Member masterofoneinchpunch Posted March 18, 2015 Member Share Posted March 18, 2015 At long last, I finally got to see Return of the Bastard Swordsman .... Where I feel both films are underrated is the composition of the shots (some beautiful looking mise en scène) and the cinematography. Look how many times placement is done quite well of the camera as well the movement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jay Stone Posted March 18, 2015 Member Share Posted March 18, 2015 Where I feel both films are underrated is the composition of the shots (some beautiful looking mise en scène) and the cinematography. Look how many times placement is done quite well of the camera as well the movement. I feel the same way about Kung Fu Instructor. Great camerawork in that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Secret Executioner Posted March 18, 2015 Member Share Posted March 18, 2015 Revisited one of my all-time favorite Shaw Bros films tonight - Marco Polo (HK, 1975). I hadn't caught it initially (since I wasn't that familiar with the actors out of Fu Sheng and CKC as I had seen only a handful of Shaw Bros movies and next to none had these people), but I noticed a lot of the main players were seen playing similar parts in the Shaolin Cycle: Fu Sheng, CKC and Bruce Tong are among the good guys learning MA, and two of the major killers in the Mongolian army are Johnny Wang Lung Wei and Beardy (who spots a beard here, unlike in Shaolin Martial Arts - a movie where he also gets his butt kicked by Fu Sheng BTW). Add Philipp Kwok (who would play the Lizard three years later in The Five Venoms - for the record, he already does a lot of jumping around here) to the mix and you have a nice cast for one of the greatest and most epic SB movies ever. I love these training scenes, the huge battle in the end (CKC and Bruce Tong each take on an army while Fu Sheng and Philip Kwok are fighting one on one against a pair of vicious assassins) and the atmosphere this film has. The movie manages to throw in some light moments (the relations with the teachers, especially for Fu Sheng who goofs around a lot) while it's overall very dark (the soundtrack is dark, you can feel the oppressing rule of the Mongolians on the poor Chinese who try to fight back) and it has a very mixed ending (though it's rather pessimistic I'd say). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member paimeifist Posted March 18, 2015 Member Share Posted March 18, 2015 I remember one time you posted about Marco Polo, it caused me to revisit it (after falling asleep on it the first time!).. I ended up watching the movie 3 times last year, needless to say, I am glad I gave it another shot! Great movie, I often get scenes of it mixed up with Shaolin Cycle movies, or think that it IS a Shaolin Cycle movie due to the cast and feel! I feel the same way about Kung Fu Instructor. Great camerawork in that. A movie that has great camerawork(as well as other elements that go unnoticed) is King Boxer. While it isn't an underrated movie by any means, it is often seen as just a good example of bashers and the classic kung fu set-up.. I feel the plot (mainly the sub-plots that give reason for the characters actions), and acting don't really get the credit they should. But maybe that's because it's got some of the best choreo of any basher, and some fantastic over the top scenes? ......It's one of my very favorite movies, so I'll admit I have goggles on this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Secret Executioner Posted March 19, 2015 Member Share Posted March 19, 2015 First watched Marco Polo last year, so I guess that must have been then as I discussed it on the forum (in this very thread too). I got this one along with other Shaolin cycle films, and it's true it feels similar in terms of cast, story and it was made at the same time (mid-1970s), but I don't think people count this film as part of the Shaolin cycle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member massa_yoda Posted March 19, 2015 Member Share Posted March 19, 2015 Just watched two good Shaw films this week: Challenge of the Masters and The Master. I watched both from the MB/TS DVD release, with Challenge in Mandarin mono and The Master in Cantonese Mono, which I assumed was the proper audio for each. I liked that Challenge had a unique quality about it. Not by the numbers by any means and not the typical ending either. But this is why I love most LKL movies. The Master had a lot of action and acrobatics. Fantastically entertaining. Definitely very goofy at times, with lots cartoony sound effects. A great ride, though. I am, however, disappointed that this prophecy never came to pass: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tex Killer Posted March 21, 2015 Member Share Posted March 21, 2015 12 deadly coins is fantastic movie about robbed gold. Gold is obviously recovered in the end but at what cost...Excellent storyline with nice surprises in the end and action is what you can expect for 1969 flick. Some melodrama in 1-2 scenes in style "if you do no trust me, take my life" is little over the top but such minor thing can be easily forgiven. Lo Lieh stars.