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

[DragonClaws]

16 hours ago, Django said:

The 20+ minutes of end fights is a masterpiece in it's own right!

 

They really knocked the ball out of the park with that one, I would love to see it in Widescreen.

[kuenfist]

The dutch tape of Master Killers is uncut and widescreen (1.85:1) it is the best version of the movie i saw.

[Django]

That's the tape I watched. Very nice one! 

 

 

[Drunken Monk]

The 8 Masters (1977) - I dislike Carter Wong on the best of days but I thought, fuck it, why not give him another go? I'd never seen this one and though I hadn't heard great things about it, I decided to give it a watch. Needless to say, I am most thankful for it's 78 minute run time.

I won't bore you with the minutiae plot. Just know that Carter Wong is trained by a bunch of monks and there's a bunch of bad guys that want to kill him because of his father's trespasses. He refuses to fight, his mum ends up dead and then shit goes down.

The majority of the movie is marred by tedium. It just feels like nothing really happens. There are some semi-solid training moments early on but they're nothing to diddle yourself over.
Instead, the film waits until the 50 minute mark to really pick up. At this point we get a good four or five fight scenes all strung together. And unlike the rest of the film, the choreography here is fair-to-middling. Again, nothing special but worthy of a watch.
This film does suffer from almost Jason Bourne levels of shaky cam at times. It's weird because shaky cam wasn't really invented back then.

My final thoughts is that this one will never be worth a second watch. The last half an hour is good but the rest just doesn't justify pressing PLAY. I will remain a Carter Wong hater. Apart from Born Invincible of course. EVERYONE loves Born Invincible.

[DrNgor]

32 minutes ago, Drunken Monk said:

The 8 Masters (1977) - I dislike Carter Wong on the best of days but I thought, fuck it, why not give him another go?

Good review! I've not liked most of the films I've seen him in, the two great exceptions being Born Invincible and Fatal Flying Guillotines. He's fine, if unexceptional, in those movies where he's second fiddle to Angela Mao, too.

[DragonClaws]

On 5/12/2021 at 8:56 AM, kuenfist said:

The dutch tape of Master Killers is uncut and widescreen (1.85:1) it is the best version of the movie i saw.

 

On 5/12/2021 at 9:54 AM, Django said:

That's the tape I watched. Very nice one! 

 

You guys are lucky to have a Widescreen copy, I'd love to see it get an official release with a few extras.

[ukrevrend]

1 hour ago, DrNgor said:

Good review! I've not liked most of the films I've seen him in, the two great exceptions being Born Invincible and Fatal Flying Guillotines. He's fine, if unexceptional, in those movies where he's second fiddle to Angela Mao, too.

Totally agree! 

[Duel to the Death]

Kung Fu The Invisible Fist

Yasuaki Kurata is great. I'm a fan. He has a lot of charisma. Sing Chen is great too. The end fight was really damn good. But the rest of the movie was boring and lackluster. 

[Duel to the Death]

Tiger and Crane Fists

Pretty good movie and i was entertained. But it wasn't perfect. I did think it was kind of silly and over the top how stubborn Lau Kar Wing's character was. I understand it but i think they could of done that a little better. I am a big fan of his and i would liked to see him fight at the end of the movie. But i guess Jimmy Wang Yu was the bigger star. It was a nice surprise seeing Philip Kwok in a short cameo. I always enjoy movies that have Invincible Armor. It wasn't the best take on it, but it was fun. 

I think i noticed a possible error. In the end fight after Jimmy Wang Yu performs his final move there seems to be some inconsistency on how much blood is seen on his hands and shirt from when he first hits the ground and a few seconds later. It goes from barely any blood to a decent amount. 

[Chu Liu Hsiang]

18 FATAL STRIKES - Tung Wei and Dean Shek save Shaolin rebel monk Wen Chiang Long from Ming persecutors led by Shih Chung Tien and White Hair supervillain Sze Ma Lung. Could have done w/o some of the comedy but enjoyed it over all, some great fights, and Dean Shek was allowed to show more than annoying sillyness. The landscape around their hut (filmed in Taiwan, according to HKMDB) is intriguing, I'd like to explore there. 

[kuenfist]

Tiger and Crane Fists and 18 Fatal Strikes are both full uncut and widescreen on dutch tape. Hope some day they will be on Blu Ray.

Tiger and Crane Fist is one of the best Wang Yu movies when it comes to shape style and it was made in 1976 (the same year he made the much better One-Armed Boxer vs. the Flying Guillotine)  so he shows again that he was always on the peak when there was a turn in the fu movie business.

18 Fatal Strikes is one of my favored comedy fu movies the endfight is great. Stephen Tung Wai shows here his great skills and that he is a star of his own.

