no word yet??

[Guest sevenhooks]

Magic Blade was Chu Yuan, not Sun Chung and IMO can't hold a candle to Rendezvous With Death.

Neither can Deadly Breaking Sword (which had only one good fight in the whole movie) or Proud Youth, which was okay but I honestly can't remember much of what happened in it.

And speaking of Magic Blade, I honestly don't see what the big deal is or why everyone continues to give it props like they do.

Just your average, run-of-the-mill Chu Yuan jiang hu flick with prehistoric fight scenes.

[Guest tino]

Oops, yep Magic Blade is Chu Yuan.

[Guest falkor]

And speaking of Magic Blade, I honestly don't see what the big deal is or why everyone continues to give it props like they do.

Just your average, run-of-the-mill Chu Yuan jiang hu flick with prehistoric fight scenes.

Here's some reasons why Magic Blade is so popular:

1) Ti Lung, his "Clint Eastwood" character with poncho, his weapon and it's special property, and the way he spins it around.

2) Excellent weapons choreography for a 1976 film.

3) Windy Wild West scenery.

4) Colourful gothic sets. 8o

5) The dark atmosphere and interesting characters like Grandma! :x

6) Formations in fighting, including the chess board.

7) Very intrigueing, as you'd expect from a Chu Yuan film, ie. Going through all the chambers to reach the Peacock dart, only to find an empty box with the real peacock dart in some common place. Ti Lung rinsing his hand in a lake, only for it to turn a poisonous black. :lol People playing dead at some mysterious restaurant in the middle of nowhere etc. You get the idea...

8) Ending at the villain's HQ with the mirror and "magic" blade.

9) The wonderful music soundtrack in the Mandarin/Cantonese versions (also in Super Kung Fu Fighter).

The film is just so entertaining throughout with an excellent storyline etc. 8)

[Guest vengeanceofhumanlanterns]

just got my copy and I'm puttin it in now. time to see.

[Guest morgoth]

Thank you Falkor, I will definitely check out Magic Blade.

[Guest Yakuza954]

Falkor summed it up well. Magic Blade is one of Chu Yuan's best wu xia films, if not the best. The action is good for its time, but the storyline is what really sets it apart. Such a bleak film with a great performance from Ti Lung.

[Guest falkor]

Rendezvous With Death is definitely still a top film and one of the best Celestial releases in the last few months. I remember thoroughly enjoying the old bootleg just like 7hooks. It has a basic storyline, but is very action-packed nevertheless. Again, I would give it 4/5, but not 5/5 like Avenging Eagle. Magic Blade I rate somewhere in-between. With Rendezvous, it's all about the opening fight, and when he throws down the bag to Ku Feng containing... (better not spoilt it! )

[Guest vengeanceofhumanlanterns]

Rendezvous With Death... the first fight is very impressive especially with the jumping back up onto the giant buddha (which in itself was quite impressive set wise). Though by no means is this the best choreographed fight in the movie. Besides, really how can anyone truly say the first fight (with a bunch of nobodies) out does Chen Kuan Tai's performances in the film, ridiculous. Though I was disappointed with Ku Feng's role here. sevenhooks, don't bother defending yourself. It isn't necessary. This film stands up for itself. In fact, the very next fight scene in the bar is just as well choreographed anyway and honestly %$#@ the umbrella and it's stupid secret functions, it has nothing to do with carrying the story or plot in the film. There are no weak fights in this film. In fact one of the most impressive aspects of the film is that none of the fights are sped up or orchestrated with the film running backwards. Ergu (Lo Lieh) the beggar is excellent in this movie (human lanterns quality acting here), when Wang Yu (though I'm not a fan of this guy he did a great job in this film) is poisoned, Lo Lieh taunting and mocking Wang Yu, great dialogue and delivery by Lo Lieh there I must say, also when he's tying his knots to keep count of those killed exclaiming, "as for the nobodies... they don't count." This film has great attitude. There are a few unnecessary scenes here and there, and some unbecoming twists in the plot, with Chen Kuan Tai's character, but they certaintly don't ruin the movie and what Shaw Bros. film dosen't possess these type of flaws in some manner. The subtitles are (for the most part) well done. Though I did notice some blatant inconsistancies with the direction of the plot. I just expect it anyway from almost all of Celestial's translations. A cameo by Lung Wei didn't hurt matters and Chan Shen being in the film also boosted it's charisma. Tang Ching had a great role in the film as well. You couldn't be sure (at first) if he was just another villian like Chan Shen trying to obtain the mysterious box or if he was actually concerned with the security of his country as he continually professed. The film is beautifully shot as well. Real nice cinematogrophy here. Nice pace to the story, action, and transitory scenes. I've no complaints with this film. The end set is a prime example of Shaw Bros. artistic ingenuity. I thought this film was very nicely done.

