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

[saltysam]

Hand Of Death

Known as a Jackie Chan movie but in fact he's only a co-star here ,the star being Tan Tao Liang.An early John Woo effort (he also acts in this one). Plenty of Sammo here & James Tien is the baddie.Not bad but not great, the Eureka blu looks very good though it's been reported elsewhere it's missing the blue filter for nighttime shots. Can't say i noticed 😚

 

Last Hurrah For Chivalry

Excellent John Woo movie,far superior to Hand Of Death-great swordplay action here. The eureka blu ray looked phenomenal on my oled telly.

[Chu Liu Hsiang]

LAST HURRAH FOR CHIVALRY and THE YOUNG MASTER. Top 5 favorite non Shaw / Jackie Chan movie. 

[NoKUNGFUforYU]

Kung Fu Genius 

 

Cliff Lok kicks ass as master who can pick up styles in the blink of an eye. Hsia Hou and others come to a really bad end from Lee Hoi Sang and Foot Doctor Wilson Tong (not enough footwork, but still excellent shapes on display!) . Worth finding a copy of the custom by Thuglife. Bad comedy bits and off putting humor, but the shapes, wow. Also, Lok was a serious practitioner, and he did real kung fu, not tae kwon do or karate disguised as kung fu, so it's interesting to see him show his moves. Hou is dispatched a little too easily for my tastes, but all and all a good one to watch if you are puttering around in between the "humor".

[Tex Killer]

On 6/28/2019 at 7:56 PM, Chu Liu Hsiang said:

LAST HURRAH FOR CHIVALRY

Wish wires would not have been used in end fight, as nobody did fly before that save one trampoline jump by wei pai...

+too bad otherwise excellent subs in eureka! release some names were changed, green=ching I, magic sword=divine blade and sleeping wizard=sleeping buddha.

Agree, in top5 non-Shaw definitely.

[ShawAngela]

I watched NAKED COMES THE HUNTRESS this evening.

What a superb movie ! I love the way James Tien and the others framed the evil Chen Hsing in order that he makes a mistake and betrays himself !

Am I the only one to think that the actress Li Ying Ying looks a lot like Chia Ling in this movie ?

Here are two screen captures of her and when she smiled, I almost thought that I was looking at Chia Ling in Queen Boxer !

And I think that it's the first time that I see Li Kun in a serious role and even doing a few martial arts moves in a movie...I wish he had participated in the final fight, it would have been something to see...

Edited July 9, 2019 by ShawAngela

[NoKUNGFUforYU]

The Great Highwaymen

So I usually have to time and sub these projects, so I watch them frame by frame almost, and it kind of kills the fun. I usually have to wait a few months to forget and then come back to them. But this is one of those that Chen Hung Lieh (the fellow on this forum, not the real actor) did for us, so I got to watch it straight through. A few things-

1. As usual, the acting and dialogue is a little better then the Shaw's films of the time. A lot less alliteration, or Basil Exposition characters, so a little different flow. 

2.One of the only lead roles for Kam Shan, who moved over to Golden Harvest when Cathay sold out to Raymond Chow and he fits the role, which is basically Zorro, but with a beard instead of a mask. His Co Star was Tam Yi Lee, who only made 10 films and I know little about, though she does a great job with her fight scenes. I imagine she either moved on to something else or went on to TV. She was only 18 at the time, who knows? Back to college at some point?

3. Chu Mu is the villain, like 90% of these Cathay films, and he uses the Pincer fist, and some basic tiger claw is on display, which you really did not see much of shapes back then, so it is interesting to see here. Nothing like Heroes Two or anything, but not a basher, either.

4.What really hurt Cathay was they did not have the sets or the costumes for some of these movies. While it works fine for most of their films- Eagles Claw, Iron Bones, Mallow Forest, it really hurts when you have bat outfits that look like there were made for a poor 5th grader and some really rickety looking bridges for an otherwise rousing finale. 

Anyway, any entertaining rarity. Hopefully someone can get a widescreen, cleaner print.

