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

[saltysam]

One-Armed Boxer

Classic,crazy over the top Wang Yu basher, full of mad characters and a Lung Fei at his meanest (complete with fangs) the new Eureka disc looks fantastic and is a lovely package, hope this sells well so we get more GH classics.

Edited May 24, 2021 by saltysam

[ShawAngela]

1 hour ago, saltysam said:

One-Armed Boxer

Classic,crazy over the top Wang Yu basher, full of mad characters and a Lung Fei at his meanest (complete with fangs) the new Eureka disc looks fantastic and is a lovely package, hope this sells well so we get more GH classics.

Mine is on it's way...I can't wait !!

[Drunken Monk]

For some stupid reason I opted to watch Tai Chi Devil Dragons this afternoon. This 1980's indie is an absolute fucking nightmare from start to finish. It begins with a small but enjoyable fight scene and then you don't get another fight scene until the hour and two minutes mark. Yep...an hour without ANY action.

I'd forgive the film if that hour was actually enjoyable but it's not. It's a bevy of shitty comedy mixed with some pretty lame training scenes. There's an old beggar teacher, two reluctant students... You get the idea.

It's such a shame because the fight choreography isn't all that bad at all. The director just decided to focus on anything but the action. Things pick up around the hour and ten minute mark but with just fifteen minutes left, it's certainly not enough to give this one the boost it needs.

It ends up being an absolute chore to get through. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have to reach for the fast forward button on two or three occasions.
Oh this is NOT a Tai Chi movie. That's like me scratching my balls and calling that Tai Chi. Though admittedly, my balls - in any capacity - are more entertaining than this barrel of piss.

[DrNgor]

1 minute ago, Drunken Monk said:

For some stupid reason I opted to watch Tai Chi Devil Dragons this afternoon. This 1980's indie is an absolute fucking nightmare from start to finish. It begins with a small but enjoyable fight scene and then you don't get another fight scene until the hour and two minutes mark. Yep...an hour without ANY action.

Starring and choreographed by Jacky Chen Xiao-Long, making him the only person whose name simultaneously rips off both Bruce and Jackie.

[Killer Meteor]

On 5/24/2021 at 8:55 PM, saltysam said:

One-Armed Boxer

Classic,crazy over the top Wang Yu basher, full of mad characters and a Lung Fei at his meanest (complete with fangs) the new Eureka disc looks fantastic and is a lovely package, hope this sells well so we get more GH classics.

It is indeed a superb release. The only flaw is that the booklet misidentifies Lung Fei as Wong Fei-lung (a totally different actors who is an extra in the film).

I like how even with fangs Lung Fei's teeth are less prominent then Tsai Hung's (he of the huge overbite and goggle eyes).

[saltysam]

2 hours ago, Killer Meteor said:

It is indeed a superb release. The only flaw is that the booklet misidentifies Lung Fei as Wong Fei-lung (a totally different actors who is an extra in the film).

I like how even with fangs Lung Fei's teeth are less prominent then Tsai Hung's (he of the huge overbite and goggle eyes).

Well i haven't read the booklet yet but misidentifying my favourite badass baddie bastard Lung Fei is an epic fail in my book.

[WangYu]

Drunken master 1978

for some very odd reason it showed up on my tvstreaming service. In over 15 years of paying up for it this is the very first time I saw a classic MA film being added. As always with these type of films I loose interest halfway, too much comedy, in this case lightly funny though. I completely switched off when Jackie did the sassy girly kung fu.   
it will never be my thing. jackie however is an absolute athlete and acrobat and His comedic timing is good. let’s keep it at “this is not my cup of tea”.

[ShawAngela]

On 5/26/2021 at 7:20 PM, Drunken Monk said:

It ends up being an absolute chore to get through. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have to reach for the fast forward button on two or three occasions.
Oh this is NOT a Tai Chi movie. That's like me scratching my balls and calling that Tai Chi. Though admittedly, my balls - in any capacity - are more entertaining than this barrel of piss.

[Duel to the Death]

Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain

Fun movie but hard to keep up with on a first watch. They keep throwing new characters at you all the time. And it's one of those movies where they talk fast and the subtitles go by too fast. I know i missed a lot of dialog since i can't read it fast enough. 

Yuen Bao is one of my favorite actors so i'm glad he is the main actor. And fun to see Sammo in 2 roles and Norman Chu tied to a rock. Reminds of the guy tied a rock in Kung Fu Cult Master years later. 

Fun movie but not without it's flaws. Too many characters, too many subplots, hard to keep up with. I think when it comes to whacky magic movies from this time i prefer the Shaw Brothers ones a bit more, like Buddha's Palm, Demon Lute, Holy Flame. Just a little better. I bet i'd enjoy this movie even more on a second viewing. 

I thought i had seen this movie before because i once seen a movie that took place in a mountain and there was magic and stuff, and i thought i had seen a movie by this name. But nothing in the movie looked familiar. So i don't know what this other movie i seen was. It was around 15 years ago. And for some reason i thought this movie had a sequel. I wonder if i'm also confusing the name of the movie with another one. hmm

[ShawAngela]

6 hours ago, Duel to the Death said:

Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain

Fun movie but hard to keep up with on a first watch. They keep throwing new characters at you all the time. And it's one of those movies where they talk fast and the subtitles go by too fast. I know i missed a lot of dialog since i can't read it fast enough. 

