Member Tex Killer Posted February 16, 2014 Member Share Posted February 16, 2014 Was my 2nd time watching this (1st 6-7 years ago) and I had forgotten how good this really is. David Chiand gives extremely strong performance as man who is on a mission to avenge death of his brother(ti lung). Chang Cheh directing is superb, sets in 1925 town really atmospheric and worth mentioning is excellent use of music. It´s not martial arts movie, more film noir but there is some wicked knife-fu and quite bloody ending:bigsmile:. Uhm, is this CC`s finest hour? Not sure but comes very, very close at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted February 17, 2014 Member Share Posted February 17, 2014 I watched "Shaolin Avengers" for the first time yesterday and love it. I had no idea it would be so fight heavy! The constant flashbacks/flash forwards get a little irksome after a while but everything else is great. I've really overlooked Alexander Fu Sheng. He kills it in this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Rickson Posted February 17, 2014 Member Share Posted February 17, 2014 I watched this one last night very enjoyable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member RogueWarrior Posted February 17, 2014 Member Share Posted February 17, 2014 I watched "Shaolin Avengers" for the first time yesterday and love it. I had no idea it would be so fight heavy! The constant flashbacks/flash forwards get a little irksome after a while but everything else is great. I've really overlooked Alexander Fu Sheng. He kills it in this one. I really like this movie. It starts with the final fight and uses its flashbacks to tell the story on how they got there. Plus its intro credits are sweet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KyFi Posted February 17, 2014 Member Share Posted February 17, 2014 Was my 2nd time watching this (1st 6-7 years ago) and I had forgotten how good this really is. David Chiand gives extremely strong performance as man who is on a mission to avenge death of his brother(ti lung). Chang Cheh directing is superb, sets in 1925 town really atmospheric and worth mentioning is excellent use of music. It´s not martial arts movie, more film noir but there is some wicked knife-fu and quite bloody ending:bigsmile:. Uhm, is this CC`s finest hour? Not sure but comes very, very close at least. One of my favorites---I might say that's CC's finest hour. It had some artistic, and as you mentioned, film-noir touches that raised this a notch above most of his work, IMO. Also, David Chiang wasn't the best martial artist, and didn't have the most muscular build--I don't always find him that convincing in the period kung fu movies. But this is the setting and type of role where he was the best choice of all the Shaw actors, IMO. I just watched Flying Guillotine 2 for the first time. I think I had read on here that it had a troubled production, and I guess it was a little disjointed. Overall though, I thought it was very good. Great action scenes, and a story and characters that kept me interested. Shih Szu was excellent as usual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Eastern Evil Posted February 17, 2014 Member Share Posted February 17, 2014 I finally forced myself to watch 'Godfathers of Canton' (I could never get up for watching it previously) and I must say, it was a great movie. The story was pretty much non stop. it is only1 hour 21 minutes, but seems like a 2 hour movie. and a fine one at that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member massa_yoda Posted February 17, 2014 Member Share Posted February 17, 2014 I just watched Flying Guillotine 2 for the first time. I think I had read on here that it had a troubled production, and I guess it was a little disjointed. Overall though, I thought it was very good. Great action scenes, and a story and characters that kept me interested. Shih Szu was excellent as usual. Read Brian's review here for details on all the production issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KyFi Posted February 18, 2014 Member Share Posted February 18, 2014 Read Brian's review here for details on all the production issues. Cool! Thanks for the link, massa yoda. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tex Killer Posted February 18, 2014 Member Share Posted February 18, 2014 I finally forced myself to watch 'Godfathers of Canton' (I could never get up for watching it previously) and I must say, it was a great movie. The story was pretty much non stop. it is only1 hour 21 minutes, but seems like a 2 hour movie. and a fine one at that. I still haven`t watched it but I guess there is not a lot martial arts action but more gunplay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Eastern Evil Posted February 18, 2014 Member Share Posted February 18, 2014 I still haven`t watched it but I guess there is not a lot martial arts action but more gunplay? Not even gunplay. There are a few shootings, and at the end, there is a few moments of Gordon Liu fighting without guns but basically it is a very good story of manupulating situations for benefit & climbing the ladder of sucess, so to speak. I know I'm not a good reviewer I'd rather not give anything