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

[paimeifist]

1 hour ago, Duel to the Death said:

My favorite is Duel to the Death. The Ninja stuff is real crazy and over the top. But it only makes up for a portion of the movie. I don't know where it ranks on the list of ninja movies but it's in my top 3 favorite movies. 

I like that movie too but it’s so different than Ninja in the Dragons Den I wouldn’t really compare them.

 

Duel to the Death is a wild effects heavy wuxia flick.

 

Ninja in the Dragons Den is a classic kung fu comedy with amazing fighting!

[ShawAngela]

Yesterday, I watched the English subbed version I found on youku of Blooded Treasury Fight. This movie is a real enjoyment for me ; I already watched it maybe 4th or 5th times, but I never get tired of it. I had totally forgotten that Tan Tao Liang had faked his wound with the wolf trap !

And I wonder if this movie is cut : Fan Mei Sheng is asked by Tan Tao Liang to "join the party" at the beginning of the movie, and then, we only see him when he is killed and he doesn't have even a fight during the movie ! So, what was the point of asking him to be a part of the mission ?!

I also rewatched Dragon inn 1967 and realized that I had forgotten a lot of what was going on in this movie. It was a nice rewatch. And Sit Hon plays a good guy, for once...What a change with his role of a very bad guy in Rage of the master !

[saltysam]

Mission For The Dragon

Dragon Lee is looking for his father's killer, there's also people wanting to kill him.Reasonable Godfrey Ho effort with a bizzare finale where baddie Carter Wong dons sunglasses for the fight then midway through changes into a red ninja outfit.The new German DVD from Asia Line is english dubbed and widescreen, print a bit rough in spots.

Edited August 9, 2020 by saltysam

[Liersi]

Another Tommy Lee joint: The Hot, the Cool and the Vicious (1976). You all know this one. My first Tommy decades ago, so I had to rewatch it for context. For some reason I thought this wouldn't fit my narrative of Tommy Lee the fight storyteller who builds up the action through character. But my memory was all from the finale! The film fits the Tommy vibe perfectly: only fights as they fit the characters and story. Choreography as the art of physical storytelling, on the same level as dialogue. Build it up, let the audience want it. And then deliver! Oh, and use a weird weapon. Always a weird weapon with this guy. And tandem fights. And since the man himself is in it, you know he's going to be crippled, disfigured, ugly, or all of the above. Here he's all of the above, with his signature hunchback, a bad limp and a face so deathly pale only a dead grandmother could love him. In other words: beautiful. You all know the story, classic Eastwood Western stuff with "single leg" Tan Daoliang and "no leg" Wang Dao in the lead. You know there's no justice in the world when once more Gao Fei and Jia Kai feature in bit parts where they get their sphincters repositioned by lesser screen fighters. Shame.

In my mind the film was a fight fest, but it isn't at all. Like Along Comes a Tiger or The Dumb Ox it's a character piece, and the fighting gradually builds up as the dialogue escalates. There are beautifully narative fights here, like the yard duel between Tan and Wang, where the camera clearly shows us they're holding back, but no one notices. There's a point where Wang taps Tan on the back during an attack, a classic training nod that you have found an opening and could have hit your buddy for real. Tan looks at him and knows. Or the tacit acknowledgement during the finale, for which our heroes have no strategy. So they start losing, because they attack in turn. Tommy is quick to see their weaknesses: one is all fists and no feet, the other all feet and no fists. So he mantis punches Tan and kicks Wang. Only when the two realise they have to become one do they have a chance. Way ahead of its time for 1976. The timing and crispness isn't always there, that's where the vintage shows. But the camera work, the attention to detail and the fight logic and narrative really reached an early peak here before the technical age hit the silver screen.

[paimeifist]

Finally watched Drunken Master all the way through. 
 