Yuen Bao is one of my favorite actors so i'm glad he is the main actor. And fun to see Sammo in 2 roles and Norman Chu tied to a rock. Reminds of the guy tied a rock in Kung Fu Cult Master years later. 

Fun movie but not without it's flaws. Too many characters, too many subplots, hard to keep up with. I think when it comes to whacky magic movies from this time i prefer the Shaw Brothers ones a bit more, like Buddha's Palm, Demon Lute, Holy Flame. Just a little better. I bet i'd enjoy this movie even more on a second viewing. 

I thought i had seen this movie before because i once seen a movie that took place in a mountain and there was magic and stuff, and i thought i had seen a movie by this name. But nothing in the movie looked familiar. So i don't know what this other movie i seen was. It was around 15 years ago. And for some reason i thought this movie had a sequel. I wonder if i'm also confusing the name of the movie with another one. hmm

There is a  kind of remake called The legend of Zu.

And there are two TVB series related to these Zu movies.

[Killer Meteor]

13 hours ago, saltysam said:

THE SKYHAWK

An ageing Wong Fei Hung ,along with his student Sammo Hung visits family in Thailand. On the way they help Carter Wong,who's been soundly beaten up by Whang-In-Sik and his men. Fei Hungs relative is an honourable man running a factory, the local crime boss muscles in. They also run a gambling den where addict Li Kun loses everything. I like this one but it's frustrating, Fei Hung is a pacificist and he allows far too much to happen before intervening. Nora Miao is completely wasted here, just there to look pretty,a nothing role. The HK blu ray looks really great, it's Region A locked though, Irongod has hinted elsewhere it may be an eventual uk release, i imagine it would possibly be in a box set, not sure if it's a title strong enough for a solo release.

It's fun but odd - as though Wong was sandwiched into The Big Boss.

Interesting that the same year Shaws did a Wong Fei-hung film, Rivals of Kung Fu, which features Kwan Tak-hing's regular opponent Shih Kien as the villain.

[DrNgor]

Samurai Death Bells (Taiwan, 1979) - aka Samurai Bells of Death; Beauty Escort - Based on a Gu Long novel. The story follows the Dragon Clan, whose leader had pledged to duel with the female leader of the Phoenix Clan ten years before. On the day of the duel, the leader learns that his opponent died some years before and that he'll have to duel with her senior student. The master is killed and leadership of the Dragon Clan falls into the hands of the senior student (Ling Yun), much to the chagrin of the master's ambitious daughter (Lily Li Li-Li). The senior student discovers that the master's deathbed wish was for him to take care of a woman known throughout the Martial World as the Cold-Blooded Maiden (Nora Miao), whom we learn was not as cold-blooded as her reputation might suggest. Stuff happens and we learn that everything that's been happening has been arranged by an ambitious swordsman (Michael Chan Wai-Man) wanting to control the Martial World himself.

Despite being directed by Pao Hsueh-Li and adapted to film by Ni Kuang, this film sort of falls flat. The swordplay, choreographed by Crippled Master's Chan Mu-Chuan, isn't bad. It's not Ching Siu-Tung The Sword level stuff, but's fine. But the story just does not have any resonance. Obviously, when adapting ginormous novels into a 90-minute movie, there needs to be a solid idea of what to include and what to leave out. This one is sort of missing that. Meh. Did the Shaw Brothers ever try to adapt the source material? What about any 90s wuxia film?

Edited May 30, 2021 by DrNgor

[WangYu]

The brutal boxer 1972

This was pretty mediocre apart from some really fun bashing scenes. Maybe a nicely restored copy would make it more tolerable but in any case we should be happy youtube exists or this film and many others would have been long forgotten by now.I will never understand why some people prefer dubbed films.

Funny also how Jackie Chan gets the first credit while all he does is bash his head against a wall. 

Edited May 30, 2021 by WangYu

[DragonClaws]

11 hours ago, DrNgor said:

Samurai Death Bells (Taiwan, 1979) - aka Samurai Bells of Death; Beauty Escort - Based on a Gu Long novel.

 

I have a bootleg copy of this, one I picked up when I was back in University. It was cropped so badly, and the picture quality was appaling. I was going to give it a second chance, with a better quality version. But your write-up has made me think twice about that.

[Duel to the Death]

12 hours ago, ShawAngela said:

There is a  kind of remake called The legend of Zu.

And there are two TVB series related to these Zu movies.

I took a look at the trailer and i never seen that one. 

[saltysam]

SCORCHING SUN, FIERCE WINDS, WILD FIRE

Taiwanese production features a great cast (Angela Mao, Lo Lieh, Tan Tao Liang, Chang  Yi) but unfortunately the movie itself isn't great. Confusing storyline about a female Zorro type called Violet, and the old kung fu movie trope of a hidden treasure map. Chang Yi is easily the best in this one, he sports a great tache and is a right nasty piece of work. The new german blu ray is clearly taken from a german cinema print, with inserts from another source to make up the uncut 93 minute version. English dubbed, it also has chinese but no english subs.