 

 

 

 

[ShaOW!linDude]

Watched 2 movies out of the Mill Creek "Flying Fists of Kung Fu" collection.

Phantom Kung Fu aka Mantis in the Monkey's Shadow (1978)

Chang Yu plays a villain after a list of rebels. Don Wong Tao is a man who was killed by Yu but keeps reappearing repeatedly to fight him from time to time. It's a tired movie trope that's been done 100 times better in other films. The fight choreography is boring as all get out. The only shining moment is when Yu takes on Gam Ming & Wang Tai Lang, who use a combined Monkey Style against him in a skirmish. That's not even the end fight. Chock full of annoying characters, a lame plot, a story that meanders all over the place, and sub-par fight sequences, this certainly is no "classic" in any sense of the word. 5-10 minutes into this, I started just ff-ing to the fights. I encourage y'all to give this one a wide berth. (Maybe you can find that one good fight on Youtube.)

 

Mantis Under Falcon Claws (1983)

Gwak Mu Seong plays Wang, a silk trader whose goods are stolen by the gang of Falcon Ma, played by Hyeon Kil Su. Wang wants to learn kung fu so as to get his goods back. Ma has also kidnapped a local official's daughter for ransom, as well as Wang's girlfriend, and another fighter (who is apparently uncredited on the HKMDb page of the movie). Chia Kai plays Wang's master. The plot is meh, and there are the usual annoying characters, but the choreography in this fairly solid. There are a few training sequences, but they're nothing special. Some of the early fights are more slapstick. The end fight is really good, though the undercranking gets a tad quick in places. HKS as the villain is a fairly decent kicker who acts as a poor man's Hwang Jang Lee here, look and all. Word to the wise, though the fights pretty good, there is no Mantis Style whatsoever, nor is there any Eagle Claw Style (doubling as Falcon Claw style) on display. 

[DragonClaws]

 

I took a trip to the Old-School, for my latest long winded rambling's. Written exclusively for all the Kung Fu Fandom Forum contributor's/reader's.

Please click on the link below, for my complete write-up, thank-you.

 

 

Edited July 12, 2019 by DragonClaws

[DrNgor]

19 hours ago, ShaOW!linDude said:

Phantom Kung Fu aka Mantis in the Monkey's Shadow (1978)

This is the most negative review I've read of this movie, which has something of a following among fans.
 

19 hours ago, ShaOW!linDude said:

Mantis Under Falcon Claws (1983)

This is the closest thing to a positive review about this movie that I've ever read.

@ShaOW!linDude - I hereby declare you to be...THE ICONOCLAST!!! Here is your monocle, sir.

[Secret Executioner]

@DrNgor I was pretty much feeling the same.

[Tex Killer]

hand of death. Fairly standard storyline about Shaolin student taking revenge of traitor...Weaker as movie than Last Hurrah in same eureka! release, Hand is still damn good flick. Few times kicks land short from opponents, choreography is still very solid overall. Jackie has great bout against 2 enemies(my fav scene at flick) at end and lots of other neat stuff around..Samo with funny teeth has few good fights and Tan Tao of course has plenty of chances to do swift legwork.

Dialogue in subs is excellent although like in Last Hurrah would have preferred some names/titles remain same to old subs. Zorro may not been best name for character ever but neither is Prodigal Son. Shihs fighting style is now Crane Soul Chasing Fist, was it Goose Palm in old translation(been some years since last view)?GP sounds better..Tiger Claw is now Tiger Paw...

On the other hand Shihs henchmen were labelled just as bodyguards before, Tiger Generals in eureka! feels better...

Tan Tao Liang kicks roughly ~15 times with his right foot.

Edited July 12, 2019 by Tex Killer

[DragonClaws]

 

I took a trip into the wild world of The Yuen Clan, in my all new Buddhist Fist themed ramblethon.

Please click on the link below, to look over my thought's on this one, thank you.

