Guest The Amazing Psychoper Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 I thought it would be a good idea to make a list of little gems that maybe flew under the radar, before they all go out of print... My choice would definetely be Shaolin Prince. I don't see it mentionned very often and it was my most surprising discovery of the Shaw Brothers releases. Why should you get it? It stars Ti Lung and is directed by Tang Chia. It has dazzling fight choreography, great wirework and there is tons of action! There's a guy with a flaming sword, who litteraly shoots fire at his opponents!!! :lol The movie moves at a frantic pace and there is never a dull moment. In the final fight, the main vilain fights from a chair that put Daigoro's cart to shame... Overall an extremely entertaining movie, with loads of over the top (yet well done) action, colorfull characters and definetely a must buy for any shaw fans. What are your pics? The Amazing Psycho Per :evil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gfanikf Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 Mercenaries from Hong Kong Absolute great modern action film with a lot of old school greats. Its got Lo Lieh in a fro! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ShaKwon Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 Would anyone recommend TFMB? After watching Life Gamble, I find myself more interested in this Chang Cheh film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KyFi Posted August 29, 2007 Member Share Posted August 29, 2007 I think one of my favorite discoveries with the Celestial releases has been the slightly obscure early-70's bashers ---I had never seen any of those before these remasters. Movies like The Lizard, The Bastard, The Shadow Boxer, Five Tough Guys, The Thunderbolt Fist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sikmao Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 "the fantastic magic baby" is great, imho!!! from what i remember, it has something to do with characters from the "monkey king" stories. regardless, it's an excuse to whip out all the 'opera' kids & show off their talents! i like it mostly for the action & the low budget sets!!! super 'low-tech'!!! i'd highly recommend it!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Karlos Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 Mighty Peking Man!!! Peter Jackson, bow down in the presence of a LEGEND! Oh, and I second Mercs FHK - mindblowing!! Another that may have passed you by is Vengeful Beauty - I was blown away by this! Tsui Siu Keung rocks, y'all! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ShaKwon Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 "the fantastic magic baby" is great, imho!!! from what i remember, it has something to do with characters from the "monkey king" stories. regardless, it's an excuse to whip out all the 'opera' kids & show off their talents! i like it mostly for the action & the low budget sets!!! super 'low-tech'!!! i'd highly recommend it!!! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest malahat Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 If you enjoyed "Fantastic Magic Baby", try "Demon of the Lute" That turns out to be be not a horror film, but a "martial arts film for children"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kungfusamurai Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 My Rebellious Son was a nice surprise. A light hearted, romantic affair with cool kung fu action from Sun Chung, who is usually a no-nonsense type of movie director. I agree with the Shaolin Prince film being a great hidden gem too. Unfortunately, I didn't care for the follow-up Shoalin Intruders. I didn't like Shadow Boxer. The guy in the film was supposed to be doing Tai Chi, but it didn't look like it at all. And he wasn't such a great screen presence. Every time he smiled, it looked like he was wincing in pain. KFS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member bboyninku Posted November 25, 2007 Member Share Posted November 25, 2007 Disciples of the 36th Chamber Hsiao Hou to me is the most underrated actor in kung fu cinema. He was brilliant in this movie and seemed to do everything so effortlessly and looked amazing at the same time. It seemed like he enjoyed every moment of it as well. Unfortunately he was always overshadowed by Gordon Liu and others in Lau Kar Leung and Co. To me this was Lau Kar Leung's last great film in Shaw Brothers (Martial Arts of Shaolin to me isn't a Shaw Brothers movie) for it was a breath of fresh air and a great way to end one of Kung Fu Cinema's greatest legacies. Honorable Mention: Secret Service of the Imperial Court This to me was how a Chinese martial arts version of Lone Wolf and The Cub should be. Leung Kar Yan "Beardy" was excellent as the exiled official protecting his family under all circumstances. I loved the scene with his child on his back running through the forest decapitating anyone and anything standing in his way. That scene alone to me rivals anything that Japanese Cinema has put out similiar in this vein. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Sifu Posted November 25, 2007 Member Share Posted November 25, 2007 The Journey to the West series of films (1964-1968) The first film, Monkey Goes West, was Yueh Hua's first big break, in fact if you look him up on IMDB it's the first film on his filmography. It had some of the most amazing effects for it's time and some good 'ol slightly cheesy showtunes! It also has some really good martial arts action choreography. The reason I consider them hidden gems is because, even though they were some of the highest grossing films of the 60s in HK, not alot of people seem to know them. Everyone who I've met who's seen them agrees that these are the films that looked the best after Celestial's remaster! The colors alone are amazing, and the cinematography by Kuo-Hsiang Lin. in the hills of Mainland China leave you breathless. The best example of this is here: http://www.veoh.com/videos/v1535143Fn8dwBrq?c=MonkeyKingsMovies, amazing stuff, you need to watch it. It'll beat any other Shaw's locales!!! Monkey King was the man. Seriously, one of Yueh Hua's greatest roles! He was perfect in the part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Morgoth Posted November 26, 2007 Share Posted November 26, 2007 I don't know if this could be called hidden, but Killer Constable is my favorite Shaw movie. I rarely hear it talked about, but I don't know why that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Sifu Posted November 26, 2007 Member Share Posted November 26, 2007 That is not hidden dude, it's very good, just not hidden. When a SHAW BROTHERS IVL DVD is actuallly out of stock and backordered without any signs of future restock, that's a hidden gem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Morgoth Posted November 26, 2007 Share Posted November 26, 2007 Well it should be out of print because of how good it is. It came out not too long ago so maybe not enough people have seen it yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member The Dragon Posted November 26, 2007 Member Share Posted November 26, 2007 King Eagle and Magic Blade were two hidden gems for me. I had never viewed these films before they were remastered, however, I heard their titles mentioned over the years. Ti Lung, reminescent of Clint Eastwood's 'man with no name' in Magic Blade is as cool a character as there has ever been... and his sword with the swiveling blade equally cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HAZ Posted November 26, 2007 Share Posted November 26, 2007 Ambush was great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tarim69 Posted November 26, 2007 Share Posted November 26, 2007 I liked Secret Service of Imperial Court, but the undercranking in that one made me crazy. You want a hidden gem, though not OOP, no one ever talks about it. The Fastest Sword. Could almost be a Kurosawa movie. One of the most underrated Shaw Bros films. Also off the top of my head (Im operating on like 3 hours sleep and my brain isnt working properly) Jade Tiger Human Lanterns (Everyone should own this) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TibetanWhiteCrane Posted November 26, 2007 Share Posted November 26, 2007 For me it was DEATH DUEL! im not that into swordplay, but I love this movie, and bought it on a whim. Damn near lost my lunch when the mysterious fisherman guts Derek Yee's mangled arm to get the poison out. Great stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Killer Meteor Posted December 3, 2007 Member Share Posted December 3, 2007 Sons Of Good Earth and The Twin Swords were great finds for me, as was the often loathed Heaven And Hell And special kudos to The New Game Of Death, for making me a Barry White fan! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member tarim69 Posted December 6, 2007 Member Share Posted December 6, 2007 The Sentimental Swordsman is now OOP. I tried ordering it directly from Shaw Int and theyre out of stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member shawbro Posted December 7, 2007 Member Share Posted December 7, 2007 I finally recieved Sword and the Lute dvd. Its the thai dvd got it from ethaicd.com. I tried to get the IVL dvd from several places and the shipping dates kept getting postponed. Anyone searching for Sword and the Lute dvd might want to try ethaicd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member iron flag Posted December 7, 2007 Member Share Posted December 7, 2007 I highly recommend "Judgement of an Assassin" and "Soul of the Sword". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member venoms5 Posted December 7, 2007 Member Share Posted December 7, 2007 The Black Tavern The Sexy Killer What Price Honesty The Rescue Dragon Swamp The Web Of Death Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member The Dragon Posted January 14, 2008 Member Share Posted January 14, 2008 I recommend The Lady Assassin, for a couple of reasons. First, the opening fight scene with Pai Piao and Liu Yung is really a nice well edited take. Secondly, the film is not bad as far as keeping with steady action with the final frame a must see, reminiscent of GH's The Sword. Lastly, the film's story, was one of the original drafts written for Bruce Lee, to play Nin Kan Yao, played here by Pai Piao. Elements were changed in the story when Lee died, and later Lo Wei purchased the rights to produce the script. This story went away from the Kan Yao character, and focused more on the female lead. Still, there are similarities to Rebellious Reign. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member peringaten Posted January 14, 2008 Member Share Posted January 14, 2008 Love that folklore story basis of Lady Assassin and Rebellious. A favourite for sure. J.Kuo's Bronzemen Pt. 2 uses it as a basis in part. Thought it was interesting that Li Han Hsiang's Emp' Chien Lung series references it, pointing out to dismiss any legitimate basis it may have; alledged historical fact apparently stating that the actual decree would have been written in several languages making its doctoring from 14th to 4th in such manner impossible. Works so well on the drama front though. Wish there were more flicks based on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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