Member gravedigger666 Posted May 9, 2008 Member Share Posted May 9, 2008 Per?Venoms5?How are these; The Lizard Sentimental Swordsman Web Of Death ..trailers look pretty decent but before forking out cash would like to hear experts:p opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member venoms5 Posted May 9, 2008 Member Share Posted May 9, 2008 I can't speak for others but I'm no expert. Everybody's opinions, likes or dislikes vary from person to person. What I do is read up on the movie first, check who the director is, the stars, etc...and take it from there. Generally, there's something of interest in mediocre Shaw movies. But below are my thoughts on your picks... THE LIZARD (1972) is a decent Chu Yuan modern day Robin Hood style story with Yueh Hua as the title thief and Lo Lieh as the villain. Mega star Connie Chen Po Chu is gorgeous here and this is probably the only movie I've seen her in but I understand from others familiar with her career she was quite the popular figure in HK back then for non-action film roles. The movie has a fairly light hearted tone throughout but gets violent and a little bloody during the finale. Also the opening sex scene depicting a naked non Chinese woman is totally out of place with the rest of the film barring the finale. A decent movie but nothing overly spectacular. I'd only recommend it to somebody interested in the non swordplay work of Chu Yuan or serious fans of Lo Lieh or Yueh Hua. THE SENTIMENTAL SWORDSMAN (1977) is a right interesting and popular Chu Yuan romantic swordsman flick. The usual beautiful set design is present, some nice snow bound sets and even some location shots. I kind of prefer the sequel just a little bit over this one but that's mainly due to Fu Sheng's serious performance there and the sequel was an even bigger success than the first. Fans of Ti Lung and Derek Erh take note. SENTIMENTAL SWORDSMAN is definitely worth having and isn't quite as convoluted as some others. WEB OF DEATH (1976) is a HUGE fave of mine. One of the wildest Shaw Brothers...no, one of the wildest movies ever. Outrageous set design. If Sid & Marty Krofft and Shaw Brothers ever collaborated on a Halloween Special, it would look something like this. Simply crazy, and amazing movie. The most OTT martial world weapon yet conceived. The deadly spider even roars like an elephant(!) and has some stellar maneuvers. More death traps and secret passageways for a handful of Chu Yuan swordsman, BOND and BATMAN shows combined. Some of the effects are actually pretty decent. Some of the good guys emit lightning beams from their palms and the costumes are about as wild as any I've seen. The Poison Clan is the main focus here. I posted a ton of screen shots from this movie in the Shaw Image Gallery and I believe they are on the first page, too. If this piques your interest, by all means pick it up especially the Siren DVD as it has that "all important" English dub people seem to be so crazy about. This added to the charm of the film, but there is a serious story here as well involving Yueh Hua and Ching Li so those silly voices undermine that aspect of the film but adds to the more outlandish nature of the main focal point of the film. This one is not hard to follow at all. Hope this helps you out gravedigger! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member jmungus Posted May 9, 2008 Member Share Posted May 9, 2008 THE LIZARD is one (highly) entertaining (period) fists-n-kicks mystery actioner. im primarily into the gung and the swordplay of 1974-84, but this particular one definitely won me over. grab it. THE SENTIMENTAL SWORDSMAN is classic chu yuan wuxia and its above his average. not one of his very best tho. grab that one too. WEB OF DEATH is my least fave of the 3. huge o.t.t.-fantasy-wuxia buff here, but for some reason(s), i cant help but feel its 'only' a "decent, good fun movie". if u re not reserved about the cartoonish, crazy type shaw actioners, definitely grab it anyhoo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Yu_Xihong Posted May 10, 2008 Member Share Posted May 10, 2008 I remember not liking Web of Death at all... the spider "special effects" just ruined it for me. I think it had a weak ending too I forget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member vengeanceofhumanlanterns Posted May 10, 2008 Member Share Posted May 10, 2008 If it's only one DVD you wanna purchase Sentimental Swordsman is probably the safest bet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member vonhumboldtfleisher Posted May 10, 2008 Member Share Posted May 10, 2008 They're all good, but I have a big big love for THE LIZARD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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