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

[paimeifist]

@Killer Meteor Thanks for running that down man! I skipped through it and watched the fight with Lo Lieh! Was a decent scrap, but I can see how it wouldn’t make the cut if they had to shave some time off of the movie.

[venom10463]

Dragon Inn

Out of King Hu's films I've seen, Dragon Inn is my least favorite. The storyline doesn't draw me in like Fate of Lee Khan, Legend of the Mountain, and A Touch of Zen. Polly Shang Kuan looks like a different person before her surgery. I honestly prefer how she looked in Dragon Inn.

[DragonClaws]

On 11/18/2020 at 2:36 PM, paimeifist said:

I have seen Mang Fei in supporting roles in several films, but he never stood out to me. While he isn’t the athletic Lee Yi-Min who we often get to see taking on Mark Long, he is pretty impressive in this. I’d be interested in seeing more of him as a lead.

 

I was impressed with Meng Fei in Unbeaten 28(1980), he's also pretty good in Ways of Kung Fu(1978) & Eunuch of The Western Palace(1979). The latter being quite dark and serious production. I've only caught a handful of his starring roles. Most of the stuff I've seen him he plays a secondary role to the main hero.

[Killer Meteor]

I really liked Meng Fei in PRODIGAL BOXER and SECRET OF SHAOLIN POLES. I prefer his Fong Sai-yuk to Fu Sheng's.

[DragonClaws]

On 11/11/2020 at 11:39 AM, saltysam said:

Secret Ninja

Dragon Lee turns up late to a tournament ,where the best fighter gets to marry the rich millionares daughter.They let him fight anyway,he wins but must go off to clear the marriage with his kung fu master. From there the plot gets convoluted in a way Godfrey Ho is a master of, Dragon teams up with another fighter and a girl and after some shenaginans they head off to rescue the girl he's marrying,who by now has been kidnapped by Ninjas led by baddie Hwang Jang Lee. Unfortunately Hwang doesn't cut loose until the end two on one fight and there's some really painfully unfunny comedy here, it's a passable enough 80 odd minutes though.

 

One of my favorite Dragon Lee movies, the U.K prints removed a lot of the more sleazey moments. Which as @DrNgor once pointed out, have a really negative effect on the movie as a whole.

 

[Chu Liu Hsiang]

LADY WHIRLWIND - had not seen this before. I enjoyed a lot to watch Angela Mao walking thru enemy lines like a scythe thru weeds  I thought the plot would force her to sacrifice herself for the amorous couple and was relieved it ended differently. 

[NoKUNGFUforYU]

4 hours ago, Chu Liu Hsiang said:

LADY WHIRLWIND - had not seen this before. I enjoyed a lot to watch Angela Mao walking thru enemy lines like a scythe thru weeds  I thought the plot would force her to sacrifice herself for the amorous couple and was relieved it ended differently. 

She pretty much kicked everyone's ass. At the end you really didn't know if Chang Yi could beat her with his "Tai Chi", which looked awfully similar to Hapkido....LOL!

 

[Killer Meteor]

29 minutes ago, NoKUNGFUforYU said:

She pretty much kicked everyone's ass. At the end you really didn't know if Chang Yi could beat her with his "Tai Chi", which looked awfully similar to Hapkido....LOL!

 

The trailer states he is learning Hapkido, but the film itself calls it Tai Chi!

[ShawAngela]

58 minutes ago, Killer Meteor said:

The trailer states he is learning Hapkido, but the film itself calls it Tai Chi!

In the English language or the Mandarin language ?

I have to revisit this one, I don't remember any tai chi movement in it...

[ukrevrend]

9 hours ago, Killer Meteor said:

I really liked Meng Fei in PRODIGAL BOXER and SECRET OF SHAOLIN POLES. I prefer his Fong Sai-yuk to Fu Sheng's.

I agree!

Bless

[NoKUNGFUforYU]

1 hour ago, ShawAngela said:

In the English language or the Mandarin language ?

I have to revisit this one, I don't remember any tai chi movement in it...

I will look it up, but pretty sure in the subs/Mandarin. 

