THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO THE MARTIAL ARTS MOVIES OF THE 1970s

[Mark Pollard]

I've been in contact with Craig Reid and as I recall he stated that "Ultimate Guide to Martial Arts Movies Vol. One" won't be published till later in the year.

[gfanikf]

I've been in contact with Craig Reid and as I recall he stated that "Ultimate Guide to Martial Arts Movies Vol. One" won't be published till later in the year.

Yeah, Amazon just delayed my order till March. Well I guess I'll just cancel it and get the Baldur's Gate 4 in 1 Pack. I'll check the book out when it is published.

[Buxbaum]

Any news? Amazon cancelled my order today.

[venomsfreak]

Any news? Amazon cancelled my order today.

Noooooooo:sad: I really wanted this. I wonder what happened.

[nectarsis]

Noooooooo:sad: I really wanted this. I wonder what happened.

My guess is the delay till latter this year stated above

[venomsfreak]

My guess is the delay till latter this year stated above

Obviously. That still doesn't tell us WHY it's delayed.

[Buxbaum]

And till when. Hope it will come out before June/July.

[teako170]

Here's the latest from Dr Reid....

"Thank you for keeping up on it and I also appreciate the lads and lasses that have expressed an interest in the book.

At the moment it looks like a Fall 2010 release."

Thanks to Kelly for the update.

[venomsfreak]

Thanks teako!

[Buxbaum]

Thanks a lot for the info. So an early Christmas present .

[Buxbaum]

Says November 1st now. Up for pre-order at amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0897501926/ref=ox_ya_os_product

Let us see when it will be released.

[DrCraig]

At the urgings of several good friends and fellow martial arts film fans, I'd like to share with you that after one year of writing and 8 months of watching over 600 martial arts films that my book The Ultimate Guide to the Martial Arts Movies of the 1970s will finally be on the book shelves by Nov. 2010.

It's not a book of reviews but a book of over 500 "martiologies" (biology of a film), where I share my culmination of knowledge and experiences from 38 years of martial arts training, 30 years of chi gong (qigong) practice, 25 years of studying martial arts and Chinese history, and over 25 years (off and on) in the martial arts entertainment business as an actor and fight choreographer, which began in 1979 when I was the token white guy getting my butt kicked in Chinese kung fu films and TV shows in Taiwan.

[KyFi]

Awesome!! I'm really looking forward to this, and I'm really interested in the perspective you'll bring given your martial arts background as well as your experience in the industry!

[KUNG FU BOB]

I'm looking forward to your book Doc.

[teako170]

Good to see you back Dr. C.

My copy @ Amazon was canceled a bit back but now that you've confirmed the due date I will replace my order with them.

Get your pre-orders in folks....

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0897501926/ref=ox_ya_os_product

[thelastweaponmaster]

Good to hear that it is finally hitting bookshelves before the end of the year. I have your book on my wish list on Amazon. Is it possible for you to post an example of what will be in the book (for a particular movie) just to whet our appetite. Thanks.

[Fang Shih-yu]

Here's hoping the book keeps to the release date! I've been waiting for this one as much as anybody else!

[shukocarl]

I am totally looking forward to this!

[Kwok Choi]

At the urgings of several good friends and fellow martial arts film fans, I'd like to share with you that after one year of writing and 8 months of watching over 600 martial arts films that my book The Ultimate Guide to the Martial Arts Movies of the 1970s will finally be on the book shelves by Nov. 2010.

It's not a book of reviews but a book of over 500 "martiologies" (biology of a film), where I share my culmination of knowledge and experiences from 38 years of martial arts training, 30 years of chi gong (qigong) practice, 25 years of studying martial arts and Chinese history, and over 25 years (off and on) in the martial arts entertainment business as an actor and fight choreographer, which began in 1979 when I was the token white guy getting my butt kicked in Chinese kung fu films and TV shows in Taiwan.

Welcome to the forum Dr Craig we need more contribution from people like you and its about time someone brings out a book about my favourite era of martial arts movies.Please give us a cover sample with the name of the publisher.Look forward to this.

[DrCraig]

I've received many requests to let a few cats out of the bag in regard as to how I wrote the "martialogies" of my book "The Ultimate Guide to the Martial Arts Movies of the 1970s", which comes out Nov. 2010 (crikey two months). So here goes, a sample from the book. The "How to read the martialogy" is of course detailed in the book.

Blood Brothers / 刺 馬 (1973—Hong Kong) 118m. FI: Liu Chia-liang, Tang Chia. NOT/LOT: 4/ 2m 22s; NOF/LOF: 24/ 22m 13s. D: Chang Cheh. C: Ti Lung, David Chiang, Chen Kuan-tai, Ching Li, Ching Miao, Tian Ching, Yang Zi-lin, Wang Kuan-yu, Fan Mie-sheng, Tong Yen-san, Jiang Dao, Danny Lee.

“Blood brothers” can refer to two or more males related by birth, or it can refer to males not related by birth who swear a lifetime oath of loyalty to each other, otherwise known as a blood oath. In such a ceremony, each man cuts himself and then exchanges blood with the other. This can involve dripping blood into a bowl of water and drinking it or shaking cut hands, thereby mixing the blood. Blood oaths were a common practice among Norsemen, Mongols, Native Americans and Chinese warriors such as those portrayed in this film, specifically the historically true-life characters of Chang Wen-hsiang (David Chiang), Ma Hsin-I (Ti Lung) and Huang Chung (Chen Kuan-tai).

When Chang is accused of treason and appears before a Ching tribunal, the judge asks him to detail all the events that conspired over a nine-year period. Chained in iron and with a death penalty looming above his head as big as the sharp ax his executioner holds, Chang tells his story to the tribunal in a series of flashbacks.

Chang explains how, many moons earlier, he and his fellow robber Huang waited for their next victim, who turns out to be Ma, a righteous and well-honed martial artist. As the three fight, each comes to respect the other’s abilities. Ma hands over his money without a fight and then decides to follow Huang and Chang back to their hideout. But when Ma shows up, he is not there to fight but to convince the robbers to change their criminal ways and become good men. The three quickly become friends. Because Ma aspires to pass the royal exam and realizes he will need a good martial arts army to support his future goals, Ma begins to train an army of loyal fighters. The problem is that Huang’s wife, Mi Lan (Ching Li), really respects Ma’s ambitions for future wealth and power and thus develops a yen for him. After passing the exam, Ma joins the Xiang army. Alongside Zeng Guo-fang, the Ching general, he fights long and hard to destroy the rebel “Long Hairs.” Ma moves up the ranks and recruits his blood brothers, Chang and Huang, and together they bring the Taiping Rebellion to a violent end.

However, drunk with power and position, Ma has an affair with Mi Lan and then conspires to get rid of Huang, which he does. Chang learns that Ma’s hands are dirty with the blood of Huang and confronts him. He ends up having to clean his own hands of Ma’s blood, which brings the story back to the Ching court, where Chang is sentenced to death. It is a tragic love-triangle story about honor, brotherhood and, ultimately, dishonor.

Co-directed by John Woo, the fights start out oversimplified, reflecting the initial simplicity of the relationship between the three brothers. The fights use one-step choreography, in which the movements are overly rhythmic and delivered one at a time, making the fight sequences a lesson in memory rather than continuity. Even the group fights are a series of single movements against each opponent. Each member of the triumvirate takes out one rebellious Long Hair at a time with one technique, using a metronomic rhythm. As the film moves toward the end, similar to the plot and the growing complex relationships between the three blood brothers, the fight scenes also become more complex. It’s as if director Chang was using increasingly elaborate fight scenes to reflect Ma, Chang and Huang’s entangled friendship. An odd eccentricity about the fights is that there are a lot of bodies rolling down hills—as many as 15—putting European soccer players to shame. (Many of these athletes are famous for rolling all over the field after being fouled.) Ti Lung won a Golden Horse award (the Hong Kong version of an Academy Award) for his outstanding performance in this film.

A note on the Taiping Rebellion: It was led by Christian convert Hong Xiu-chuen, who believed he was the younger brother of Jesus. The rebellion occurred between 1850 and 1864. Rebels fought the Ching government in an effort to abolish foot binding, introduce land socialization, and replace Chinese folk religion and philosophies like Buddhism and Confucianism with Christianity. The rebels were called Long Hairs because they wore their queues differently than what the law demanded. Of note, American sailor Frederick Townsend Ward was a successful military leader for the Ching army.

Titleography: Dynasty of Blood; Chinese Vengeance. Translation—Kill Ma. Dynasty of Blood refers to the blood spilled as a result of the Ching Dynasty killing Han Chinese. Chinese Vengeance refers to hero Chang, a Han Chinese, who kills Ma, a Manchu by heritage, in revenge for murdering their blood brother, Huang. The Chings were Manchus and not Han Chinese; the distinction between these various races of Chinese peoples is important in Chinese history. MA Percentage: 20.83% SHAW BROTHERS

[Athena]

Excellent DrCraig !!

Looking very forward to this !! Thank you for a preview !

Xiexie, Athena.. ♥

[northern b]

Missed the main thread on this so glad to have caught this one! I may have to purchase this book

[tantao3-son of tantao2]

Being for 35 years in martial arts movies craze, here are my 3 words: BUY THIS BOOK!

Finally a book in English from someone who knows the genre!

[teako170]

I'm glad to see that your book will be more than just a review of the film. There's many film reviews out there and often they consist of nothing but opinion. I enjoyed how you incorporated trivia from the film and historical facts to give the reader a broader understanding and appreciation of said film. Its these extras which can really turn a run-of-the-mill summary/review into a much more memorable one. As mentioned before, looking forward to this book.

[KyFi]

Good stuff. And this was a great line:

"An odd eccentricity about the fights is that there are a lot of bodies rolling down hills—as many as 15—putting European soccer players to shame"