Ninja Master Godfrey Ho

[kungpowmaster]

Hi all,

I am a big fan of martial arts movie director Godfrey Ho. My current goal is to collect all his movies available on DVD in the USA.

So far I have found in my collection:

1. Dragon on Fire.
2. Rage of the Dragon.
3. Golden Dragon Silver Snake.
4. Snake Strikes Back.
5. The Blazing Ninja.
6. Ninja Empire.
7. Ninja: The Protector.
8. Ninja Champion.
9. Ninja Dragon.
10. Eagle Vs Silver Fox.
12. Full Metal Ninja(VHS).
13. Rage of Ninja(VHS).

I may have missed some, as I have a few Brentwood sets, and Super Kung Fu Box, Kung Fu 20 Movie Pack and others.

I also just ordered:

14. The Ninja Squad.
15. The Ultimate Ninja.

My question is, for anyone interested to answer, what other Ho movies are available, esp in the bargain DVD sets?

Thanks,

Chosen One

"Only a Ninja can kill a Ninja"
See my profile.

[jethro]

Be sure to check out Clash of the Ninja. Best ending to a movie ever. Seriously.

[jethro]

Here are some cool ninja clips I found. SOme by Joseph Lai, some by Tomas Tang, but I just call them all Godfrey Ho. It's easier for me.


Rollerskaing ninjas
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Z4s6zFVm9qI

Porn star fighting a vampire
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Zj9rLdZIrSs


Clash of the Ninja- greatest ending ever
http://youtube.com/watch?v=wBDWw7fK1Gk


Ninja legend RIchard Harrison playing tennis with hot porn stars
http://youtube.com/watch?v=loeQspSr3fc
There are also many clones of Richard Harrison. Chuck Norris, CLint Eastwood, Charles Bronson..., but nothing compares to the real deal. :p


Godfrey Ho showing off his big budget
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ThpdB-W89gg


A bunch of bad ninja fights from IFD films
http://youtube.com/watch?v=R01YZ8SFGDI


Last of all we have the intro to Cobra vs. Ninja
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq1m4tLEy7M

There is a hell of a lot to go over in this 3 minute clip. First, what other director has the guts to have his main ninja villain walking around in pink tights? It doesn't sound good on paper, but Godfrey Ho takes risks, and like this one, his ideas usually turn out pretty good. I think it's a good choice at the 30 second mark for the villain to scream out "ninja!!!!!" Now it is clear, this guy is devoted to his ninjaness and he is going to be a really good tough bad guy. And the dialogue, as good as it gets. I love the line where the villain lets the guy with the fro know that once someone has recieved the ninja challenge card, there is no backing down. It's barely a minute into the movie, and already you know that it is going to be an edge of your seat thriller.

Now the action. It starts out very classy, but that's a given since it's a Godfrey Ho movie. The ninja aren't shown just disappearing or some other stupid trick editing, but rather they spin in the air and change clothes. Very nice. Then the villain pulls his sword out and it takes hm like 10 seconds! He seems like a mythical figure for a moment, but it is just cause he is such a great martial arts actor. He is obviously trained in Shaolin Ninjitsu and other rare secret ninja techniques. The fight scene is short but a bit above average. This is all I have seen of this movie, but I can only imagine how good the rest of it is. Like a Peng Kong choreographed movie, I am sure the action just gets better and better until it explodes in your face in the final fight. If you have seen the end of Clash of the Ninja, then you know you are in good hands with Godfrey Ho. And I hope RIchard Harrison shows up to stop the bad guy. Just like Hwang Jang Lee, when Harrison shows up, it is guaranteed to be good.

[kungpowmaster]

COOL!

These youtube clips were great. As much as many people like to deride these ninja movies, they are great fun and entertainment. I love them!

Godfrey Ho, and his aliases, Bruce Lambert, I know of, and another one for Clash of the Ninja, William Chan if my memory is right, Jospeh Lai, and even Phillip Ko, for the IFD, Filmark International, and even Asso Asia for the earlier non-ninja more traditional type movies, are great entertainment value.

I got a working "to get" list.

Chosen One

[brothernumber9]

Godfrey Ho directed both "Honor and Glory", and "Undefeatable". both starring Cynthia Rothrock and John Miller.

[jethro]

Godfrey Ho directed both "Honor and Glory", and "Undefeatable". both starring Cynthia Rothrock and John Miller.

Undefeatable is his masterpiece.




Kungpowmaster- Phillip Ko is an actor. He plays the Killer Priest in Shaolin Monk, he plays Fok Yu Gap's dad in Legend of a Fighter, and he is the main villain in Dragon on Fire.

[kungpowmaster]

Hi,

Yes, I have seen Phillip Ko as an actor. I also think Godfrey Ho has been in some movies too. But I have one movie, I am sure of, that has Phillip Ko as the director, if my memory serves me, it's Ninja Untouchables, from the Super Kung Fu Box Set, though the actual title on the film is American Force 2, Untouchable Glory, which has NO ninjas at all. Not even about ninjas, but about a sorta Rambo type guy, and his buddy, fighting the Russians who want to build some military base in some small asian country. It's very similarly made as the Ninja Ho movies, and it's an IFD.

Chosen One

"Born a Ninja, Die a Ninja"

[kungpowmaster]

Hi,

Anyone seen these Ho movies:

Thunder Ninja Kids: Wonderful Mission.
Thunder Ninja Kids: The Hunt for the Devil Boxer.
Thunder Ninja Kids in the Golden Adventure.
Thunder Ninja Kids: Little Kickboxer.