It is a timeless classic. Jackie’s charismatic performance really shines through, and helps me see why the many films that it influenced couldn’t replicate its success. The overall quality of the film is just a cut above other classic kung fu comedies in almost every department. There are some films with better fighting, but overall, I don’t think any similar film is as good as this. The acting isn’t over done, Dean Sheks role is kept small, and Simon Yuen’s character is much more like able. The story manages to feel fairly fresh and avoid some of the typical genre plot devices.

 

With that said fighting is still very good, and Hwang Jang Lee is in top form, even if I would’ve liked to see him in action just a tad more.

 

I watched this on the Hong Kong Rescue Blu Ray from @jrodefeld. The quality was fantastic and I couldn’t be happier with it. I look forward to revisiting it with the several different audio tracks.

 

 

[sym8]

18 hours ago, paimeifist said:

Finally watched Drunken Master all the way through. 

What?If I was a moderator of this here website I would demote you to Bronzeman guard😜.An all time classic but I still prefer S.I.T.E.S.for me more of a fun all round film.I hope you’ve seen D.M.2,please say you have👍

[Liersi]

After rewatching Tommy Lee's seminal The Hot, the Cool and the Vicious for context, I had to do the same for The Secret Rivals (1976). HKMDB doesn't list a premiere date for The Hot, the Cool and the Vicious, so I don't know which one was made first. As Wang Dao haedlines both I doubt they were shot concurrently. Either way, they are both very different and very similar. THTCTV feels much more like Tommy's baby all the way through, with the martial arts becoming a form of physical dialogue. The Secret Rivals has Ng See-yuen's trademark tournament feel and combat structure. Here people talk to talk, and they fight only to display physical prowess, power and dominance. There's little in the way of character detail and a lot of physical detail, compared to other Tommy Lee joints. I had no memory of the fights being so heavy on fast power moves and so light on technique. Maybe that's why the film seems to occupy its own space in a way. It's unlike other kung fu films in the way it's obsessed with displaying real physicality (unlike many bashers with their almost symbolic physicality). Wang Dao and John Liu spend as much time flexing and punching air as they do fighting. Even Huang Zhengli gets a sequence where he demonstarates forms, which in this film consist of kicking air like a tasmanian devil. The fights are all short and to the point, more Bruce Lee than basher, except that Tommy Lee helped choreo this. Watching it, I kept wondering how much of it he choreographed. Instead of acrobatics, this is all power and speed. These kids kick and punch like they're shooting guns! There's none of the elegant fencing fu here. Wang Dao also kicks, and John Liu also punches. Everybody jump kicks everybody. Wang Dao gets some great height on his jumps. As you can tell, the film is a physical showcase unencumbered by complicated plotting or detailed techniques. This reduces the need for complex timing and technique in favour of speed and power, and here Wang Dao does well, as does Huang Zhengli. John Liu is used extremely well here with all his shortcomings and talents. I admire how well this film knows what it wants to show, and what works well on screen. It's surpsisingly not at all a showcase of great kung fu, but of impactful screen fighting. Tommy uses the same gimmick here he uses in THTCTV, where two fighters have to combine into a tandem team to overcome a superior opponent. So there's a little complexity here, but only briefly. If Tommy was present for all of it and not just the finale, someone else had a say. HKMDB lists Richard Zhang Quan (Cheung Kuen) as the other choreographer. I enjoeyed this one, not for being better or worse, but for being different in its priorities. I love me some speed and power. Only the very best could do speed, power AND complexity (Sammo et al), and that was yet to come in '76. So hats off to this one. If the intricate kung fu could be called fencing fu, this could be called power fu.

[TibetanWhiteCrane]

THTCATV was an unofficial sequel or more like a rebuttal of sorts to SR.... Wong Tao felt Ng See Yuen screwed him over so he didn't wanna return in part 2 and did THTCATV instead.

[Liersi]

3 hours ago, TibetanWhiteCrane said:

THTCATV was an unofficial sequel or more like a rebuttal of sorts to SR.... Wong Tao felt Ng See Yuen screwed him over so he didn't wanna return in part 2 and did THTCATV instead.

Thank you for this piece of information. That explains his absence in the sequel It also explains the proximity in the triangle setup where two heroes have to literally hold hands to tandem the big bad. Otherwise I find them very different affairs, but of course that perspective heavily skews towards choreography. Their attitudes (Western themes, Western styles, Western music and Western titles) are certainly similar. I wonder how Tommy Lee came to make the transition with Wang Dao. Everyone else stayed on, but choreo switched to the Yuan clan in the sequel.

Edited August 11, 2020 by Liersi
clarity

[TibetanWhiteCrane]

I think Wang Tao and Tommy were friends or at least friendly at the time, working on many late 70's efforts together.... even though Wang stated Tommy was lazy and unethusiastic, though  that may just have pertained to Along Came A Tiger where Wang, as producer, hired him to do action.

[paimeifist]

Hitman in the Hand of Buddha

The story was actually pretty decent if not inventive, with some dark stuff happening and some very unlikable villains. Hwang Jang Lee did okay as the lead, but it is clearly not his strong suit. With that said, his menacing face fit the awful things happening to his character pretty well.

 

The action was alright. There were a few bursts of excellence from Legendary Super Kicker Hwang Jang Lee, but that was the exception. It was interesting that Hwang got to use his hands more than any other movie I’ve seen him in, but that’s all it really was - interesting. Outside of the few signature displays of kicking, the fighting was just okay. In general it was very over choreographed - with the first fight between Hwang and Tino Wong possibly being the best (or worst?) example of over-choreographed fighting I’ve ever seen. To end this section on a positive note, the film did feature one of Hwangs best triple flying kicks in the end fight.

The scene where Hwangs character hangs Tino Wong by his feet over a bucket of water with a sandbag as a counter weight to hold him up, and then kicks a hole in the sandbag and walks off as the sand starts pouring out was the definition of bad ass. 
 

A decent movie. Not highly recommended, but you could do far worse, and well worth seeing for fans of HJL.

[DragonClaws]

21 hours ago, paimeifist said:

Hitman in the Hand of Buddha

The story was actually pretty decent if not inventive, with some dark stuff happening and some very unlikable villains. Hwang Jang Lee did okay as the lead, but it is clearly not his strong suit. With that said, his menacing face fit the awful things happening to his character pretty well.

 

It's been awhile since I viewed this one, dont we get to see some staff skills from HJL in the finale?.

[paimeifist]

1 hour ago, DragonClaws said:

 

It's been awhile since I viewed this one, dont we get to see some staff skills from HJL in the finale?.

He did, it was solid, but didn’t really stand out to me.

[Drunken Monk]

Green Dragon Inn (1977) - Something tells me I should have liked this one. The concept was really cool and simple and some of the action (mostly the empty handed stuff) was pretty good. But I think I was distracted and I was watching a horrible full screen print that feels like it had massive sections of picture cut off on either side.

With all that said, it was fine. Nothing to scream from the rooftops about and certainly not one I'll revisit but an average watch.

[DrNgor]

2 minutes ago, Drunken Monk said:

With all that said, it was fine. Nothing to scream from the rooftops about and certainly not one I'll revisit but an average watch.

I did like it when the bad guys try to storm the inn, only to get impaled by the tables with the swords sticking out of them.

[Drunken Monk]

Just now, DrNgor said:

I did like it when the bad guys try to storm the inn, only to get impaled by the tables with the swords sticking out of them.

I liked that bit too. There were some good bits but nothing really stoked a fire in me.

[ShawAngela]

On 8/11/2020 at 12:36 PM, Liersi said:

kicking air like a tasmanian devil.

I imagine Hwang Jang Lee as Taz !!

I love your humor in your comments !!

And it's nice to have you on board, your comments are always very interesting and you explore all the faces of a movie when you write.

Thanks for sharing your views.

[ukrevrend]

The Phantom Killer 1981 W/S 

Starring: Wei Pai, Eddy Kao, Chung Fat, Tien Peng, Lee Hoi-Sang, JoJo Chan & Nora Tsang.

