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

[Coliseum1972]

Black Panther 3.5/6

Chen Sing plays an ex con whos framed and wants revenge against the boss , played by Kurata......I guess Sing did something to piss off the boss prior to the opening scene but the movie never explains what

[saltysam]

Tiger Over Wall

Pretty boring kung fu actioner without the action is saved by an absolute doozy of an end fight scene between Phillip Ko & Hwang Jang Lee, which is so well done you wonder why there was such an absence of fights earlier in the film. The widescreen mandarin language version i watched from youtube looks not too bad.

 

Fate Of Lee Khan

Excellent King Hu film ,here in a fantastic blu ray remaster from eureka. Set almost entirely in an inn where the evil title character decides to stay, this has a stellar cast including Han Ying Chieh, Angela Mao,Feng Tien, Hsu Feng,Roy Chiao. Lots of faces from the Bruce Lee movies here.

[Killer Meteor]

I really like  Tiger Over Wall, here are my comments on the god-awful Vengeance Video release

 

Having watched the Vengeance edition, my thoughts...

 

1) Hwang Jang Lee not sounding like a castrated Charles Hawtrey is a bonus.

 

2) Vengeance being too cheap to do some subs probably sums up why the cluttering up of HMV with cheapo kung fu releases was a bad thing. The subs on the disc are cropped away and/or hard to read, especially when white-clad Hwang is talking. Good job he's so transparently evil.

 

3. Considering the cropping destroys the subs AND the title card (GER OVER WA), the action is quite easy to follow

 

4) Considering Vengeance used old UK tape masters before, it's weird they used the cropped Chinese source. Though the BBFC snipped neck break is a doozy!

 

5) Chan Lau is even more freaky then usual, but much to my surprise it actually works. You really can believe he only has three brain cells.

 

6) Cheung Nick barely appears, but is handsome and a decent fighter. I wonder if he was a more bankable star then Phillip Ko - in fact, I do wonder who out of the many old school indie stars were the most popular with audiences.

 

7) There's a totally weird intro to the leading lady - singing away about her life as though this were a Disney movie. Sadly (or perhaps not), no-one else sings, so we don't get to see Hwang Jang-Lee having a power ballard about being evil.

 

😎 The initial Westerner we see isn't too bad...but later there's an "old" man who looks suspiciously like a young guy in a bad make-up job, much like Andre Morgan in When Taekwondo Strikes

 

9) This is one angry movie, more so because it was released against so many comedies.

 

10) Hwang Jang-Lee vs. Phillip Ko is indeed one of the best fights ever. It's a wonder no-one was killed!

 

8/10

[CT KID]

They should never put subs on the actual  print that blend in with the colors in the film, that defeats the whole purpose. I don't know how many times this has sent me into a cussing fit trying to follow along what they're saying then it becomes camouflaged and you can't see shit! Whoever did this obviously didn't care.

[Killer Meteor]

19 minutes ago, CT KID said:

They should never put subs on the actual  print that blend in with the colors in the film, that defeats the whole purpose. I don't know how many times this has sent me into a cussing fit trying to follow along what they're saying then it becomes camouflaged and you can't see shit! Whoever did this obviously didn't care.

Well, those subs go back to the theatrical prints used in Chinese territories back in the day. The problem is video distributors now never bother to offer optional new subs in the black bars.

[CT KID]

12 minutes ago, Killer Meteor said:

Well, those subs go back to the theatrical prints used in Chinese territories back in the day. The problem is video distributors now never bother to offer optional new subs in the black bars.

I see, since it was done for the Chinese territories where everyone understood Chinese anyway then the subs really weren't given any importance. It's a shame these companies today are either to cheap or to sorry to do subs correctly.

[Chu Liu Hsiang]

SHAOLIN VS NINJA I enjoyed especially the tournament fights in front of the beautiful temple. When out for revenge,  monks act like anyone else: Kill first, ask questions later. Thank Buddha, the abbot keeps calm, and prevents a Chinese monks vs Japanese monks massacre, and thus forces the real culprits to come forth. 

[sym8]

Project A-1983

Directed and starring Jackie Chan.

Haven’t seen this in a while and loved it just as much now as I did back in the day,great story and of course great action all done at a frantic pace.For me this is up there with his best work,both in terms of the direction and choreography.The fight scene in the restaurant/hotel is an absolute blast,Chan and co look fantastic with there kicks flips and falls,they don’t make them like this anymore.👍👍👍👍

Edited October 31, 2019 by sym8

[CT KID]

2 hours ago, sym8 said:

Project A-1983

Directed and starring Jackie Chan.

Haven’t seen this in a while and loved it just as much now as I did back in the day,great story and of course great action all done at a frantic pace.For me this is up there with his best work,both in terms of the direction and choreography.The fight scene in the restaurant/hotel is an absolute blast,Chan and co look fantastic with there kicks flips and falls,they don’t make them like this anymore.👍👍👍👍

Been a long time since watching this, not since having it on a vhs boot from the infamous crook George Tan in the early 90's. Remember the fights being fast and dynamic and the stunts spectacular. The fall Chan did from the clock tower using Buster Keaton as his inspiration was incredible!

