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

[Killer Meteor]

There's a weird bit on the DVD I have (the one with My Kung Fu, 12 Kicks still on the front) where the video editor tried to hide a splice by vertically shifting to the next scene in the manner of a music video!

Here's a US trailer with an even more bonkers title! -

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[DragonClaws]

LMOA, that's one of the lamest film titles Ive seen in a long time. Chan Sing is one of my favorite old school Kung Fu stars. Doesn't matter if he's playing the villain or the hero. Altering the title to add the Bruce Lee connection was a cheap gimmick.

[paimeifist]

Finally watched Phantom Kung Fu. Goofy ass movie with some pretty good fights. Chang Yi is great with his over the top act, crooked mustache, and a dub fit for his prick character, lol. I don't have much to add to what's already been said. I agree, the characters are all pretty distinct and fun. I found this movie pretty funny as well, both intentionally as unintentionally.

I thought the movie got better in the latter half, especially the fights. The first half mainly consists of Chang Yi pummeling people outside of his few skirmishes with Don Wong. Compared to more awesome shapes in the second half.

I thought this movie was entertaining, but Chang Yi alone is what makes it above average to me. The ending wasn't good, but it wasn't bad either. It actually made me laugh out loud.

[Secret Executioner]

Finally watched Phantom Kung Fu. Goofy ass movie with some pretty good fights. Chang Yi is great with his over the top act, crooked mustache, and a dub fit for his prick character, lol. I don't have much to add to what's already been said. I agree, the characters are all pretty distinct and fun. I found this movie pretty funny as well, both intentionally as unintentionally.

I thought the movie got better in the latter half, especially the fights. The first half mainly consists of Chang Yi pummeling people outside of his few skirmishes with Don Wong. Compared to more awesome shapes in the second half.

I thought this movie was entertaining, but Chang Yi alone is what makes it above average to me. The ending wasn't good, but it wasn't bad either. It actually made me laugh out loud.

Glad you loved this little gem.

[DrNgor]

My Name is Shanghai Joe - Possibly the earliest melding of kung fu and Spaghetti Western, this is a violent tale of a Chinese kung fu expert named Chin Hao who arrives in América with the dream of becoming a cowboy. After foiling an attempt to smuggle Mexicans into the country for slave labor, Chin Hao finds himself being hunted by a quartet of quirky killers (including Klaus Kinski) and a powerful martial arts expert. The action is violent (gotta love the way Kinski bites it) and the choreography is generally solid by 1973 chopsockey standards, save for the swordfight at the end, which is rather dull. There are A LOT of racial epithets in the dubbed dialogue (did the terms "Greasers" and "Wetbacks" even exist in 1882?). But the film was fun to watch and I'm always glad to see the Asian guy get the girl in the end (well, sort of).

[Secret Executioner]

Spiritual Kung Fu (HK, 1978), found in a 3-movie pack with Snake And Crane Arts Of Shaolin and Shaolin Wooden Men:

A fun little Lo Wei/Jackie Chan film. The story is typical (a manual is stolen, the technique is used by some baddie, there's a traitor in the temple and a secret technique taught while comedic occurences happen allows a young bumpkin to save the day), the comedy is okay (essentially slapstick), the characters are enjoyable for the most part (some seem downplayed though). Good thing there's this supernatural element with the 5 white redhaired ghosts (who play pranks and teach our "young bumpkin" Jackie Chan), or it would be another typical late 1970s kung fu flick like billion others...

But these 5 guys are pretty funny (lots of slapstick from these little pranksters) and they also help alot in teaching and fighting (cause they live in a kung fu manual I guess). I'm a bit puzzled though as to how they work, since sometimes they can be seen, but others they are invisible and they change sizes alot (they go from figures in a book to the size of a regular person).

Funnily, it seems that the "secret technique" is pretty much the 5 Animals - which is not really a secret element in Shaolin Kung Fu. One may also notice at points you can see a jewel on each ghost's head representing the animal they are supposed to be, since each ghost is one of the five animals.

Overall and in spite of my nitpicking above I really enjoyed this movie, though I liked Snake And Crane Arts Of Shaolin more (still have to see Shaolin Wooden Men from this set).