Directed by Stanley Fung               Action Director: Billy Chan

I would class this as more of a murder mystery / action drama than an out & out kung fu movie! With twists, suspense and a little horror being the major drive for the movie, the kung fu is secondary, but don't let that put you off, as the fights we do get, are few, but really good.   The stand out performer for me is Nora Tsang, it's a cameo, but she looks great when squaring up to a couple of thugs.  All the 'name brand' above get to show off their kung fu abilities, with Billy Chang keeping his choreography fast and powerful, even Tien Peng gets to bust some moves.

All in all this is well thought out movie with a very good script, that will have you wondering and guessing who the Phantom Killer is.........?

4/5

Bless

  

[Liersi]

10 minutes ago, ukrevrend said:

All the 'name brand' above

'name brand', that's good. All those off-brand mimes. Like an off-brand speaker that's really good and makes you wonder why more people aren't talking about it. Off-brand heroes lol.

[ShawAngela]

I just watched When Hell broke loose.

And it's only three minutes before the end that I finally understood that the monk's name was Mulian and that if he was in Hell, it was in order to save his mother...Why was she there ? It's a mystery...And what is the link between Mulian's story and the rest of the movie involving Wen Chiang Lung in a very bad guy role (the first one I see him in, unless I'm mistaken...) and Yu Tien Lung, except that at a moment, Wen Chiang Lung becomes Mulian's servant ?...Another mystery...

But all in all, it was a nice movie, with several good fights.

[Liersi]

Another new 88 Films relaease: Dragon Lord (1982). It's too bad they couldn't release The Young Master as well, because now I'm dying to rewatch it in good quality. These films are all different than I remember them. A lot less kung fu than you'd think! Here there's almost none left. There's no traditional kung fu of any kind, simply because Jackie and his good friend Mars have skipped all classes and posess no advanced skills. Instead they have attitude to spare, and brains the size of very small birds. Dragon Lord plays like a film that wasn't meant to be an entry in the classic fu cannon, but a modern day farce. Extended sports sequences and comedic hijinx crowd out all possibility for a fight, and when the finale happens, it's all angry fu, general athleticism and Jackie's trademark stubborn refusal to die. Lots of power, though, as poor stuntmen are brutally whipped across rooms like cannonballs. You can tell Jackie's heart was everywhere but kung fu. Reportedly overshot and then edited down, the plot is a mess without real direction. There's Chen Huimin (Chan Wai Man) as a smuggler who valiantly refuses to smuggle Chinese antiques, Whang In Sik as his boss, and just about everyone you know in bit parts scattered across the film. There's an entire shuttlecock match in there, completely random, people surface and disappear without rhyme or reason, and the only thing holding it all together is that Jackie and Mars somehow stumble into everything. Yeah, this is like they were shooting a different movie, maybe two, and then had to come up with a device to cobble it all together. Thankfully there are a lot of individually great ideas in the film, they just don't flow together. It's still a treasure trove of fun if you don't mind the scattershot plotting and the mood swings. It has Jackie perennial favourite topic of Chinese antiques being smuggled, some great early visual gags and some truly brutal stuntwork. It's also genuinely funny in parts! Every time the two dads get super angry, and Jackie, Mars and their respective servants (they're rich kids) look away in shame had me laughing. The ending bit is the best! How they hide behind the wall and then come in like a pair of nuclear zombies It's also a nice love letter to Mars, who does well as Jackie's equal. More of a dry run for Project A than classic fu, but Whang In Sik makes sure it earns its place in this category.

[TibetanWhiteCrane]

24 minutes ago, Liersi said:

It's too bad they couldn't release The Young Master

Dec 7.

