What was the last classic martial-arts film you watched?

[DrNgor]

4 minutes ago, Drunken Monk said:

epic soundtrack.

 

9 minutes ago, Drunken Monk said:

Hwang Jang Lee's spinny rods of death.

Those are known as "Emei piercers". They also show up in Knife of Devil's Roraring and Soul Missing, which I recommended.

[Drunken Monk]

53 minutes ago, DrNgor said:

Those are known as "Emei piercers". They also show up in Knife of Devil's Roraring and Soul Missing, which I recommended.

I’m shocked that they’re real. I don’t even understand how they’re used. Time to fall down a rabbit hole.

[Drunken Monk]

This afternoon, I followed suit and watched New South Hand and North Kick Blows aka Secret Rivals 3.

I'm asking this question in all seriousness. I'm genuinely wondering: Is there a movie with more fight scenes than this one? There are easily over ten in this film. I want to revisit it one day and count them all. It's pretty much nonstop shapes.

The plot isn't much to celebrate. John Liu's brother is murdered with Alexander Lou's knife. Liu blames Lou. Lou tells Liu he didn't murder his brother. Liu tries to track down the killer. In the midst of all this, Chin Lung plays an awkward bumpkin wishing to learn kung fu. His side-plot is a bit tedious but it does make way for more fight scenes so it's easily forgiven.
Watching these fights was rather nice as it was Robert Tai choreography that wasn't sped up like crazy. It's really nice stuff. He might not utilize John Liu's legs as much as some people but after watch Secret Rivals and Secret Rivals 2 it was cool to see Liu using his hands more.

Since Chang Hsin-Yi directed this ans Lady Constables (which I thoroughly enjoyed), I have to watch some of his other movies now. Maybe Incredible Kung Fu Mission, Shaolin Ex Monk and Snake in the Eagle's Shadow 2 need to be added to my list.

I only have one negative thing to say about this film. As each fight scene involves amazing choreography, there isn't really any standout fights until the finale. But the last fight involves Robert Tai himself so it's definitely worthy of note.
Be aware, however, that the Wu Tang Collection's version on YouTube definitely has some sound sync issues. It really takes away from some of the fights.

This one may not be a quintessential classic, but if you want to watch an hour and a half of straight up fight scenes, you could do much worse.

[DrNgor]

3 minutes ago, Drunken Monk said:

Watching these fights was rather nice as it was Robert Tai choreography that wasn't sped up like crazy. It's really nice stuff. He might not utilize John Liu's legs as much as some people but after watch Secret Rivals and Secret Rivals 2 it was cool to see Liu using his hands more.

Have these recent viewings of John Liu films (Dragon the Hero; the Secret Rivals films; Instant Kung Fu Man) increased your respect for him as a screen fighter? Or do you still dismiss him as a one-trick pony?

[Drunken Monk]

2 hours ago, DrNgor said:

Have these recent viewings of John Liu films (Dragon the Hero; the Secret Rivals films; Instant Kung Fu Man) increased your respect for him as a screen fighter? Or do you still dismiss him as a one-trick pony?

I’ve definitely warmed up to him. More than I thought I would. He’ll never be my favourite on screen fighter and I do wish he had more variation in his kicks but, when he has a good fight choreographer behind him, he can do some pretty decent work.

[sym8]

The Challenger-1979

The Loot-1980

Both Directed by Eric Tsang

Both Starring David Chiang,Norman Chu,Ko Fei,Lily Li

Two great films directed by Eric Tsang(he of the Lucky Stars) both produced by Lo Wei(he of Fist Of Fury etc),and with both films starring pretty much the same cast and having the same choreographer we get not one fun filled shapes movie but two.Everybody shines,even David Chiang in terms of Kung fu looks great(a little bit annoying in the loot though)and Ko Fei is fantastic as ever.My favourite of the two would be The Loot because of the more intricate story and the fact you get Kwan Young-Moon unleashing his great boot work,for me he is one of the great kickers(not just because he can kick but they look powerful).A great double bill.👍👍👍👍

 

[fabhui]

The Magnificent Butcher

Seen it numerous times on VHS, various DVD releases and now on blu ray that was put out by Eureka.