[saltysam]

Blood Revenge

5 scumbags escape from prison,where they head straight to the retired officer who caught them's home, kills him and then rapes and kills his wife. Their daughter returns from an errand to find them, she swears revenge and meets a young Phillip Ko, they team up and go after the 5 one by one. A simple tale and an ok basher, pretty much non stop bashing action. The Hoker DVD is wide but non-anamorphic, so zooming the picture loses part of the subtitles.

[DragonClaws]

(N.T)

Edited November 22, 2020 by DragonClaws

[DragonClaws]

On 11/5/2020 at 1:30 PM, Drunken Monk said:

The Iron Monkey (1977) - This was an incredibly eye opening watch for me. Mainly because I've owned the film on both VHS and DVD and somehow had never actually watched it. And now I ask, why isn't this film talked about more? No one lists this as a classic and it is absolutely wonderful. Simple, straight forward and jam packed with amazing fight scenes. In my opinion, this is one of Chen Kuan Tai's best.

 

Is there a sequence where Chen Kuen-Tai & Sun Chia-Lin's characters fight there way through some booby trap ridden caves?.

 

Like @HeavenSword said, I recall a lot of the fights been hard to see at least in the Vengeance Video release.

 

Edited November 22, 2020 by DragonClaws

[ShawAngela]

23 hours ago, saltysam said:

Blood Revenge

5 scumbags escape from prison,where they head straight to the retired officer who caught them's home, kills him and then rapes and kills his wife. Their daughter returns from an errand to find them, she swears revenge and meets a young Phillip Ko, they team up and go after the 5 one by one. A simple tale and an ok basher, pretty much non stop bashing action. The Hoker DVD is wide but non-anamorphic, so zooming the picture loses part of the subtitles.

I enjoyed this one a lot and watched it twice so far. I enjoyed every Ko Fei's fights and the girl was pretty good too.

It's a pure gem, in my opinion...

[saltysam]

4 minutes ago, ShawAngela said:

I enjoyed this one a lot and watched it twice so far. I enjoyed every Ko Fei's fights and the girl was pretty good too.

It's a pure gem, in my opinion...

Yes, as i'm a basher fanatic this has rewatch value for me.

[ShaOW!linDude]

Bronson Lee, Champion aka Za Karate, Za Karate 2 & Za Karate 3 (1974 -1975) stars Tadashi Yamashita 

I have wanted to revisit Bronson Lee for ages and finally got to, along with the customs made by former forum member Haz. 

These movies are insanely good. Not from a plot standpoint, but from the brutal violence. For me, these stand neck and neck with Sonny Chiba's Streetfighter films. And they're full of fantastically cheesy characters. Continuity wise, the films aren't pieced together all that great, and IMDb lists the first film as being released last. They also apparently switched 1 & 3 in their listing.

The movies are an excellent showcase of Tadashi's skill set in Okinawan karate and weaponry. The fights have terrific impact and grindhouse movie standard violence. One of the most appealing things about the series is the showcase of other styles. Of the trio, I think I find 3 to be the weakest, though it does have its moments. 1 is solid throughout, and 2 is as well, including a very nice end fight between Tadashi and Bolo Yeung. I'll be revisiting these a lot.

[DragonClaws]

22 hours ago, ShaOW!linDude said:

Bronson Lee, Champion aka Za Karate, Za Karate 2 & Za Karate 3 (1974 -1975) stars Tadashi Yamashita 

 

Enjoyed reading your comments @ShaOW!linDude, yet to see Parts 1 & 3 but I caught the sequel due to Bolo Yeung's presence amongst the cast. His character Dracula Jack gets a great introductory scene, with him destroying a car.

[sym8]

33 minutes ago, DragonClaws said:

Dracula Jack

Now I’ve gotta hunt these down just to see this character 😂😂

[NoKUNGFUforYU]

On 11/21/2020 at 2:12 PM, saltysam said:

Blood Revenge

5 scumbags escape from prison,where they head straight to the retired officer who caught them's home, kills him and then rapes and kills his wife. Their daughter returns from an errand to find them, she swears revenge and meets a young Phillip Ko, they team up and go after the 5 one by one. A simple tale and an ok basher, pretty much non stop bashing action. The Hoker DVD is wide but non-anamorphic, so zooming the picture loses part of the subtitles.

