhunt" and "International Assassin" ( a.k.a. A Queens Ransom ) are not even available on the bootleg market.

# 3] Shortly before they went bankrupt, World Northal began releasing films through Embassy Home Video. These included at least one Shaw Brother film "Master Killer", Golden Harvest's "Slaughter in San Fransisco", "Tattooed Dragon" and "When Tae Kwon Do Strikes", "Golgo 13, Kowloon Assignment", "The Three Avengers", "Dynamo" and "The Tattoo Connection". All of these videos had the Larry Bensky edit. Where his credit shows up, that portion of the screen was blacked out and replaced with the studio copyright. However, on the "Dynamo" tape Larry's credit is still visible fo a single frame. This is proof that World Northal was releasing edited for television masters to the home video market.

# 4] Not all the Northal Shaw Brothers were among the bootlegs. The ones missing just happened to be the same ones with legal US releases in 1986. "Master Killer" was released by Embassy. The bootleg of that movie did not show up until the mid 90s using the Embassy box. Vista had "Chinese Super Ninjas" and "Shaolin Challenges Ninjas" Both did not show up as bootlegs until the very late 80s-early 90s mastered from UK video releases. Warner Brothers allegedly held the U.S. video rights to "Five Fingers of Death". The bootleg that showed up years later was mastered from a UK release.

# 5] A local video rental store had a copy of "Five Deadly Venoms" which according to their records was purchased in 1986, at least two years prior to when the beta tapes were supposedly stolen.

These 63 Shaw Brothers Films that aired on television in the 80s, and made up the bulk of the available Shaw Brother bootlegs, are the highest profiled Shaw Brother films among fans of that studio. They are sought after by fans of the original Black Belt Theater. But how many have so fare been released on DVD here in the United States? Here is the list so far of the R1 releases:

Avenging Eagle

released September 13 2011 by Dragon Dynasty

Avenging Warriors of Shaolin

Released under it's HK title "Shaolin Rescuers" on November 9 2010 by Funimation

Bloody Avengers ( a.k.a Boxer Rebellion )

Unreleased

NOTE: Release rights currently held by Dragon Dynasty

Bruce Lee: His Last Days, His Last Nights ( a.k.a. Bruce Lee and I )

Unreleased

NOTE: This is considered the pilot episode for Black Belt Theater.

Challenge of the Masters

Released July 29 2008 by Tokyo Shock

Challenge of the Ninja

Released under it's HK title "Heroes of the East" on May 27 2008 by Dragon Dynasty

The Chinatown Kid

Unreleased

The Daredevils of Kung Fu ( a.k.a The Daredevils )

Unreleased

Deadly Angels

Unreleased

NOTE: Shaw Brothers invented the popular Girls with Guns genre with this film.

Deadly Mantis

Released under it's original HK title "Shaolin Mantis" on November 16 2010 by Dragon Dynasty

Death Chambers ( a.k.a. Shaolin Temple )

Unreleased

NOTE: Release rights currently held by Dragon Dynasty

Disciples of Death ( a.k.a. Men from the Monastery )

Unreleased

Demon Fists of Kung Fu ( a.k.a. The New Shaolin Boxers )

Unreleased

The Destroyers

To be released at a later date by Tokyo Shock under it's HK title "Magnificent Ruffians"

Dirty Ho

Unreleased

NOTE: Release rights currently held by Dragon Dynasty

Duel of the Iron Fist

Released under it's HK title "The Duel" on August 3 2010 by Funimation

Dynasty of Blood

Released under it's HK title "Blood Brothers" on September 13 2011 by Dragon Dynasty

Executioners of Death

Released under it's HK title "Executioners from Shaolin" on August 9 2011 by Dragon Dynasty

Fists of the White Lotus ( a.k.a. Clan of the White Lotus )

Unreleased

NOTE: Release rights currently held by Dragon Dynasty

The 5 Deadly Venoms ( a.k.a. Five Venoms )

Released under it's U.S. title on August 18 2009 by Dragon Dynasty

5 Masters of Death

Released under it's HK Title "Five Shaolin Masters" on August 19 2011 by Dragon Dynasty

Five Fingers of Death

Released under it's HK title "King Boxer" on August 18 2009 by Dragon Dynasty

The Flying Guillotine

Released November 29 20011 by Dragon Dynasty

The Four Assassins ( a.k.a. Marco Polo )

Unreleased

Instructors of Death

Released under it's HK title "Martial Club" March 31 2009 by Tokyo Shock

Invincible Kung Fu Brothers ( a.k.a. Shaolin Avengers )

Unreleased

NOTE: Release rights currently held by Dragon Dynasty

Invincible One

Released under it's HK title "Disciples of Shaolin" on November 10 2009 by Image

Iron Chain Assassin ( a.k.a. The Convict Killer )

Unreleased

Iron Fingers of Death

Released under it's HK title "Shaolin Prince" on August 3 2010 by Funimation

Karate Exterminators ( a.k.a. Killer Constable )

Unreleased

The Kid with the Golden Arm

Released on May 11 2010 by Tokyo Shock

Killer Army ( a.k.a. Rebel Intruders )

Unreleased

Killer From Shangtung ( a.k.a. Boxer From Shantung )

Unreleased

NOTE: Release rights currently held by Dragon Dynasty

Kung Fu Hellcats ( a.k.a. Five Tough Guys )