[DragonClaws]

Spiritual Kung Fu (HK, 1978), found in a 3-movie pack with Snake And Crane Arts Of Shaolin and Shaolin Wooden Men:

A fun little Lo Wei/Jackie Chan film. The story is typical (a manual is stolen, the technique is used by some baddie, there's a traitor in the temple and a secret technique taught while comedic occurences happen allows a young bumpkin to save the day), the comedy is okay (essentially slapstick), the characters are enjoyable for the most part (some seem downplayed though). Good thing there's this supernatural element with the 5 white redhaired ghosts (who play pranks and teach our "young bumpkin" Jackie Chan), or it would be another typical late 1970s kung fu flick like billion others...

But these 5 guys are pretty funny (lots of slapstick from these little pranksters) and they also help alot in teaching and fighting (cause they live in a kung fu manual I guess). I'm a bit puzzled though as to how they work, since sometimes they can be seen, but others they are invisible and they change sizes alot (they go from figures in a book to the size of a regular person).

Funnily, it seems that the "secret technique" is pretty much the 5 Animals - which is not really a secret element in Shaolin Kung Fu. One may also notice at points you can see a jewel on each ghost's head representing the animal they are supposed to be, since each ghost is one of the five animals.

Overall and in spite of my nitpicking above I really enjoyed this movie, though I liked Snake And Crane Arts Of Shaolin more (still have to see Shaolin Wooden Men from this set).

The first Jackie Chan film I ever rented along with Fearless Hyena. The scene where he pisses on the ghosts is priceless. Chan said he wanted to do films with more humor and this was Lo Wei's idea of comedy. One of my favorite scenes is the sequence where Chan armed with Tonfa sticks takes on the Shoalin monks. There's some inventive use of a sparkler too if I recall rightly?.

One film id like to watch again in widescreen. The version I owned had been sourced from an old Ocean Shores print and suffered from some severe cropping.

Shaolin Wooden Men is about the same standard but I felt Kam Kong made a better villain than James Tien.

[Secret Executioner]

Yeah, the fights with the monks before he leaves the temple (36th Chamber Of Shaolin anyone ?) were pretty nice.

Concerning the comedy, I enjoyed the early slapstick with Jackie trying to get out of his punishments and get some food. There was also all the slapstick with the ghosts' pranks. I expected Jackie to get caught and someone to yell at him when he pissed on the ghosts - for once, he'd have been rightfully punished (pissing in a library, WTF dude ?!).

The version I have is widescreen and is a very nice print overall (it has some glitches at points though), but it's only in French (a good dub, but still...).

James Tien was a decent bad guy IMO. A bit too one dimensional as a character maybe, but an okay baddie. And his fights were some solid action.

[DragonClaws]

James Tien does a good job don't get my wrong. He appears in nearly all the Lo Wei/Jackie Chan collaborations I think. I find his character in Magnificent Bodyguards funny. Shame there's not much to be said about the rest of the film.

I was going to buy the Hong Kong Legends Ultra-Bit Widescreen DVD but Ive left it a little late. Its going for 24.99 on Amazon which is a bit steep for this film. All there Ultra-Bit releases are getting pricier now there OOP.

[DrNgor]

James Tien was a decent bad guy IMO. A bit too one dimensional as a character maybe, but an okay baddie. And his fights were some solid action.

When a friend of mine reviewed HAND OF DEATH and pointed out that James Tien wasn't much of a fighter, I pointed him in the direction of this film as being one of his better fighting performances.

[fatcat]

Mantis Fist Tiger Claw, Dance of the Drunken Mantis, Invincible Shaolin, and Warriors Two, which I enjoyed the most.

[Morgoth Bauglir]

What'd you think of that mantis style in Mantis Fist Tiger Claw? Also what version did you get?

[fatcat]

Meh. I really didn't care for it. Sometimes the vulgar stuff just turns me off. Maybe some parts of the action is good, that's about as positive as I can be. A vulgar and cheese combo:squigglemouth: ... I thought Bowser from Super Mario was funny. Im glad I literally spent but a couple dollars for it used locally. It's Black Belt Theater, ground zero. English dubbed, subtitled in French and something else, poor quality picture, but I've seen worse.