Pretty sure this was one of the last Union films and may have been there only basher.

[Drunken Monk]

@TibetanWhiteCrane recommended a few Wuxia movies to me and so I began, today, with The Jade Badger aka Jade Dagger Ninja.

I’ll start with the obvious: there’s a lot going on in this movie. Which I believe is par for the course when it comes to Wuxia movies. There are a whole bunch of characters with various motivations. However, the simple version of the plot is that the Heartbreak Clan are after the purple jade badger. The Shaolin Fox (basically a cop) is out to stop them. There’s a lot more to it but that’s the shorthand version of things.

The complexities of the plot and characters doesn’t take away from the movie, however. This film is pretty damn great. The characters have depth, it’s beautifully shot at times and the sets are really gorgeous to look at. I loved the atmosphere of this film. While the outdoor sets are obviously indoors, they add a great sense of fantasy to it all.

How’s the action? Well, there’s a sword fight every ten minutes and most of them are stunning. Crisp choreography, great special effects for the “floating” parts and some really nice acrobatics. Cool weapons, too. I highly recommend this one to swordplay fans.

The only downside is the dub. While it gets all the plot points again, it’s fucking hilarious in places with one character gasping “You’re a nymphomaniac!” at one point. It’s not a terrible dub but it definitely has some dodgy moments.

While I recommend this film (very much so), it’s not a “background” movie. It’s one you really have to pay attention to. I was working while this played and I’ll admit, I missed more than a few plot developments. I’m not saying it’s utterly baffling or anything but you’re going to want to give it some focus or you may miss important moments.

Great movie though. An intriguing plot packed with fantastic action.

[DragonClaws]

On 11/23/2020 at 5:59 AM, sym8 said:

Now I’ve gotta hunt these down just to see this character 😂😂

 

When you see the movie, you will get why they gave him that character name. Just don't expect him to be wearing any sharp teeth like Christopher Lee in some of his Hammer horror roles.

[Yihetuan]

On 11/22/2020 at 2:28 PM, ShaOW!linDude said:

Bronson Lee, Champion aka Za Karate, Za Karate 2 & Za Karate 3 (1974 -1975) stars Tadashi Yamashita 

I have wanted to revisit Bronson Lee for ages and finally got to, along with the customs made by former forum member Haz. 

These movies are insanely good. Not from a plot standpoint, but from the brutal violence. For me, these stand neck and neck with Sonny Chiba's Streetfighter films. And they're full of fantastically cheesy characters. Continuity wise, the films aren't pieced together all that great, and IMDb lists the first film as being released last. They also apparently switched 1 & 3 in their listing.

The movies are an excellent showcase of Tadashi's skill set in Okinawan karate and weaponry. The fights have terrific impact and grindhouse movie standard violence. One of the most appealing things about the series is the showcase of other styles. Of the trio, I think I find 3 to be the weakest, though it does have its moments. 1 is solid throughout, and 2 is as well, including a very nice end fight between Tadashi and Bolo Yeung. I'll be revisiting these a lot.

Is there a way to still purchase those Haz customs?

[ShaOW!linDude]

10 minutes ago, Yihetuan said:

Is there a way to still purchase those Haz customs?

Message forum member bigrogie. He might can hook you up.

[shukocarl1441996347]

I watched TOUGH GUY aka's KUNG FU THE HEADCRUSHER or REVENGE OF THE DRAGON last night for the first time in ages. I'd forgot what an excellent little independent Basher it is. Chock-full of hard action from beginning to end and includes use of Nunchaku, Sai, Butterfly Knives, Chain Whip and Staff all in somewhat realistic scenarios. The plot is pretty routine (like most Bashers) but boy, does it deliver in the fight scenes. Lovely lush green countryside and waterfronts (NEW Territories) and Morricone's score from ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, all in all a great little gem for Basher fans.