 

 

Edited July 12, 2019 by DragonClaws

[Killer Meteor]

Snake in the Eagle's Shadow Part II (1978)

Director: Chang Hsin-Yi

Somewhat to my surprise, this doesn't slavishly copy the formula of its famous namesake (bullied student befriends master in hiding) and is instead a mixture of boring escort company shenanigans and vaguely amusing con-man antics. Don Wong Tao stars (already a long way from his prime in Secret Rivals), Lee Kun tries out to be a fatter version of Dean Shek, Carter Huang and Chen Sing are wasted in small throwaway roles, but thankfully Lung Fei is on hand to liven up the last reel as a fairly intimidating mantis fist master.

Incidentally, although Wong Tao is meant to be a snake fist master, he still randomly launches into the Cat's Claw from SITES, complete with shots of a poor kitty being hurled into the air!

4/10

[saltysam]

Seaman No. 7

Standard 70's Golden Harvest Wang Yu fare, here he's a sailor who thinks he's killed someone in a bar brawl.He absconds and soon finds himself mixed up with gangsters and Villains.He later ends up in Japan where he has relatives, unfortunately trouble follows. Middle tier Wang Yu, the cast is like a Big Boss/Fist Of Fury reunion, Paul Feng,Lo Wei (who directed) Maria Yi, Lee Quin,Lam Ching Ying, Han Ying Chieh and a blonde haired James Tien as the main baddie. The german DVD is nice and wide but the print is too dark.

Edited July 14, 2019 by saltysam

[Chu Liu Hsiang]

BROKEN OATH - another education gap filled.

On 7/14/2019 at 4:42 PM, saltysam said:

Seaman No. 7

Isn't that the movie where Wang Yu is whistling more or less constantly? I found it cute at the start but after a while it was getting on my nerves.

 

On 7/12/2019 at 11:11 PM, Killer Meteor said:

Incidentally, although Wong Tao is meant to be a snake fist master, he still randomly launches into the Cat's Claw from SITES, complete with shots of a poor kitty being hurled into the air!

Thanks for the warning! I put the movie on my personal blacklist.

[Coliseum1972]

On 7/14/2019 at 4:42 PM, saltysam said:

Seaman No. 7

Standard 70's Golden Harvest Wang Yu fare, here he's a sailor who thinks he's killed someone in a bar brawl.He absconds and soon finds himself mixed up with gangsters and Villains.He later ends up in Japan where he has relatives, unfortunately trouble follows. Middle tier Wang Yu, the cast is like a Big Boss/Fist Of Fury reunion, Paul Feng,Lo Wei (who directed) Maria Yi, Lee Quin,Lam Ching Ying, Han Ying Chieh and a blonde haired James Tien as the main baddie. The german DVD is nice and wide but the print is too dark.

Tien looks like a Chinese Bowie withthat hair style , ha

[ShawAngela]

Secret of the water technique 1984

I didn't like this movie at all !

First, the subtitles were very difficult to read and it didn't helpt to follow the plot.

Second, the plot itself, though being mentioned on the cover as the story of one of the Water Margin heroes, didn't seem to be related to the Water Margin in any way, focusing on the adventures of a monk (previously a hero, but I was absoluety unable to clearly see or hear his name and it wasn't Wu Song, unless it was spelled in another way...) that didn't seem to be related to each other.

Then, Lin Chong appears, played by Tien Peng, who doesn't have much to do in the movie, since he appear in the last third and has only a few fights. There is something strange, since the monk frees him from the constables who wanted to kill him (which reminded of Wu Song's story in Delightful forest...), and he still goes to jail, where he is almost killed again !

And then, the last fight...in which appears a kind of mosntruous creature coming from the belly of a hopping vampire who fought the monk, who first fights against the monk, and then, without any reason, fights against its own clan, the two guys responsible of the death of Tien Peng's wife

Beardy has a very short role and he never appears again, as well as Pai Piao...

For me, except Tien Peng's fights, it was really a waste of time watching this movie...

[ShawAngela]

Blood revenge 1974

I rewatched this movie and enjoyed it again, though I noticed things that I hadn't noticed at teh first viewing, such as sometimes, Kao Fei seems to have recieve a strike before the strike has been displayed by his opponent...