Unreleased

Kung Fu Instructor

Unreleased

NOTE: Release rights currently held by Dragon Dynasty

Kung Fu Invaders

Released under it's HK title "Heroes Two" on August 2 2010 by Tokyo Shock

Kung Fu Killers ( a.k.a.The Angry Guest )

Unreleased

NOTE: Release rights held by Dragon Dynasty. it's prequel "Duel of Fists" which was never shown on television has been released by Well Go

Kung Fu Warlords

Released under it's HK title "The Brave Archer" on April 7 2009 by Tokyo Shock

Legendary Weapons of Kung Fu

Released under it's HK title "Legendary Weapons of China" on January 9 2007 by Image

The Masked Avengers

Unreleased

The Master Killer

Released under it's HK title "36th Chamber of Shaolin" on January 19 2007 by Dragon Dynasty

The Master of Kung Fu

Unreleased

NOTE: this was one of three Wong Fei Hung movies made by Shaw Brothers in the 70s, this a more traditional version starring Ku Feng

Mortal Combat ( a.k.a. Crippled Avengers )

Released under the title "Return of 5 Deadly Venoms" on September 14 2010 by Dragon Dynasty

Return of the Master Killer

Released under it's HK title "Return to the 36th Chamber" on March 2 2010 by Dragon Dynasty

Roar of the Lion

Released under it's HK title "Lion vs Lion" on June 28 2011 by Dragon Dynasty

The Savage 5

Unreleased

NOTE: Release rights currently held by Dragon Dynasty

Seven Soldiers of Kung Fu

Released under it's HK title "All Men are Brothers" on September 14 2010 by Well Go

Shaolin Hand Lock

Released March 23 2010 by Funimation

Shaolin Martial Arts

Unreleased

Shaolin Masters

Released under it's HK title "The Heroic Ones" on September 16 2008 by Well Go

Slice of Death ( a.k.a. Shaolin Abbot )

Unreleased

Spearmen of Death

Released under it's HK title "The Flag of Iron" on August 25 2009 by Tokyo Shock

Street Gangs of Hong Kong ( a.k.a. The Delinquent )

Unreleased

Strike 4 Revenge ( a.k.a. Four Riders )

Unreleased

NOTE: John Woo was the assistant directer under Chang Cheh

Stroke of Death ( a.k.a. Monkey Kung Fu )

Unreleased

NOTE: Release rights currently held by Dragon Dynasty

Super Ninjas

Released under it's HK title "Five Element Ninjas" on January 26 2010 by Tokyo Shock

Superfighters ( a.k.a. Five Superfighters )

Unreleased

Ten Tigers of Kwangtung

Released May 26 2009 by Tokyo Shock

Three Evil Masters

Released under it's HK title "The Master" on May 13 2008 by Tokyo Shock

Thunderbolt Fist

Released on November 11 2008 by Image

Two Champions of Death

Released under it's HK title "Two Champions of Shaolin" on July 15 2008 by Well Go

Unbeatable Dragon

Released under it's HK title "Invincible Shaolin" on June 1 2010 by Funimation

Warrior of Steel ( a.k.a. Man of Iron )

Unreleased

NOTE: Release rights held by Dragon Dynasty

[The Silver Fox]

Wow,great post. Lots of info on the murky origins of World Northal/Shaw Bros in North America. Can anybody confirm what WUTV in Buffalo broadcasted-was it kung fu theater or black belt theater? The films I remember most from the 80's TV are 5 Deadly Venoms,Dynasty and one of the flying guillotine movies.

[teako170]

Still on the lookout for the WTAF (Philly) schedule. Anyone ever come across it?

Love to find similar listing that dvddrive-in.com did for WNEW.

Whatever happened to projectaka.com? Appears to be gone.

[Phoenix]

Thanks for the information, it seems to make sense, but what happened to the old forum posts on the Shaw bootlegs and the the video releases? Did none of the old forum get archived?

[BaronK]

WTAF had BBT on Saturday afternoons from 12-2, then maybe 2-4? It then switched to Kung Fu Theater at 1 am Saturday nights same station, same movies.

Same package plus a few new movies then hit channel 57. First it was Saturday nights at 8. Then Sunday afternoons. Then during the week at 3 am.

[shaolinkng7]

Can anybody confirm what WUTV in Buffalo broadcasted-was it kung fu theater or black belt theater? The films I remember most from the 80's TV are 5 Deadly Venoms,Dynasty and one of the flying guillotine movies.

5 Deadly Venoms was exclusive to World Northal's Black Belt Theater package, as was nearly every Shaw Brother movie. The only two Shaw Brothers movies not to be syndicated by World Northal were "Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires" ( syndicated by Warner Brothers ) and "Infra Man" ( Sandy Frank ?? ). The original "Flying Guillotine" was a Shaw Brothers film, and was one of the movies on Black Belt Theater. "Dynasty" belonged to Cinema Shares which began syndicating martial arts movies about the same time World Northal was going out of business. Before that it was syndicated by 3D Television, a company that took movies shot in 3D and converted them to blue and red images for television. 3D Television made most of their money from selling 3D glasses for their broadcasts. In New York City 3D Television aired three movies, "Return of the Creature", "Gorilla at Large" and "The Mask". 3D Television had many more films in their catalog, but only a few cities aired them all. In most markets, like NYC, only aired two or three films. In 1987 a company called 3D Madness got the rights to all of 3D Television's films and put them in a weekly show. The first episode was "The Mad Magician" and the second episode was "Dynasty". WNEW which had just become the flagship station for the FOX network, and had just cancelled Drive-In Theater and moved the martial arts movies to 12 midnight Saturdays, aired the first two episodes of 3D Madness before cancelling the series. "Dynasty" became the last martial arts movie to air on Saturday afternoon on WNEW.

