Member venomsreviews Posted May 3, 2022 Member Share Posted May 3, 2022 (edited) Ricky Cheng Tien-Chi is one of my all time favorites so I had to make a thread for him! I didn’t see any under this name or Cheng Tien-Chi which are the names I think he’s primarily known by. Ricky Cheng Tien-Chi was born in Taiwan. He attended the Lu Kwan opera school with stars like Lu Feng, Chu Ko, and Kuo Chui, which is where they would spend their earlier years. He learned Peking Opera as he was of mainland Chinese descent. According to Lu Feng, Ricky had already done stunt work for films like some of their other friends, and it would be Ricky that got him involved in the movie industry. Ricky would start appearing in films in the 70s. He would start off as an extra in films like Seven Man Army, The Shaolin Avengers, and The Hand of Death, to name a few. Later, Ricky Cheng Tien-Chi and Chu Ko would take over as action directors for Shaw Brothers when Lu Feng, Kuo Chui, and Chiang Sheng had departed. Ricky Cheng Tien-Chi often worked for Shaw Brothers, primarily Chang Cheh, where he would appear in a variety of his movies. House of Traps, Five Element Ninjas, Ode to Gallantry, and The Weird Man are a few notable mentions. Ricky would have a role in other movies directed by Chang Cheh, like Attack of the Joyful Goddess, The Nine Demons, Shanghai Thirteen, and The Dancing Warrior. I feel that he is very talented at acrobatics and has played a variety of roles, from heroic to villainous. His character could be humorous, kind, cold, witty, or sometimes conflicted, which is something that I loved about him, as I found he lit up the screen. These are not all of the films that Ricky worked on, as he also made movies in Taiwan and I have seen him in TV series. His filmography on HKMDB lists 52 films total! He eventually decided to step away from being an actor and turned to directing. Sources: https://hkmdb.com/db/people/view.mhtml?id=4778&complete_credits=1&display_set=eng Interviews with Lu Feng (one is on the dvd I own of Shanghai Thirteen) http://poisonclanrockstheworld.blogspot.com/1995/10/interview-with-philip-kwok.html?m=1 Edited May 3, 2022 by venomsreviews 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member venomsreviews Posted May 7, 2022 Author Member Share Posted May 7, 2022 Here’s the filmography for Ricky: Seven Man Army (1976) The Shaolin Avengers (1976) The Hand of Death (1976) The Traitorous (1976) The Killer Meteors (1976) The New Shaolin Boxers (1976) Story in Temple Red Lily (1976) Pai Yu-Ching (1977) Scorching Sun, Fierce Winds, Wild Fire (1977) Return of the Tiger (1977) Shaolin Iron Finger (1977) The Criminal (1977) One Arm Chivalry Fights Against One Arm Chivalry (1977) The Rebel of Shao-Lin (1977) The Double Double Cross (1977) Return of the Chinese Boxer (1977) The Prominent Eunuch Chen Ho (1977) Gold Constables (1978) Fatal Needles Vs. Fatal Fists (1978) The Red Phoenix (1978) The Deadly Confrontation (1979) Kung Fu of Seven Steps (1979) A Massacre Survivor (1979) 37 Plots of Kung Fu (1979) The Mystery of Chess Boxing (1979) The Fearless Hyena (1979) Iron Fists (1979) A Wily Match (1980) War of the Shaolin Temple (1980) Incredible Kung Fu Mission (1980) 18 Secrets of Kung Fu (1980) Chivalry Deadly Feud (1980) The New South Hand Blows and North Kick Blows (1981) The Brave Archer Part III (1981) House of Traps (1982) Five Element Ninjas (1982) Ode to Gallantry (1982) The Weird Man (1983) Attack of the Joyful Goddess (1983) Ninja Hunter (1984) The Little Hero of Shaolin Temple (1984) The Shanghai Thirteen (1984) The Demons (1984) The Dancing Warrior (1985) Barefoot Angels (1987) Devil Dynamite (1987) Vampire Kid II (1988) Hot Girl (1993) Rendea-vous of Japanese Kanto (1993) The Kidnap (1994) Sexy Slayer (1995) Stunt Couple (1999) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TibetanWhiteCrane Posted May 7, 2022 Member Share Posted May 7, 2022 (edited) I still take exception to Kung Fu of Seven Steps being a 1979 movie. I accept that it was shot in '79, as I asked Chang Shan, who plays the villain, on Facebook when it was from, and he confirmed that, but did not recall the release date. The problem is that the original trailer features Lalo Schifrin's music from Jackie Chan's Battle Crek Brawl, who's earliest release date is August 1980. And the film's own main theme is borrowed from Roy Budd's score from the movie Sea Wolves, who's earliest release date is July 1980. So unless Ting Chung and Chester Wang got in their DeLorean, travelled a year forward in time and picked up those two soundtracks on vinyl and back again to put them in their 1979 film, I don't really see how that could have happened. Wish I could get final confirmation on this. Edited May 7, 2022 by TibetanWhiteCrane 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member venomsreviews Posted May 7, 2022 Author Member Share Posted May 7, 2022 Ricky with Chang Cheh, Chui Chung-Fei, and Lee Chung-Yat which had to be taken sometime during Attack of the Joyful Goddess (1983): 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member venomsreviews Posted May 7, 2022 Author Member Share Posted May 7, 2022 (edited) 54 minutes ago, TibetanWhiteCrane said: I still take exception to Kung Fu of Seven Steps being a 1979 movie. I accept that it was shot in '79, as I asked Chang Shan, who plays the villain, on Facebook when it was from, and he confirmed that, but did not recall the release date. The problem is that the original trailer features Lalo Schifrin's music from Jackie Chan's Battle Crek Brawl, who's earliest release date is August 1980. And the film's own main theme is borrowed from Roy Budd's score from the movie Sea Wolves, who's earliest release date is July 1980. So unless Ting Chung and Chester Wang got in their DeLorean, travelled a year forward in time and picked up those two soundtracks on vinyl and back again to put them in their 1979 film, I don't really see how that could have happened. Wish I could get final confirmation on this. I wish I could be of some assistance! Unfortunately, I’ve never seen anyone speak about the movie, and I have never come across anything from the actors that were in the film to indicate anything. It’s really cool that you were able to talk to Chang Shan and get a bit of insight at least! Sometimes I feel like release dates can be a tricky subject since there are instances like Heaven and Hell where they started production in 1975 and didn’t come out until 1980 (according to Lu Feng and Kuo Chui), for example. I do hope you are able to find a definitive answer about Seven Steps one day. I’ll keep an eye out when I’m searching for things, just in case there is something out there that may solve the mystery! Edited May 7, 2022 by venomsreviews 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TibetanWhiteCrane Posted May 7, 2022 Member Share Posted May 7, 2022 11 minutes ago, venomsreviews said: I wish I could be of some assistance! Unfortunately, I’ve never seen anyone speak about the movie, and I have never come across anything from the actors that were in the film to indicate anything. It’s really cool that you were able to talk to Chang Shan and get a bit of insight at least! Sometimes I feel like release dates can be a tricky subject since there are instances like Heaven and Hell where they started production in 1975 and didn’t come out until 1980 (according to Lu Feng and Kuo Chui), for example. I do hope you are able to find a definitive answer about Seven Steps one day. I’ll keep an eye out when I’m searching for things, just in case there is something out there that may solve the mystery! Yeah, I mean unless the filmmakers were time travellers I think it's pretty clear that it came out in late 1980. So maybe not a mystery as much as misinformation. But some rock solid proof would be nice. Either way, it's a great film and takes the number 9 spot on my Top 40 Old School Kung Fu Indies. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member venomsreviews Posted May 15, 2022 Author Member Share Posted May 15, 2022 I feel like each time I watch The Nine Demons, I find even more things to enjoy about Ricky Cheng Tien-Chi’s performance. The way he portrays the character and the different emotions that he goes through was always one of my favorite parts. I think the scene where he meets Luo Shan (Lee Chung-Yat) was great because the two of them had a fun, albeit brief fight, and their chemistry was great. I think Ricky really got to shine in this film. His character was genuinely unique, so he is probably one of my all-time favorites, but he also got to show off a lot of his skills and capabilities. I saw him as a more underrated actor. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShawAngela Posted May 15, 2022 Member Share Posted May 15, 2022 I watched Nine demons long ago and didn't remember that Lee Chung Yat was in it until I read this post ! I loved Chien Tien Chi in the movie The dancing warrior. That's another movie in which he showed a variety of emotions and skills, and yes, I think like you that he is an underrated actor and that he should have had more leading roles, if he had any... Do you know if he also played in TV series and if so, which ones ? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member venomsreviews Posted May 16, 2022 Author Member Share Posted May 16, 2022 4 hours ago, ShawAngela said: I watched Nine demons long ago and didn't remember that Lee Chung Yat was in it until I read this post ! I loved Chien Tien Chi in the movie The dancing warrior. That's another movie in which he showed a variety of emotions and skills, and yes, I think like you that he is an underrated actor and that he should have had more leading roles, if he had any... Do you know if he also played in TV series and if so, which ones ? Lee Chung-Yat’s character was probably my second favorite! The Dancing Warrior was certainly amazing! I got the opportunity to watch it for the first time a few months ago! Five Element Ninjas is another one where I feel that he was incredible, and it’s a plus that he had a bigger role in that one! It’s disappointing that he didn’t get more leads, but I’m glad that he was able to shine in the ones that he did have. I do! I try to keep lists of the various movies and TV series that my favorite actors were involved in. Right now I can think of 情定少林寺 which is on YouTube! The other is The Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain (雪山飛狐) from 1991, if I remember the year correctly. There could be more that I haven’t seen or heard about yet, though. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShawAngela Posted May 16, 2022 Member Share Posted May 16, 2022 4 hours ago, venomsreviews said: Lee Chung-Yat’s character was probably my second favorite! The Dancing Warrior was certainly amazing! I got the opportunity to watch it for the first time a few months ago! Five Element Ninjas is another one where I feel that he was incredible, and it’s a plus that he had a bigger role in that one! It’s disappointing that he didn’t get more leads, but I’m glad that he was able to shine in the ones that he did have. I do! I try to keep lists of the various movies and TV series that my favorite actors were involved in. Right now I can think of 情定少林寺 which is on YouTube! The other is The Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain (雪山飛狐) from 1991, if I remember the year correctly. There could be more that I haven’t seen or heard about yet, though. I recognize the characters for Shaolin in the first collector mention. Is there 1n English title ? Is the Flying fox 1991 the one with Meng Fei ? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member venomsreviews Posted May 16, 2022 Author Member Share Posted May 16, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, ShawAngela said: I recognize the characters for Shaolin in the first collector mention. Is there 1n English title ? Is the Flying fox 1991 the one with Meng Fei ? I had never seen it referred to by an English title so I looked around and found a YouTube channel that uploaded clips with the title as Love in Shaolin Temple. So, that may be a possibility. That is the correct one for Flying Fox! I don’t know when he comes in but I have seen pictures of him in it and he’s been on various cast lists. Edited May 16, 2022 by venomsreviews 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShawAngela Posted May 16, 2022 Member Share Posted May 16, 2022 1 hour ago, venomsreviews said: I had never seen it referred to by an English title so I looked around and found a YouTube channel that uploaded clips with the title as Love in Shaolin Temple. So, that may be a possibility. That is the correct one for Flying Fox! I don’t know when he comes in but I have seen pictures of him in it and he’s been on various cast lists. Thanks ! If I'm not mistaken, I think that I have both of them, but I need 72h per day to be able to watch all my series and movies ! 😂🤣 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member venomsreviews Posted May 26, 2022 Author Member Share Posted May 26, 2022 (edited) I just love the outfits and makeup in Attack of the Joyful Goddess (1983). Ricky had such incredible scenes, especially when it got to the end fight! The mysterious and slightly threatening vibe was one that he played very well. I’d rank it as one of my favorite performances of his! Edited May 26, 2022 by venomsreviews 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member venomsreviews Posted June 5, 2022 Author Member Share Posted June 5, 2022 Ricky’s appearance in Ode to Gallantry (1982) with Chiang Sheng and Chu Ko: 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member venomsreviews Posted June 25, 2022 Author Member Share Posted June 25, 2022 I was watching The Dancing Warrior and it is quite an interesting film. Ricky is such a charismatic actor and I thought he was perfect for this role. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member venomsreviews Posted July 7, 2022 Author Member Share Posted July 7, 2022 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShawAngela Posted July 7, 2022 Member Share Posted July 7, 2022 On 6/25/2022 at 2:08 AM, venomsreviews said: I was watching The Dancing Warrior and it is quite an interesting film. Ricky is such a charismatic actor and I thought he was perfect for this role. I was full of prejudices when I heard about this movie, I don't know why, but the day I decided to finally watch it, I enjoyed it a lot ! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShawAngela Posted July 7, 2022 Member Share Posted July 7, 2022 5 hours ago, venomsreviews said: Still the same old smile ! It's good to see some of your "old" idols nowadays ! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member venomsreviews Posted July 12, 2022 Author Member Share Posted July 12, 2022 On 7/7/2022 at 4:58 AM, ShawAngela said: I was full of prejudices when I heard about this movie, I don't know why, but the day I decided to finally watch it, I enjoyed it a lot ! I had seen a lot of bad reviews, but I wanted to give it a chance since I loved Ricky in all the movies I saw him in! I thought it was great and his acting was a lot of fun! The only one I think I’m hesitant about is The Weird Man On 7/7/2022 at 4:58 AM, ShawAngela said: Still the same old smile ! It's good to see some of your "old" idols nowadays ! I completely agree! He’s always had a distinct grin/smile. I especially got excited when I saw a recent picture of him with Lu Feng since I am a big fan of both ! They looked like they were quite happy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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