[Morgoth Bauglir]

Yeah it's a slimy cheesy cheapie but I thought it was very original. It's one of those movies you learn to appreciate once you've seen a good chunk of the genre because it's so unique. One thing I like is that it's one of the few kung fu/horror movies. 2 genres that should have been mixed together more often. I didn't like it much when I first saw it. Dean Shek as the villain? What were they thinking? He's surprisingly good at being evil, and no comedy which was cool to see, but his fighting skills aren't good enough. Luckily spikey turtle man San Kuai is there (Bowser lol). San Kuai was born to play weird roles like this. I also like the lead actors John Chang and Nick Cheung a lot. Nice fights, and the story is pretty good, and shocking. Honestly I think this could be a great movie if made today with a good budget and director.

I think you made a good choice with the GZ DVD. Crap quality but definitely watchable. I think someone said there are problems with the BCI DVD but I can't remember for sure. If you watch the other movie Duel of the Brave Ones have your finger ready to ff. It's terrible but there is some good action at the end.

[paimeifist]

This Mantis Fist Tiger Claw sounds pretty entertaining, bowser?! Lol. Out of the movies you mentioned, I have seen Invincible Shaolin (one of the lesser Venoms flicks from my memory, which is very foggy on this one), and Dance of the Drunk Mantis, one of my favorite indies.

[Secret Executioner]

Project A (HK, 1983)

Watched it with the Cantonese dub and French subs. That movie is AWESOME. So many hilarious moments like the brawl in the restaurant at the beginning, the training sequences or the bicycle chase. The action is top-notch with great fights (the fight to arrest a guy in the club, resulting in the place being trashed) and very spectacular choreography. Samo (as his name's spelled in the credits) is also pretty funny in this (less than in Winners And Sinners, but he gets more screen time there too) and I'm always amazed at how much ass this kind-looking chubby guy can kick.

The release is also really good: widescreen, great sound quality, the copy runs for 1 hour 42 minutes (but there are deleted scenes) and when I wanted to play the movie, it actually (because I clicked right away) played an easter egg trailer made for Singapore and Malaysia with Jackie wishing a Happy New Year (1984) to the audience and discussing the movie - there's footage from the film and also behind-the-scene footage where you see Jackie getting hurt while filming some scenes (with a Jackie voice-over addressing the risks taken to make a picture that he hopes will bring its audience enjoyment and laughter) and Jackie mentions Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung before the two join him to greet the audience. This trailer is available on

with no subtitles and a rather poor quality.

Also, I LOVED the soundtrack. The main theme, the music that plays on the record player during the bar brawl, the bicycle chase tune... Everything was so epic, funny or enjoyable (or all of the above).

[paimeifist]

Project A is great. I honestly don't remember it all that well. I watched the version on netflix and know I loved it though. Winners and Sinners doesn't have a ton of action, but its a riot, the invisible scene is hilarious.

Stranger from Shaolin

Pretty good movie. Different seeing a female lead, especially in an independent movie (for me, at least.) Cecilia Wong did a good job, and the Wing Chun style fighting was cool. Thompson Kao was cool as the villain (unfamiliar with this guy), and Bruce Lai showed some nice kicks but was underused. Most of the fighting was mediocre, but never bored me, the fighting at the end was good though. The story was ok, the fact that it may sort of resemble the true story of Wing Chuns origin makes it sort of interesting.. But it has that annoying thing where somehow a beautiful woman passes for a dude.

Overall a good movie though. Cecilia Wongs fighting was more entertaining in this than it was in Shaolin Mantis (although everything else about that movie was better.) I'd like to see more of her.

The fighting in this reminded me of a poor version of Life on a Line (which doesn't mean its bad by any means!)...oh, and not counting the ending vs Beardy..cause that shit was in a league of its own.

[Morgoth Bauglir]

Looking at hkmdb I've seen Cecilia Wong in 6 other movies and other than Shaolin Mantis I can't remember if she fights in any of them. I don't know how I'm drawing a blank on this.

BTW this might sound crazy to some, but I'd rather watch Mantis Fist Tiger Claws than Invincible Shaolin. And I like Invincible Shaolin. It's one of the best training movies. Now if you put Mantis Fist alongside Drunken Mantis and Warriors Two it doesn't stand a chance. Those are great movies and have an all star line up of villains. Mantis has Dean Shek and San Kuai. But, Mantis has the better mantis style. So bonus points for that:xd:

[paimeifist]

Looking at hkmdb I've seen Cecilia Wong in 6 other movies and I can't remember if she fights in any of them. I don't know how I'm drawing a blank on this.