A must have for any fan of Chen Kuan Tai.

[Guest tino]

What I posted earlier on this movie was in no way to down the movie or sevenhooks. Just giving my opinion. I like this movie alot and so far its in my top three movies released this year.

[Guest peringaten]

This film smacks Magic Blade in the abdomen with a spiked umbrella, before going back for good measure and smacking it in the teeth "8 Diagram"-style with the same implement, leaving Magic Blade all gummy and bleeding and "nmnhuungg nuungg blleeuuggh, iigh'mm 'Maggikk Blarrrgghhggg'". Not to say that that fine Chor Yuan flick doesn't come back and give this flick a good solid slice through the mid-section with its spinny sword before going out defiantly all the same...

But then again, I've got a funny attitude to Chor Yuan's flicks anyway and think "Swordsman & Enchantress" and "Hidden Power Of Dragon Sabre" own the rest of his works I've caught so far (despite still heartily loving MB), most would probably heartily disagree...

A solid 9 for "MB", not too hasty for me to say a '10' for "Rendezvous".

Why a 10? Well, concerning this flick's relation standout wise compared to the rest of Sun Chung's output, I don't know about the statement of it 'entirely' standing up to his already acknowledged true masterpieces, but this sort of thing's my bread and butter (as for many here, lol) - far as I'm concerned these flicks are all too rare, regardless of how commercially available they are or how many of them. Sun Chung's flicks mostly stand alone on their own two, and this one doesn't disappoint; although my rating system's probably as screwey as my love for "Hidden Power Of Dragon Sabre"...

Firstly, I'm definitely gonna say it's absolutely masterful. A "Masterpiece"? - No. But that's taking into consideration Sun Chung's greatest as such claimants. A bravura first half hour, a bravura final half hour, a mixed bag middle (probably the slice it took from Magic Blade, lol - what am I on about?)...

Two things - incredibly minor, for IT IS what IT IS, and I'll learn to love IT for it, but I would have liked to have seen Fu Sheng in the Wong Yue role, and Candy Wen in the 'Miss Shui' role, they would have been more suited to and elevated the characters imo. Perhaps Candy Wen lacks the maturity for the role, but I felt it would have suited her better, although the actress in the part definitely held her own in the final third after her dealings with Chen Kuan Tai.

Perhaps the role suited Wong Yue - the young aspiring umbrella-man(!), and he carried it well, but every time these two characters appeared together I was rubbing my eyes not to see Candy and Fu Sheng in their places.

As regards the rest of Sun Chung's output comparisons, well this flick for me lacked a styled central character or character performance to match the likes of a Lo Lieh in Human Lanterns, or a Ku Feng in Avenging Eagle. I would agree with Vengeance that Lo Lieh played great (as did most others, bit players and all), but I don't think this matches at all such a defining role as his turn in the afforementioned horror.

Ku Feng could have done with seeing more of (Wang Lung Wei in that capacity too), but such a statement is of course a moot point.

Comparing it to the likes of Avenging Eagle some more, well the intrigue of the relationship between Wong Yue and Lo Lieh reminded me of, but didn't match up to the likes of that of Fu Sheng and Ti Lung in "AE", but it stil provides a lot of interest - particularly in their night time forest sequence.

