Member paimeifist Posted January 12, 2015 Member Share Posted January 12, 2015 Bells of Death. Real cool movie. I think this is the first time I've seen Chang Yi as the lead, an he did A good job. Story was simple revenge stuff, but was well plotted and complimented by good acting, especially from the villains. The fights were good, although the choreography was nothing fancy. Fighting was powerful though, and good acting during the fights, when Chang Yi fights Ku Feng, you actually feel the fear Ku Feng(villain) has of Chang Yi's vengeful character. Also good use of setting to make the fights feel more tense as well (ie. the fight above took place in a bamboo field, giving it a claustrophobic feel. Another movie that I think had a samurai feel to it. The "sucking leaves off a tree" thing was out of place, as the rest of te movie was pretty grounded with not too many fantasy elements. Good movie, I liked it a lot. I really dig these early Shaw wuxias. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Yang Wu Liang Posted January 12, 2015 Member Share Posted January 12, 2015 I first saw Supreme Swordsman on a crappy bootleg before it was remastered and funnily enough I enjoyed it more. Like Paimefist said in his review of Sword of Justice, it made the movie seem more dark and gritty. I need to rewatch it though, because Pai Piao is the man. Bells of Death is one of the best. That stand-off in the pouring rain is full of tension and perhaps my favourite Shaw brothers moment... that's proper wuxia, right there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member paimeifist Posted January 12, 2015 Member Share Posted January 12, 2015 I first saw Supreme Swordsman on a crappy bootleg before it was remastered and funnily enough I enjoyed it more. Like Paimefist said in his review of Sword of Justice, it made the movie seem more dark and gritty. I need to rewatch it though, because Pai Piao is the man. Bells of Death is one of the best. That stand-off in the pouring rain is full of tension and perhaps my favourite Shaw brothers moment... that's proper wuxia, right there! Bells of Death actually feels kind of similar to the Sword of Justice in the pacing (especially in the fights) and feel of it, although not nearly as dark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted January 14, 2015 Member Share Posted January 14, 2015 I finally got around to watching "Shaolin Abbot" today and really enjoyed it. It's always nice to see David Chiang breaking out the shapes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Secret Executioner Posted January 18, 2015 Member Share Posted January 18, 2015 Bat Without Wings (1980) I'll state it right away: seeing it was another wuxia from the same director, I went in low expectations as I didn't enjoy Legend Of The Bat that much (For the record it remains my least favorite SB movie). I figured the best element would be the fact that there's a killer who looks like he dropped in from the local Kiss convention in it... ...And boy was I wrong. The movie is actually great. I really enjoyed the first half, with the weird looking killer that can take on dozens of guys (the movie cuts straight to the chase as it opens with a battle), the supernatural elements and the nice action delivered throughout. But the second half got heavy on twists and turns, which I'm not too fond of. However, the action was still going on great and I loved some of the creative tricks and traps (with even more exotic ways out). And the movie has a strange eerie mood that fits perfectly. Overall, it's a very good SB movie. It seems actually closer to Human Lanterns (masked killers kidnapping and murdering women, swordsmen trying to take him down, horror/supernatural elements), but with the traps and the twists a wuxia like Legend Of The Bat would have. I'd actually rank it on par with HL, maybe a bit lower for the twists and turns that seemed sometimes far-fetched. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Secret Executioner Posted January 22, 2015 Member Share Posted January 22, 2015 Shaolin Martial Arts (1974) Great action, nice soundtrack (which sounded like something off a spaghetti western at times), the usual nice indoor sets and strange outdoor sets (especially the streets) and a solid plot that ends relatively well (for once). I wouldn't say I found it as great as Disciples Of Shaolin, but it's IMO at least on par with a film like Marco Polo. And those characters... So much good stuff in that department: Fu Sheng and Chi Kuan Chun were the usual likeable leads (though I found Fu Sheng less engaging than in Disciples Of Shaolin, he's more serious here in spite of some funny slapstick with Yuen Man Tzu - CKC and Irene Chan had nice chemistry), Kong Do was epic as a lead villain (people talk about Lo Lieh, but this dude has "f**king bastard" all over his deformed face and grin, which makes him a very recognizable and