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member paimeifist Posted March 21, 2015 Member Share Posted March 21, 2015 12 deadly coins is fantastic movie about robbed gold. Gold is obviously recovered in the end but at what cost...Excellent storyline with nice surprises in the end and action is what you can expect for 1969 flick. Some melodrama in 1-2 scenes in style "if you do no trust me, take my life" is little over the top but such minor thing can be easily forgiven. Lo Lieh stars.. Sounds awesome. I enjoy seeing Lo in a heroic role in the wuxia flicks from that period. The Chinese Boxer Revisited this one for the first time in a long time. While it isn't as good as a lot of the movies it inspired (King Boxer, One-Armed Boxer), it is still very entertaining from start to finish. Yes, everything is simple from the story to the fighting, but it is also all well done and exciting. The choreography is simple and slow, but it is well shot, and its over the top nature makes it very fun, as people fly across the room and break stuff from one blow, lol. I really love the snowy locations at the end, especially the location the finale is shot in. My favorite scene is Lo Lieh karate chopping a table in half, then jumping up to the ceiling and punching and kicking holes through the roof after hearing someone insult the Japanese. (Lo Lieh plays the main baddie "Jap" in this, and sports a wicked wig!) It was also one of the few scenes I remembered well from the first time I saw it some years back, so yah...its one of the best kung fu villain intros ever, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Secret Executioner Posted March 26, 2015 Member Share Posted March 26, 2015 The Pirate (HK, 1973) Where to start with this ? It's a fun one. Ti Lung plays a pirate captain whose ship is damaged and lands in an area ruled by a corrupt official who oppresses the poor folk of the the town (mostly fishermen who have to pay outrageous prices for anything they need - nets, material to fix the ships,...). Ti Lung is GREAT in this, his character is at the center of the story and he's really sympathetic and likeable - I'd say this is my favorite performance of his out of what I've seen so far. The movie also has Fan Mei-sheng as an OTT villainous pirate (though he's not as funny as in The Water Margin, his performance is still fun to watch) and David Chiang as an official who's trying to catch Ti Lung's character. David Chiang appears out of nowhere around the third of the film and while he gets some screen time in the second third, he barely meets Ti Lung - until the last 20 or so minutes where the movie (having got rid of most of its cast) becomes a "Ti Lung and David Chiang show". The two become the center of attention as we see them fight. Yup, Ti Lung and David Chiang fight each other in this one. Speaking of action, this movie has some nice action - it opens with Ti Lung and his crew attacking a foreign ship, Ti Lung and David Chiang each get some action separately (Ti Lung when trying to right wrongs, David Chiang as his behavior causes trouble, which leads to pretty fun sequences where David Chiang fights the whole staff of a casino and later the servants of the town official on his own) and the ending brawl between Ti Lung and a handful of his pirates and the town official, his sister (who's after the pirates for some reason) and their servants and henchmen is really fun to watch, though the bodycound increases A LOT in this part as next to nobody has died before in this film. Overall, it's a really fun film and while Ti Lung and David Chiang are the stars, I found the best performance in this came from very secondary characters: Ti Lung at a point encounters an old man and his daughter as the old man is desperately trying to sell his daughter to a brothel because he has no money and nothing to eat (selling one's children is a recuring theme when the condition of the people is discussed). And these two (whose names I don't know) offer what's probably the most emotionally investing performance of the movie. On a sidenote, I like the picture of Ti Lung on the cover. He looks great in this film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShawAngela Posted March 26, 2015 Member Share Posted March 26, 2015 And you can add that, according to what I remember of the comments when I watched this movie, Ti Lung portrays a real pirate who lived at that moment and David Chiang portrays the real officer who let him go when he realized that all what Ti Lung did was for the sake of the poor people. Really good movie and not very known, from what I read on various forums... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Secret Executioner Posted March 26, 2015 Member Share Posted March 26, 2015 And you can add that, according to what I remember of the comments when I watched this movie, Ti Lung portrays a real pirate who lived at that moment and David Chiang portrays the real officer who let him go when he realized that all what Ti Lung did was for the sake of the poor people. Really good movie and not very known, from what I read on various forums... True on the "real-life" aspect - there's actually a text scrolling during the end credits of the movie that tells about the fate of the pirate played by Ti Lung - after being let go, he reformed and became a naval officer fighting pirates and receiving honors. I bought this one in a set with The Blood Brothers (one I still haven't watched BTW) and while I had read a lot on TBB, I had no idea what The Pirate would be like since I hadn't read much (if anything) about it. Really a pleasant surprise, and a movie I would recommend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tex Killer Posted March 27, 2015 Member Share Posted March 27, 2015 Iron buddha was quite nice. Concept about revenge and special sword has been filmed awfully often but there is some originality on the way villain acts. Good action+acting and sort of surprise in the end lifts this above average flick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Cold Bishop Posted March 27, 2015 Member Share Posted March 27, 2015 That's right. What distinguishes Iron Buddha is the fact that the main villian isn't just some ambitious swordsman, but a straight-up