It's always been a favourite of mine and this blu ray release is absolutely stunning.

My favourite fight in the movie is Sammo vs Chung Fat, who has some crazy skills!

Edited June 6, 2020 by fabhui

[Duel to the Death]

Sleeping Fist and Thundering Mantis Sleeping Fist is the worst of the 2. It's just an alternate take on the Drunken Style but not as good. And that kid is so annoying. I wonder why when they double Yuen Siu-tien they choose someone who's skinnier than him, and 10 times faster. 

Thundering Mantis is a little better. I like the bad guy even though his dubbed voice is so ridiculous lol. But return of the annoying kid. Both have comedy that isn't the best.  The end fight scene is real good and entertaining but ridiculous at the same time. 

I'm a fan of Leung Kar-yan but he's done better movies. He's great in Knockabout and The Victim and good in Legend of a Fighter. Not sure what else he's in i need to see. I do have Dreadnaught in my watch list. 

Edited June 7, 2020 by Duel to the Death

[Duel to the Death]

Ninja in the Deadly Trap Very fun movie with lot's of action. And i always liked the Ninja stuff like in Duel to the Death. Too bad the version i seen on Youtube wasn't the best quality and dubbed. I seen another one on there with burned in hard to read subtitles and the so called original audio didn't sound right either like it was re-dubbed. And with the little bit of searching i did it looks like there isn't a good quality version of this on dvd out there. Which is a shame because i would consider buying a copy. 

[Drunken Monk]

Call Me Dragon (1974) - I'm not entirely sure why but I was expecting more from this one. It ended up being mostly dull with far too much tedious comedy. The fight scenes, while excellent at times, were pretty repetitive and Bruce Leung came across as far too overpowered. He just kicked the shit out of everyone in three seconds flat. I wanted more trading of blows.

And that's why the final fight scene is so enjoyable. Bruce fights Yasuaki Kurata and they trade moves, climb buildings, use weapons etc. It's all here. Kurata's such a great on screen fighter. I need to seek out more of his lesser known movies. Bruce is a dab hand with the nunchucks too.

I'm okay with not liking this one. It just wasn't what I was looking for. 

[DrNgor]

26 minutes ago, Drunken Monk said:

The fight scenes, while excellent at times, were pretty repetitive and Bruce Leung came across as far too overpowered. He just kicked the shit out of everyone in three seconds flat. I wanted more trading of blows.

I like Bruce Leung Siu-Lung, and he's a great kicker. No two doubts about it. But his early/mid 70s work *is* repetitive, especially if you watch several of his films in a row, like I did a couple of weeks ago. I'm sure that after 1977, when shapes became the thing all around, his started varying his choreography more. That said, I do like Call Me Dragon a lot.

[ShawAngela]

23 minutes ago, DrNgor said:

I'm sure that after 1977, when shapes became the thing all around, his started varying his choreography more.

if I'm not mistaken, it's what happens in 10 tigers from Shaolin, and in his ATV series too.

[Drunken Monk]

Incredible Kung Fu Mission (1979) - I can watch Robert Tai fight John Liu all day. In fact, I'm pretty sure I can watch Robert Tai fight anyone all day. This one is a pretty solid kung fu comedy. A lot of it is played for laughs but once it gets beyond the halfway point, the real shapes come out and it ramps up the entertainment. Does the comedy always entertain? Certainly not. But it's not super annoying or anything.
The fights build and build until the finale...and then there's a SECRET FINALE! John Liu takes on Alan Chui. This is an insane twist as it dismisses the entire film but this is a kung fu movie so I have no complaints.

A nice little film. It won't blow your Robert Tai blonde wig off but it's a lot of fun.

[ShawAngela]

I just finished to watch The dynamite trio.

The fights are excellent, and once again, Lung Fei plays his bad guy very well !

[DrNgor]

35 minutes ago, Drunken Monk said:

In fact, I'm pretty sure I can watch Robert Tai fight anyone all day.

He plays a Spider Villain of sorts in Challenge of the Lady Ninja, which Peng Kong of Shaolin vs. Lama fame choreographed. I think you'd have to be in a goofy ninja mood for that, though.

