Member KyFi Posted June 8, 2007 Member Share Posted June 8, 2007 Just saw this one, and oh man, this is just some classic 70's Shaw goodness. David Chiang in shiny metallic-gold bell-bottoms, a puffy white pirate shirt, a yellow scarf and black gloves, driving a bright red Jaguar convertible. :rollin Not only that, but he's a virtuoso drum/piano/guitar playing teen heartthrob singer, who gets mobbed by screaming, hysterical fans Beatles-style after every performance :lol But seriously, I enjoyed the over-the-top 70's vibe, and I thought it actually had a decent caper/set-up plot, with some good basher fight scenes in the vein of Vengeance. And what the hell, a Chang Cheh early 70s David Chiang movie that had...(gasp)....a happy ending!?? And oh goodness, bad girl Tina Chin-Fei with her hair in a topknot, a miniskirt, and knee-high leather boots......Whoa..... She's right near the top of my list of all-time Shaw cuties. I don't think this one is going to make too many people's lists of best Shaw movies, but I thought it was fun. Anyone else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ching li Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 and very campy. I think the campiness is what draws me in with this movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dahnamics Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 i got this soundtrack on vinyl and have been dying to see the movie! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ironfistedmonk2003 Posted June 9, 2007 Share Posted June 9, 2007 I thought I was alone in finding this film entertaining! You can't beat DC in 70's gear for a good laugh :lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Iron_Jinon Posted December 12, 2007 Member Share Posted December 12, 2007 I would maybe have never gotten this unless read article in Eastern Heroes Magazine by guy called Chris Mercer*That dude highfived almost every chang cheh and liu chia liang movie(ok,credit to him he said legendary weapons ain`t worth reputation it has)*.This suffers from same problem as almost all of chang chehs movies based on modern time;fight choreography is incredibly poor.took damn long time from HK masters to make modern day movie where fighting looks great as they avoided using kung-fu but instead went just kinda kickboxing&street fight stuff.It`s ok to watch once and there is some gore anyway:),but chang cheh documentary on same ivl disc is more entertaining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Mark Pollard Posted July 16, 2011 Member Share Posted July 16, 2011 In continuing my chronological screening of Chang Cheh's filmography I've just completed my first viewing of THE SINGING KILLER. What an oddity. John (David) Chiang as a crooning, guitaring and drumming tough guy in outlandish attire. The plot is similar to Chang's THE SINGING THIEF but there is a lot more fighting action, most of which is pretty sloppy basher stuff. Most of the musical numbers form bookends at the beginning and end of the film which is a shame. It would have been more entertaining in my opinion if the film had been a full-fledged musical with song and dance numbers scattered evenly throughout the film. Unintentional comedic highlights include Chiang's mechanical, near-emotionless singing/drumming performance at the beginning and a great bit near the end where he reassures his troubled lover (Wang Ping) during their flight from an assassin by gazing off into the void and stating, "You've forgotten, I'm the Singing Killer." Despite many flaws, its still a fairly entertaining film and an interesting departure from most of Chang's other films. It may also be Chang's only "feel good" movie, whereas just about every other one ends in bloody carnage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Mark Pollard Posted July 16, 2011 Member Share Posted July 16, 2011 Here is John Chiang singing the theme song to THE SINGING KILLER. The footage is not taken from the film. I'm guessing it was something Shaw Brothers put together for some cross-promotion on TV. He's got a nice voice. q1v8G7litG0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member bratty Posted July 17, 2011 Member Share Posted July 17, 2011 I'm confused as to wether or not to check out Singing Thief and Killer. I have exactly 41 Cheh Chang movies but skipped these two (and Magic Baby). Was going to start a thread myself... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member mpm74 Posted July 18, 2011 Member Share Posted July 18, 2011 I say it's worth checking out. Chang Cheh's track record is too awesome to skip anything he has done. I enjoyed Singing Killer more than Dead End and maybe a few other Chang Cheh titles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Shawoholic Posted July 18, 2011 Member Share Posted July 18, 2011 Is it Thief or KIller where Chiand uses crowbar at end fight?I do not remember anymore which one I had, sold it away in past.Now I wish would have it in collection... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KyFi Posted July 18, 2011 Author Member Share Posted July 18, 2011 Kind of funny to see this thread up again. Tonight I just watched Interpol-009 (1967) for the first time. From reviews I knew what to expect and was in the mood for it, and found it to be a reasonably entertaining attempt by Shaws to do a James Bond movie. But the trailer for The Singing Killer was on the extras, and it struck me that in just a few years after Interpol was made, Shaws started to really develop their own HK style for modern action movies. With Interpol, it was basically just a low-budget attempt at a Bond movie with Chinese actors and setting, but there was nothing at all in there that you'd associate with modern HK action. But just a couple years later, with films like Vengeance and The Singing Killer, CC started to bring that "heroic bloodshed" vibe into modern HK movies, which has been there ever since. A lot of times with some of these older, more obscure Shaw movies, even if the movies themselves aren't that great, it's kind of fun to see how they figure into the evolution of the filmmaking over the years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Mark Pollard Posted July 18, 2011 Member Share Posted July 18, 2011 Is it Thief or KIller where Chiand uses crowbar at end fight?I do not remember anymore which one I had, sold it away in past.Now I wish would have it in collection... It's neither. Chiang isn't in THE SINGING THIEF and that film contains very little fighting. There is no end fight in that film actually. Chiang's end fight in THE SINGING KILLER is a shootout and he wields a handgun for the most part. The only crowbar wielding I recall at the moment is by thugs who use it to trash Chiang's hotrod in DEAD END after he's wounded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Mark Pollard Posted July 18, 2011 Member Share Posted July 18, 2011 ... A lot of times with some of these older, more obscure Shaw movies, even if the movies themselves aren't that great, it's kind of fun to see how they figure into the evolution of the filmmaking over the years. That's why I'm having fun going through Chang's films in order. It's actually the first time I've tried to do this and it's helping me tremendously in seeing the development of Chang's style, as well as the evolution of SB's production capabilities and the emergence of so many great genre talents who started out under Chang. That includes Chen Sing, Bolo Yeung, Cliff Lok, the Yuen Clan, John Chiang, Ti Lung, and many others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Shawoholic Posted July 19, 2011 Member Share Posted July 19, 2011 It's neither. Chiang isn't in THE SINGING THIEF and that film contains very little fighting. There is no end fight in that film actually. Chiang's end fight in THE SINGING KILLER is a shootout and he wields a handgun for the most part. The only crowbar wielding I recall at the moment is by thugs who use it to trash Chiang's hotrod in DEAD END after he's wounded. That is likely it then..I sold dead end also which of course now oop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member popsjnr Posted October 1, 2011 Member Share Posted October 1, 2011 Just like to thank Iron Jinon for giving me a mention by name for making him watch this movie because of my review of the King's video release of Singing Killer in Eastern Heroes magazine no5, I think?? always nice to see your name on the web. As for always high fiving Chang Cheh and the pops-Lau Kar Leung these are the two most important filmakers in H.K movie history-no one is more influential...and Lau si-fu is my si-baak gung, so he is family to me (got a personal message from him-bit like from god-in 2003 when my teacher and kung-fu brothers met him in H.K, we are all the same style Hung Kuen). Have always loved this movie since I 1st saw the King's company release video of it in 1992 (what a great company King's were although they only had the late 60's and early 70's Shaws aswell as the 83-85 era releases, they were the best source for Shaw's fanatics like me to see the lost classics--back in the days long before Celestial came along). I loved the unique visual style of it, the cool clothes on display, the nasty streetstyle choreography and the fact David Chiang's character Johnny survives to reunite with the lovely Wang Ping...the only drawback was Ti Lung relegated to a cameo, maybe this is why they ended up enemies in real life, as I know the problem between them stems from Ti Lung. An unappreciated master piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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