away, but this is a movie for people who just love Shaw regardless of the genre. This is a great story but not a fighting flick. That is how I would describe it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Shaolivevil Posted February 18, 2014 Member Share Posted February 18, 2014 Was my 2nd time watching this (1st 6-7 years ago) and I had forgotten how good this really is. David Chiand gives extremely strong performance as man who is on a mission to avenge death of his brother(ti lung). Chang Cheh directing is superb, sets in 1925 town really atmospheric and worth mentioning is excellent use of music. It´s not martial arts movie, more film noir but there is some wicked knife-fu and quite bloody ending:bigsmile:. Uhm, is this CC`s finest hour? Not sure but comes very, very close at least. Love this movie! I watch Vengeance! a few times a year, usually when I'm in a pensive mood. Because of it's noirish sensibilities, I only watch it late at night,(12am-5am) and with the lights out! I always felt this movie was one of Chang Cheh's all-time best works and David Chiang's as well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Cold Bishop Posted February 18, 2014 Member Share Posted February 18, 2014 Vengeance! may be the best directed film of his career, but one think really sinks it for me: how heavily imitative it is of John Boorman's Point Blank. It's practically a scene for scene remake, and if you've seen the Boorman (and any self-respecting cineaste should) it kills a lot of the surprise of the film. Two other things: David Chiang is still a little too green for the lead role. His whole "melanchony loner" schtick works for parts of the film, but in others, he just kind of smirks his way through weakly. If Chang would have waited a year or two, I'm sure he could have given a much more comfortable performance. The other: the movie peaks with its opening scene. Ti Lung's final ambush, intercut with scenes from the Chinese Opera, is maybe the greatest moment of all of Chang's filmography, drawing a straight line between his brand of "heroic bloodshed" and China's grand tradition of pageantry and tragedy. The movie never reaches that high again. Maybe he should have structured the film as a mystery, with flashbacks, allowing him to save that fight closer to the end? Still, it's an essential part of his filmography, Shaw's filmography, and really Hong Kong cinema in general. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KyFi Posted February 18, 2014 Member Share Posted February 18, 2014 ...Ti Lung's final ambush, intercut with scenes from the Chinese Opera, is maybe the greatest moment of all of Chang's filmography, drawing a straight line between his brand of "heroic bloodshed" and China's grand tradition of pageantry and tragedy. Yep, I agree. I have not seen "Point Blank", but am a big Lee Marvin fan. I need to track this down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Cold Bishop Posted February 18, 2014 Member Share Posted February 18, 2014 Because of it's noirish sensibilities, I only watch it late at night,(12am-5am) and with the lights out! This definitely comes down to the source material (John Boorman, Donald Westlake). I'll still stand by Chor Yuen as the most noirish of all Shaw's directors, no doubt helped by his tenure at the more cosmopolitan Cantonese studios. The Killer has an atmosphere of haunted longing and lost time which makes it standout well beyond the heroes vs. drug gang scenario it was written as. And Duel for Gold is a veritable wuxia-noir, with a plot that could have come straight from a Phil Karlson or Richard Fleischer b-movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Cloud Hands Posted February 18, 2014 Member Share Posted February 18, 2014 This definitely comes down to the source material (John Boorman, Donald Westlake). I'll still stand by Chor Yuen as the most noirish of all Shaw's directors, no doubt helped by his tenure at the more cosmopolitan Cantonese studios. The Killer has an atmosphere of haunted longing and lost time which makes it standout well beyond the heroes vs. drug gang scenario it was written as. And Duel for Gold is a veritable wuxia-noir, with a plot that could have come straight from a Phil Karlson or Richard Fleischer b-movie. I do agree that Chor Yuen is very a noirish director. His use of the Shaw sets for creating atmosphere is second to none, for me. I mentioned on another thread, that I'd recently watched Black Lizard, and while not a classic, it had a very brooding, gloomy vibe. Duel for Gold is an excellent film in my opinion! I always thought Vengeance! was one of Chiang's better roles.. I enjoy him as an actor, but have to say I'm unconvinced as an on screen fighter. People who do martial arts will know what I'm talking about when I say he often doesn't use his whole body at the same time, he is often too far away and has to lean in to his strikes (often with his head tilted back). I can't think of a specific instance off the top of my head, but it's a general observation from watching him over many films. Then again, he does have charisma! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member MonkeyFu Posted February 18, 2014 Member Share Posted February 18, 2014 I enjoy him as an actor, but have to say I'm unconvinced as an on screen fighter. People who do martial arts will know what I'm talking about when I say he often doesn't use his whole body at the same time, he is often too far away and has to lean in to his strikes (often with his head tilted back). I can't think of a specific instance off the top of my head, but it's a general observation from watching him over many films. Then again, he does have charisma! I agree and always thought he was pretty weak as an on-screen fighter for most of the Shaw films he appeared in. I actually thought one of his better Shaw efforts was "Judgement Of An Assassin". But one of his best movie efforts was in "The Loot". I guess this shows how very important the action director and choreographer can be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted February 18, 2014 Member Share Posted February 18, 2014 I really like this movie. It starts with the final fight and uses its flashbacks to tell the story on how they got there. Plus its intro credits are sweet. Agreed. I loved the intro credits. And while the flashback gimmick was pretty unique, I just felt the repeated jumping between the past and present day got a little grating as the film went on. Otherwise, a truly superb film. The red filter denoting a death was awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Cloud Hands Posted February 18, 2014 Member Share Posted February 18, 2014 I agree and always thought he was pretty weak as an on-screen fighter for most of the Shaw films he appeared in. I actually thought one of his better Shaw efforts was "Judgement Of An Assassin". But one of his best movie efforts was in "The Loot". I guess this shows how very important the action director and choreographer can be. Judgement of an Assassin, what a great film. You are so right about the choreographer, Shaolin Mantis is one where they get the best out of Chiang with fantastic choreography. I don't recall the Loot at all.. it might be a film I haven't seen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShawAngela Posted February 18, 2014 Member Share Posted February 18, 2014 He is also very good in The challenger... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tex Killer Posted February 18, 2014 Member Share Posted February 18, 2014 He is also very good in The challenger... The challenger is even better IMO... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member MonkeyFu Posted February 18, 2014 Member Share Posted February 18, 2014 I don't recall the Loot at all.. it might be a film I haven't seen! If you haven't I would definitely recommend it! Not a Shaw film but there was a good DVD release of it by Joy Sales a little while ago. I think it's out-of-print now. He is also very good in The challenger... Good call! I need to watch that one again. They were both made by the same team, I believe. And they were both solid films. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Rickson Posted February 19, 2014 Member Share Posted February 19, 2014 I watched Have Sword Will Travel. It was very slow paced love triangle movie. I didn't expect that. The ending I didn't see that coming at all. It had some good sword play. A lot of David Chiang looking pensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member wongfeihung62 Posted February 19, 2014 Member Share Posted February 19, 2014 Watched BLACK TAVERN and MONKEY KUNG FU in the last few days and enjoyed them both. Tonight I will watch LONG ROAD TO GALLANTRY which just arrived in the post today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Arts Posted February 19, 2014 Member Share Posted February 19, 2014 As a fan of Chor Yuen, i believed i have seen quite a few of his shaw films, Cloud Hands, mentioned below by a few posts of BLACK LIZARD, i never heard of it, so put in an order on DDD for it today, which brings me to what iv seen recently, HUMAN LANTERNS and BAT WITHOUT WINGS. Right Human Lanterns, was awesome, had really no idea how much i would love this movie, i was glued to the screen. Bat Without Wings was great, not a patch on Human Lanterns, but i did really enjoy it, which brings me back to my first sentence, how does Black Lizard compare to these two? And what are the best MA/Horror shaws about? Im not bothered in the Horror/Exploitation films like Seeding/Ghost - Lost Souls, but more in line with Human Lanterns and Bat Without Wings? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tex Killer Posted February 19, 2014 Member Share Posted February 19, 2014 I have about 80 Shaws waiting to be premiered but recently got stuck into titles I have already seen. This time in viewing task is image entertainments 4 swords set(exceptI am not going to suffer again through water margin, ever). David Chiang is bit naive swordsman who has rotten luck but will cut his loss in the end:xd:. Storyline is very simple but works well, there is no dragging. Chiang does again extremely fine acting job, only in scene where he meets lily li 1st time he seemed bit unconvincing... Have sword, will travel next... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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