 

[sym8]

12 hours ago, Liersi said:

Another new 88 Films relaease: Dragon Lord (1982). It's too bad they couldn't release The Young Master as well, because now I'm dying to rewatch it in good quality. These films are all different than I remember them. A lot less kung fu than you'd think! Here there's almost none left. There's no traditional kung fu of any kind, simply because Jackie and his good friend Mars have skipped all classes and posess no advanced skills. Instead they have attitude to spare, and brains the size of very small birds. Dragon Lord plays like a film that wasn't meant to be an entry in the classic fu cannon, but a modern day farce. Extended sports sequences and comedic hijinx crowd out all possibility for a fight, and when the finale happens, it's all angry fu, general athleticism and Jackie's trademark stubborn refusal to die. Lots of power, though, as poor stuntmen are brutally whipped across rooms like cannonballs. You can tell Jackie's heart was everywhere but kung fu. Reportedly overshot and then edited down, the plot is a mess without real direction. There's Chen Huimin (Chan Wai Man) as a smuggler who valiantly refuses to smuggle Chinese antiques, Whang In Sik as his boss, and just about everyone you know in bit parts scattered across the film. There's an entire shuttlecock match in there, completely random, people surface and disappear without rhyme or reason, and the only thing holding it all together is that Jackie and Mars somehow stumble into everything. Yeah, this is like they were shooting a different movie, maybe two, and then had to come up with a device to cobble it all together. Thankfully there are a lot of individually great ideas in the film, they just don't flow together. It's still a treasure trove of fun if you don't mind the scattershot plotting and the mood swings. It has Jackie perennial favourite topic of Chinese antiques being smuggled, some great early visual gags and some truly brutal stuntwork. It's also genuinely funny in parts! Every time the two dads get super angry, and Jackie, Mars and their respective servants (they're rich kids) look away in shame had me laughing. The ending bit is the best! How they hide behind the wall and then come in like a pair of nuclear zombies It's also a nice love letter to Mars, who does well as Jackie's equal. More of a dry run for Project A than classic fu, but Whang In Sik makes sure it earns its place in this category.

I think this was intended to be a sequel to The Young Master until he just lost his way in terms of story and the time he was taking to shoot it,loved the finale though.Remeber seeing it back in the day for the first time and thinking it was a refreshing change from what we were used to in terms of choreography.

[DrNgor]

Revisited a few Taiwanese bashers:

The Big Fight (1972) - Roc Tien Peng was almost like the Taiwanese Jimmy Wang Yu, before Jimmy Wang Yu set up shop in Taiwan, with his questionable skills and lack of leading man looks. This is a violent and sleazy film, and probably one of the earliest films to capitalize on the success and themes of Fist of Fury (it left theaters a week before Hap Ki Do reached theaters).

Infernal Street (1973) -  Another Taiwanese anti-Japanese film starring Yu Tien-Lung, who also choreographed. The film was released in May 1973, about two months before Bruce died. And yet, the film is obviously exploiting Fist of Fury, both in its anti-Japanese themes and in Yu Tien-Lung's portrayal of the protagonist, which has Bruce Lee's Chen Zhen written all over it. The fighting is very much early 70s basher, although you can tell Yu Tien_lung has some real, if untapped, talent.

[TibetanWhiteCrane]

1 hour ago, DrNgor said:

and probably one of the earliest films to capitalize on the success and themes of Fist of Fury (it left theaters a week before Hap Ki Do reached theaters).

Though was FOF really responsible for the Japan-bashing wave in the way most people seem to think? Jimmy had already done it in a few films (Chinese Boxer, Furious Slaughter), Chor Yuen did it in The Killer, Chang Cheh had done it in The Angry Guest and King Boxer opened about a month after FOF so obviously already in the can. I'm not disputing that FOF wasn't partially responsible for the popularization of the China VS Japan theme that "plagued"  the genre in the early 70's, but I think it rode the wave more than started it. Of course one can say that the battle lines were more defined in FOF as it dealt with the actual Japanese occupation whereas most earlier examples had Japanese-for-hire fighters brought in by local villains. Anyways, just my thoughts.

Edited August 15, 2020 by TibetanWhiteCrane