I have been working on a master list of movies shown on television between 1980 and 1995 when the trend ended. Here is what I have so far. ( movies listed by broadcast names and not their original HK titles. )

Black Belt Theater

5 Masters of Death

18 Fatal Strikes

A Hard Way to Die

A Man Called Tiger

Avenging Eagle

Avenging Warrior of Shaolin

Bloody Avengers

Bruce Lee: His Last Days, His Last Nights

Challenge of the Masters

Challenge of the Ninja

Chinatown Kid

Daredevils of Kung Fu

Deadly Angels

Deadly Mantis

Death Chambers

Disciples of Death

Demon Fist of Kung Fu

Destroyers

Dirty Ho

Duel of the Iron Fist

Dynamo

Dynasty of Blood

Executioners of Death

Fists of the White Lotus

Five Deadly Venoms

Five Fingers of Death

Flying Guillotine

Four assassins

Four Invincibles

Golgo 13: Kowloon Assignment

Incredible Kung Fu Master

Instructors of Death

International Assassin

Incredible Kung Fu Brothers

Invincible One

Iron Chain Assassin

Iron Fingers of Death

Jade Claw

Karate Exterminators

Kid with the Golden Arm

Killer Army

Killer From Shangtung

Kung Fu Conspiracy

Kung Fu Executioner

Kung Fu Hellcats

Kung Fu Instructor

Kung Fu Invaders

Kung Fu Killers

Kung Fu Warlords

Legendary Weapons of Kung Fu

Manhunt

Masked Avengers

Master Avengers

Master Killer

Master of Kung Fu

Mortal Combat

Ninja Warlord

Powerforce

Return of the Master Killer

Revenge of the Patriots

Roar of the Lion

Roots of Evil

Savage 5

Seven Soldiers of Kung Fu

Shaolin Hand Lock

Shaolin Martial Arts

Shaolin Masters

Shaolin Plot

Slaughter in San Fransisco

Slice of Death

Spearmen of Death

Stoner

Street Gangs of Hong Kong

Strike 4 Revenge

Stroke of Death

Super Ninjas

Super Power

Superfighters

Tattoo Connection

Tattooed Dragon

Ten Tigers of Kwangtung

The Three Avengers

Three Evil Masters

Thunderbolt Fist

Two Champions of Death

Unbeatable Dragon

Warrior of Steel

When Tae Kwon Do Strikes

Fist of Fury Theater

The Amsterdam Connection

The Bloody Fight

The Bloody Fists

Bruce Lee We Miss You

Bruce Lee's Secret

Cantonen Iron Kung Fu

Fists of Vengeance

Kung Fu Commandos

Moonlight Sword and Jade Lion

Northern Kicks and Southern Fist

Revenge of the Dragon

Story in Red Temple Lily

Struggle Through Death

Superdragon

Tiger's Claw

True Game of Death

Kung Fu Theater

A Gathering of Heroes

Bruce and Shao - Lin Kung Fu

Enter the Game of Death

Flying Claw Fights 14 Demons

Incredible Master Beggars

The Japanese Connection

Kung Fu of Tai Kwan Do

Ninja Exterminators

Renegade Monk

Showdown at the Equator

Snake-Crane Secret

Writing Kung Fu

Other syndicates:

Paragon (?)

Bruce Lee, The Legend [ 1984 re-edit ]

The Chinese Connection

Fists of Fury

Game of Death

Game of Death II

Return of the Dragon

Winners and Sinners

Young Master

Cinema Shares

Bruce Lee the Invincible

Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth

Dynasty ( 2D version )

Fists of Bruce Lee

Killing Machine

Kung Fu Gold

Soul Brothers of Kung Fu

Harmony Gold (?)

Duel of the Ultimate Weapons

Fury in the Shaolin Temple

Invincible Obsessed Fighter

The Shaolin Incredible Ten

[teako170]

What year did watch BBT on Ch 29? I watched from 1981? to 1983.

I thought they were on later in the afternoon (3-5??) but can't recall.

Again, would love to eventually find the exact schedule so I knew which films I saw.

Many I remember but many I forget. Caught various ones on WNEW during early 80s as well.

Oh yeah, found this photo of my room back in 1983.

That's the lil TV I caught my Shaws on. Think it was a black & white set!

WTAF had BBT on Saturday afternoons from 12-2, then maybe 2-4? It then switched to Kung Fu Theater at 1 am Saturday nights same station, same movies.

Same package plus a few new movies then hit channel 57. First it was Saturday nights at 8. Then Sunday afternoons. Then during the week at 3 am.

[BaronK]

I'd say around that time year wise. I remember 5 Venoms started it all in an interesting way. It came on one night during the week at 8 pm. Maybe a Thursday or something. Everyone saw it and was talking about it the next day like crazy. BBT started Sat afternoons shortly after.