enjoyable baddie), the two killers are very impressive (John Liang/Leung Kar Yan was the more badass of the two and his fighting seemed really fierce), Gordon Liu and his companion (not sure of the actor's name) offered a nice plot and their training was enjoyable (though that other guy had your usual colorful training consisting in fishing and wood chopping). Disclaimer: the following is just an observation, it's NOT intended to start a war on the forum or to imply any kind of intolerance. I often read about homoerotic imagery or homosexual innuendos in Chang Cheh's movies. Well this film is a good case: a guy (John Liang/Leung Kar Yan) seems uncomfortable getting his junk touched by a lady (turns out it's his "weak spot") and he can be defeated only by getting hit in the groin (which leads to close-ups of Gordon Liu and later Fu Sheng kicking him in the groin)... Maybe I'm reading too much into it (or I simply read too much about Chang Cheh) and there wasn't to be double meanings (hell, the two leads end with kind pretty ladies), but still it bugged me at points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member paimeifist Posted January 22, 2015 Member Share Posted January 22, 2015 I watched this one within the last few months, but don't remember it much. I do remember liking it more than most other movies that use Fu Sheng as a lead, as well as a good fight with Beardy at the end, and the use of "red screen". I also definitely liked it more than Disciples, which is a movie I don't care for.(and do remember!) I need to watch it again at a time when I'm more attentive, especially after reading your review.. Good review. Did you watch this on Hulu? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Secret Executioner Posted January 22, 2015 Member Share Posted January 22, 2015 I watched this one within the last few months, but don't remember it much. I do remember liking it more than most other movies that use Fu Sheng as a lead, as well as a good fight with Beardy at the end, and the use of "red screen". I also definitely liked it more than Disciples, which is a movie I don't care for.(and do remember!) I need to watch it again at a time when I'm more attentive, especially after reading your review.. Good review. Did you watch this on Hulu? Hulu doesn't work outside the US so no. Got a DVD, not sure what release it is since it's a DVD-R someone sent me. Actually, Fu Sheng is more of a co-lead, since the movie has several leads - Fu Sheng and CKC are the main heroes, but Gordon Liu and the fellow who trains in Eagle Claw get a lot of screen time in the second act. The "red screen" (used only a couple of times actually) didn't do much (unlike the black and white in Disciples Of Shaolin), though I remember being a bit shocked by Wang Lung Wei's gruesome death (I guess the brutal switch to red added to it, but that's some gruesome death even for a Chang Cheh movie). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Ramji Posted January 22, 2015 Member Share Posted January 22, 2015 I've been having a bit of a Shaw Brothers revival recently. Recently watched Disciples of Shaolin and New Shaolin Boxers for the first time. Wow, great films, Fu Sheng seriously kicks ass, and thats's some crazy advanced choreography for 1976 in the latter. Anyway thought I'd start from the beginning of the Shaolin cycle again and did a double bill of Heroes Two and Men From the Monastery last night. I've seen Heroes Two quite a few times before but this was only my second time watching MFTM. I don't know if this was because I got tired watching MFTM, it was pretty late by that point, but it seemed that there was a noticeable decline in the quality of fight choreography between the two. Don't get me wrong, there were still some fantastic moments like the opening sequence when Fang Shih Yu fights in the wooden men ally and also some nice exchanges during the final battle but overall I felt it lacked the intricacy and prolonged exchanges using real tiger and crane techniques seen in Heroes Two. Was the production of MFTM more rushed? I know Heroes Two is credited as kicking off the shapes trend and I really dig the action in this film, just straight up kung fu, almost like watching a demo. Anyway, still loving it, carrying on with Shaolin Martial Arts and 5 Shaolin Masters tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member paimeifist Posted January 22, 2015 Member Share Posted January 22, 2015 Heroes Two is my favorite Shaolin Cycle movie. Great fighting, simple story, good acting, and nice mix of sets and locations but the main reason I love it....Chen Kuan Tai just kicks major ass! It's probably the most painful looking shapes action I have seen, no fancy dancing stuff here! I would say there is definitely a big difference in the quality of fighting between the two movies. I have only seen Men from the Monastery once, but from one viewing it is my least favorite of the cycle.. I didn't think it was bad, but everything else in the cycle is pretty great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Ramji Posted January 22, 2015 Member Share Posted January 22, 2015 Ahh ok, yeah glad it's not just me! Thought I might be missing something haha. You're right, he's brutal, he just unleashes hell sometimes and you're left like 'woah, ok then!' Serious business! Yeah, I love the cycle of movies. Looking forward to watching the rest again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Morgoth Bauglir Posted January 22, 2015 Member Share Posted January 22, 2015 I'm with you guys CKT destroys people in Heroes Two! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Secret Executioner Posted January 24, 2015 Member Share Posted January 24, 2015 Sidenote on Shaolin Martial Arts: since I watched the original dub with subtitles, I noticed something that could be interesting to some. When they find out John Liang is stronger than expected, there are references to another guy (a treacherous master) who mastered the same martial art and the subs refer to him as "White Brows", but I swear they say "Pai Mei" or something like that in the Chinese dub. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member paimeifist Posted January 24, 2015 Member Share Posted January 24, 2015 Sidenote on Shaolin Martial Arts: since I watched the original dub with subtitles, I noticed something that could be interesting to some. When they find out John Liang is stronger than expected, there are references to another guy (a treacherous master) who mastered the same martial art and the subs refer to him as "White Brows", but I swear they say "Pai Mei" or something like that in the Chinese dub. What do you mean by "the original dub."? I may try to watch this on Hulu today. I rewatched 5 Shaolin Masters.. Its a great movie.. I'd say one of the best, awesome soundtrack, epic feel, good fights, and a great cast. The story was simple but plotted and paced excellently. The pace falls somewhere in between the hectic Heroes Two, and the slow burn of Shaolin Temple(no pun intended). The credits are really cool. The film opens with a scene of each main character escaping the Manchu following the burning of the temple.. It shows them fight a little in a hectic chase scene, than introduces them. I enjoyed the training scenes, while they were generally just forms, the way they were shot made them really cool to me; in a wide view of a beautiful location. Due to the fact there was a decent amount of action, and so many characters, you don't get the characterization of Shaolin Temple or Heroes Two.. That isn't to say there is none, it just isn't as strong as in these other two flicks. The use of locations were among the best of any Shaw, and a definite strong point of the movie. A good example is the beautiful scene next to the river when Ti Lung and Tsai Hung threw down. Lots of outdoor scenes for a Shaw movie. There were some cool sets too, like the remains of the temple! The fights were really good, if not very intricate. A great cast of good guys and bad guys, it is hard to say anyone in particular stood out. I really liked the fights between Ti Lung and Tsai Hung because they are both very intense guys. I also enjoyed the few short sparring matches between CKC and Fu sheng. The long finale featuring mainly separate one on one fights was fantastic all around. Anyway, great movie. I still think Heroes Two is my favorite Shaolin Cycle movie, but Im sort of torn between this and Shaolin Temple for number 2.. But I think I'm leaning towards this for the extra action. What was that chilling/epic song that played often throughout this movie?! It was (mostly) fitting, and great!(although a little overused) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Secret Executioner Posted January 24, 2015 Member Share Posted January 24, 2015 What do you mean by "the original dub."? The Chinese dub, duh !! (guess it must be Cantonese). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Cold Bishop Posted January 24, 2015 Member Share Posted January 24, 2015 White Eyebrows = Pai Mei, which I believe is a direct translation. It 's no coincidence that, in the genre, any fighter who masters the Invincible Armor tends to have white brows and beard. It's a sign of gross, unnatural power. It's also the subtext of the film: the heroes learn martial arts directly descended from famous Shaolin heroes, the villains from famous traitors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Secret Executioner Posted January 24, 2015 Member Share Posted January 24, 2015 White Eyebrows = Pai Mei, which I believe is a direct translation. Looks like it is. "White eyebrows" in Chinese is written 白色眉毛 and pronounced "bái méi". It 's no coincidence that, in the genre, any fighter who masters the Invincible Armor tends to have white brows and beard. It's a sign of gross, unnatural power. Noticed a lot of masters (not just Invincible Armor - or Steel Armor as it's called in the subs -, but in any style) had those big eyebrows and/or beards. It's also the subtext of the film: the heroes learn martial arts directly descended from famous Shaolin heroes, the villains from famous traitors. I also noticed a reference to Fong Sai-yuk at a point, and I guess it all makes sense then. Nice to have all these little nods to the Shaolin mythos all the way through. I guess this movie seems to be one of the last in the cycle chronologically speaking (it obviously takes place long after the burning of the Temple, but before Disciples Of Shaolin). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Secret Executioner Posted January 25, 2015 Member Share Posted January 25, 2015 The New One-Armed Swordsman (1971) Saying it's the best Shaw Bros film I've seen recently would be an understatement. It could well be the best SB film I've seen since Disciples Of Shaolin and Marco Polo. Writing a more complete review of this, so see ya in the review forum for this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member paimeifist Posted January 25, 2015 Member Share Posted January 25, 2015 Definitely a great movie GHW, although it isn't a favorite of mine. With that said, this is another one of those flicks I watched on a sleepy day and don't remember a whole lot about.. Might put it on my "watch pile" for the week. So I finally watched Come Drink With Me.. A great, beautiful movie. I expected the action to feel dated, but I was wrong. I can't think of something negative to say about this, it is just great all around.. Acting, the way it was shot, the action...just a beautiful movie. Cheng Pei Pei is awesome. I'm not feeling up to writing a long post about it, but for a movie that has the clout this does, I don't feel it's necessary anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Arts Posted January 25, 2015 Member Share Posted January 25, 2015 The Long Chase [1971] Had alot of fun with this one, It was also one i never heard of before, as it has Lo Lieh & Yueh Hua in it i figured it was worth a punt... And it was worth it, Basically, its about a police officer chasing an assassin - thats the short of it, and i wont go into much more of the story here.. It is a simple story, but chuck in ton of weapon fights, a bucket load of red paint, abit of banter [not overly comedic], some suspense, a tiny love story and you have a really good time in its 82min length. It was not perfect, a couple of flaws, without spoiling anything.. the portrait with the added hair felt daft.. but only small problems and didnt do much harm to this film. Also i want to add, Yueh Hua was excellent in this one, really enjoyed him in this.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tex Killer Posted January 27, 2015 Member Share Posted January 27, 2015 was quite interesting, far better than I expected. Lately not much mood into watching Shaws, one before that was dreadful Lady General Hua Mulan some weeks ago... Anyway, House starts like typical exploitation flick. Nudity, some torture and few executions. There is however quite ok story in it with hidden gold and traitor. And it has some gunplay and fighting, I have wasted ~100 mins for far worse flicks than this. Next shaw will be "miniskirt gang". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShawAngela Posted January 27, 2015 Member Share Posted January 27, 2015 I don't want to spoil your viewing of Mini skirt gang, but I enjoyed Bamboo house of dolls much better than this one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Iron Boat Posted January 28, 2015 Member Share Posted January 28, 2015 The New One-Armed Swordsman (1971) Saying it's the best Shaw Bros film I've seen recently would be an understatement. It could well be the best SB film I've seen since Disciples Of Shaolin and Marco Polo. Writing a more complete review of this, so see ya in the review forum for this. Yeah this is a good one, its often my go to Shaw revenge film. I enjoy it more than the two Jimmy Wang Yu films, not sure why this one is so underrated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tex Killer Posted January 28, 2015 Member Share Posted January 28, 2015 not sure why this one is so underrated. Is it really?Quite lot seem to like flick(me too, love it in fact). If it does not show up on top lists, there is good explanation there is just so many great shaws so several 1st class titles need to be dropped when have to choose few. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Secret Executioner Posted January 28, 2015 Member Share Posted January 28, 2015 I wouldn't call NOAS underrated. On the contrary, it seems more like one of the most praised SB films - rightfully so TBH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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