[kuenfist]

SCORCHING SUN, FIERCE WINDS, WILD FIRE

The german Blu Ray is ok but do not expect TVP or FilmArt Shaw Brothers quality. Picture has a little to much contrast and the blacks are a little crushed out. But overall the movie did never looked better as on this release. And it is a rare titel too. The missing scenes from the german reels were taken from the beat up Crash Cinema DVD. The english and the chinese tracks are very clean and better than the german one. As extra there is a german trailer show in HD with the upcoming Cosa Nostra Asia, Shaolin vs. Ninja, The Darkest Sword, Tough Guy, The Invasion.  And a pictureshow with the german lobbycards.

[saltysam]

5 minutes ago, kuenfist said:

SCORCHING SUN, FIERCE WINDS, WILD FIRE

The german Blu Ray is ok but do not expect TVP or FilmArt Shaw Brothers quality. Picture has a little to much contrast and the blacks are a little crushed out. But overall the movie did never looked better as on this release. And it is a rare titel too. The missing scenes from the german reels were taken from the beat up Crash Cinema DVD. The english and the chinese tracks are very clean and better than the german one. As extra there is a german trailer show in HD with the upcoming Cosa Nostra Asia, Shaolin vs. Ninja, The Darkest Sword, Tough Guy, The Invasion.  And a pictureshow with the german lobbycards.

I'm happy with it, just a pity there's no english subs for the chinese audio. But hey, it's a german release!

[Drunken Monk]

Shogun's Ninja (1980) - Just as I wasn't a fan of Bruceploitation movies until last year (they're my favourite sub genre now), I've never really taken time to watch Japanese martial arts movies. Well, save for The Street Fighter which I really didn't care for.
This morning I had a craving for wacky ninja action and having heard of Shogun's Ninja, I decided to give it a shot. Sadly, this wasn't what I was looking for.
The plot of the film is, for the most part, fairly simple. Ninja clans are looking for the map to a goldmine that's engraved on a sword. Hiroyuki Sanada just happens to have the sword and so a lot of people are after him.

The greatest crime this film commits is that it's rather boring. It looks beautiful: great set design. But the story is plodding and there's very little action considering it's lengthy run time. I was hoping for some vagina bubbles (I have no idea what film that's in) level craziness and it just never came.
What action there is is entertaining. There's a fantastic action set piece with ninjas in trees fairly early on and I just wanted more of that. The more grounded stuff is fine. A bit slower and more clunky than your Lau Kar Leungs and your Yuen Woo Pings but the fights pack a punch.

Rather than saying the film is bad (it isn't), I'll say that it didn't meet my expectations. I was hoping for more gushing blood and more crazy ninja hijinks. This one is a bit more mature, I think.

I'm going to keep searching for Japanese films that satiate my lust for bonkers ninja action. I think I might try Ninja Wars next.

[DrNgor]

1 hour ago, Drunken Monk said:

I was hoping for some vagina bubbles (I have no idea what film that's in)

That would be Kunoichi Ninpôcho Yagyu Gaiden, released on DVD as Kunoichi Lady Ninja.

[Drunken Monk]

57 minutes ago, DrNgor said:

That would be Kunoichi Ninpôcho Yagyu Gaiden, released on DVD as Kunoichi Lady Ninja.

Thanks man! Just watched the trailer and it looks suitably over the top and ultra gory. It does seem like it has a $3 budget though.

[DrNgor]

1 minute ago, Drunken Monk said:

Thanks man! Just watched the trailer and it looks suitably over the top and ultra gory. It does seem like it has a $3 budget though.

If you're willing to splurge 17 bucks (14 more dollars than the actual budget):

https://www.amazon.com/Kunoichi-Collection-Deadly-Mirage-Ninja/dp/B000M53GK4/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Kunoichi+lady+ninja&qid=1622661709&sr=8-1

[WangYu]

Rage of Wind

Didn't think much of it, felt too much like other bashers of the time with evil Japanese, a slimy snake Chinese guy with an idiotic face and eventually things heat up enough for our main hero (Chan Sing) to get angry and get some revenge. Those independent bashers are very much a mixed bag in quality. Most of them seem to be inspired by a combination of influential films like the big boss, the chinese boxer and bloody fists.

[WangYu]

A man called tiger 1973

cool fight scenes terribly told plot I think some vital scenes must have been missing as I couldn’t make much sense of it all. The version I saw was only 75 min which might be an explanation to my confusion.

[Super Ninja]

15 hours ago, Drunken Monk said:

I'm going to keep searching for Japanese films that satiate my lust for bonkers ninja action. I think I might try Ninja Wars next.

One of my fave ninja flicks, Ninja Wars should do it for ya. You might also try Legend of the Shadowy Ninja: The Ninja Dragon (1990), another one of my fave. Here's where Yoshihiro Nishimura found inspiration for his gorefest madness.