serial-sex-killer. It gives the film a very grim sense of urgency, and makes it of a piece with the other icy, downbeat films of that period (Sword of Swords, Bells of Death, Lady with a Sword, etc.) if falling slightly short of the grade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Secret Executioner Posted March 29, 2015 Member Share Posted March 29, 2015 The Blood Brothers (HK, 1973) Nice film, with a gripping story and interesting characters - Ti Lung is great here as this megalomaniac asshole (and he should have been less likeable, this guy seemed more sympathetic than the guy Ti Lung portrays in Have Sword, Will Travel - sorry, but I just HATE this guy), Chen Kuan Tai was relatively likeable and sure provided some nice action, but my favorite character here was the one portrayed by David Chiang. He seemed like the most down to earth and reasonnable of the three, noticing what was happening and trying to help his friends. Plus, he has that cool weapon (is that a metallic version of the three-section staff ?) and delivers some nice action. It seems actually that the one who gets the least action is Ti Lung, the one who wants to make it big with heroics (he fights CKT and DC at the start and has a couple of fights with DC when things get wrong, but that's pretty much it)... That said, the character looks great and is interesting, plus you don't see Ti Lung with a moustache that often. I noticed watching The Pirate that Ti Lung seemed to be growing a moustache, so maybe the two films were shot at a similar time. It seems like David Chiang and Ti Lung have similar costumes too, but I could be mistaking. Overall, I wouldn't say it's one of the greatest Shaw Bros film like many say it is and it would rank rather low in my personal ranking, but with so many good to great movies that are of very similar quality, it's becoming very hard to rank some of these movies. I'd put this one on par with The Heroic Ones - a bit low, but still among the good or very good films. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member paimeifist Posted March 29, 2015 Member Share Posted March 29, 2015 Good post GHW, I agree for the most part. It isn't one of my favorite Shaw films, but it is a good example that there were more to these movies than chop socky. (Especially since the fights aren't very good :/ ). I didn't like it much at all the first time I saw it, but appreciated it much more after revisiting it. The only thing I disagree on is that I enjoyed this more than Heroic Ones, although I'll say I watched Heroic Ones pretty half heartedly. The Pirate is a movie I have been interested in for some time but whenever I get movies I pass on it. Just something about seeing Ti Lung and David Chiang as pirates that has to be badass! I'll get around to it eventually! Iron Buddha sounds very interesting. It's nice to see some less talked about flicks on here. (The Pirate, Iron Buddha). I feel like it's been a while since I watched a Shaw, been on an indie kick lately.. No pun intended. Well, I did watch Chinese Boxer recently.. But that's basically a Jimmy Wang Yu movie more than a "Shaw", it doesn't have too much of a "Shaw" feel to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Secret Executioner Posted March 29, 2015 Member Share Posted March 29, 2015 I found that the stuff I enjoyed the most in The Blood Brothers were: - the looks: this movie looks HUGE, with great sets and a lot of extras - David Chiang's character: very interesting and sympathetic guy - and in spite of two occasions in this film (when he goes to the river and when he is executed), they still managed NOT to show him topless. Damnit, has he ever appeared without a top in a film ?! The Heroic Ones is a film I enjoyed but I was quite surprised at the way it ultimately went. I knew it ended badly for David Chiang, I just didn't expect him to die in that context. Concerning The Pirate, I'd recommend it - it's an entertaining adventure with very solid performances by Ti Lung and David Chiang, despicable bad guys (one of them with a disgusting mole near his nose... YUCK !!) and very nice cinematography (how often do you get a sea battle in a Shaw Bros film ?). Actually, I'd call this one an underrated gem. I wouldn't put it among my absolute favorite Shaw Bros films, but I'd probably have it in my top 15. And little spoiler: David Chiang is NOT a pirate in this film, he is an official on a mission to stop the pirate played by Ti Lung. But still, there is another pirate: Fan Mei-sheng shows up as a rival to Ti Lung's character, and he steals the show with a pretty funny and very OTT performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member paimeifist Posted March 29, 2015 Member Share Posted March 29, 2015 Yeah it sounds completely awesome. I need to get this one, I also still need to see Bat without Wings! David Chiangs character an performance is also my favorite aspect of Blood Brothers. I too love the scope and beautiful locations in it though. Actually, how the scope of the movie grows with the characters is pretty cool too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member paimeifist Posted April 1, 2015 Member Share Posted April 1, 2015 Kidnap A good crime-drama flick with some great acting, and in my opinion also well directed, basically, it's a good movie! My main problem with the flicks is there isn't enough time spent showing the characters transformation from every-men to crazy criminals, or the characters changes in general. With that said, this movie features great acting from basically everyone involved, with Lo Lieh and Fan Mei Sheng giving particularly great performances. The 4 major characters were all very different and dealt with the situations