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

[DrNgor]

3 hours ago, Beardys Feather said:

Would be interested to hear @DrNgors opinion on the film after the detailed synopsis 👍

It has good action, but needed more of it. I like the historical bent: it always felt like Taiwanese kung fu films were more willing to take on a broader range of historical topics than Hong Kong movies were. I do think the surfeit of characters with differing motivations made the plot a bit murky and could have been differentiated more. I'd give it a 3 out of 5.

[Beardys Feather]

Fair goes. I thought the action there was was very well done. Chang Yi and Chia Ling on top form too. 

[DrNgor]

A Girl Called Tigress (1973) - https://abeautifulfilm.blogspot.com/2024/07/a-girl-called-tigress-1973.html

[Chu Liu Hsiang]

DANCE OF THE DRUNK MANTIS - in some aspects I like this movie better than DRUNKEN MASTER. Yen Shi Kwan as Sick Master should have his own movie.

[northern b]

6 hours ago, Chu Liu Hsiang said:

DANCE OF THE DRUNK MANTIS - in some aspects I like this movie better than DRUNKEN MASTER. Yen Shi Kwan as Sick Master should have his own movie.

 I’ll have to rewatch this one but I think I preferred Drunken Master

[northern b]

On 7/3/2024 at 12:25 AM, randomiseallmytargets said:

I watched Sun Dragon aka A Hard way to die

AAAH man that was splendid one of the weirder bad dubs i've heard in a while but fantastic none the less. Billy Chong i think can be a bit of an acquired taste for some people but between this Crystal Fist and Kung Fu Zombie i like the energy in his films plus sometimes he comes off even more of a cocky prick than Jackie chan did in Drunken Master. (i've heard bits and pieces as to why he never took off but not a proper story) 

Special mention has to go to Carl Scott though who i'm so fucking glad they gave him more prominence in this compared to Soul Brothers of Kung Fu where he's just "there" as a character if anything he's more of a driving force in the story than Chong is and he could really bring it in the fighting department. Underrated martial artist i feel who hasn't gotten his due as far as Black kung fu stars go.

Also i have to say this is probably the most country music and pedal steel guitar i've heard in martial arts movie

I need to check the Billy Chong Movies as only seen Crystal Fist which despite his skills i found an average movie, too much comedy, poor production etc- guess it was a Jackie Chan comedy cash in

Edited August 4 by northern b

[northern b]

On 7/15/2024 at 8:27 PM, randomiseallmytargets said:

Legend of a Fighter

I liked this but i didn't love it, the movie is a loose biography on Huo Yuanjia, that follows him childhood years where he is denied by his father to learn their martial arts due to his various health afflictions and later being considered a national hero after taking down foreign opponents.

It's clear to me that this film due to the nature of the story and the person it's about was at least inspired by Fist of Fury but despite having some amazing choreography the story i felt was really lacking ,Yasuaki Kurata plays somewhat of a generic villain who initially starts out as a mentor to the young Huo but he brings so much life and energy to it in spite of the contrivance of it, Philip Ko as Huo's father i liked in what room he did and it was interesting to see Beardy in the kind of noble role i'd usually associated with Jet Li years down the line but it still just felt lacking, even the final fight good as the build up was felt somewhat tossed off by the end.

btw not trying to stir up anything as i am a fan of both but the issue people had with Jimmy Wang Yu amongst other things is that he wasn't a legit martial artist and yet Leung Kar Yan wasn't a martial artist either and unless i'm mistaken i don't hear that used against him so what gives?

This is a prequel to Fist Of Fury and a movie I rate however its marred by silly effects in the final fight ( a la Warriors 2) and unnecessary bad language ( a la Ninja in the dragons den)

The Choreography is top notch and I thought the narrative was powerful particularly during the final fight where the inevitable conflict reaches its tragic end.

 

As for Beardy he is an accomplished screen fighter despite not being a martial artist so this is a testament to his abilities as well as the skill of action directors like the Yuen Clan and  Sammo ( check the Victim which Beardy said was the hardest film he worked on)

 

As for Jimmy Wang Yu I think he is more on the basher side of things which is a different kind of choreography.

Personally I don’t care whether the actor is a martial artist or not-  As long as they can  execute on screen

 

 

Edited August 4 by northern b

[sadisgate]

Shaolin Deadly Kicks (1979)

Flash legs Tan plays a policeman on the hunt for 8 thieves who stole a treasure map and planned to meet up 3 years later. Picture quality seemed kind of drab and grey but I like this one actually. There's some good telling through action earlier on; Tan clearly is holding back at first because he isnt out to kill only capture, but is forced to ramp things up the deadlier things get. There is some odd editing though, like I have no idea how Tan killed the guy in the forest fight. Lo Lieh shows up at the end as the final thief though I thought the final fight was a bit lacking.

[saltysam]

Fists Of The Double K

My annual watch of my favourite basher, the only thing missing from this classic is Chen Sing. Henry Yue,a newly passed out lawman,heads out on the trail of a crime boss who framed his dad years before (played by Way's Uncle Wang) superb spaghetti western feel, brutal fights, Fang Yeh with his whip,Sun Lan, Pigtail Lang. Incredible stuff. I often wake in the early hours contemplating life, and my thought process sometimes veers to sadness that this monumental motion picture will likely never see a restored HD release and we'll be forever stuck with the wide but grotty german DVD

Edited August 9 by saltysam

[Killer Meteor]

My order of Eureka's new uncut blu-ray of A MAN CALLED TIGER came today


The longer version is visually a triumph - it's sadly a shame that some of the Mandarin audio could only be sourced from a very muffled and quiet sounding VHS. But these things can't be helped.

I'm baffled as always why when cutting the film down for reissue, Golden Harvest removed the kick-ass intro of Wang Yu...kicking ass, instead beginning with a slow musical sequence that suggests the film is going to be some sad tear-jerker.

Most of my complaints from watching the short version on VHS remain for the uncut version.

The film is meandering and lacking in focus, with four female leads with barely a character between them. I'm still not sure what Kasahara Reiko has to with anything, other than a brief nude shot exlusive to the longer version, and poor Maria Yi yet again is stuck with a nothing part.

The Japanese setting is very under-utilised, with a lack of the expected tourist's eye view of the country. With all the dialogue, names, and songs in Mandarin, it seems the only reason for shooting in Japan was because Shaw's injunction against Wang Yu working in Hong Kong was still in effect.

What the film does have going for it are some rather effective fights, which lack the artistry of Bruce Lee or Lau Kar-leung, but are convincingly brutal and effective - one or two shots make you wonder how they pulled them off without killing the actors! And Wang Yu is rather effective as a mean-spirited avenger who somehow has four girls chasing after him despite him seemingly having no interest in them! And he's still fairly good looking here, a year or so before he seemingly morphed into a Jo Shishido clone!

[ChillyChong]

Warrior

Been really long time since saw first Jaka Sembung ( but still lot less than with parts 2&3 those were days of VHS).

Jaka(Barry Prima) is sort of folk hero and causes dutch colonialists troubles. After man who is invulnerable to bullets fails to kill Jaka it is time to recruit black magician. If Jimmy Wang Yu in some movies got treated roughly things for Jaka are not easy either. After his eyes are stabbed black magician turns him to pig and is sent to nearby muslim village whose residents hates pigs..

Martial arts action are to standard of some inferior basher choreography but otherwise it is top level entertainment. Will watch other 2 in coming days.

[saltysam]

Seaman No.7

Sailor Jimmy Wang Yu thinks he's killed someone in a bar fight and ends up hiding on a freighter bound for Japan. He gets mixed up with a drug gang who's leader is James Tien in a blonde wig and pink trousers.Amongst his henchmen are Han Ying Chieh and Lam Ching Ying. It's a little dull and Wang Yu's constant whistling gets annoying fast, the many brawls are entertaining though and we get the Lo Wei stock cast of Maria Yi,Lee Quin and Tien Feng among others. The german DVD unfortunately while in good shape is very dark, hopefully it'll get a remaster for blu ray, i'd buy it.

[ChillyChong]

One of all time favorites. Hkl did release several milestones of hk cinema, awesome cstalogue. Ninja in DD gets slightly corny in very end but is first class entertainment. Missed german br, hopefully 88 or eureka has interest towards this.

 

[sadisgate]

Mark of the black dragon (1978)

Evil Japs (yep, them again) try to seize control of a chinese coal mine by threatening and torturing the locals. They are opposed by the white dragon, led by the daughter of an official. There's also a group of Russians who also want the mine and have employed an asian Charles Bronson lookalike to fight for them. Apparently a Godfrey Ho flick although not sure how true that is, this is a fairly standard film. It's Korean so that means it's very kick focused. The same 5 Japanese guys get there asses kicked over an over and it feels like it could of benefited from less talking and more fighting. 

 

[PandaPawPaw]

Zen Kwan Do Strikes Paris (1979) - "The martial arts expert Liu Chung is living in Hong Kong where he makes Kung Fu movies. When Lius father is kidnapped in Paris he has to come to his rescue and fight a big crime syndicate."

I came across this by chance and took a stab at it and it was pretty average stuff. The second time I've seen John Liu (the first being The Dragon, the Hero) and while I enjoyed some of the fights, the story is meh and the film felt like it would never end! Meli Caillard is rather pretty too.

[ShawAngela]

On 8/15/2024 at 2:55 PM, PandaPawPaw said:

Zen Kwan Do Strikes Paris (1979) - "The martial arts expert Liu Chung is living in Hong Kong where he makes Kung Fu movies. When Lius father is kidnapped in Paris he has to come to his rescue and fight a big crime syndicate."

I came across this by chance and took a stab at it and it was pretty average stuff. The second time I've seen John Liu (the first being The Dragon, the Hero) and while I enjoyed some of the fights, the story is meh and the film felt like it would never end! Meli Caillard is rather pretty too.

Wasn't it Liu's daughter who was kidnapped in the movie? I think that I wrote a review of this movie a few months ago (or mentioned it in this very same section), and I didn't like it at all, John Liu made me feel that he was a sex maniac looking at his training with the naked women, and also all his lovers in the movie... And yes, the story was...wait, there was a story?

[ChillyChong]

On 8/15/2024 at 3:55 PM, PandaPawPaw said:

Zen Kwan Do Strikes Paris (1979) - "The martial arts expert Liu Chung is living in Hong Kong where he makes Kung Fu movies. When Lius father is kidnapped in Paris he has to come to his rescue and fight a big crime syndicate."

I came across this by chance and took a stab at it and it was pretty average stuff. The second time I've seen John Liu (the first being The Dragon, the Hero) and while I enjoyed some of the fights, the story is meh and the film felt like it would never end! Meli Caillard is rather pretty too.

You haven't seen  the best then. Invincible armour and secret rivals 2 are incredible. Snuff bottle connection and SR1 are just  slightly weaker. I like dragon the hero a lot but it's just not among his finest.

[PandaPawPaw]

8 minutes ago, ChillyChong said:

You haven't seen  the best then. Invincible armour and secret rivals 2 are incredible. Snuff bottle connection and SR1 are just  slightly weaker. I like dragon the hero a lot but it's just not among his finest.

Cool, I'll check them out. Thanks.

[DrNgor]

32 minutes ago, ChillyChong said:

You haven't seen  the best then. Invincible armour and secret rivals 2 are incredible. Snuff bottle connection and SR1 are just  slightly weaker. I like dragon the hero a lot but it's just not among his finest.

Death Duel in Kung Fu is also recommended.

[saltysam]

Invincible Sword

An heroic general is kidnapped by a corrupt official and held in a highly manned fortress. Jimmy Wang Yu ,after earlier failure meets up with a travelling acrobatic troupe,who nurse him back to health. Classic period Wang Yu with an insane 25 minute climax- the legendary collection joysales DVD is showing it's age, it's a Jimmy movie that doesn't get discussed much,hopefully it'll get a remaster.

Spoiler

a nice twist is when they get to the general he doesn't want to be freed,preferring to face justice,corrupt or not

Spoiler

 

 

Edited August 17 by saltysam

[saltysam]

Tattooed Dragon

Jimmy is a wandering hero, a sort of Robin Hood character. He gets injured early on, is rescued by Sam Hui,Lee Quin and heroic Dog Lannie. From then on it gets quite dark as the gangsters led by James Tien open up a gambling den in the town, forcing the locals into blowing all their money and using the deeds of their homes as collateral. Jimmy,who spends a fair bit of the movie sidelined by injury,recuperates and decides to clean house. Not one of Jimmy's  best but i hope it makes an appearance on Blu Ray.

[ChillyChong]

Naked comes the huntress.

While searching valuable ginseng root 3 men get lost and end up to cabin of mink hunter and his daughter. Soon one of them tries to rape her but is rescued by another and affair between them happens. However mink hunter thinks 3rd man would be good husband for her and then problems start...

Certainly not typical plot and starring some of ugliest and greatest villain actors wong ching and chen sing.james tien and wong hap are around too.not action packed, takes almost 40 minutes before first fight...not sure if I like movie enough to call it good but at least storyline is not typical so that counts something

[ShawAngela]

39 minutes ago, ChillyChong said:

Naked comes the huntress.

While searching valuable ginseng root 3 men get lost and end up to cabin of mink hunter and his daughter. Soon one of them tries to rape her but is rescued by another and affair between them happens. However mink hunter thinks 3rd man would be good husband for her and then problems start...

Certainly not typical plot and starring some of ugliest and greatest villain actors wong ching and chen sing.james tien and wong hap are around too.not action packed, takes almost 40 minutes before first fight...not sure if I like movie enough to call it good but at least storyline is not typical so that counts something

I loved it!

[ShawAngela]

12 hours ago, saltysam said:

Invincible Sword

An heroic general is kidnapped by a corrupt official and held in a highly manned fortress. Jimmy Wang Yu ,after earlier failure meets up with a travelling acrobatic troupe,who nurse him back to health. Classic period Wang Yu with an insane 25 minute climax- the legendary collection joysales DVD is showing it's age, it's a Jimmy movie that doesn't get discussed much,hopefully it'll get a remaster.

  Reveal hidden contents

a nice twist is when they get to the general he doesn't want to be freed,preferring to face justice,corrupt or not

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

Could the general be Yue Fei? It looks like the "no, I don' t wasn't to be freed, I prefer to face justice" is the typical behavior I saw him have in several movies or series, so, I wonder if it was him in the movie. I watched it too long ago to remember.

[ChillyChong]

1 hour ago, ShawAngela said:

I loved it!

Got feeling it was made in Korea but checked hkmdb mentions hong kong. Some nice locations. Chen sing is credited to appear in 28 movies@1978😯