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

[saltysam]

I wish James Tien would do some interviews.....i imagine he would have so much to tell.

[Killer Meteor]

I quite enjoy James Tien but in Dragon Fist they have him be the better of Eagle Han Ying and I'm like "No...freaking...way!"

[saltysam]

The Tournament

Angela Mao's kung fu master father gets into debt and reluctantly sends his son and friend to Thailand to fight, where they are trashed by thai boxers, one's killed, the other (Carter Wong) badly injured. To make matters worse the chinese martial arts association decide he's brought shame on chinese kung fu, expelling him and leading him to suicide. It's then up to feisty Angela to train in thai boxing along with Carter and head back to Thailand to put things right. Pretty good, one 8 or so minute fight sequence where Angela takes on various members of the martial arts school is stellar.

The Himalayan

Unusual Angela Mao flick in which she doesn't really get to break loose until the finale. Devious Chen Sing sets up his brother to marry into the rich Ceng Family,plotting to take over as head .When his brother doesn't comply, he offs him and replaces him with a lookalike, frames Angela for murder and is generally an evil bastard who kills anyone in his way. Very overlong and not enough action in this one, story is fairly interesting. The Shout! print on this is 1:85:1, assume this has been cropped?

[NoKUNGFUforYU]

2 hours ago, saltysam said:

The Tournament

Angela Mao's kung fu master father gets into debt and reluctantly sends his son and friend to Thailand to fight, where they are trashed by thai boxers, one's killed, the other (Carter Wong) badly injured. To make matters worse the chinese martial arts association decide he's brought shame on chinese kung fu, expelling him and leading him to suicide. It's then up to feisty Angela to train in thai boxing along with Carter and head back to Thailand to put things right. Pretty good, one 8 or so minute fight sequence where Angela takes on various members of the martial arts school is stellar.

The Himalayan

Unusual Angela Mao flick in which she doesn't really get to break loose until the finale. Devious Chen Sing sets up his brother to marry into the rich Ceng Family,plotting to take over as head .When his brother doesn't comply, he offs him and replaces him with a lookalike, frames Angela for murder and is generally an evil bastard who kills anyone in his way. Very overlong and not enough action in this one, story is fairly interesting. The Shout! print on this is 1:85:1, assume this has been cropped?

Quite a different take on the several matches in Thailand where Chinese Kung Fu practitioners were demolished. Unlike Duel of Fist, where David Chiang comes to Thailand and crushes pro athletes while maintaining a full time desk job in HK, The Tournament acknowledges that the Thai's are professional fighters, and fight for a living. Both are pretty accurate about what a sleazy business the fight game is, though. Also, I learned that depending on where you go, fighters from Thailand and Chinese Sanda fighter wrap the hands so that they are like castes, so many Western (and unaware Eastern) opponents are hit with a blunt object. Kind of makes it tough on a Tai Kek fighter from HK back in the day. Still, I enjoy both films to this day, though the Tournament has an edge in that it has a realistic approach to being eclectic in martial arts, and rejects dogma.

[Killer Meteor]

As far as I am aware, The Hymaliyan is 1.85:1. I suspect that they did that to avoid taking cinemascope cameras into Tibet, or they used what was avaliable in that country? Pretty much every other 1970s HK movie I know of is Scope.

[saltysam]

Revenge Of The Shaolin Master

Tan Tao Liang is framed for the robbery of money and food supplies meant for refugees. A investigator for the local magistrate is sent to err..investigate but is pretty useless for most of he running time,initially siding with the real baddie despite it being pretty obvious who's done what. Lots of fighting but standard fair until the last 20 minutes, when evil bastard Lung Fei shows up in his signature role as an evil bastard 😋 even more bizarre is a robed Chen Sing showing up with 10 minutes left, scrapping with Lung Fei then vanishing for the real climax. Unfortunately my enjoyment of this was severely hampered by the horrible Pan & Scan Crash! DVD, which cuts off loads of the action. I've said it before but i think Kung Fu movies suffer more than any other genre with cropping.

[DrNgor]

17 hours ago, saltysam said:

Lots of fighting but standard fair until the last 20 minutes,

How does Tan Tao Liang fare under Yuen Woo-Ping's direction?

[saltysam]

4 hours ago, DrNgor said:

How does Tan Tao Liang fare under Yuen Woo-Ping's direction?

Not bad (what i could tell from the awful p&s job) he spends too much of the movie chained up though.

[saltysam]

Mask Of Death

When you come across a movie with Chen Sing, Don Wong Tao & Tung Wei you can't lose,right? Well you possibly can because on the whole this is a pretty convoluted mess  involving a Shaolin Monk, double crossing, long lost mothers and not so great action (until the end when we get a decent battle in an old cemetery) on the plus side Chen Sing makes anything watchable and Don Wong Tao has a presence. The Crash DVD has lots of scratches but is clear and wide.