[saltysam]

He Has Nothing But Kung Fu

Gordon Liu (with hair!) and Wong Yue star in this enjoyable independent kung fu flick. Wong is a conman who comes across Liu, who's lost his memory but turns out to be an ace fighter. They team up to take on the local gangsters running the town. KungfuRobbers custom ,in widescreen is the best available.

Chinese Stuntman

Along with Dynamo probably Ho Chung Tao's most mature effort. I had a new appreciation for the movie watching Nonmorkungfuforyu ,s widescreen print with custom english dub. The uk dvd is horrible,so this was a revelation.

[Drunken Monk]

The Leg Fighters - I’ll admit, this is my first time seeing this one so I consider myself lucky that my cherry was popped with the new Blu Ray release. Wow! I can really understand why this one is considered a classic.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way: Chin Fa is a fucking nightmare. I get he’s the comical relief but he is constantly grating and brings nothing to the film whatsoever. Even the hilariously dreadful Ding Dong and Dong Dong bring more to the table (is Ding Dong’s voice modeled after Yogi Bear?).

With all that said, the film is thin on plot and uses most things to make way for a fight scene. Which is where the film flourishes. Kicks galore! I’ve never been a huge fan of Dorian Tan Tao Liang and he shines here. Truly masterful boot work. Also, I’ve never heard of Ha Keon’s Li and she kicks arse in this movie. Even her brief weapons fight is something to behold.

But, for me, Peng Kang is the man of the hour. Again, I don’t know much about him save for the fact he choreographed Shaolin vs Lama but the guy just oozes talent. He’s up there as far as villains go. He doesn’t have much of a plot to make him evil but, somehow, he comes across as a genuine menace. And his kung fu skills are bonkers.

I liked this one an awful lot. Yes, the comedy killed it a little bit there is a fight scene every ten minutes, it seems. A good fight scenes at that. I am so lucky that I still have gems like these to watch for the first time.

[CT KID]

I love this film, Tan is the man to me. Love all his late 70s films like HCAV, Cotton Mill, Tattoo Connection and Boxer' Adventure. His style of kicking was beautiful and a pleasure to watch. The woman Ha was incredibly flexible and a great to watch and Peng in a dual role  as the low kicking ground fighter made a great villain and perfect contrast to Tan's high kicking. Ding Dong and Dum Dum were ridiculously stupid though lol. The sifu that smoked the pipe was great with his style and acrobatics too, damn cool. For some reason they misspelled all the names wrong in the opening credits of this movie, bizarre.

Edited November 6, 2019 by CT KID

[saltysam]

Black Panther

                           Chen Sing is framed at the airport by evil bastard Lung Fei, he gets sent to prison where he refuses to speak. After 3 years inside he's due out, big boss Yusaki Kurata  gets worried and tries to stitch him up again. Chen busts out, goes on the run and settles scores with those who framed him. Great basher, Chen Sing at his leanest and meanest,some great action including one where they scrap floor by floor downwards in a great 2 vs 1 fight. Beware the new Asia Line DVD which has removed the english dub, anyone who wants this needs the older release from NEW.

[Graeme Of Death]

Shaolin Vs Lama Going by the review on Kung Fu Movie Guide I was expecting something amazing, but in my opinion it's just an average to decent run of the mill Kung Fu film with a familiar plot. Probably didn't help the picture quality of the DVD was horrendous.

Before that I watched the last of the Sammo Eureka films, The Magnificent Butcher. Not just as good as I remembered it as I feel it drags on a bit, could have cut it down to a 90 minute film and it would still have been good. Also Beggar So is a pain in the arse in this one. Very similar in tone to Iron Fisted Monk, horrendously unfunny HK comedy mixed with rape and murder. Was reading the booklet and re-watching the old Sammo interviews on the discs and none of them mentioned the genius of Fung Hark On who I think totally makes those film.

[DragonClaws]

42 minutes ago, Graeme Of Death said:

but in my opinion it's just an average to decent run of the mill Kung Fu film with a familiar plot. Probably didn't help the picture quality of the DVD was horrendous.

 

Give this one a second chance, with a watchable WideScreen print if possible. This movie along with The Victim renewed my interest im the genre. A a time when I'd reached a big rut and burned out. That said, I'd never seen anything like it at the time. I'm not sure if my praise would be so high, if I viewed it for the first time now?. After viewing more Asian cinema both new and old. It was my first taste of faster paced 1980's style Taiwanese action. With Alexander Lo Rei and Chang Shan on top form, for me it's one of the best Kung Fu indie's out there. Not to mention one of Lee Tso Nam's finest efforts as Director.