I loved the way it burst into rain following this, giving a much hightened punctuation and atmosphere.

Story wise, very nicely done, although it perhaps lacks the depth of some other Sun Chung's in the sense of much of it revolves around the carrying of the box and the few intrigues that can be spun around it, leaving the mid-section a little saggy for me... not quite matching the grandiose nature of say Avenging Eagle's and Human Lanterns' remarkable plottings.

I suppose the likes of Devil's Mirror relies on a slighter plot with some nicely crafted intrigues, however the likes of that film is of a whole nother calibre in the sense it defies its earlier period of the '70s with its dynamism, freneticism and forward thinking nature in all other capacities, sparking the genius of Sun Chung's creativity at Shaws.

By Rendezvous, he's just coasting like a masterful motherf'cker.

Fight wise, I don't think I'd hesitate to say this is perhaps some of the best choreo I've ever seen in a Sun Chung flick - blew me away!!!

I don't agree with the statement the first fight is the best, they're all quite remarkable, beginning to end - Chen Kuan Tai is ridiculously handy with that pole!

I liked Wang Lung Wei's teahouse fight A LOT! The hard hitting nature put it right up there for me - the guy crashing off the balcony onto the table below and another crashing blow really delivered some oomph!

So some of the best choreo for sure imo, however lacking some of the grandiose settings resident in some of the director's other flicks - the (literal) 'court'yard residing at the finale of Judgement Of An Assassin (who can forget Chan Wei Man with that flag pole!), or Lo Lieh's Lanterns lair; the finale setting of Master Strikes Back; and the lair of Ku Feng in Avenging Eagle standing out much more for me in retrospect, although perhaps my familiarity with those puts them up there for me, who knows...

I did dig the sets in this though, and it was FOR SURE nice to see that previously mentioned Avening Eagle setting used again here (that's when the plot got really convincingly dramatic for me), however used slightly more claustrophobically here.

Sun Chung comparisons...

A more enjoyable film than the likes of Judgement Of An Assassin overall, although that film has some INCREDIBLE moments.

And WAY better than the likes of the sepia-hued subdued Deadly Breaking Sword!

Standing on its own in the manner of Kung Fu Instructor and Master Strikes Back, although of course not remotely alike.

Whooping the slightly inconsistent Proud Youth.

Lacking the true forward thinking nature of Devil's Mirror to stand miles out of its directly contemporary pack, what does though...? (a lot of good stuff coming out of Shaws at the time of Rendezvous; nothing I've seen to stand up to Devil's Mirror of its time imo)...

Way more serious and incomparable to the likes of the entertaining My Rebellious Son (a lighter Sun Chung flick for sure).

And not quite so consistently astounding as the TRULY masterful Human Lanterns and Avenging Eagle. These two go beyond any rating systems FOR SURE in my eyes...

But a film possessing glorious moments, the deft touch of a master director, highlights a-plenty in terms of general technical filmmaking skills as much as all those other magical ingredients... And for sure it seems at this point, much replayability factor - I look forward to seeing what it has to offer on subsequent viewings - the choreo stands up in this respect at this point for me, more than highly in this respect.

A note on the ending with a bit of a SPOILER now...

I like the fact we don't see him go to tackle Ku Feng - the fact it's left with them holding and reading the list seems a, 'screw you Ku Feng!' - you're going down legit, the bloodlust and fightiness has already been sated in that respect with the final duel as it stands. What a sky and camerawork, choreo, direction on that ending, btw!!!

Anyhoo, I'll stop my incoherent ramblings and boring you all now, just streaming it - who knows opinions may change...

At the moment full marks for sure - I'm on a Sun Chung HIGH!! - LOVE IT!!

One of the releases of the year - I know this for my tastes already.

Indeed the Sun Chung flicks we have seen released this year occupy pretty much all the top spot 2006 Celestial highlights imo - Shaw's FINEST martial director!!!!!