The plot and the fights are good, but the ending also made me think that the director should have been more thoughtful : though there were three heroes (Kao Fei, Lu Hsiao Hui and Tsai Hung) to defeat the two skillful bandits Addy Sung and the other one, suddenly, the policeman Tsai Hung will be sttrong enough to lead alone the two guys to the prison, with only their hands attached and being able to walk, and hence to fight him with their feet ??!! It's not logicall at all !!

[ShawAngela]

Eagle's claw and Butterfly palm 1978

What a superb movie !

Very good plot, superb fights and an unexpected twist at the end.

Yu Tien Long and Tsung Hua are very good, here.

And it's another movie in which Li Kun does something else than comedy, though he doesn't have a lot of fights in the movie...

Years ago, I bought this movie because it appeared in Kong Ban's filmography. There are so many stars in it, that Kong Ban doesn't have much fight scenes, and it's the same for Lo Lieh and Yueh Hua, but, as I said, it's a very enjoying non stop action movie.

 

[ShawAngela]

Enter the dragon 1973

I first watched this movie on tv in the 80's, I think, then, I bought the vhs (if I'm not mistaken) and later the dvd.

Each time I watch it, I enjoy it a lot, but I think that it would have been better if Angela Mao had had much scenes...

And each time I watch it, I notice something new. For instance, today, I watched the Korean release of this movie, and I discovered Liu Yung, Addy Sung and Ko Fei among the fighters. Fortunately, I didn't blink when they were on screen, because I coukd have missed them (at least Addy Sung and Ko Fei !).

Talking about Addy Sung, I discovered on hkmdb that he began to play when he was a child, and he was already easily recognizeable at that time...

I also recognized Tung Wei as Bruce Lee's student, and he looked like a baby at that time !

I'm sure all Bruce Lee's fans here are already aware of this, but I discovered that this Korean release has two very interesting featurettes  : one showing some" behind the scenes " of the movie, and the other one showing Bruce Lee's training in black and white (a very short one !).

 

[DrNgor]

The Prodigal Boxer (Taiwan, 1972: Ulysses Au) - Probably the first film about Fong Sai-Yuk movie made in the post-Chinese Boxer era of "modern" kung fu cinema, preceding Alexander Fu Sheng's take on the character by two years. Meng Fei plays Fong Sai-Yuk, who must avenge the death of his father at the hands of the Tan Brothers (including Yasuaki Kurata), who themselves are avenging the death of one of their students, whom Fong accidentally killed in a scuffle over a cricket fight. Fong trains hard under his mother's tutelage, which is necessary, since the brothers--especially Wong Ching's fist master--aren't so hot when they aren't double-teaming their opponents. The action was handled by Lau Kar-Wing, who also choreographed this film's first sequel: Young Hero of Shaolin (for the record, Kar-Wing's brother, Kar-Leung, choreographed the second sequel: The Secret of Shaolin Poles). I suppose the action is here is the "Chinese Boxing" choreography that @DragonClaws, discussed in one of his reviews. There's more technique on display than a typical basher, but you get the feeling that Lau Kar-Wing is still getting the feel of inserting pure hung gar into the proceedings. Yasuaki Kurata ends up stealing the show with his high, fast and crisp bootwork. In 1972, Angela Mao and Bruce Lee were probably the only others who were really doing that onscreen.

[Killer Meteor]

I've always liked Prodigal Boxer, it's an interesting transition film. Dare I say it, Meng Fei is more likeable than Fu Sheng...

[sym8]

18 hours ago, Killer Meteor said:

I've always liked Prodigal Boxer, it's an interesting transition film. Dare I say it, Meng Fei is more likeable than Fu Sheng...

I always felt Fu Sheng was a wasted talent in a lot of his films(not all though)legendary weapons of China for example,just to much goofing around

[Coliseum1972]

Kung Fu Mama 4/6

Has anyone seen Wang Yus Knight Errant , curious about it even if it may not be the best 

[ShawAngela]

2 hours ago, Coliseum1972 said:

Kung Fu Mama 4/6

May I ask why only 4/6 ?