Member teako170 Posted November 30, 2007 Member Share Posted November 30, 2007 I really wish John Liu and Wong Tao had made more films together. This film didn't have much downtime at all as the fights just kept on coming. What became of John I wonder? He had a steady roster of flix for a short period from '76-'84 but (outside of 2 pics in the 90s) his career seems to have stalled. ...Found this clip on YT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C65FHnQMmg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TheManInWhite Posted November 30, 2007 Member Share Posted November 30, 2007 This film is always a favorite of mine. Plenty of action. Only thing that spoils it is the gratuitous topless scene. Seems like it goes on forever. Outside of that, this film remains in my top 10 all time KF flicks (non-SB). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member The Dragon Posted November 30, 2007 Member Share Posted November 30, 2007 This film is always a favorite of mine. Plenty of action. Only thing that spoils it is the gratuitous topless scene. Seems like it goes on forever. Outside of that, this film remains in my top 10 all time KF flicks (non-SB). Listen, they had to SHOW us why Don Wong's character fell for this woman!LOL! Her feminine wiles didn't work so well on John Liu. He must have practiced the abstinence technique. They were a great duo and their films were copied several times over... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted March 10, 2008 Member Share Posted March 10, 2008 The two stars of The Secret Rivals, Don Wang and John Liu, reunite for this action packed kung fu classic. Wang plays Sun Shing-Kwei, a rebel for the Ming Dynasty who has killed the marshall of the Ching Dynasty after going undercover. Learning of this "betrayal", the new Emperor sends his top man, To Ku-Lan (Eagle Han) to kills Sun. To enlists the aid of his henchmen to do away with him. Meanwhile, Northern Kick Sung Hsin (John Liu) has also come to town. At first, he joins To's group and takes on Sun in a fight. When To takes it upon himself to viciously defeat Sun, the Southern Fist is nursed by young woman Kei Kei (Fanny Wang). However, is Kei Kei all she appears to be and what will happen when Sung is discovered to actually have plans to stop the Chings as well? Only time will tell. William Cheung, who worked as cinematographer on The Secret Rivals and its sequel, helms this classic kung fu film that can be said to be a rip-off of the series. However, in retrospect, in some ways, this can be called Secret Rivals 3. Of course, that "title" went to a film that was released two years later. That film would be Northern Kick, Southern Fist, starring John Liu and Alexander Lo. Meanwhile, the stars of the original Secret Rivals, Don Wang and John Liu, once again play the Southern Fist expert and the Northern Kick expert. Of course, they use different names and it's the same in the sense that they must take on a common enemy. In this case, it is the late Eagle Han Ying, who uses both Mantis Fist kung fu and taekwondo's kicking skills to a hellacious level that comes close to his fellow Korean, Hwang Jang-Lee. The fight scenes, choreographed by Chin Yuet-Sang and Mang Hoi, are just top notch. Wang uses some Mantis fist himself and does some nice kicks. Liu, always one of the perennial kickers, does his fantastic kicking as always. However, it is Han who steals the show by showing his crispy hand techniques and frenetic kicking skills. As for the plot, it seems standard in the sense that if you have seen Secret Rivals, you know what to expect. However, there is another twist that proves crucial to the storyline and because of this, it proves to be superior to most standard kung fu films. Death Duel of Kung Fu is definitely an underrated classic film. Wang and Liu are in top form, but it is Eagle Han who definitely steals the show. Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Morgoth Bauglir Posted March 10, 2008 Member Share Posted March 10, 2008 Yeah this movie is awesome. That kick that Wong Tao does on Eagle Han's head is amazing. this is the ultimate kickfest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Bus Posted March 10, 2008 Member Share Posted March 10, 2008 i agree it is a very good movie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ironfistedmonk Posted March 14, 2008 Member Share Posted March 14, 2008 Han Ying is a proper bad boy, I wish he had acted in a few more high profile movies cos the boy had the skills and could have been a real premier league villain. Any film with both Wong Tao and John Liu is gonna be decent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TheManInWhite Posted March 17, 2008 Member Share Posted March 17, 2008 Very nice review, Albert! This film remains in my top 5 of all-time classic KF films. Seems like a fight breaks out every 5-10 mins. Some people are put off by the doubling that's done in this film. Doesn't bother me in the least. A must-see classic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member WalkOn Posted March 17, 2008 Member Share Posted March 17, 2008 Nice write up! One of my all time favorites. John Liu, Wang Tao and Han Ying never looked better, IMO. I loved everything about this movie. The cast, outfits, settings and ofcourse the fights, and there were plenty to choose from. John Liu's kicks were sharper than ever, period! Wang Tao form was also. Eagle Han Ying... well he's Eagle Han and man did make a wonderful villian, RIP. I saw this film as the aka Showdown of the Master Warriors each and everytime it played at the infamous "Deuce" (42nd St and Times Sq in NYC). Funny, I saw this before Secret Rivals, which made Secret Rivals seem dated with the choreography, great movie too, btw... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Oily Maniac Posted June 29, 2011 Member Share Posted June 29, 2011 The Blu-ray wil be released by MIG end of 2011. It should be available via amazon.de when it comes out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member WalkOn Posted October 4, 2011 Member Share Posted October 4, 2011 This is great news! One of my all time favorites. I watched it countless times in the movies. One of the classics that I can watch over and over. Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Phoenix Posted October 6, 2011 Member Share Posted October 6, 2011 Will it have English subs or dubs and is the distributor usually good with their releases? I love this film but would only purchase a good release. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member teako170 Posted January 31, 2013 Author Member Share Posted January 31, 2013 Finally got the opportunity to check out the w/s German print. A great film just got even better. Thanks BigR! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member blue_skies Posted January 31, 2013 Member Share Posted January 31, 2013 Finally got the opportunity to check out the w/s German print. A great film just got even better. Thanks BigR! which disc is that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member teako170 Posted February 1, 2013 Author Member Share Posted February 1, 2013 Its an Akuma custom. ?v=rPXwKszTspI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator KUNG FU BOB Posted February 1, 2013 Administrator Share Posted February 1, 2013 Finally got the opportunity to check out the w/s German print. A great film just got even better. Thanks BigR! I've been sitting on this (it's nice and flat now ), but after reading your post I realized "What the Hell am I waiting for?". Probably watch it tonight. I've only seen it once before, and it was at least twenty years ago- a crummy looking full-screen VHS (which I was quite thrilled to have at the time ). So this should be a BIG improvement over that viewing experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member teako170 Posted February 1, 2013 Author Member Share Posted February 1, 2013 I've been sitting on this (it's nice and flat now ), but after reading your post I realized "What the Hell am I waiting for?". Probably watch it tonight. I've only seen it once before, and it was at least twenty years ago- a crummy looking full-screen VHS (which I was quite thrilled to have at the time ). So this should be a BIG improvement over that viewing experience. Nice and flat (LOL). Yeah, the wide is quite nice. Watching the rest right now. Like Albert mentioned in an earlier post... directed by the guy who DP'ed the first two Rival flix, so it feels like part of that series This is definitely a must watch for any fu fan. I know some like to diss on ol' John Liu but I have 12 or 13 of his 20? actor credits and I've always enjoyed his performance. There's a b/w article for this flick in Cinemart #106 that I will have dig up and post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tigerstyles Posted February 1, 2013 Member Share Posted February 1, 2013 german print is glass... proper wide... great custom too. some superb adlib dubbing in this one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Abbott White Posted February 2, 2013 Member Share Posted February 2, 2013 one of wong tao's best films. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member teako170 Posted February 2, 2013 Author Member Share Posted February 2, 2013 Only article I could find. From Cinemart #106 (October '78) Found this at KMDb: Kim Cheong-ja Apparently she (actress with snake tats) did a ton of work prior to DDOKF. If she was born in 1950, then she would have been 28 for this pic (which seems right) but didn't do much afterwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator KUNG FU BOB Posted February 2, 2013 Administrator Share Posted February 2, 2013 Only article I could find. From Cinemart #106 (October '78) Found this at KMDb: Kim Cheong-ja Apparently she (actress with snake tats) did a ton of work prior to DDOKF. If she was born in 1950, then she would have been 28 for this pic (which seems right) but didn't do much afterwards. Good stuff T, thanks for sharing! This film kicked major ass! I do not remember it being so damn good. Everyone was giving it their all, but John Liu's kicking and most of all, Eagle Han Ying's phenomenal mantis kung fu stole the show for me. Strange that another character refers to his style as "Crane Fist"! Listen you jackass minion, you need to study up some more on your kung fu knowledge! The ridiculously gratuitous shots of Kim Cheong-Ja's breast double made me laugh out loud. Here they are. And again. And again. And again! She's beautiful though, and was very good in the role. I love how they show a female character in the shadows with her face hidden. Who could it be? Who could this mysterious femme fatale be? Um... how about the only female character in the whole film! Could it be her? Some mystery. Ha ha ha... Speaking of topless... I thought it was funny when after capturing Don, they removed his shirt, tied him up, then freed him... still topless. I was waiting for the guy that threw him to the ground to say "And we're keeping your shirt!" There were two gasp-inducing instances where Eagle Han Ying took direct, absolutely full contact kicks to the face. And one was from a furious flying kick! Ouch! So glad I watched this again. Big thanks to Akuma for the custom version. You rock dude! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member teako170 Posted February 2, 2013 Author Member Share Posted February 2, 2013 There were two gasp-inducing instances where Eagle Han Ying took direct, absolutely full contact kicks to the face. And one was from a furious flying kick! Ouch! ! Oh yeah. You caught that too? I had to rewind multiple times to watch that. The film was slowed down significantly but his head really jerked back. OUCH! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tigerstyles Posted February 2, 2013 Member Share Posted February 2, 2013 My kids love watching that shot to the head on repeat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator KUNG FU BOB Posted February 2, 2013 Administrator Share Posted February 2, 2013 Oh yeah. You caught that too? I had to rewind multiple times to watch that. The film was slowed down significantly but his head really jerked back. OUCH! Oh yeah! Even though I was watching on a 52" TV, after a few regular rewinds I zoomed in (using my beloved Ultimate Zoom DVD feature) so that just his head and shoulders filled the screen, and watched it in slo-mo. Holy flapping cheeks Batman! He got blasted! My kids love watching that shot to the head on repeat! Great Dad showing them the Fu! How old are they bro? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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