BRING ON "TO KILL A MASTERMIND"!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Guest jmungus]

omg, ive snoozed on the whole action about my current fave, the rendezvous.

heres me highlighting what i consider your combined most precious thoughts (hope, anyone still cares :lol ):

There's a LOT in this film that holds my interest and keeps me coming back.

So yeah, I stand by what I said.

In the bigger picture Avenging Eagle is probably the better film.

But right now, if I had the choice, I'd watch Rendezvous again. No contest.

i know that feeling. i feel like i could revisit RWD any moment.

the best fight scene in Rendezvous is the first one against the 4 killers. Here we are shown all the secrets of the umbrella, but these "secrets" are never utilised later on in the film

i beg to differ. its one of the '"lesser"' fights in RWD.

that being said, i love every single one of em.

conceptually, its some of the tightest of tong gaai`s choreo work ever.

its not too playful or fancy; they re not supposed to be long stretches of nonstop exchanges of forms to show off a little.

instead it serves its purpose, its energetic, shows a mature approach, its very much in-your-face stuff without relying on undercranking to make it look more ferocious.

I like Avenging Eagle, Magic Blade, Deadly Breaking Sword, and even Proud Youth better. This isnt the best of Sun Chung imo but still very worth purchasing. I give it 7.5 out of 10.

imo, its the one movie that comes closest to AE in many aspects- the similar setting (for instance the fu sheng/ti lung combo works very much like the wong yue/lo lieh one); structure and pace and numerous more subtle similarities.

i give it a straight 9/10 btw.

Magic Blade was Chu Yuan, not Sun Chung and IMO can't hold a candle to Rendezvous With Death.

thats the aversion for MB talking right there (if u ask me ).

to a degree, i do agree tho. i watch MB and i watch a very good movie; but i watch RWD and, while not continuously being crazy excited, hyped and blown away (high octane stuff like shaolin prince or long road... tends to do that with me), i do feel the magic and the genius, and i get this seriously rich feeling of complete satisfaction.

Besides, really how can anyone truly say the first fight (with a bunch of nobodies) out does Chen Kuan Tai's performances in the film, ridiculous. Though I was disappointed with Ku Feng's role here

CKT is boss. at first i caught myself getting a little worried- when the heck would they finally bring in CKT to kick some ass; but in the 2nd half he would take care of business in a way that i wished i could watch an alternative version of kf instructor with CKT wielding the staff as tong tieh cheng.

and honestly %$#@ the umbrella and it's stupid secret functions, it has nothing to do with carrying the story or plot in the film.

:lol so true. to my fellow board member who would give the umbrella more credit than it deserves:

i also dont think the umbrella was ever supposed to be anything more than just another weapon; the writing on it nothing but some immature firebrands`graffiti, like a punk rock bassist would cover his instrument with stickers :b

There are no weak fights in this film. In fact one of the most impressive aspects of the film is that none of the fights are sped up or orchestrated with the film running backwards.

while im catching up with your guys`thoughts, i realize ive made the exact same observations about many things.

Wang Yu (though I'm not a fan of this guy he did a great job in this film) is poisoned, Lo Lieh taunting and mocking Wang Yu, great dialogue and delivery by Lo Lieh there I must say

not a wong yue fan either, but i have zero problems with the guy; hes quite good and all the wong yue critics really have to take the blue pill and get out of that matrix they re in.

now as to his performance in RWD- at first i wasnt too psyched, but as the movie went along, he got better and better (and less childish).

in retrospect, one could interpret it was in fact done intentionally, to emphasize on his growth from jiang hu greenhorn to jiang hu hero (within a month! :\ ).

lo lieh was great. i totally loved his character. very well balanced, memorable performance. he nailed the part hands down.

A cameo by Lung Wei didn't hurt matters and Chan Shen being in the film also boosted it's charisma.

sometimes its the combination of little things that make a great movie outstanding.

once they re done with this "cgi bruce lee" project ( :rolleyes ), they should go right back to the SB library and insert some WLW cameo action in every single one of shaws`kf gems.