[Drunken Monk]

Ten Shaolin Disciples - This is not a movie to have on in the background. Nor is it a movie to step away from for ten minutes. I do not have a single clue what this was about. I know there’s a valuable statue...and nuns...and that’s about it. I was bamboozled for 85% of the film.

There are some nice fights in this one though. Shapes, bootwork, undercranking done well. But it’s not worth sitting through to get to them. Also, for some weird reason, the movie’s melodramatic score plays over the action. Odd choice.

I don’t have much to say about this one. I can’t say I enjoyed it.

[Shaolivevil]

On 6/6/2020 at 11:28 PM, Duel to the Death said:

Ninja in the Deadly Trap Very fun movie with lot's of action. And i always liked the Ninja stuff like in Duel to the Death. Too bad the version i seen on Youtube wasn't the best quality and dubbed. I seen another one on there with burned in hard to read subtitles and the so called original audio didn't sound right either like it was re-dubbed. And with the little bit of searching i did it looks like there isn't a good quality version of this on dvd out there. Which is a shame because i would consider buying a copy. 

Yes, NINJA IN THE DEADLY TRAP is another film in a long list of films that I hope one day will be restored...

[Drunken Monk]

10 Magnificent Killers - A messy and convoluted film essentially just trying to give us fight after fight. I didn’t care for the plot much at all.

Also, this film felt like it had three fight choreographers: one focused on classic shapes, one dedicated to Korean style boot work and slick bashed-like movements and one who just choreographed sloppy comedy fights. It’s very uneven in the action department.

The good fights are truly excellent though. Once again, I find myself enamored by Bolo’s ability to throw crisp as fuck shapes. I need to watch Writing Kung Fu soon, I think. That’s a Bolo shapes movie, right?

Chaing Tao turns up for a stand out performance too. Even if it is brief.

Good but not great. Some fights are truly fantastic while others disappoint.

EDIT: I just looked this up on HKMDB and there were four fights choreographers! Including Bolo himself.

Edited June 9, 2020 by Drunken Monk

[ShawAngela]

Today, I watched :

The end of the black : I got a french language official dvd release. I wonder if it's cut, because it seems to me that I had already watched it years ago and there is something strange : Hsu Feng (the country girl, not the prostitute ; she plays two roles, here) runs in the town, and suddenly, she is talking with the patriach of a family who tells her that she'll have to be confident in his grandson, and we see the boy  climbing between two walls (like Tan Tao Liang in Return of the hero of the waterfront, if I'm not mistaken), spied by a girl who works for the guy who escaped from jail at the beginning of the movie, and then, the girl does the same, and we never see both of them again, but it seems to me that I remember that the first time I watched it, the little boy was killed...

Mantis fist and tiger claws of shaolin : strange movie, though the plot is not nonsensical, but the fights are SO good ! John Chang is on my list of favorite actors since a while, and it was good to see him here. Chang Li has just a small role, too bad...

 

[DrNgor]

The Swordsman of All Swordsman (Taiwan, 1968: Joseph Kuo) – Much of the world was in an uproar at the time the film was released, on October 6^th. The United States was up to its neck in the Vietnam War, having dealt with the Tet Offensive, the infamous My Lay Massacre (among others), and increasing opposition on the homefront. The Pullitzer Prize-winning photograph of the South Vietnamese military officer executing a Viet Cong officer in the street didn’t help things, either. Speaking of executions, that year also saw the assassinations of both Robert Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., not to mention John Gordon Mein, an American ambassador who was murdered in the streets of Guatemala.

                Little of this is seen in The Swordsman of Swordsmen, a rather conventional wuxia film about revenge. A group of baddies led by Yun Zhongjun (prolific actor Tsao Chien, who played the owner of the titular locale in Dragon Inn) massacres the Cai household, stealing the family’s prized sword and leaving only the son, Cai Yingjie (Taiwanese regular “Roc” Tien Peng), alive. Cai grows up to be a master swordsman and hunts down his family’s killers, one by one. Along the way he meets a swordswomen, Flying Swallow (Polly Shang Kuan Ling Feng, in her sophomore effort), who’ll influence his mission in ways he doesn’t imagine.

                So if King Hu was the John Ford of kung fu cinema, than Joseph Kuo would be the Delmer Daves, a freelancer who frequently wrote and produced his films, in addition to directing them. Once he took his place directing martial arts films in the late 60s, Kuo could be generally depended on to fill his films with rip-snorthing action, while throwing a few wrinkles into conventional martial arts movie stories. In this movie, for example, we have the full set-up for a typical wuxia tragic ending, especially once we learn about Flying Swallow and her relation to the villains. The film goes barreling forward at full speed to a downbeat conclusion, but then pointedly does not do that. Instead, we have a series of decisions made by our hero in which he earns his title (i.e. the film’s title) not just by ruthlessly cutting down everybody in sight (although he does a lot of that), but by exercising mercy and restraint as well.

                The action was a lot more satisfying here than it was in the two King Hu movies I talked about. Do not expect a lot from Polly Kuan, who was still training at this point. Nonetheless, the fight choreographers Shek Chee-Bun (The Gallant Knights and The Buddhist Spiritual Palm) and Pan Yao-Kun (who worked on King Hu’s A Touch of Zen) up the pace of the action. The one-on-one duels resemble those seen in Hollywood swashbucklers and are more energetic than Han Ying-Chieh’s Peking Opera approach to screen combat. Most of the action, however, is Roc Tien taking down a dozen men at a time whenever he confronts one of his targets. There are a few exaggerated moments, like Roc Tien catching a knife between his teeth and throwing it at an opponent several feet away. But for 1968, the action was fairly solid.

[Duel to the Death]

Bolo aka Bolo The Brute aka Fists of Justice What a terrible but awesome movie. This is like the Dumb & Dumber of Kung Fu movies. The jokes are so awful but i'm laughing out loud at them. It's an awful movie, but i love it. It's a guilty pleasure. If you want a good laugh, read this review someone left on imdb.  

https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1308580/?ref_=tt_urv

[Drunken Monk]

Kung Fu Executioner - I nonsensical plot makes way for fights scenes seemingly out of nowhere. If there were more of them I’d be happy but the amount of action didn’t justify the full story.

With all that said, I do very much enjoyed Billy Chong and Eugene Thomas. I may have to move onto Sun Dragon next.

There are excellent fights in this one but it’s a meandering mess. Some solid nunchaku and tonfa stuff too!

[Duel to the Death]

Wang Yu King of the Boxers Great movie, non stop action. There were times where scenes start and end very abruptly like it's been edited to death over the years. One of the only downsides was you could tell those rocks at the end were fake and thy didn't even try to make them look real. lol

Jimmy Wang Yu does more of an old school street fighting style of kung fu. His charisma makes up for it. Always entertaining.  The fight on the train was really cool and out of nowhere. I would like to see an uncut version in Chinese with Subtitles. 

[ShawAngela]

Today's movies :

Damager : nice story about a Chinese acupuncturist. Does anyone know of an aka of this movie ? I thought that it was Chinese kung fu and acupuncture, but a quick look to hkmdb showed me that it's not the same movie : the cast isn't the same as the one mentioned on my box (which has a very unrelated to the movie cover art) and the pictures don't show the same actors either...

Green Dragon Inn : I can't believe that I hadn't watched this movie as yet since I bought it 10 years ago !! WHAT A GREAT MOVIE !! I enjoyed it a lot !! And Yueh Hua is excellent !! Lo Lieh is mentioned first in the cast on hkmdb, but he doesn't have much to do (only two fights) and Shan Kuan Ling Fung is here too !

Does anyone can tell me if the picture I show here is really the very last picture of the movie, please ?

Sorry, I wanted to show the picture as a spoiler, but it seems that I didn't do what was right...

Spoiler

 

 

Edited June 10, 2020 by ShawAngela

[Duel to the Death]

Deadly Life of a Ninja Not a good movie. This was rough to sit through. Terrible acting and fighting. You can tell they had no budget and trying make a quick buck. Even the Ninja stuff was lackluster. And i like good ninja stuff (like Duel to the Death). Even having Chen Kuan-tai and Yasuaki Kurata could not save it. Some of the worst wire work ever.