of the movie differently. They're all bad people in the end, but even the worst of them is "likable" and has at least a little something to sympathize with. It's a very fast pace film, and I was entertained all the way through. Seeing the characters change, (even if it seemed to happen to fast or easy), their interaction with their victim, and how they responded/felt after being busted were all well done and interesting. While the last 15 minutes or so may be a little overly dramatic to some, I liked it and thought that it added some depth.. At the beginning of this film I felt sorry for these guys and sympathized for them, so it wouldn't be right if none of them showed any remorse for what they'd done. I also liked seeing a big variety of sets, and locations of the Hong Kong streets and country side too! The film was shot in a "noir" like way, with a lot of dark scenes, and almost no music, it worked for the gritty tone. A few comments on particular scenes.. - the "moral teaching" VoiceOver is a little silly; don't kidnap and/or murder people or bad things will happen to you! Lol - after Lo Lieh gets shit on and embarrassed by his boss for the last time and goes over the edge.. There is a really cool scene, basically showing him lose it. As he drives home, some heavy drumming music begins playing, and the screen flashes back and forth between beating drums and his crazed expression. - After The scene I described above, Lo Lieh meets up with the rest of our main characters(his friends), and it takes a surprisingly small amount of persuading to get them all to agree to committing a major crime! This is when I first started thinking the pace and character changes would make for a problem, lol. - during the kidnapping part of the film, there was a lot of good stuff. A little bit of comedy, even. I also liked how a blue camera was use to show the victim while he was in the box - was a good way to portray darkness while still being able to see. - a couple things about the end, in the prison.. This is one part of the movie I did think seemed to drag a bit, especially as the executions were actually happening.. A couple coincidental and silly things also happen here for added drama - one characters Mother gets run over by a truck as he is executed, and another's wife dies as he is executed... One of these things happening would have been cool, but two made it a little sigh worthy, lol. With that said, some of the best aspects of this film also happened here.. Such as seeing how different each character was, and some decent emotional moments (not the two I mentioned above.) Tl;dr An entertaining crime/drama movie, with some fantastic acting performances, but also it's fair share of flaws. It drags a little bit at the very end, characters change a little too quickly, and obviously some plot holes. There is no action what so ever, but still a very good movie, and one that you should see if you a Shaw film that's a little different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Secret Executioner Posted April 1, 2015 Member Share Posted April 1, 2015 Sounds like a dark film - but a rather interesting one. Plus, it has Lo Lieh and I'm sure he delivers a great performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShawAngela Posted April 1, 2015 Member Share Posted April 1, 2015 I still have the vcd for sale, if anyone is interested... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member bobo Posted April 2, 2015 Member Share Posted April 2, 2015 just watched the English dub version of THE BLOODY ESCAPE . it was good but not great, reminded me a little of THE SAVAGE FIVE . any way it was a treat to see this movie with it's long lost dub. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Eastern Evil Posted April 3, 2015 Member Share Posted April 3, 2015 just watched the English dub version of THE BLOODY ESCAPE . it was good but not great, reminded me a little of THE SAVAGE FIVE . any way it was a treat to see this movie with it's long lost dub. You have SkeletonClaw & RogueWarrior to thank for that dub Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tex Killer Posted April 12, 2015 Member Share Posted April 12, 2015 I am returning back into Shaw addiction after quite dry season. Instead of touching new items pile I have been re-visiting flicks last week or so... house of traps I remember did not like it lot when saw 1st time years ago but after 2nd viewing last night I now consider it as a gem. Story appeared crystal clear this time, and fighting is excellent. Maybe there could have been more of it, but same applies to at least 2 other venom flicks also. Why was kuo chui wearing that silly rag? Next will be "trail of the broken blade", I remember this being not as great as golden swallow or sword of swords... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tex Killer Posted April 12, 2015 Member Share Posted April 12, 2015 "trail..." was fantastic. Just finished drunken monkey. Movie does not have so good reputation, but I was totally hooked from beginning. I started to wonder what that talk was about, this is high quality stuff. Downhill arrives after ~22 minutes and it stays quite long time in DM3 style garbage... It goes back to right track eventually, movie which could have been great is just bit above average as a whole. Chi kuan chun is great, too bad he is underused even as he is main villain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member RogueWarrior Posted April 13, 2015 Member Share Posted April 13, 2015 You have SkeletonClaw & RogueWarrior to thank for that dub BOBO has never thanked anyone in his life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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