This film smacks Magic Blade in the abdomen with a spiked umbrella, before going back for good measure and smacking it in the teeth "8 Diagram"-style with the same implement, leaving Magic Blade all gummy and bleeding and "nmnhuungg nuungg blleeuuggh, iigh'mm 'Maggikk Blarrrgghhggg'". Not to say that that fine Chor Yuan flick doesn't come back and give this flick a good solid slice through the mid-section with its spinny sword before going out defiantly all the same...

:lol

Two things - incredibly minor, for IT IS what IT IS, and I'll learn to love IT for it, but I would have liked to have seen Fu Sheng in the Wong Yue role, and Candy Wen in the 'Miss Shui' role, they would have been more suited to and elevated the characters imo

thats another case of "great minds think alike" i guess :smokin

by the end of the middle act, i was thinking s/t along the lines of "this movie is truly brilliant, despite the absence of nonstop mind boggling WTF?!? experiences. but how could this movie be any better ? sure, u could change this scene a little, exchange this or that prop, use a different backdrop here and there, same with the score, or the lighting etc... but then it would be a different movie."

its great as it is period.

as for fu sheng replacing wong yue. not such a good idea.

i really feel like RWD is taking the AE flavor on the road again, and it is most certainly welcome they would use an entirely different cast (hence i dont quarrel with the rather insignificant part of my all time fave 'kf-flick elder', ku feng too much. if i want ku feng/sun chung at their most glorious, i go back to AE and JOAA).

I would agree with Vengeance that Lo Lieh played great (as did most others, bit players and all), but I don't think this matches at all such a defining role as his turn in the afforementioned horror.

u are certainly right, but i wouldnt make that comparison in the first place.

i thought he did a perfect job. creating a distinctive character but playing it moderately. imo that would totally pay off when we learn about his true intentions. makes his character even more believable in retrospect.

I don't agree with the statement the first fight is the best, they're all quite remarkable, beginning to end - Chen Kuan Tai is ridiculously handy with that pole!

I liked Wang Lung Wei's teahouse fight A LOT! The hard hitting nature put it right up there for me - the guy crashing off the balcony onto the table below and another crashing blow really delivered some oomph!

So some of the best choreo for sure imo, however lacking some of the grandiose settings resident in some of the director's other flicks

another round of applause for the mighty CKTEEEeeeeee.... rockin the house with that pole. like i said; every frame with him and his pole is a-plus; worthy of the part as the one and only 'kf instructor'. the man just got mad styles up his sleeve.

Sun Chung comparisons...

A more enjoyable film than the likes of Judgement Of An Assassin overall, although that film has some INCREDIBLE moments.

And WAY better than the likes of the sepia-hued subdued Deadly Breaking Sword!

Standing on its own in the manner of Kung Fu Instructor and Master Strikes Back, although of course not remotely alike.

Whooping the slightly inconsistent Proud Youth.

Lacking the true forward thinking nature of Devil's Mirror to stand miles out of its directly contemporary pack, what does though...?

i might disagree on minor details, but other than that, i wholeheartedly agree.

Shaw's FINEST martial director

the man who directed the best SB releases off the 2006 schedule, which happen to be 2 of my fave SB releases ever couldnt be anybody else but shaws FINEST martial director !!

RWD is for the ppl who love the type of sb-gung brought to us this year in the form of kf instructor, gang master or convict killer; and as much as i dug the lot of em, RWD rules em all (even if its often only subtle and marginal; but multi-layered, subtle wickedness is RWD`s game).

[Guest Isfahani]

Without getting verbose, having just watched Rendezvous, IMO Magic Blade pwns this one. It's cute, but not that cute.

[Guest Yakuza954]

I don't know how this got into a Magic Blade vs. Rendezvous of Death comparison, but I just saw Rendezvous and I liked Magic Blade more. Fights were obviously better in Rendezvous, but can't say the same about everything else. It seemed to fall in the same pitfall that a lot of other wu xia do and introduced too many other supporting characters/ subplots while forgetting about the main character (especially mid-way through). Don't get me wrong, good film though, but not as good as the other Sun Chung films that came out this year.