Golden Needles

After ETD became a phenomenon Weintraub/Heller/Clouse decided to return to HK and make an action star out of...Joe Don Baker? Here he's a washed up soldier of fortune who's hired by wily chancer Elizabeth Ashley to steal back the mythical Golden Needle Statuette. It's best just letting the stupidity of the movie wash over you, if you can then there's some lovely HK locations on show, Baker's brawny fighting style.. bizarre Burgess Meredith cameo, Roy Chiao and best of all.. Jim Kelly as an antiques dealer ! Unfortunately Jim only has one poorly choregraphed fight scene and disappears from the film late on. Good foot chase in the climax of this, very well shot.

The Steel Fisted Dragon

Indonesian bruceploitation! Steve Lee (who's chanelling Bruce Le) swears revenge on the world after his mother is killed by thugs. Pretty much non stop action ,i mean in the first ten minutes we see a guy get his eyeballs ripped out and not much later a thug drops through a trapdoor into a pit of acid,as you do. HK actor Lau Chan guest stars here- but the main event, Steve Lee vs JohnnyKongKong 😁is saved for the end. The VCI DVD is widescreen anamorphic (Yay!)

Edited March 1, 2019 by saltysam

[sym8]

Just watched Dragon Lord again,for me this really drags until the finale(to be honest I hit the fast forward button after about 10 mins in)but what a finale,the hits and falls Jackie and Mars take are impressive and painful and I love the fact that Jackie can’t really fight but only wins because he doesn’t give up.Not sure how old Wang In sik is here but he can bust some moves.

[saltysam]

Amsterdam Connection

Wow, make a film that goes to Amsterdam, Paris & HK, rope in Bolo,Chen Sing,Jason Paio Paio amongst others and you should be set for a kung fu classic right? Well wrong, this is dire stuff, Chen Sing isn't in it much, Bolo only fights at the climax, apart from briefly sparring with Jason at the start. Plot about double crossing drug dealers is boring and stupid. Typically for such a poor effort Crash has one of their best DVD transfers, widescreen and a clean print.

[NoKUNGFUforYU]

DRAGON PRINCESS

Pretty standard revenge fair, almost more like a Chinese movie in the Shiomi is willing to risk everything to avenge her dad, played by Chiba. She looks great in the tight jean outfit of the day (how does she manage those kicks!?) but switches to dressing like a nun for most of the film. He Monk grandpa is all about the revenge as well, which seems a little off considering monks are supposedly non violent and against revenge, even in most of the Shaolin films. Thankfully Shiomi is assisted by Kurata, who is also looking to avenge her dad. The action is spruced up by 3 assassins, one with a Sai, the other with a katana that expands into a spear, and a blind karate/swordsman. The DVD I have is clean and wide screen, I think partly because the Japanese films had better film stock and equipment, so even the DVD's look pretty clear. Check it out!

[Killer Meteor]

3 hours ago, saltysam said:

Amsterdam Connection

Wow, make a film that goes to Amsterdam, Paris & HK, rope in Bolo,Chen Sing,Jason Paio Paio amongst others and you should be set for a kung fu classic right? Well wrong, this is dire stuff, Chen Sing isn't in it much, Bolo only fights at the climax, apart from briefly sparring with Jason at the start. Plot about double crossing drug dealers is boring and stupid. Typically for such a poor effort Crash has one of their best DVD transfers, widescreen and a clean print.

A US grindhouse distributor renamed the film BIG BAD BOLO!

[ShaOW!linDude]

Goose Boxer (1978) starring Heung Wah Keung, Phillip Ko, & Lee Hoi Sang

A lame plot and insipid comedy elements, but some outstanding choreography in this. Probably the best I've ever seen PK and LHS. HWK as the hero is really good. Some of his postures and moves are definitely not good for the knees and ankles. This some some decent training sequences, too, and seeing him do one handed push-ups to pick up teacups with his mouth is impressive. 

[DragonClaws]

4 hours ago, ShaOW!linDude said:

Goose Boxer (1978) starring Heung Wah Keung, Phillip Ko, & Lee Hoi Sang

A lame plot and insipid comedy elements, but some outstanding choreography in this. Probably the best I've ever seen PK and LHS. HWK as the hero is really good. Some of his postures and moves are definitely not good for the knees and ankles. This some some decent training sequences, too, and seeing him do one handed push-ups to pick up teacups with his mouth is impressive. 

 

Glad you got round to watching this @ShaOW!linDude, you commented on the film, when I reviewed it. Under the title, Shaolin Tough Kid. Saying that it was a title you had always passed by. From reading your comments, you have the same outlook on this title, as me. The choreography really keeps it all tied together, and it's worthy of a much better release.