 

 

 

[Killer Meteor]

THE LEG FIGHTERS (1980)
Director: Lee Tso-Nam

Great as it is to see a Taiwanese old school indie lovingly preserved on Blu-Ray, this is pretty poor with far too much stupid comic relief (especially from a strange fellow called Ding-Dong who dresses like a Native American draped in bells), an uninspiring villain and underwhelming fights. Dorian Tan Tao-Liang is a decent lead, and Ha Kwong-Li is very adorable, but I wish they'd found the long lost TIGER BOY instead!

4/10

[Graeme Of Death]

Hitman in the Hand of Buddha

Another one that I maybe would have appreciated a bit more had I watched an HD version of it. But coming off the back of watching the 3 Sammo films from Eureka my standards are pretty high  The horrendous camp "Carry on" film cockney dubbing didn't help.

Hwang Jang Lee playing a good guy just doesn't work for me. Also imagine my horror when I find that the fella that plays Beggar So in Magnificent Butcher turns up here playing pretty much the same character. No idea why this guy is in loads of movies because 90% of his fights scenes he appears to be doubled. Also similar to Magnificent Butcher and Iron Fisted Monk we have another mix of comedy and rape and murder.

The Shaolin temple element is also a bit different as Hwang goes there, doesn't abide by a single rule, learns kung fu in secret over a couple of months then fu*ks off. Not your usual Kung Fu enlightenment. 

Can't fault any of the fight scenes though as they're top notch.

6/10

[saltysam]

7 Grand Masters

A genre classic from Joseph Kuo. An ageing master and his pupils travel China seeking out various kung fu experts and challenging them to a duel. Eager wannabe student Yi-Min-Li eventually is accepted and trains to a level where he can avenge his fathers  death. The media blasters DVD is excellent,widescreen, dub or sub options, it's a pity it didn't sell well and no more classics were releases.

[Killer Meteor]

3 hours ago, saltysam said:

7 Grand Masters

A genre classic from Joseph Kuo. An ageing master and his pupils travel China seeking out various kung fu experts and challenging them to a duel. Eager wannabe student Yi-Min-Li eventually is accepted and trains to a level where he can avenge his fathers  death. The media blasters DVD is excellent,widescreen, dub or sub options, it's a pity it didn't sell well and no more classics were releases.

This was once one of Roger Ebert's "Dogs of the Week" but then I don't think he liked kung fu movies to begin with.

Oh,and it's Li Yi-Min

Edited November 17, 2019 by Killer Meteor

[CT KID]

1 hour ago, Killer Meteor said:

This was once one of Roger Ebert's "Dogs of the Week" but then I don't think he liked kung fu movies to begin with.

Oh,and it's Li Yi-Min

Wow I find it surprising he ever reviewed that movie, figured he was to much of a highbrow film snob for that. I bet he liked some of Bruce Lee's movie though. 7 Grandmasters is a great classic of the genre imo. I really liked Chien Yuet Sun as the monkey stylist.

[Killer Meteor]

5 hours ago, CT KID said:

Wow I find it surprising he ever reviewed that movie, figured he was to much of a highbrow film snob for that. I bet he liked some of Bruce Lee's movie though. 7 Grandmasters is a great classic of the genre imo. I really liked Chien Yuet Sun as the monkey stylist.

Dogs of the Week was basically Gene and SIskel slumming in the grindhouses. Often the films in that section were already several years old.

[saltysam]

Incredible Kung Fu Mission

John Liu is tasked with training five deadbeats  in order for them to launch a rescue mission for a prisoner held at a highly guarded fort and run by the formidable Robert Tai. Really good Dirty Dozen wannabe, probably a bit too much comedy but the ending certainly goes a darker path. This must be Crash Cinema's best effort at a DVD, great dubbed print that's asking to be made anamorphic, subbed and original language added.

[ShawAngela]

1 hour ago, saltysam said:

Incredible Kung Fu Mission

John Liu is tasked with training five deadbeats  in order for them to launch a rescue mission for a prisoner held at a highly guarded fort and run by the formidable Robert Tai. Really good Dirty Dozen wannabe, probably a bit too much comedy but the ending certainly goes a darker path. This must be Crash Cinema's best effort at a DVD, great dubbed print that's asking to be made anamorphic, subbed and original language added.

I remember to have watched this movie many years ago on a French language VHS. I didn't know any of the actors at that time, but I remember that I had been very impressed by John Liu's high kicks and I almost hated the blonde guy, who I discover today that it was Robert Tai !!

[ShawAngela]

A Kung Fu feast these last days :

Have sword will travel

Eagle fist

A fistful of talons (I'm becoming a mad fan of Billy Chong !!)

Lady iron monkey

Man from Hong Kong

Amazons vs sepermen

Bruce Lee superstar

Snake in the crane's shadow

Instant kung fu man (I just realized that Yeh Fei Yang was the hero of the movie Furious dragon, that I reviewed years ago and in which he was great !!)

Fatal flying guillotines

 

Reviews are to come...

[OpiumKungFuCracker]

Master With Cracked Fingers kungfurobber edition. Yo he told the young boy to take off his trousers and jump in a burlap sack full of snakes? Is not child abuse? Or sexual assault?