Guest venomchamber Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 I think CC may have been doing less, and Chiang Sheng more behind the camera. Everything began to lack in those "KC in the forefront-slash-KC/LF/CS" movies. Bingo! Look for the name Chao Kang-Sheng as Assistant Director in many of the credits! the ones mentioned were all on tv, in english and in heavy circulation. True! This is exactly what I was debating on another post for the longest! If his charisma is behind the appeal of the CC movies mentioned, why is it that LION VS. LION isn't more popular? I didn't say his charisma is behind the appeal of the CC movies, what I said is Lo mang has more charisma than the later actors Chang Cheh recruited. The original cast of 5 Venoms meshed well together and became popular enough to be both marketable and profitable. Once new faces started replacing old ones in CC's movies, their popularity began to fade and Chang sought gimmicky & trendy plots to revitalize his films. (*horrific elements, magic, mysticism and ninjas.) Lo Mang was a major contributor to the team, but really didn't shine on his own as he basically became typecast. I believe if Chang rotated his lead actors, kept Lo Mang and Sun Chien in his films in different roles for a change and his output was reduced to two quality films a year (instead of churning out four), his latter film series would have maintained their box office appeal and his newer compatriots more successful. Instead, the venomless The Weird Man became Chang's last film for Shaws. I like this film too, but nowhere near as much as Chang's previous works such as Golden Arm! Lion Vs Lion does not have his companions in it, nor is it a CC film. In my humble opinion, it is a weaker film that even Lo Mang's charisma combined with the comedic antics of Liu Chia-Liang's disciple Wang Yu couldn't save. (Just like Crazy Shaolin Disciples- good, not great.) The only thing that remains the same is Lo Mang is killed halfway through...again. What's more, The English dub of Lion Vs Lion aka Roar Of The Lion had those annoying voices heard in Spearman Of Death, Super Ninjas, Instructors Of Death and Legendary Weapons Of Kung-Fu, and rarely played on television (only twice in NY, probably less if at all elsewhere) limiting its exposure to bootleg videos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HAZ74 Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 Its interesting that I see lots of people taling about Lo Mang's charisma. I find that part of his appeal came from his build & "look" more than anything else, kind of like a thinner Bolo Yeung. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest venomchamber Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 I find that part of his appeal came from his build & "look" more than anything else, kind of like a thinner Bolo Yeung. I'd say that accounts for the most part of his career and it is exactly what typecasts him! But he can also do comedy (Hex After Hex) and drama (Men From The Gutter, Pursuit Of A Killer) with his shirt on! Unfortunately, as you stated, most prefer him shirtless and flexing his muscles. In the movie Fast Fingers, Lo Mang wears a constable robe throughout the film. It isn't until the finale when he fights with Wang Lung-Wei that he steals the show...by stripping to the waist and flexing those "golden arms" of his once again! :lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest venomchamber Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 What's more, Lo Mang's replacement Chao Kuo was also well built, but was nowhere near as talented as Lo Mang was. Had Chang continued on at Shaws until their closure, Chao Kuo may have eventually been groomed into a popular character actor as well instead of fading into obscurity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BKarza Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 Lo Mang was comfortable in front of the camera right off the bat(CKid, LGamble, Heaven and Hell, 5V). He as ready as a screen presence from go. Lion vs Lion is not a good movie. It's an annoying one with very good action. Hsu Hsia was a hellified fighting instructor but a bad director. English dubbed by the "bad team" or subbed, can't help make the movie more likeable. Chiu Kwok is my boy. Hung Ga man. Master of weapons and although he didn't get to show it, unarmed as well. He was bigger than Lo Mang but had a much, much, deeper skill level. He didn't have the limitations that Lo Mang had(weapons). What he did not have was LM's screen comfort. As an actor, he looked like he didn't know what to do, or how to look. It really showed in Weird Man. He may have gotten it with time but CC wasn't making better actors of his people in those years. Cheng Tien Chi had it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HAZ74 Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 Was Lo Mang in Yuen Biao's "Real Kung Fu" series on TVB? There was a Kung Fu master that kinda looked like him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CLFNole Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 Yes he was in Real Kung Fu, he is in quite a few TV series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HAZ74 Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 Yes he was in Real Kung Fu, he is in quite a few TV series. His role wasn't the biggest, but I liked his performance in Real Kung Fu. I'll keep an eye peeled for his other TV stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TambaChibaYama IchiFune Posted September 11, 2007 Share Posted September 11, 2007 Is there any way to get the Real Kung Fu t.v. series on dvd or vhs? Or do I just have to live where they play it on t.v. to view it? Man i wish i had a satellite that picked up every station in every country. Now that would be dope:smokin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.