[Guest Chinatown Kid]

I just saw Rendezvous With Death and thought it was good but I still think Magic Blade was alot cooler. Wong Yue just doesn't have anything on Ti Lung, but I have to say Wong Yue was suprisingly good in Kid from Kwangtung and believe it's the best he ever looked. Please remaster KFK quick Celestial!

[Guest sevenhooks]

but I have to say Wong Yue was suprisingly good in Kid from Kwangtung and believe it's the best he ever looked.

when you're going up against Silver Fox you HAVE to bring your A game.

[Guest Chinatown Kid]

Ain't that the damn truth!

[Guest HAZ74]

Ranks right up there along with Avenging Eagle, To Kill a Mastermind and Human Lanterns as the best stuff Sun Chung ever did for Shaw Brothers.

I celebrate his entire catalogue.

[Guest HAZ74]

I'm sure you're all holding your breath to hear what I think of "Rendezvous With Death", so I'll finally enlighten you dudes.

This movie was quite excellent!

Straight away, the sets impressed me. I'm generally impressed by the set design in most shaw films. I know about the painted sky - you can make out a door in the sky in "Death Duel" - but I still like the shaw sets and I'm always impressed by how these guys tried to re-create the outdoors within the confides of their studio! The buddah statues at the begining are impressive as is the opening fight. Wong Yu's weapon of choice is original. Its a bit kitchy, but I don't mind it. The storyline is basic, & is related well. The fights are frequent & are quality. Wong Yu's acting left me dry. I think I prefer him in comedies as opposed to serious roles. He can still fight, though, and he puts in some impresive performances. Lo Lieh's character was pretty good, albeit slightly undynamic. He was underutilized in this flick. A little more face time would have been cool. Chen Kuan Tai turned in another solid performance. He could have been a tad more lecherous & shady, but he delivers. The women are pretty good & very hot. There are some memorable minor characters in "Rendezvous". There's a posse of ladies that squares off against Lieh & Wu, a grieving old woman, and a guy with a scarred face. I love it when random weird looking people are thrown into the mix for a second. There could have been some more weird weapons to offset Wu's umbrella; rope darts, flying guillotines. I dunno. All and all, this movie comes recommended. Between the production values & quality kung fu, this film is a can't miss. Bring on "To Kill a Mastermind"!

peace

h

[Guest peringaten]

bumping...

[Guest oldeschool17]

cool. ill check this movie out. Thanks all for the detailed reviews

[Guest oldeschool17]

ok i just checked out this movie and i have to say i was pleasantly suprised. I like this movie more than Avenging Eagle to be honest. I think the pacing was solid, characters were intriguing, action packed, and plot was suspenseful. I really like how Sun Chung had you guessing the whole time what the box contained/what the purpose was for the journey, not to mention if the characters were good guys/bad guys. Ill admit, i had my doubts on the Umbrella as a weapon, but they made it work nicely. This movie was a nice change for me considering im so use to chang cheh's linear predictable brotherhood/revenge/ bloodfests or lau kar leung's desire to cram too much comedy into his ethical yet awesome action choreographed movies. One other thing i wanted to add in comparison to Avenging Eagle, is that the fights in Rendezvous With Death seemed like they had alot more fluidity than Avenging Eagle. Wang Yue may not have the charisma as Ti Lung but i thought he did better in the action sequences with the umbrella/sword than Ti Lung on the 3 sectional staff.

Next on my list is to watch Magic Blade. Thanks all for the reviews

[Guest Iron Boat]

Rendezvous with Death is watchable thanks to CKT. Wang Yu on the other hand...:\

[deathdealer]

Just saw it.

Quick question:

What actually is in the BOX? Its told very quickly without much explaination.

[shawbro]

Just saw it.

Quick question:

What actually is in the BOX? Its told very quickly without much explaination.

Wang Yu had nothing in the box, he was just used to carry the box to take focus off of the real one (which I dont remember whats in the real one). Someone correct me if I'm wrong its been awhile since I've seen it.

[deathdealer]

That is correct. It is empty. I'm actually referring to the contents from the other box.