[thegoldenstate]

I remember the Fist of Fury package also including:

Shaolin Kung Fu Mystagogue

Crack Shadow Boxers

Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger

Bruce Lee Against Supermen

From Kung Fu Theater on USA Network I remember:

Shaolin Kung Fu Mystagogue

Kung Fu Commandos

Tower of the Drunken Dragons aka Dragon on the Shaolin Tower aka Sacrifice to Desolate Spirits

Deadly Strike

The Kung Fu Instructor

Cobra

Enter the Panther

Heroes of Shaolin aka Heroes of the Wild

There was another package which seemed to show quite a few Godfrey Ho flicks

Dragon on Fire aka The Dragon, The Hero

Dragon's Inferno aka Bruce Lee's Ways of Kung Fu

Golden Dragon, Silver Snake

Return of the Kung Fu Dragon

Heroes of Shaolin aka Heroes of the Wild

[shaolinkng7]

I remember the Fist of Fury package also including:

Shaolin Kung Fu Mystagogue

Crack Shadow Boxers

Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger

Bruce Lee Against Supermen

From Kung Fu Theater on USA Network I remember:

Shaolin Kung Fu Mystagogue

Kung Fu Commandos

Tower of the Drunken Dragons aka Dragon on the Shaolin Tower aka Sacrifice to Desolate Spirits

Deadly Strike

The Kung Fu Instructor

Cobra

Enter the Panther

Heroes of Shaolin aka Heroes of the Wild

There was another package which seemed to show quite a few Godfrey Ho flicks

Dragon on Fire aka The Dragon, The Hero

Dragon's Inferno aka Bruce Lee's Ways of Kung Fu

Golden Dragon, Silver Snake

Return of the Kung Fu Dragon

Heroes of Shaolin aka Heroes of the Wild

My first impression on reading your list is that you are not remembering correctly. That is the trouble with memory. It often mixes events up. My problem with your list...

#1 "The Kung Fu Instructor" on Kung Fu Theater

I am assuming this is the Shaw Brothers film and not a different martial arts movie with the same name? The only syndicate to have Shaw Brothers movies was Black Belt Theater, and in fact they had the movie "Kung Fu Instructor". There is no way it was on Kung Fu Theater. Possibly you are thinking about Kung Fu June. This show aired on USA after they stopped airing Kung Fu Theater. For some reason the rights to World Northal's Black Belt Theater were transferred to USA Network. And in one of those inexplicable programming decisions, USA only aired four movies, one each Saturday, during the month of June [ circa 1990 ] and never again. At least the four movies were Shaw Brothers, one of them being "Super Ninjas". I have since forgotten what the other three movies were, so it is possible one was "Kung Fu Instructor". But I have my doubts it was ever on Kung Fu Theater.

#2 You have "Kung Fu Commandos" on Kung Fu Theater when it was definitely one of the movies that aired on Fist of Fury Theater. There it was longer than the version available on VHS ( or at least Video Gems release ). The TV version had a scene where they expose the cook as a spy working for the villain after everyone pretends to die from eating his poisoned food. You also have "Kung Fu Mystagogue" on both Black Belt Theater and Kung Fu Theater. These films could not have been on more than one package. Either one or the other owned the broadcast rights. There may be a slim chance that the distributors of Kung Fu Theater bought out Fist of Fury Theater after it went off the air, but I doubt it.

#3 I do not recall ever seeing "Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger" on Fist of Fury Theater. I watched every week, sacrificing the first two hours of Drive-in Movies double feature. This was because the first movie was always a repeat while the second was usually a debut. Channel 11 had movies that never aired before. When they started repeating films I would usually watch the first few minutes, and then flip over to the superior film on Drive-in Movie, except for the rare occurrence when the repeat movie was something as good as "Kung Fu Commandos". It is possible that the one week "Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger" aired that Drive-in Movie had one of my favorites up against it, such as "Five Masters of Death", and I simply did not bother watching Fist of Fury Theater that week. But I doubt it. If you are talking about watching Fist of Fury Theater outside NYC on a different station, then it is possible that they aired movies that were not shown where I lived.

This is also the first time I have ever heard of someone airing Godfrey Ho movies. Whoever did that must have been scraping the bottom of the barrel. Or more likely, scraping up something under the barrel. "Bruce Lee's Ways of Kung Fu" was the worst martial arts movie I have EVER seen. I still have nightmares on how incredibly bad it was.

[dionbrother]

Among the final four Shaws shown on USA in 1990, along with SUPER NINJAS, there was FIST OF THE WHITE LOTUS, RETURN OF THE MASTER KILLER and THE INVINCIBLE ONE. I remember because I taped them and then duped them to remove the commercials.

[BaronK]

The only Shaw I know to ever be on the USA network was Avenging Warriors Of Shaolin.

[thegoldenstate]

My first impression on reading your list is that you are not remembering correctly. That is the trouble with memory. It often mixes events up. My problem with your list...

#1 "The Kung Fu Instructor" on Kung Fu Theater

I am assuming this is the Shaw Brothers film and not a different martial arts movie with the same name? The only syndicate to have Shaw Brothers movies was Black Belt Theater, and in fact they had the movie "Kung Fu Instructor". There is no way it was on Kung Fu Theater. Possibly you are thinking about Kung Fu June. This show aired on USA after they stopped airing Kung Fu Theater. For some reason the rights to World Northal's Black Belt Theater were transferred to USA Network. And in one of those inexplicable programming decisions, USA only aired four movies, one each Saturday, during the month of June [ circa 1990 ] and never again. At least the four movies were Shaw Brothers, one of them being "Super Ninjas". I have since forgotten what the other three movies were, so it is possible one was "Kung Fu Instructor". But I have my doubts it was ever on Kung Fu Theater.

