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

[paimeifist]

Good fighting but wooden acting is about the standard for Dorian Tan from the little I have seen. Good kicker although not a favorite of mine, he's a little soft looking for me compared to the intensity of Hwang and Kwan Yeong Moon.. Although his flexibility and "one leg" kicking is pretty impressive.

I'd like to see more of him though.

Lol, the unrelated alternate artwork is unique and had me interested til I read your comment on it!

[Secret Executioner]

Good fighting but wooden acting is about the standard for Dorian Tan from the little I have seen. Good kicker although not a favorite of mine, he's a little soft looking for me compared to the intensity of Hwang and Kwan Yeong Moon.. Although his flexibility and "one leg" kicking is pretty impressive.

I'd like to see more of him though.

Yeah, he is good and his MA abilities can't be questionned, but it didn't seem like his kicking was that strong.

The shapes and weapon fights in the film however are pretty nice. I guess thinking back I was a bit harsh on the movie, as the action is really good and it has a nicely done trailer.

[DragonClaws]

Heroes Of Shaolin Part 1- Enjoyed the the first installment in this independent production. There's a nice cast featured in this above average KF flick. including Chan Sing, Lo Lieh & Hwang Jang Lee.

Snake Fist Dynamo- Turned this one off about halfway through as it just didn't grab my attention. Might give it a second chance sometime in the future.

[paimeifist]

I like Heroes of Shaolin a lot. Good story, Solid cast as you said, and I haven't seen Chan Sing any cooler than he is here! I also watched it in "parts", not sure why it is In parts though as it is only like an hour and a half all together. Decent twist at the end.

Just wait til you see Yuen Biao in part 2! Lol!

[DrNgor]

I like Heroes of Shaolin a lot. Good story, Solid cast as you said, and I haven't seen Chan Sing any cooler than he is here! I also watched it in "parts", not sure why it is In parts though as it is only like an hour and a half all together. Decent twist at the end.

Just wait til you see Yuen Biao in part 2! Lol!

This is one of my favorite old school kung fu movies period. Great and varied fights, excellent cast, Strong story and just great entertainment all around.

[DragonClaws]

This is one of my favorite old school kung fu movies period. Great and varied fights, excellent cast, Strong story and just great entertainment all around.

Chan Sing is on top form and he rarely puts in a bad performance. My only gripe is the animal cruelty in the film. Chan Sings character kills a young dog to proof a point to his student. The death doesn't take place on screen but they clearly killed the dog for the film.

Looking forward to watching Part 2 on Friday night:smile:

[paimeifist]

Just rewatched 7 Grandmasters. I could probably watch the fight between Jack Long and Corey Yuen on repeat for the rest of my life..all the fights are top class though....man this movie just gets better every time.

[fatcat]

Speaking of Chan Sing, I watched Iron Fisted Monk today, he was great in that.

[Secret Executioner]

18 Fatal Strikes (HK, 1978), from the Flying Fists Of Kung Fu 12-movie set

What can I say ? This movie is (IMO) very similar to Phantom Kung Fu: similar context (rebels and oppressors), weird techniques with whacky side-effects (Chang Yi's hands smoke whenever he uses his palm of death in Phantom Kung Fu, here the villain - not sure what the name of the actor is, but he looks quite badass - has whacky sound effects and high-pitched screams coming up) and trouble finding a tone (this film goes from guys bickering and sounding like a Monty Python skit to a girl being raped and murdered to people crying and going mad with vengeance...).

That said, it's not a bad film. The fights are entertaining (thanks to the villain's sound effects and to decent choreography - the scene with weapons is a nice touch as well), the main characters are likeable (their bickering s more enjoyable than annoying and they provide some good comedy in the first half) but the monk could have been more developed and the bad guys aren't that memorable (except for the main villain's sound effects).

Overall, I guess it's safe to say this film's on par with the rest of this set - I mentionned Phantom Kung Fu, but there are also similarities with Tai Chi Shadow Boxing (found out while re-reading my review of this one, as it seems like I had next to completely forgotten about it - but the master and his two students, the comedy/bickering, the under-developped villains... Pretty close).