BTW this might sound crazy to some, but I'd rather watch Mantis Fist Tiger Claws than Invincible Shaolin. And I like Invincible Shaolin. It's one of the best training movies. But put Mantis Fist alongside Drunken Mantis and Warriors Two and it doesn't stand a chance. Those movies have an all star line up of villains. Mantis has Dean Shek and San Kuai. But, Mantis has the better mantis style. So bonus points for that:xd:

Well she fights in Shaolin Mantis but it is underwhelming compared to everyone else fighting. Mantis Fist Tiger Claws sounds like one of those you either love or hate movies that everyone has to see, lol. Invicible Shaolin I remember as being "ok", I'll revisit it sometime soon. I can see San Kuai and Dean Shek being good villains for one reason - it is easy to hate both of them in virtually every movie I have seen them in!

[stills]

Shogun assassin 4: 5 fistfuls of gold

[fatcat]

Lol, Dean Shek

[Secret Executioner]

Winners and Sinners doesn't have a ton of action, but its a riot, the invisible scene is hilarious.

Agreed, WAS is a really funny movie. Many mention the invisible scene, but I find the overall interaction of the 5 main characters pretty funny throughout the whole movie.

But it has that annoying thing where somehow a beautiful woman passes for a dude.

I wouldn't call this pattern annoying, I'd call this ridiculous cause it makes me laugh everytime I see it.

[Secret Executioner]

Revenge Of The Shaolin Master (HK, 1979)

(called "Ninja Thunderkicks" on the cover and "Ninja Thunder Kick" on the titlecard)

The movie has a rather complex plotline dealing with a man wrongly accused of stealing a cargo of rice he was to escort - there's absolutely no Shaolin nor Ninjas involved though.

It's a very average indie movie in spite of choreography by Yuen Woo Ping - there isn't that much of action, but it gets better towards the end. Part of the final twist is very predictable though you get some surprises in the last 10 minutes. But still, it was rather boring with uninteresting character (the acting is a bit wooden and the dub is pretty bad). The condition of the copy is pretty bad too, the picture looks blurry at times and is unwatchable in night scenes because it's too dark.

I sat through the whole thing out of curiosity, but honestly, I wouldn't recommend this film. Unless you are a Yuen Woo Ping completist or want to see every single movie Kong Do made (though I didn't spot him in this one).

[paimeifist]

To see every movie Kong Do made sounds like a tall order GHW, he is one of those guys that seems to pop up in 80% of the movies I watch, lol! One of the best right hand man villains!

I watched a movie with Dorian Tan in it today as well. It is strange that he is on the cover of the movie you posted, and you didn't mention him in your review. Was his part not as big as the cover indicates? ("Kick" is even in the title! lol)

Wu Tang Clan (aka Shaolin Heroes)

Wu Ma heads this indie with Robert Tai on choreography, and Ti Lung, Chan Wai Man, and Dorian Tan leading the cast. Ti Lung is a Qing Marshal who has betrayed the Shaolin Temple to join the Emperor (Chan Wai Man). After ransacking his old temple, he imprisons all of his former brothers(inclduing Dorian Tan and Danny Lee), and tortures them daily, in hopes that they will eventually surrender and join the Qing forces. But his intentions may not be as they seem..

The story and setting aren't the standard for the genre, and are above-average. There are a few twists, particularly one at the end that caught me off guard. This feels like a Shaw flick, just a cheaply made one.. From the (cheap) sets, to the (simple) costumes, to the Shaw stars.. With that said, the acting is solid particularly from Ti Lung. The sound track is interesting, there is an unfitting "funky" song at one point, and a dramatic vocal tune at the end.

The fighting was very good as well. Ti Lung mainly uses what look to me ot be Wing Chun techniques, and they are performed in a fancy, but hard hitting way. My favorite parts of this film were the few times Ti Lung and Dorian Tan fought, their contrast of styles with Robert Tais choreography really worked great together.. I wish they would have fought more! The end fight was also very good, and features the only notable weapons fight of the movie..

Good independent movie. My only big gripe is that I would have liked to see Dorian Tan throw down a little more.

[Secret Executioner]

Dorian Tan (credited Tan Tao-liang on the cover and Delon Tam in the opening credits and

) is the lead and the guy who gets framed for the theft. His fighting is good, but his acting is a bit wooden.

Yeah, the cover art and the credits are faithful to the film (for once).

Here's an other artwork for the film featuring Dorian Tan in action (from the movie):

And an alternate French release with a completely unrelated artwork: