Member kungfusamurai Posted July 12, 2008 Member Share Posted July 12, 2008 Recently I bought a whole bunch of crash cinema and ground zero DVDs that were being sold for cheap. A few of them had a martial arts actor I've seen every now and then named Larry Lee. What do you guys think of him as an on screen fighter? To me, he's like Cliff Lok. Someone with good fighting skills, but put into really bad movies. Maybe because he didn't have a pretty face, or he just had a really bad agent (did martial arts movie actors in HK and Taiwan have agents?). Just looking at him, he appears to have some formal martial arts training, probably karate? If anyone knows his background that would be cool to hear. I saw him in Black Belt Karate in one of my recent purchases (he's the one in the white gi who goes after the guy who tries to interfere in the Chiang Tao/Bruce Liang fight; and shirtless in the second clip): qC5eN1SdEPE , and he was also in Ten Tigers From Shaolin (third guy in the intro): ZpVjvXafnFw and this movie, Bruce Li In New Guinea (sorry, embedding was disabled by the person who uploaded this, so I removed it: I noticed that he was mainly in the basher genre, then at some point in the late 70s his appearances stopped. Do you guys think he was poorly utilized and could have been better or do you think he's just average? KFS 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Morgoth Bauglir Posted July 12, 2008 Member Share Posted July 12, 2008 Yeah he was in a lot of bad movies. Much worse than CLiff Lok. I don't know his backround, but I would bet karate. Larry Lee's ok with me. He puts on at least a decent performance every time I see him. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Chinatown Kid Posted July 12, 2008 Member Share Posted July 12, 2008 I really liked Larry in Black Belt Karate, his techniques looked pretty good to me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member jiujitsu77 Posted July 12, 2008 Member Share Posted July 12, 2008 ive been looking for black belt karate for sometime, however im not too keen on larry lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Morgoth Bauglir Posted July 12, 2008 Member Share Posted July 12, 2008 I thought Larry Lee was a little above average in Black Belt (he's good in technique but doesn't seem to do well with the choreography), but Bruce Leung is on a totally different level. He should have had more fights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Brigadier Chow Posted July 12, 2008 Member Share Posted July 12, 2008 From what I know, his main style was Japanese Goju. It is a karate style rooted in Okinawa. The founder Chojun Miyake however, was influenced by Shaolin Kung-Fu. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Chinatown Kid Posted July 13, 2008 Member Share Posted July 13, 2008 I thought Larry Lee was a little above average in Black Belt (he's good in technique but doesn't seem to do well with the choreography), but Bruce Leung is on a totally different level. He should have had more fights. Yeah Bruce Liang had those really powerful looking kicks, especially the spinning ones. His brother is quite a nice kicker too. Larry doesn't have alot of charisma but his Karate techniques do look solid and authentic. Thanks for the info about his style Brigadier Chow, I thought he was either a Isshin Ryu or Goju Ryu stylist. I've seen him in what I believe were phillipino movies a long time ago but can't remember the titles. They were set in a period time where the people dressed tribe like, the fights weren't bad. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Yakuza954 Posted July 13, 2008 Member Share Posted July 13, 2008 Larry Lee mostly worked in Indonesia, and thats why he didn't make many Chinese martial arts films. He was one of the big Indonesian martial arts stars of his time, along with guys like Billy Chong, Barry Prima and George Rudy (one of his main co-stars). Most of his Chinese martial arts films, like Blackbelt Karate, were also Indonesian co-productions. The movie Chinatown kid seems to be referring to is the Fierce Boxer, which is actually an entertaining movie with "shapes" in a period Indonesian setting. What do you guys think of him as an on screen fighter? To me, he's like Cliff Lok. Someone with good fighting skills, but put into really bad movies. Can't say I really agree with that statement.. Cliff was in one of the best basher movies, The Roaring Lion, and was also in classic movies like Ninja Supremo, the Ring of Death, Shaolin Death Squads, and Choi Lee Fat Kung Fu. Even some of his movies which I don't really like, like The Killer from Above, Kung Fu Genius, and Duel Of The Seven Tigers, are pretty well regarded by the kung fu movie community. It doesn't help though that two of his better films, Death Comes In Three and A Man Beyond Horizons, aren't available in any english-friendly form and that he mainly started to work in Chinese TV series after the 70's. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted July 13, 2008 Member Share Posted July 13, 2008 I have Thunder Kick, one of Lee's early films. He takes on Japanese karate expert Yukio Someno in the finale. It was pretty standard but one of his best IMO. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member kungfusamurai Posted July 13, 2008 Author Member Share Posted July 13, 2008 Thanks for the feedback guys! Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that Cliff Lok's movies were of a bad quality. Maybe I meant they weren't the memorable, list of Top 20 favourite films one thinks of when considering kung fu films. Good to hear that Larry Lee was a practitioner of goju ryu karate. I didn't know he was Indonesian! He does kind of look Indonesian/Filipino now that I think of it. Looks like someone uploaded a trailer for Thunder Kick on youtube. It looks familiar. I probably have it under a different name. Probably something that Saturn/Passion Productions put out on DVD: t0weeJySBI4 And here's a clip for another movie he did that looks worth getting, although I don't recall seeing it on DVD (called Mandarin Magician). It has Sammo in it, so I gotta get it!: NPGVYji3o4E KFS 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Chinatown Kid Posted July 13, 2008 Member Share Posted July 13, 2008 Ah so the name of the movie I was thinking of was the Fierce Boxer, thanks Yakuza. I was mistaken in thinking it was Philipino made but indeed it was Indonesian which makes sense as you say Larry was from Indonesia which I also didn't know. Seems out of Larry, Barry and Billy that Billy Chong had the most cross over success in HK as he got a starring contract with Eternal Films. Chong has always been one of my favorite MA film stars.