BTW, there's an issue in the middle of the film and so you have about a minute or so of black screen and no sound - guess the source tape was damaged at this point. It looks like it's source from a cropped VHS (fullscreen).

Revisited this one tonight. Really cool film and I stand by what I said above.

[DragonClaws]

Revisited this one tonight. Really cool film and I stand by what I said above.

This films on my pile of 'Films to watch' at the moment.

Fatcat, Iron Fisted Monk is a classic, Sammo Hung & Chan Sing on top form. I need to re-visit some of the old classic Golden Harvest titles.

[Ramji]

The last classic I wanted that wasn't a shaw production was Seven Steps Of Kung Fu. This film is the bomb. Tommy Lee going ape s#*t with the choreography on this one.

[zeus]

Child of the peach ----------Giant peach/fantasy

Carry on wise guy------------excellent recommended

Bruce Li the invincible---------kung fu gorillas WTF?

Brutal boxer-----------average

[paimeifist]

Snake in the Eagles Shadow 2

Ok movie, with some good fighting. The story is ok, and the movie really drags a lot when the "marriage" subplot came in. But it is worth a watch for an excellent performance from Lung Fei, and some solid fighting throughout. Don Wong was good as usual, and there were good cameo fighting performances from Chan Sing, Carter Wong, and Alan Chui. So below-average movie with above-average fighting.

I haven't seen Snake in the Eagles Shadow, but I'm pretty sure there were some scene of Jackie fighting Roy Horan and Hwang Jang Lee from it pasted into this movie...

They were great and reminded me that I really need to see it...

[DrNgor]

Completely random comment: Why hasn't this thread been stickied like the analogous Modern martial arts film thread?

[Morgoth Bauglir]

Completely random comment: Why hasn't this thread been stickied like the analogous Modern martial arts film thread?

Maybe newer movies are better than older ones? No I can't say that with a straight face.

[DragonClaws]

World Of Drunken Master

M.I.A/Prism DVD

Directed By: Joseph Kuo

Starring: Jack Long, Simon Lee, Jeannie Chang, Long Lei, Chan Wi Lau.

"Pray death comes quickly"

Jack Long & Simon Lee play two scamming Kung Fu fighters who make a living from selling stolen grapes. Whilst trying to steal more stock there caught by vineyard owner and Kung Fu Master Chan Chi played by Chan Wai Lau. Chan Wai is a regular of independent HK cinema often playing the role of an old martial arts master. Chan Chi decides to punish the pair with hard labour when they don’t cough up the costs of the stolen fruit. Before you can blink he's teaching them the art of Drunken Fist Boxing and pushing their bodies to the limit. It's not long before the film's villain shows up and decides to makes thing tough for the trio. Tiger Yeh is the local godfather who spends his time perfecting the Eagles Claw and extorting money. Tiger decides he wants the land that the Wine distillery sits on. This means Jack Long and Simon Lee have to step up and sort him out.

World Of Drunken Master is a bit messy in terms of plot. However it does feature some really great fight choreography from Yuen Cheung Yan. The film was a spin off/cash-in on the success of Jackie Chan's comedy Kung Fu classic Drunken Master. Simon Yuen the old teacher from Drunken Master turns up briefly at the start. This is the only attempt to connect this film with the Jackie Chan movie. If it wasn’t for the narration over Yuen’s footage the scene wouldn’t play any important role in the film.

The DVD is full screen and features a small black bar down the left hand side of the screen to make matters worse. The Pan & Scan job does hinder a lot of the fight scenes. The DVD cover claims it’s re-mastered but this isn't the case. This has clearly been sourced from a VHS print so don't expect nice clean crisp picture quality. The film was released by M.I.A as part of their Kung Fu Connection collection. Other titles in this series are Born Invincible, The 18 Bronzemen, Dragon Claws & Shaolin VS Lama.

[One Armed Boxer]

Completely random comment: Why hasn't this thread been stickied like the analogous Modern martial arts film thread?

Good point. Thread has now been stickied!

[DragonClaws]

The Killer In White a.k.a Shadow Ninja

MillCreek DVD

Directed By- Joe Cheung Tung-Cho

Action Directors- Lam Ching Yin, Stephen Tung Wai, Baan Yun Sang.

Starring- Stephen Tung Wai, Roy Chaio Hung, Yen Shi-Kwan, Pete Chan Lung.

Stuck this on late Saterday night for my weekend Kung Fu fix. Yet another film with a misleading title and no connection to the ninja genre. The first half hour is a bit slow and I did start to lose faith a little. When the action eventually kicked in and Stephen Tung Wai got the chance to showcase his skills, I was hooked. Roy Chiao Hung does a great job as the corrupt police officer who pairs up with Ah Keung (Tung Wai). Both men are pursuing the mysterious killer in white. The plots a bit better than your average Kung Fu flick. There's some amazing fight choreography on display in this film too. One standout sequence see's Stephen Tung Wai fight off multiple attackers in a very intense and spectacular fight.

The version I watched was released by MillCreek. You pretty much know what to expect, a dubbed full screen print and below average picture quality. This version is still watchable however and its certainly not the worst PQ Ive seen. Not the greatest example of Independent Hong Kong cinema but certainly well worth watching.

[Tex Killer]

recently there was a topic about mantis fist movies and I realized had not seen this since sold my vcr, so it was time to correct that after picking german dvd.

Incredible movie, memory did not fail in this case. Beardy has looks and screen energy to make going insane appear believable and end when he in rage takes on perhaps superior opponent is one of best showdowns in indie kf movies imo.

[DrNgor]

Green Dragon Inn - I'll be doing a write-up for a friend's magazine about this, but I found it to be an altogether satisfying variation of the "Intrigue at the Inn" formula. The story was strong by genre standards and the action, while uneven, was solid for the most part. Great cast of actors who have appeared in importante genre films (Polly Kuan, Lo Lieh and Yueh Hua). My major qualms with the film were the rushed ending and that the movie needed more Polly Kuan action.

[paimeifist]

Finally watched Drunken Master 78', it is a great movie and deserves the hype. Shame on me for having not seen it til now. Has Hwang looked better than he did here?!! Maybe not a favorite of mine, but undoubtedly a great movie. Now I need to get off my ass and see Snake in the Eagles Shadow!

I felt pretty much the same as you about Shadow Ninja DragonClaws. Awesome movie, if the first half hour was in par with the rest, it could be among the greats.

[DrNgor]

Has Hwang looked better than he did here?!!

Possibly in the finale of TIGER OVER WALL.

[Tex Killer]

Now I need to get off my ass and see Snake in the Eagles Shadow!

I like it more than DM, because Jackies character is not irrating punk. Also tino wong has better scenes in "snake", plot also more interesting. Having said that, DM has superior finale.

[DragonClaws]

Finally watched Drunken Master 78', it is a great movie and deserves the hype. Shame on me for having not seen it til now. Has Hwang looked better than he did here?!! Maybe not a favorite of mine, but undoubtedly a great movie. Now I need to get off my ass and see Snake in the Eagles Shadow!

I felt pretty much the same as you about Shadow Ninja DragonClaws. Awesome movie, if the first half hour was in par with the rest, it could be among the greats.

True, he was a very capable choreographer and would love to have seen him paired up with Jackie Chan.

Snake In The Eagles Shadow is a classic, but I felt Hwang Jang Lee deserved more screen time.

[DrNgor]

Goose Boxer - When the film really gets serious during the last 30 minutes, the fights (Charles Heung vs. Philip Ko; Philip Ko vs. Lee Hoi-San; Charles Heung vs. Lee Hoi-Sang) are great--some of Tommy Lee/Gam Ming's best. The crane style is quite good here; it's certainly more animated than in The Crane Fighters. The idea of starting a kung fu school based on sex positions makes for a unique ending, too. Too bad the first 40 minutes is a hard slog with a lot of annoying humor to wade through. Usually I learn to ignore these things, but these scenes get more annoying each time I watch this.