[Chu Liu Hsiang]

SHAOLIN DEATH SQUADS - nice movie, I especially like the Polly Shang Kuan - Cliff Lok combo, great to see them fighting their way up the pagoda, sadly I only saw a version cut down to 76 minutes. Carter Wong's wooden evil emperor glare is really wooden   I was surprised to see a flying guillotine, and when I looked up the movie in the HKMDB, I saw they established the Flying Guillotine as "person", like Hong Kong Cinemagic did with the famous Shaw carpet, I like that. 

[DragonClaws]

On 5/13/2021 at 4:40 PM, Duel to the Death said:

Kung Fu The Invisible Fist

Yasuaki Kurata is great. I'm a fan. He has a lot of charisma. Sing Chen is great too. The end fight was really damn good. But the rest of the movie was boring and lackluster. 

 

One of my favourite early 70's indiependent Basher flicks, maybe they kept it action light due to the extended finale?.

[saltysam]

3 hours ago, DragonClaws said:

 

One of my favourite early 70's indiependent Basher flicks, maybe they kept it action light due to the extended finale?.

I hope a HD version of this surfaces, liker Chen Sing's other great The Bloody Fists.

[saltysam]

Kung Fu Mama

Kung Fu Mama and her brood go after the gang that killed the Shantung Boxer. Lung Fei in bad ass mode but overall a pretty weak effort.

[Duel to the Death]

4 hours ago, DragonClaws said:

 

One of my favourite early 70's indiependent Basher flicks, maybe they kept it action light due to the extended finale?.

Something i forgot to mention that i found amusing. Both of them were hiding weapons and both of them waited until far into the fight to start using them. Plus what a coincidence the weapons were similar to each other (2 one handed weapons). You would think that sometime in the fight they would of gotten hit where their weapons were hidden. It's not a Knock on the fight but i did find it funny. 

[saltysam]

On 5/14/2021 at 12:40 AM, Duel to the Death said:

Kung Fu The Invisible Fist

Yasuaki Kurata is great. I'm a fan. He has a lot of charisma.

The basher he made with Kam Kong, One By One is great. I was exhausted watching it.

[Duel to the Death]

SHAOLIN DEATH SQUAD

Fun movie. Action packed. If i had any quibbles it would be that the 2 main bad guy fighters didn't seem intimidating. I think one of the rules of bad guys is not only do you need to be super skilled you need to look intimidating. I didn't get that at all with these 2. Not really a complaint but it was funny how stupid the bad guys were. The good guys are knocking on the door and they foolishly open the door knowing they shouldn't. The lasso looking weapon was cool too. And the Golden Pill is a very interesting item. lol

The ending felt like the ending to the first Star Wars with out hero's getting medals. I like how the Emperor is a well respected nice guy who the good guys want to protect and not a tyrant like some other movies. 

I think i made a mistake and didn't see the same movie @Chu Liu Hsiang did. I found a movie called Shaolin Death Squad on youtube. I guess now i need to find the correct movie. Looks like the one i just seen is also called Kids of Shaolin. So besides having the same title, both films star Polly Shang Kuan,  Cliff Lok and Carter Wong. Talk about confusing.

IMDB says it came out in 1977 and both IMDB and VHS/DVD copies call it Shaolin Death Squad. HKMDB says it came out in 1975 but doesn't have Shaolin Death Squad as an alternate title. 

Edited May 16, 2021 by Duel to the Death

[Duel to the Death]

Shaolin Death Squads

The proper one this time. This is better than the other one i watched. The Shaolin stuff was great. I even liked the final fight with Carter Wong. 

[DragonClaws]

On 5/16/2021 at 1:08 PM, Duel to the Death said:

Something i forgot to mention that i found amusing. Both of them were hiding weapons and both of them waited until far into the fight to start using them. Plus what a coincidence the weapons were similar to each other (2 one handed weapons). You would think that sometime in the fight they would of gotten hit where their weapons were hidden. It's not a Knock on the fight but i did find it funny. 

 

The genres full of these head scratching moments lol. The way I see it, both men thought they didnt need a weapon to defeat the other. When it was clear neither one was really getting the upperhand, one of them decides to call on a little extra help.

[Chu Liu Hsiang]

On 5/17/2021 at 12:42 AM, Duel to the Death said:

I think i made a mistake and didn't see the same movie @Chu Liu Hsiang did. I found a movie called Shaolin Death Squad on youtube. I guess now i need to find the correct movie. Looks like the one i just seen is also called Kids of Shaolin. So besides having the same title, both films star Polly Shang Kuan,  Cliff Lok and Carter Wong. Talk about confusing.

Aah, the title chaos! Depending on my mood, I either feel it contributes to the charm and aura of old HK movies and enjoy sorting them out - or I just curse. It must have been so elaborate to keep track in pre-internet times. 

Last movie I watched was TIGER FORCE. Chen Hsing as reformed gangster now undercover, interesting role for Chan Wai Man, Cheung Lik sadly was rather underused. Glorious 70s clothes, exotic settings, lots of action with guns and fists, all clichés being served - great entertainment. 

 

 

[DrNgor]

Iron Swallow - Great Taiwanese cast (Chia Ling, Don Wong Tao, Yi Yuan and Ting Wa-Chung) in a revenge melodrama about a a woman (Chia Ling) showing up in town to avenge her father, who was framed by the most respectable men in town and executed as a result. Only one of the men, who is now a respected kung fu teacher, shows no remorse for what happened and hires an assassin to silence anybody involved. It leads up to an emotional finale in which Chia Ling and Ting Wa-Chung have to face off against the teacher and his son (Don Won), who is Ting's kung fu brother. The fighting is really good by Taiwanese standards, but we needed more from our leads--most of the action goes to the assassin, played by Wang Yung-Sheng (choreographer of The Mystery of Chess Boxing).

[starschwar]

Drunken Master (1978):

 

I've been a fan of this one for many years.  With the sequel's Blu-Ray coming very soon, I had to revisit this classic.  The action holds up every bit as well as I remember.  Lots of fast and inventive choreography.  The humor lands for the most part, I chuckled with some frequency.  That said, I can't tell if the scene where Fei-Hung flashes back to the previous scene set to overly dramatic music is meant to be funny or not.  But I did laugh at it all the same.  I feel like there's a bit missing on the story front.  There's a bittersweet goodbye - that gets reversed mere minutes later.  I wonder if there was a longer third act planned that never made the cut.  And I'd have liked a bit more reconciliation/resolution at the end.  But this is a 1970s Kung Fu movie - denouement is a rare luxury, never to be expected. 

 

Comparison to Snake in Eagle's Shadow is pretty much mandatory, isn't it?  Same year, director, cast, story structure - almost the same movie.  And while Drunken Master might have a slight edge in fight choreography, and is certainly the more funny movie, Snake's strengths are in its cinematography, music, and emotional resonance with regard to the characters and their growth.  It's a more well-rounded and polished experience iverakk.  I love them both, of course.  Strongly recommended.

 

Version reviewed: Eureka region ABC Blu-Ray.

This is my first exposure to Eureka, and they did a great job!  The picture quality is outstanding.  I'm so accustomed to versions that are compromised in clarity or aspect ratio, etc.  A nearly pristine image, with only occasional signs of age/damage.  Vibrant colors, terrific detail.  So many background details I never noticed before.  I don't know why the full Cantonese track was so difficult to source for legitimate releases, but I'm glad it finally made its way onto one.  The mono audio has a very blown-out quality to it, but I figure we're lucky it even exists.  I can't speak to the accuracy of the new subtitles' translation, but there were a number of lines rendered differently than I had been used to, allowing some more jokes to hit properly when they had not before.  I haven't delved into the extras yet - looking forward to the deleted scene especially.  Barring some unknown treasure trove of unreleased footage being found, I can't imagine a better release of this movie existing.  All that's missing are the original Chinese opening credits and the classic English dub.  I do have some nostalgia for the latter, but I can do without both.  This is probably as good as it's ever going to get.

[starschwar]

1 minute ago, starschwar said:

 It's a more well-rounded and polished experience iverakk.

 

What madness is this?  "It's a more well-rounded and polished experience overall."

[Drunken Monk]

On 5/16/2021 at 3:18 PM, saltysam said:

I hope a HD version of this surfaces, liker Chen Sing's other great The Bloody Fists.

I have to thank you for mentioning this one. I'd never heard of but, things were slow in work today so I decided to watch The Bloody Fists.

Such a great movie! It's a very simple Japanese versus Chinese story but the thing that stands out is the action. Yuen Woo Ping and Yuen Cheung Yan keep the action fresh throughout this one and I honestly think it's one of the best bashers I've ever seen. Though I am a newcomer to bashers since I haven't really liked them in the past. I'm really beginning to enjoy them these days.

This one also features Chen Kuan Tai as you've never seen him.

Though Chen Sing really is great in this movie, he doesn't really do an awful lot as he's out of commission for a while. However, when he does get to do something, he absolutely kills it. I can't help but feel he'd have made a fantastic Bruce Lee villain.

I'm not sure what was up with the version I watched (admittedly, on YouTube) but, at times, it felt like someone added their own music. Some of the score sounded more befitting of a Lucio Fulci horror than a kung fu movie. 

Really loved this one.