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member falkor Posted July 13, 2008 Member Share Posted July 13, 2008 Fierce Boxer info here: http://www.rarekungfumovies.com/NewsOct.html Balada Dua Jagoan trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx77VR7YGgI 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Morgoth Bauglir Posted July 13, 2008 Member Share Posted July 13, 2008 Mandarin Magician comes in the Videoasia Sammo 6-pack. It's a pretty crap movie, but there's some good stuff in the final fight. And Sammo just plays a thug. He gets like a minute or two of fight time, and doesn't do anything memorable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member The Dragon Posted July 15, 2008 Member Share Posted July 15, 2008 Larry Lee sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Morgoth Bauglir Posted July 15, 2008 Member Share Posted July 15, 2008 Well Yukio Someno didn't think so in his interview when talking about fighting with him on the Ninjas and Dragons DVD! But wait, if you think Larry Lee sucks, then you probably think Yukio Someno sucks. Well you are wrong:D;) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member kungfusamurai Posted July 15, 2008 Author Member Share Posted July 15, 2008 I finally settled down and watched Black Belt Karate. Even though Crash Cinema is selling it as a Billy Chong film, with his face splashed all over the cover, its really a Larry Lee vehicle. Overall, I thought the film was enjoyable. My favourite parts were the karate sparring scenes. The film kind of climaxes at the point when he goes to HK to further his karate studies, and then goes downhill when he returns to Indonesia and faces the 'big bad guys'. I was very impressed with the sparring match between Lee and Liang. It really let Lee show off his karate skills. I'm not sure if there was any choreography involved. It looked more like a free for all because the moves were fast. The ending was really disappointing. It would have been better if Larry Lee had been facing off against someone with real karate skills, not the fake stuff that was being portrayed (I'm deliberately not naming names in case it's a spoiler for people). Bruce Liang versus Larry Lee as a finale would have been a much better way to round off the film, had he played the bad guy. Or may Larry Lee against someone like Whang Ing Sik. Oh well, it's still worth checking out if anyone is interesting in seeing some real authentic karate displayed on the screen. Here's a clip from the best part of the film, as far as I'm concerned: bhekkn81JjQ KFS 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member HyperDrive Posted July 15, 2008 Member Share Posted July 15, 2008 Mandarin Magician comes in the Videoasia Sammo 6-pack. It's a pretty crap movie, but there's some good stuff in the final fight. And Sammo just plays a thug. He gets like a minute or two of fight time, and doesn't do anything memorable. I believe Sammo played a trainer at the Muay Thai school. Anyways, you're right about it being crap with inconsistent fights, a random gang at the beginning, and etc. I think he was best in Balada Dua Jagoan where he did somewhat of a Bruce Lee impersonation. In fact, maybe he would have done better in the Bruceploitation industry. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Morgoth Bauglir Posted July 15, 2008 Member Share Posted July 15, 2008 I don't remember him being a trainer, but I was fast forwarding quite a bit during the movie. the first 30 minutes or so was a real struggle so after that I wanted to get the movie over quickly. I do remember Lam Ching Ying in a Muay Thai fight. Decent. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ekisha Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Sammo and Billy Chan played bad guys.Mars,Peter Chan and Yuen Wah played good guys,but they don't have much screen appearance,though it's a good role for Mars. ________ JEEP TRAILHAWK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member The Dragon Posted July 15, 2008 Member Share Posted July 15, 2008 ... Well you are wrong:D;) I never said he wasn't a good Martial Artist, I simply feel his films and he suck. I've been wrong before... and will be wrong again... but not about Larry Lee. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Chinatown Kid Posted July 15, 2008 Member Share Posted July 15, 2008 He didn't look to bad in Bruce Li in New Guenia, he had some nice fights with Cheung Nik and some Snake Island dudes. He wore these bright blue sneakers in that film that I always remember. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member wizard12220 Posted July 23, 2008 Member Share Posted July 23, 2008 He did acted in 2 Indonesian movies: Balada 2 Jagoan & Pukulan Bangau Putih (Fierce Boxer) and 1 co-production: Karate Sabuk Hitam (Black Belt Karate). But he wasn't originated from Indonesia. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Killer Meteor Posted July 23, 2008 Member Share Posted July 23, 2008 I've found Lee to be totally lacking in leading man abilites, both in terms of fighting and appearence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member kungfusamurai Posted July 24, 2008 Author Member Share Posted July 24, 2008 I've found Lee to be totally lacking in leading man abilites, both in terms of fighting and appearence I have to disagree on the fighting aspect, but the appearance, yes, he's definitely not lead man material. I remember in Black Belt Karate when he comes back from Hong Kong all dressed up in his 70s City threads and hair curly and parted, how he reminded me of Don Knotts' Ralph Furley. I was waiting for him to do the Furley "Dammnnn!!" after hearing about his Sensei's passing. KFS 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member jiujitsu77 Posted July 24, 2008 Member Share Posted July 24, 2008 now bruce liang...from what i hear... that mofo can REALLY fight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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