Yeah, when I was making the list I was pretty sure it was shown on USA's Kung Fu Theater, and it struck me as odd...but I do have a vivid memory of watching it on a Sunday afternoon when Kung Fu Theater was normally aired. Re-thinking things, though, I guess I must have taped it overnight off of some channel that aired stuff from the World Northal package and then subsequently ended up watching it on Sunday.

#2 You have "Kung Fu Commandos" on Kung Fu Theater when it was definitely one of the movies that aired on Fist of Fury Theater. There it was longer than the version available on VHS ( or at least Video Gems release ). The TV version had a scene where they expose the cook as a spy working for the villain after everyone pretends to die from eating his poisoned food. You also have "Kung Fu Mystagogue" on both Black Belt Theater and Kung Fu Theater. These films could not have been on more than one package. Either one or the other owned the broadcast rights. There may be a slim chance that the distributors of Kung Fu Theater bought out Fist of Fury Theater after it went off the air, but I doubt it.

Hmm, that one I am in fact certain about. I definitely saw Kung Fu Commandos on USA's Kung Fu Theater and also on another station's package (which would seem to be "Fist of Fury Theater" based on the films that you have listed). The one on Fist of Fury Theater aired under the title "Incredible Kung Fu Mission".

As well, I'm pretty certain that Kung Fu Mystagogue was shown by both. I think there might have been a few other films that overlapped, such as the Amsterdam Connection?

#3 I do not recall ever seeing "Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger" on Fist of Fury Theater. I watched every week, sacrificing the first two hours of Drive-in Movies double feature. This was because the first movie was always a repeat while the second was usually a debut. Channel 11 had movies that never aired before. When they started repeating films I would usually watch the first few minutes, and then flip over to the superior film on Drive-in Movie, except for the rare occurrence when the repeat movie was something as good as "Kung Fu Commandos". It is possible that the one week "Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger" aired that Drive-in Movie had one of my favorites up against it, such as "Five Masters of Death", and I simply did not bother watching Fist of Fury Theater that week. But I doubt it. If you are talking about watching Fist of Fury Theater outside NYC on a different station, then it is possible that they aired movies that were not shown where I lived.

Ha, you had the same viewing habits as I did, apparently. Boy, there were sure some clunkers shown on Channel 11. Also the sound effects on those films always seemed curiously flanged or squashed or something... and the action seemed noticeably slowed-down, almost as if they were incompetently transferred. I wonder if you remember that at all?

Hmm, I'm pretty sure they aired "Exit", but yeah, could be my memory playing tricks on me.

This is also the first time I have ever heard of someone airing Godfrey Ho movies. Whoever did that must have been scraping the bottom of the barrel. Or more likely, scraping up something under the barrel. "Bruce Lee's Ways of Kung Fu" was the worst martial arts movie I have EVER seen. I still have nightmares on how incredibly bad it was.

Yeah, that was a Philadelphia station... I think WPHL17? I also recall them showing "Blind Fist of Bruce".

[shaolinkng7]

Yeah, when I was making the list I was pretty sure it was shown on USA's Kung Fu Theater, and it struck me as odd...but I do have a vivid memory of watching it on a Sunday afternoon when Kung Fu Theater was normally aired. Re-thinking things, though, I guess I must have taped it overnight off of some channel that aired stuff from the World Northal package and then subsequently ended up watching it on Sunday.

Another possibility would be that a channel that had the World Northal package decided to air it on Sunday. Perhaps a channel that had a baseball game that got rained out? If it was WNEW then there is another possibility. That it aired by mistake. I recall many times when that station aired the wrong movie or television show. Sometimes they caught the mistake early and quickly switched to the correct scheduled show. Other times the whole show aired. Back when WNEW had not fully converted to video tape and was still airing movies on film stock, they would occasionally mix reels up.

Hmm, that one I am in fact certain about. I definitely saw Kung Fu Commandos on USA's Kung Fu Theater and also on another station's package (which would seem to be "Fist of Fury Theater" based on the films that you have listed). The one on Fist of Fury Theater aired under the title "Incredible Kung Fu Mission".

The movie was always called "Kung Fu Commandos" on Fist of Fury Theater. "Incredible Kung Fu Mission" was the alternative title. There is a possibility that one or both distributors were ripped off. Someone who did not have the rights to the film sold it to one of the distributors under an alternative title. But in that case it would have aired on Kung Fu Theater.

I think there might have been a few other films that overlapped, such as the Amsterdam Connection?

The only possibility of that happening would be if the distributor of Fist of Fury theater went bankrupt, then the rights to their catalog were bought by whoever distributed Kung Fu Theater. The thing is, even if Fist of Fury Theater went bankrupt, the stations that bought the packages would still have the right to air the movies up until their contracts expired. That would mean that Kung Fu Theater would have to wait a few years even if they bough the film.

Another thing to consider is how stations mixed and matched packages. WNEW stripped Black Belt Theater of it's opening sequence and the iris in and out for the commercial breaks which sometimes included Black Belt Theater bumpers. This was all replaced with Drive-in Movie intro and bumpers. In the mid 80s the Paragon/Golden Harvest syndicated films ( which were usually shown on week nights as part of the channel's prime time movie show ) were sometimes mixed into the Drive-in Movie schedule. So was the Cinema Shares films. Other stations could have easily mix and matched competing syndicated packages. This is what makes trying to identify the separate syndication packages frustrating. I realized the Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan films shown on WNEW were not World Northal because they did not include the Larry Bensky credit. The same with the Cinema Shares films. And, in the mid 90s, WNEW began airing the Cinema Shares films weeknights at 3am. The broadcast rights to the World Northal packages had long expired, so this was more proof that those movies were from a different syndication company. When I found out every one of the movies were distributed theatrically by Cinema Shares the whole thing made sense.

Boy, there were sure some clunkers shown on Channel 11.

I use to think that. But in recent years I was able to track down DVDs of many of the movies that aired on Fist of Fury Theater. No great classics, but plenty of decent movies. Some, like "Northern Kicks and Southern Fist" and "Cantonen Iron Kung Fu" have since gone on to cult status among fans of the genre. But it did have crap, the worst being "True Game of Death". And the Bruce Li films in the package were not very well produced.

Also the sound effects on those films always seemed curiously flanged or squashed or something... and the action seemed noticeably slowed-down, almost as if they were incompetently transferred. I wonder if you remember that at all?

The movies all had a strobe effect. It was very noticeable in all their films. Speaking of remembering things, I could have sworn that they did a little re-editing of the film "Bruce Lee: We Miss You". I seem to recall when Bruce Li meets the ghost of Bruce Lee, that there was a split screen and on one side was real footage of Bruce dong a cat call from one of his films. ( possibly lifted from a public domain trailer. ) When I bought that movie on VHS, the scene where he meets Bruce Lee's ghost just had a double playing Bruce.

[shawbro]

Hi fellas, me and my brother have been trying to figure out for years trying to find the name of a kung fu movie we saw back in 85 or 86. The villian plays a flute and uses it in his fights. It is not Writing Kung Fu, we both have seen that and agree its not the movie we saw many years ago. If anyone knows what movie it is I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks

[dionbrother]

MAGNIFICENT KUNG FU WARRIORS also played on USA's Kung Fu Theater. I was stunned to see a World Northal logo on USA, as they rarely played Shaws. USA also aired 3 EVIL MASTERS on Commander USA's Groovy Movies, cut down to about 65 minutes!

[odioustrident]

Hi fellas, me and my brother have been trying to figure out for years trying to find the name of a kung fu movie we saw back in 85 or 86. The villian plays a flute and uses it in his fights. It is not Writing Kung Fu, we both have seen that and agree its not the movie we saw many years ago. If anyone knows what movie it is I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks

Did Kung Fu Rebels ever play on tv? That features a Wong Chung with a flute.

Also what the hell is Kung Fu Gold?

[shaolinkng7]

MAGNIFICENT KUNG FU WARRIORS also played on USA's Kung Fu Theater. I was stunned to see a World Northal logo on USA, as they rarely played Shaws. USA also aired 3 EVIL MASTERS on Commander USA's Groovy Movies, cut down to about 65 minutes!

So there was a World Northal logo. That would make them the distributor instead of a Shaw Brothers film ending up as part of another distributor's package. Here is what I was told [ but can not confirm ] about Kung Fu Theater. It was a syndicated show that aired in many cities. USA Network picked up Kung Fu Theater so there would be martial arts films for Commander USA's weekly movie show, but at some point began airing Kung Fu Theater outside of Commander USA's show. The question is, did USA Network pick up Black Belt Theater as well? It is possible that USA Network later picked up one of the Black Belt Theater packages and then aired it during Kung Fu Theater? I assumed that USA acquired the World Northal catalog after they went bankrupt. One of my friends got cable in 1989, a few years before I was able to get cable. We were both Shaw Brothers fans, and like everyone else, decided we wanted to own Shaw Brothers movies a few months after our local station stopped airing them [ or any other Black Belt Theater film ]. The two channels my friend watched religiously were MTV and USA Network. The first time he mentioned they had Shaw Brothers was the Kung Fu June broadcasts. Prior to that there was no evidence USA Network ever aired anything from Shaw Brothers.

Then again, if "3 Evil Masters" was edited down to 65 minutes, then that suggests it was edited by USA Network and not World Northal. The World Northal edit of a Shaw Brothers film would have run about 107 minutes. The only shorter edit I can think of on a Black Belt Theater film that ran shorter than 90 minutes was "A Man Called Tiger" which clocks in at 70 minutes.

The real question is that if USA Network had the rights to show Shaw Brothers movies, then why would they air them so infrequently?

Also what the hell is Kung Fu Gold?

I have no idea. It was something Cinema Shares distributed. They most likely were the ones that came up with the name for the American release. The movie advertisement tells you nothing.....

......other than the film was "in color". This is the synopsis New York Times gives the movie, based on TV Guide listings...

Tze Lan is afforded top billing in Kung Fu Gold. The star is one of twelve men involved in a high-stakes treasure hunt. The prize is a fortune in gold ore, hidden somewhere in the hills bordering Hong Kong. The attrition rate of the goldseekers is astonishing, thanks to a series of violent confrontations. Filmed on location, Kung Fu Gold was evidently an American production; at least, it is so designated in most TV Guide listings. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

[mrHKmovie]

I saw Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth on Black Belt Theater many times, but don't remember seeing Bruce Lee His Last Days on Black Belt Theater.

[shaolinkng7]

I saw Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth on Black Belt Theater many times, but don't remember seeing Bruce Lee His Last Days on Black Belt Theater.

If you are talking about the New York City market, "Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth" aired only once on the Saturday afternoon time slot, January 11, 1986. "Bruce Lee: His Last Days, His Last Night" aired four times. It was the very first martial arts movie that WNEW-5 aired on May 2, 1981. It aired again January 9, 1982, and on March 5, 1983, and finally on December 10, 1983. The Saturday afternoon time slot on WNEW-5 was called "Drive-in Movie" Movies from the Black Belt Theater packages aired during Drive-in Theater, but then later the station acquired the broadcast rights to movies from Cinema Shares and alternated between Black Belt Theater and Cinema Shares films.

[dionbrother]

USA also aired DYNASTY OF BLOOD (BLOOD BROTHERS) in 1985. World Northal had just run it through their theatrical circuit the previous year. I don't think USA ever bought a Black Belt Theater package. As a major cable channel, they made a different licensing deal with World Northal. USA's Kung Fu Theater pre-dates Commander USA, and was at one point airing about 5 times during the weekend. The ratings were that good. I could swear there was a one-time airing of WARRIORS TWO, which would have been the only Golden Harvest title they aired. Kung Fu Theater was definitely USA's home grown creation, but they likely couldn't stop local channels from using the "Kung Fu Theater" name. It is fairly generic and tough to copyright. USA had their own unique animated intros, commercial bumpers and outros, with generic fortune cookie wisdom and an animated Bruce Lee from THE BIG BOSS.

[mrHKmovie]

If you are talking about the New York City market, "Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth" aired only once on the Saturday afternoon time slot, January 11, 1986. "Bruce Lee: His Last Days, His Last Night" aired four times. It was the very first martial arts movie that WNEW-5 aired on May 2, 1981. It aired again January 9, 1982, and on March 5, 1983, and finally on December 10, 1983. The Saturday afternoon time slot on WNEW-5 was called "Drive-in Movie" Movies from the Black Belt Theater packages aired during Drive-in Theater, but then later the station acquired the broadcast rights to movies from Cinema Shares and alternated between Black Belt Theater and Cinema Shares films.

No, I was talking about Philly. And although i don't remember seeing Bruce Lee his last days, that doesn't mean it never aired. I remember Bruce Lee the Man the Myth so well because it was a favorite of many of the kids in my neighborhood and we thought it was the "real" story of Bruce Lee.

[BaronK]

I don't know if that came on BBT. KF came on so many different channels over the years. Channel 65 and WTAF 29 were the first. Channel 48 and Channel 17 and USA network were the others aside from 57 later. Bruce Li flicks used to come on all of those channels.

[shaolinkng7]

USA's Kung Fu Theater pre-dates Commander USA, and was at one point airing about 5 times during the weekend. The ratings were that good.

I did not have cable in the 80s and did not even know about Kung Fu Theater until a few years ago when people started mentioning it on threads for Black Belt Theater. With no mention of it on Wikipedia, the only way to research it was through Google, which in turn lead me to some sites where members reminisced on the show. They seemed to remember it being part of the Commander USA program. You are the first to remember it as being a separate show. Also, the first person on the Internet to mention that the movies aired five times a weekend. Wow. I thought it was just Sunday after Wrestling. It would be nice to get a complete history of that show, and a complete list of every movie.

I could swear there was a one-time airing of WARRIORS TWO, which would have been the only Golden Harvest title they aired.

I myself have always wondered how Golden Harvest/Paragon syndicated their movies. WNEW-5 aired all five of Golden Harvest's Bruce Lee movies. [ including "Game of Death" and "Game of Death II" ]. the Bruce Lee tribute documentary "Bruce Lee: The Legend" and two Jackie Chan films, "Winners & Sinners" and "Young Master". But nothing else. The Bruce Lee movies aired in prime time. Something they never did with the Shaw Brothers movies. I assumed this was because they were Brice Lee films, and WNEW considered Lee a major star that appealed to more than the die hard martial arts fans. All of the Bruce Lee movies and the two Jackie Chan films would later air inside the Drive In Movie time slot. The only one that aired twice was "Winners & Sinners", everything else just once. Most Drive-in Movie films aired at least a few times, even the Shaw Brothers movies. The Golden Harvest films that aired through Black Belt Theater had multiple airings, each about three four times. Since Bruce Lee was considered the apex of the genre, why was his films shown so few times?

It would have to mean that Golden Harvest was offering a different syndication deal. I am not sure the films were offered as a package, but rather as individuals. The version of "Bruce Lee: The Legend" shown on WNEW was a re-edit. This version, which differed from the original theatrical release, had scenes from a lot of other Golden Harvest productions edited into it, such as "Warriors Two" and "Duel to the Death". I suspect the new version was really a tool to promote films Golden Harvest wanted to sell to television. And yet films like "Police Story", "Zu: Warriors of the Magic Mountain", "Project A" and "Prodigal Son" or any other Golden Harvest film aired on WNEW, outside of what World Northal offered.

Kung Fu Theater was definitely USA's home grown creation, but they likely couldn't stop local channels from using the "Kung Fu Theater" name. It is fairly generic and tough to copyright.

I read a few online articles and blogs that said Kung Fu Theater was syndicated and picked up by USA Network but also available across the country. My only doubt was that NYC never had a local Kung Fu Theater, nor did any of the movies from USA's Kung Fu Theater air on Drive-in Movie or Black Belt Theater. In 1983, midway through Fist of Fury Theater's brief run on Channel 11, Channel 9 decided they wanted to also air weekly martial arts movies. If Kung Fu Theater was available at the time then why didn't they acquire it? They went with two Hollywood produced ninja films instead, so that was probably all that was available to them at the time.

I read too many accounts here that now make me doubt that what aired on USA Network was a syndicated package, but rather they probably did spend the extra money to buy the rights to individual films, including some Shaw Brothers. Unfortunately the list I compiled of films that aired on USA's Kung Fu Theater mixed in a few films that aired on another Kung Fu Theater that ran on a San Fransisco television station. Both channels had the same film that overlapped, so it seemed as if they were working from the same package. Now that list is suspect. On the bright side, after reading that Kung Fu Theater was on several times a weekend instead of just the 1 PM Sunday slot, I was able to check my old TV guides and find two films not on my list. Here are the films I can confirm [ via TV Guide ] were on USA's Kung Fu Theater:

10/4/83 1pm Incredible Master Beggars ( 1980 ) Liang Hsiao, Ku Feng, Han Kuo Tsai

10/11/83 7pm Two Graves of Kung Fu ( 1980 ) Lau Ka Wing

10/9/84 1pm The Japanese Connection ( 1978 ) Cheun Lik, Hsia Wen, Yukio Fomeno

10/9/84 7pm Magnificent Wonderman From Shaolin ( 1979 ) Ying Hau, Chau Lin

10/15/85 1pm Flying Claw vs. 14 Demons ( 1981 ) Chia Ling, Kam Kang

No, I was talking about Philly. And although i don't remember seeing Bruce Lee his last days, that doesn't mean it never aired.

Two possibilities. If your local station never aired "Five Deadly Venoms" then it never purchased the first Black Belt Theater package that also had "Bruce Lee: His Last Days, His Last Nights". The second possibility is that your local station found something offensive about the movie and refused to air it. There were 7 movies in the Black Belt Theater package that WNEW-5 refused to air. None of them were Shaw Brothers though.

I remember Bruce Lee the Man the Myth so well because it was a favorite of many of the kids in my neighborhood and we thought it was the "real" story of Bruce Lee.

Probably the part where they said Bruce Lee faked his death and was going to return in 1983 was a giveaway that maybe this was mostly a work of fiction. This was one of many syndicated movies to depict Bruce Lee's death. In this one they show him dying in his sleep at Betty Ting Pei's house, but then follow that with an alternative death scene where some street punks beat him to death with pipes. "Bruce Lee: His Last Days, His Last Nights" also shows Bruce dying twice. The film opens with Bruce Lee ( played by Danny Lee ) quietly dying in his sleep at Betty Ting Pei's apartment while she is in the shower. After the funeral Betty ( played by herself in this film ) goes to a bar and tells the bartender her life story including how she met and had an affair with Bruce Lee. Only, for some reason her account ends with Bruce Lee in her apartment, grabbing his head and screaming how it hurts before falling on the bed and dying in front of a panicking Betty. Fist of Fury Theater killed Bruce Lee of in three films. In the biopic "Superdragon" he dies in his sleep at Betty's apartment while she is cooking diner. In "Bruce Lee: We Miss You" he is given a beating with a golf club by a thug, then mortally wounded, goes to Betty's apartment where he rolls around her bead in screaming in pain, even doing back flips in his agony, before finally dying. And in "Tru Game of Death" he dies in his own home, screaming in pain, after his wife is tricked into poisoning his tea. Aside from that there was "The Chinese Connection" where Bruce Lee plays a character that is shot to death at the end of the film, and "Game of Death II" where Bruce Lee's character is killed off early in the movie after he is shot then falls from a helicopter.

I don't know if that came on BBT. KF came on so many different channels over the years. Channel 65 and WTAF 29 were the first. Channel 48 and Channel 17 and USA network were the others aside from 57 later.

Were all those channels in the same market? Wow.

Bruce Li flicks used to come on all of those channels.

It was a combination of Brice Li working for cheap studios that in turn sold the broadcast rights to American distributors for cheap, and distributors thinking that Bruce Li had some name recognition where other actors like Alexander Fu Sheng were relatively unknown to American viewers.

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This thread has gone way off topic. This is suppose to be the Shaw Brothers forum after all. I would like to continue the discussion of the various martial arts packages that aired between 1980 and 1995, and if possible, compile a proper list of most ( if not all ) the movies in each package. The new thread can be found here.....

http://www.kungfucinema.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17928

[mrHKmovie]

Five Deadly Venoms aired plenty of times on Black Belt Theater in Philly (channel 29). Although I first saw Five Deadly Venoms in the theater, I never missed it on Black Belt Theater. Kung Fu movies were very popular in Philly, so it was great to be able to watch it on so many channels, but the best films aired on Black Belt Theater, in my mind. The one BIG exception is Super Ninjas, which aired on channel 57 after Black Belt Theater was off the air.

I'm sad to say that everything I thought I knew about Bruce Lee came from Bruce Lee: The Man the Myth up until Dragon: The Bruce Lee story came out.