Edited March 5, 2019 by DragonClaws

[sym8]

Knockabout-in my opinion from Sammo Hungs glory years,tight crisp choreography and stars that are on top of there game,great stuff.👍👍👍👍

[ShaOW!linDude]

Tiger Over Wall (1980) stars Hwang Jang Lee, Phillip Ko

Wow. Plot-wise, this movie is a mess, and has a ton of annoying characters. I mean, it starts off with people going on about a missing boxer dog. Then the local authorities, who happen to be led by HJL, start harassing people about it. Somehow it segues into everybody having it in for PK. (I'm not sure what happened there.) Action-wise, the movie has a lot to offer. The action starts off rather standard fare, no mind-blowing choreography. But it gradually ramps up the further along it goes. Ko looks fantastic in this, and goes into beast mode as the film nears its finale. The guy is pulling off some insane "shapes" work. Hwang Jang Lee is...well, Hwang Jang Lee. He's always in beast mode. Unfortunately, he really doesn't do anything action-wise, except slap people around, until the finale. And the finale is boss! Starts off with PK using a bo staff vs HJL using a guan-do. It is fantastic, and then finally shifts into hand-to-hand. This definitely one to ff through for the fights, especially the finale with its many rewatchable moments. 

[Ah_Tao]

Lone Wolf McQuade

 

I revisited this after God knows how long and... it's just awesome as I remember it to be! I love watching Chuck just do his thing and his performance really shines in it. 

My only gripe that I had then which I still have now is the scene where:

Spoiler

McQuade is buried and all of a sudden he's able to drive out because of the "power of his engine". Didn't make sense to me at all but hey, it's a movie after all.

 

Who can ever forget the climatic fight scene? Carradine's tenure in Kung Fu shows well in this fight scene too. I don't think the movie would have worked if Lee was the one to face McQuade (just wouldn't have made it believeable but I digress). 

On top of it all, there's explosions, explosions, and even MORE EXPLOSIONS.

5/5

[saltysam]

Bloody Fight

A Japanese fighter and his lackeys are going round chinese kung fu schools and killing the masters. It's up to one school to fight back and defeat them. Early 70's basher is interesting, not great, possibly one of the earliest examples of drunken boxing here as Alan Tang takes on Eddy Ko & Chen Kuan Tai early on. Think this is the first time i've seen regular evil bastard  Yeh Fang in a non villianous role as well. The uk dragon DVD is full widescreen, english dubbed. at £1.98 i'm happy with my purchase !

Edited March 7, 2019 by saltysam

[Killer Meteor]

On 2/24/2019 at 12:12 AM, Killer Meteor said:

I quite enjoyed When Taekwondo Strikes - love seeing Angela at her prime, and the supporting cast is awesome. Andre Morgan made up as an old priest is pretty funny. I wonder what happened to Anne Winton...

Apparently, she is also in an early Bruceploitation film - http://hkmdb.com/db/people/view.mhtml?id=16908&display_set=eng

[Killer Meteor]

1 minute ago, saltysam said:

Bloody Fight

A Japanese fighter and his lackeys are going round chinese kung fu schools and killing the masters. It's up to one school to fight back and defeat them. Early 70's basher is interesting, not great, possibly one of the earliest examples of drunken boxing here as Alan Tang takes on Eddy Ko & Chen Kuan Tai early on. Think this is the first time i've seen regular evil bastard  Yeh Fang in a non villianous role as well. The uk dragon DVD is full widescreen, english dubbed. at £2.29 i'm happy with my purchase !

There is also a widescreen Chinese print around, it was on US DVD once - https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000MQ551Q/dvdaficionado

 

 

[saltysam]

2 minutes ago, Killer Meteor said:

Apparently, she is also in an early Bruceploitation film - http://hkmdb.com/db/people/view.mhtml?id=16908&display_set=eng

i watched that recently, the newish german dvd, can't recall spotting her, must check again.

[saltysam]

15 minutes ago, Killer Meteor said:

Apparently, she is also in an early Bruceploitation film - http://hkmdb.com/db/people/view.mhtml?id=16908&display_set=eng

blink and you'd miss dojo scene...i think that's her

Edited March 7, 2019 by saltysam

[Killer Meteor]

Kind of a come-down, going from working with Jhoon Rhee and Angela Mao and Sammo to a pokey soap opera/biopic.

[saltysam]

Iron Swallow

Judy Lee is after revenge on 10 old men involved in a cover up years before. Story is a bit convoluted and the action isn't particularly impressive but overall it's not bad. Don Wong Tao is in a supporting role here.

 

The Magnificent

Bad ass Chen Sing wants to overthrow the government and take power for himself, he kidnaps the elderly ching leader, desperately wanting his emblem off him. His daughter Doris Chen and Carter Wong as the righteous commissioner are on Chen's trail. Throw in Casanova Wong and you have a doozy of a cast. The final fight is a doozy, Chen Sing is on top form and seems unbeatable, what a presence he had in these movies. The Crash DVD is wide with burn in subs that are at times hard to read. Recommended.