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

[HeavenSword]

7 Grandmasters (1977)-  I know a lot of people put this under classic status but , but the first half of this movie is annoying . There are a lot of fights in this that are well choreographed, but everything else is frustrating.

The Story: Nothing special . Gets a lot better in the second half once it gets serious and leaves the comedy behind .

Characters: Li Yi Min is really the only likable character and I like his progression from bumbling idiot to a bad ass fighter . I wanted to punch Mark Long every time he was on screen . One of the best moments is after  Li  has been training hard and he lets Mark and the other two guys finally have it . I clapped at that scene. Jack Long was also good

Action: The fights of course are the best part and seem to happen every few minutes. A lot of animal shapes and some weapons work and it’s all nicely choreographed. Highlight to me was the fight with Jack Long / Corey Yuen and the final one. Li Yi Min does a fast triple windmill kick to the villain that was pretty sick . 
Was a real treat seeing this in HD though. Eureka rules ! 

 

[Super Ninja]

13 hours ago, HeavenSword said:

7 Grandmasters (1977)-  I know a lot of people put this under classic status but , but the first half of this movie is annoying . There are a lot of fights in this that are well choreographed, but everything else is frustrating.

I will pretend I never read this 

[DragonClaws]

 

 

[Django]

Personally I rate 7 Grandmasters as Kuo's best and rate it as a masterpiece of the genre. 

The Boxer's Adventure 

Grabbed the Eastern Heroes VHS for 4 bucks the other week, never heard of the movie but couldn't pass due to the top cast bill. I was surprised how good it actually was, starts off mediocre but then goes into a great buddy / guys-on-a-mission film that actually makes you care for the characters! 6.5/10

 

 

 

 

[ShawAngela]

2 hours ago, Django said:

Personally I rate 7 Grandmasters as Kuo's best and rate it as a masterpiece of the genre. 

The Boxer's Adventure 

Grabbed the Eastern Heroes VHS for 4 bucks the other week, never heard of the movie but couldn't pass due to the top cast bill. I was surprised how good it actually was, starts off mediocre but then goes into a great buddy / guys-on-a-mission film that actually makes you care for the characters! 6.5/10

 

 

 

 

On eof my favourite, and the one that made me discover Jack Long (I thought that I had seen him before, but didn't know it was him). He was great in this movie ! I also discovered how good was Blacky Ko in this movie too, and maybe that I simply discovered him as well in this movie !

[Drunken Monk]

World of Drunken Master (1979) - While I may not enjoy all of Joseph Kuo's earlier work, his late 70's journey into pure shapes is fantastic. World of Drunken Master may not be as good as 7 Grandmasters or The Mystery of Chess Boxing but it's bloody good. Great, even. It's pretty much a fight fest from start to finish and the plot is fun: a nice flashback to the two leads meeting each other, falling for the same woman and then having to fight their way out of a pickle. Nice training sequences too.
The drunken fist in this one might not be your typical stuff. It's a little less...well...drunken. But the fights are plentiful, energetic and amazingly choreographed. The two on one again Lung Fei towards the end is CRAZY.
Then just when you think things have died down, Mark Long appears from out of nowhere! We get one last fantastic fight sequence.
One thing I like abut this one a lot is that the comedy isn't too goofy. It's light hearted but doesn't veer toward being obnoxious.
I love this film. It's a top tier kung fu classic in my eyes.

[HeavenSword]

World Of Drunken Master (1979) - Despite a confusing third act, this was a great movie . The chemistry between between Li Yi Min and Jack Long as Beggar Su and Fan Ta Pei was nice and it makes for some amusing comedy hijinks and nice training montages. Combine that with some crisp fighting and scenery and you got a winner ( I know I keep mention this but man these remasters really do look pristine) 

Choreography wise, a lot doesn't need to be said . The fights here are blistering as usual and Li Yi Min in particular gives a brutal performance. Honestly though, I don’t think the movie needed the last two fights ( two villains we never seen before pop up to fight Jack Long ) it could have ended with Beggar and Fan Ta Pei drinking as older men  .

[DrNgor]

Fight for Glory (Taiwan, 1980: Hui Sing-Yue) - Taiwanese wuxia film based on a story by Gu Long. When her fiancée and father are murdered by an organization of assassins known as the Cold Moon and Twelve Stars, clan heiress Lung Cher (Shaw Brothers starlet Ching Li) hires two swordsmen to avenge her. One of them is the retired swordsman "Half Blood" Tai Ro (David Chiang). The other is Yip Shuan (Norman Tsui Siu-Keung), a swordsman who carries out hits for female clients in exchange for sexual favors. As these things usually go, they aren't as simple as they seem.

There are a handful of pretty good weapons fights, courtesy of You Peng-Sheng (The Three Famous Constables); Lin Kuang-Yung (Chase Step by Step); and Wong Chung-Wing (Jackie and Bruce to the Rescue). The swordplay is better than your average low-budget Taiwanese wuxia film and Chiang's experience in the genre (plus Norman Tsui's natural athleticism) are evident. And the film is indeed special in that it is one of the few movies in which the zhua, or pole pick, is used as a weapon.

[FightingFool]

We`re going to eat you.

Interesting mixture of humor, horror and kung fu directed by Tsui Hark...Not really into horror comedy(I hated mr vampire and did not bother with sequels) but this was great.

Agent 999(Tsui siu keung) is chasing bandit Rolex and ends up to island where residents are cannibals. 999 is not that interested of being their lunch and superior kung fu skills helps him to stay away from cooking pot...Eddie Ko is cool as leader of cannibals and equally good is Melvin Wong as Rolex..Michelle Yim does not have enough to do imo..
 

Edited November 23, 2021 by FightingFool

[Django]

I enjoyed this one alot! Definitely up there with his top 5 in my opinion. The fights are all very brutal and entertaining, they look quite real. Jimmy doesn't try to look like a Kung Fu Master, he's just a vicious bastard! Good directing from Lo Wei and superb acting from everyone involved, alot of the cast from the two first Bruce films can be recognized. 7.5/10

Edited November 23, 2021 by Django

[Chu Liu Hsiang]

MAGNIFICENT BUTCHER - another classic I had not seen so far. Especially enjoyed the "calligraphy fight". Wish there had been more scenes with Wei Pai and  Yuen Biao instead of comedy but maybe I'm just too grumpy. 

 

 

[TibetanWhiteCrane]

15 minutes ago, Chu Liu Hsiang said:

Wish there had been more scenes with Wei Pai 

No one needs more Wei Pai. Less is the only option.

[DrNgor]

17 minutes ago, TibetanWhiteCrane said:

No one needs more Wei Pai. Less is the only option.

So TWC's version of Hell would be sitting in a small theater with Cheeky Chap playing on an endless loop.

[ShawAngela]

28 minutes ago, TibetanWhiteCrane said:

No one needs more Wei Pai. Less is the only option.

Everybody knows you're not a fan of his...

But I agree with @Chu Liu Hsiang. Did you try to watch any of his series in order to see if you could change your opinion on him ?

No, no, don't kick me !! 

[TibetanWhiteCrane]

 

1 hour ago, DrNgor said:

So TWC's version of Hell would be sitting in a small theater with Cheeky Chap playing on an endless loop.

Yes... I would rather blow my brains out.

1 hour ago, ShawAngela said:

Everybody knows you're not a fan of his...

But I agree with @Chu Liu Hsiang. Did you try to watch any of his series in order to see if you could change your opinion on him ?

No, no, don't kick me !! 

No I did not. But for the record, I don't exactly hate him in Five Venoms, Invincible Shaolin and Last Hurrah for Chivalry. Don't love him either, but I'm not annoyed by him in those films.

Edited November 30, 2021 by TibetanWhiteCrane

[HeavenSword]

How bad ass is this picture though ….Snake looking like a boss 

[TibetanWhiteCrane]

25 minutes ago, HeavenSword said:

How bad ass is this picture though ….Snake looking like a boss 

Yes, he fit well in that role.

[DrNgor]

The Six Directions of Boxing (1980) - Lesser-known Taiwanese film starring David Chiang and Simon Yuen Siu-Tin and choreographed by the Yuen Clan. The plot is some Republic-era nonsense about a police constable (Chiang) who is trying to bring a snake fist bandit (Lung Tien-Hsiang, of Sword Stained with Royal Blood) to justice before he can uncover a hidden cache of weapons and give it to one of the Warlords. The constable has a fiancée (Ma Su Chen's Nancy Yen) whose father (Simon Yuen) is a Water Boxing expert. That may come in handy against the bandit later on.

The film has a great cast. Paul Chun Pui shows up as the corrupt Richest Man in Town who's aiding the bandit. Jack Long shows up as another influential rich guy who gets in a long fight with Paul Chun's men. Yueh Hua shows up at the end as the Police Commissioner and fights in the climax. Yuen Cheung-Yan, Yuen Yat-Chor, and Corey Yuen also have brief fighting roles, too. The film also features supporting roles by a dog and a chimpanzee who show more personality than much of the cast.

The action is pretty solid. It's mainly hand-to-hand, with a few fights where our hero fights off people armed with broadswords or knives. Simon Yuen and his double (Brandy Yuen?) get a lot more fight time than he does in many of his other post-SITES movies. David Chiang looks quite solid under the direction of the Yuens. He learns liuhebafa (or "Water Boxing") from Simon Yuen near the end to counter Lung Tien-Hsiang's snake fist style. I'm not sure how much it resembles the real thing, although considering that the Chinese title is "Liu He Ba Fa," I'm sure there's more than a customary reference to that style. The film tends to drag whenever the characters aren't fighting, but the fighting is good enough to recommend a viewing.

[ShawAngela]

1 hour ago, DrNgor said:

The Six Directions of Boxing (1980) - Lesser-known Taiwanese film starring David Chiang and Simon Yuen Siu-Tin and choreographed by the Yuen Clan. The plot is some Republic-era nonsense about a police constable (Chiang) who is trying to bring a snake fist bandit (Lung Tien-Hsiang, of Sword Stained with Royal Blood) to justice before he can uncover a hidden cache of weapons and give it to one of the Warlords. The constable has a fiancée (Ma Su Chen's Nancy Yen) whose father (Simon Yuen) is a Water Boxing expert. That may come in handy against the bandit later on.

The film has a great cast. Paul Chun Pui shows up as the corrupt Richest Man in Town who's aiding the bandit. Jack Long shows up as another influential rich guy who gets in a long fight with Paul Chun's men. Yueh Hua shows up at the end as the Police Commissioner and fights in the climax. Yuen Cheung-Yan, Yuen Yat-Chor, and Corey Yuen also have brief fighting roles, too. The film also features supporting roles by a dog and a chimpanzee who show more personality than much of the cast.

The action is pretty solid. It's mainly hand-to-hand, with a few fights where our hero fights off people armed with broadswords or knives. Simon Yuen and his double (Brandy Yuen?) get a lot more fight time than he does in many of his other post-SITES movies. David Chiang looks quite solid under the direction of the Yuens. He learns liuhebafa (or "Water Boxing") from Simon Yuen near the end to counter Lung Tien-Hsiang's snake fist style. I'm not sure how much it resembles the real thing, although considering that the Chinese title is "Liu He Ba Fa," I'm sure there's more than a customary reference to that style. The film tends to drag whenever the characters aren't fighting, but the fighting is good enough to recommend a viewing.

I've bought this movie years ago because of David Chiang and Yueh Hua, and still haven't found a while to watch it, but your review makes me eager to watch it as soon as possible !!

[ShawAngela]

I just finished to watch World of the Drunken Master. When I think that I had the dvd in my boxes for years and that I waited to get the Cinematic boxset to watch this EXCELLENT movie !

Li Yi Min, Jack Long and Chen Hui Lou are great ! Just a question : is it really Li Yi Min who plays Old Beggar So ? I didn't recognize him at the end ! And also, the movie ends in a strange way : where did Beggar So disappear ? Did really Yu Lu left them both or did she go with Beggar So ?

And I really love Jack Long ! He is in my favorite actors' "bag" since a while, now, and the more I see him, the more I love his work :

Another question : is it me of ate there some tiny jumps sometimes during the fight scenes ?

[nectarsis]

 

back to the Vengeance set

 

Edited December 13, 2021 by nectarsis

[paimeifist]

Wu Tang Magic Kick.

Generic story, revenge, for revenge, for revenge. Awesome location shots, and mediocre fights - save for the last few fights which were pretty good, especially the brief slo no jump kick battle between Stephen Tung Wei and John Liu.

 

The earlier fights were a combination of fairly impressive kicking displays by John Liu and way over choreographed hand to hand blows. 

 

I enjoyed the training scenes with John Liu just because his athleticism was insane. Holding a vase over his head and kicking it is just mind boggling.

[Django]

On 12/4/2021 at 9:59 PM, ShawAngela said:

Another question : is it me of ate there some tiny jumps sometimes during the fight scenes ?

There is, and it's called trimming of the frames. The worst editing technique of the old school kung fu era. Mystery of Chess Boxing is full of it aswell.

[DrNgor]

7 hours ago, Django said:

There is, and it's called trimming of the frames. The worst editing technique of the old school kung fu era. Mystery of Chess Boxing is full of it aswell.

Yeah, that also harmed the fight scenes in The Lady Constables with Angela Mao and Chia Ling.

[One Armed Boxer]

On 12/5/2021 at 7:59 AM, ShawAngela said:

Another question : is it me of ate there some tiny jumps sometimes during the fight scenes ?

7 hours ago, Django said:

There is, and it's called trimming of the frames. The worst editing technique of the old school kung fu era. Mystery of Chess Boxing is full of it aswell.

I remember there was an interesting discussion on frame trimming over in this thread which goes into the technique in some detail -