Are these good(in that bad way)?

Chosen One

I just ordered Ninja in the Killing Fields.

[jethro]

Thunder Ninja Kids is as bad as it gets. I have only seen 2 of those movies, but they are horrible beyond belief. Some of the choreogrphy is good, but that is not Ho's work, just the stuff he spliced in.

Phillip Ko directed and did the stunts and fights for uncountable movies in the Phillipines. 99% of them were complete crap. Ultracop 2000 is a good example of what all those movies are like. Killer's Romance is one of the few good movies that he directed.

There are stories about how when Ko worked with Ho, Ko just treated him like a little kid and made Ho do whatever he wanted.

And when you see the logo for IFD, Filmark, Asso Asia... , most of the time that means they stole the movie. They dubbed them and did the distribution, that's it.

[kungpowmaster]

Hi,

I was wondering if there are any IFD/Filmark movies of Ninjas, but do not have Ninja in the title, so I can look for them too.

I just got The Ultimate Ninja in the mail today, earlier this week, I got The Ninja Squad, and I am awaiting Ninja in the Killing Fields.

Where can I get some Ninja headbands like in these movies?

And did IFD/Filmark make any non-Ninja action films? If so, what are they?

Thanks to those who want to reply.

Chosen One

[kungpowmaster]

Maybe I'm a masochist, but I get on a quest, and I just follow through with it. My current quest is collecting the IFD/Filmark Ninja movies.

So, I went ahead and bought all the Thunder Ninja Kid movies. The titles make it seem they are kid aimed, but the few reviews I could find, did not give this impression at all.

Also, based on the great recommendation I was given here, I got:

Clash of the Ninja.

Which seems to be very rare, and out of print, try and find this one, if you don't believe me, I think I found and bought the last one.

These are all ordered, will give my thoughts when they arrive and I watch them.

Chosen One

[kungpowmaster]

Hi,

One thing I have noticed is Videoasia often changes titles of it's movie releases. I noticed on their Tales of Voodoo set, Vol 2. they have Ghost Ninja, their title of Diamond Ninja Force.

And yes, before anyone says it(again), I know Videoasia is a crappy label, as far as quality is concerned. But, I bought another of their sets, because it has a few Godfrey Ho, and I got it for a total of $8.50.

Shaw Martial Arts Legends, 10 movie pack.
1.Shaolin Quick Draw
2.White Lotus Trio
3.Iron Fist Adventure
4.Thundering Ninja
5.Guns of Master Killer
6.Raiders of Buddhist Kung Fu
7.Challenge of the Master Killer
8.Invincible Super Guy
9.Beggar of No Equal
10.Warrior of Fire

Now, I was mainly wanting Thundering Ninja, and I believe Warrior of Fire, is AKA, Ninja and the Warriors of Fire. And to get just these 2 discs would have been way more than $8.50, so I got the whole set.

I think also, Raiders of Buddhist Kung Fu is a Godfrey Ho.

Comments welcome,

The Chosen One

[jethro]

It's not that Video asia is a crappy label, I mean they are, but they have had some good releases. South Shaolin Master, Invincible Armor, Rebellious reign, Mantis in the Monkey's shadow, Sevn Steps of Kung Fu...

The problem with the shaw Legends box set is that it is the worst 10-pack I have ever seen. I know for a fact that I told you the exact same thing before. NOT A SINGLE ONE OF THOSE MOVIES IS GOOD. I honestly felt like throwing up a couple times in those Gordon Liu movies. And there was a discussion on kung fu fandom a while back abotu the worst kung fu movie ever and most people agreed it is Raiders of Buddhist Kung Fu. Just turn the movie of when you start feeling sick, it makes the pain go away. The only movie that looked decent was the Chi Kuan Chun and Chen Sing movie, but the picture quality is truly unwatchable.

The 1 minor bright spot in the 10 pack is that the CHinese stolen footage in Thundering Ninja has some really good Wang Yu streetfights.

[kungpowmaster]

Hi,

My Clash of the Ninja dvd arrived today, or so I thought. It is a manufacturing defect, and the disc has the wrong movie on it!

I wonder, does aanyone here have the DVD of Clash of the Ninja? What label is it on? This one is Treeline. I stuck it in, and hit play, and it says "Cat Vs Rat", with Lo Leih. It might be good, but it's not what the case says, the disc says, or even the menue. I see another seller of this title, but I'm afraid it'll be the same.

Anyone know?

Thanks,

Chosen One

[jethro]

If it is Cat Vs. rat you are getting a decent movie. Slightly above average. It has Adam Cheng, Fu Sheng, Gordon Liu and Lau Kar Wing in it. The bad picture quality will probably ruin it. If it is Clash of the Ninja then let me know, I really wanted to hear about that movie.

[kungpowmaster]

That Clash of the Ninja DVD I got, is defective, in that it has the wrong movie on it. The movie that comes on, when I hit play, is called Cat Vs Rat. I'm not sure if it's the Shaw Brothers one or not, it is dubbed, the the picture quality is very low. It's on the budget label, Treeline, aka Digital 1 Stop. I still would like to get the Clash of the Ninja movie, but I am thinking maybe they are all like this, or maybe not, I don't know. I can't find anyone who has it, so see if theirs is messed up too.

Anyway, I got the Thunder Ninja Kids DVDs today. I watched one, In the Golden Adventure. And this was great! It was so bizzare and nuts, and had a few laugh out loud parts of absurdity. Even some Krafwerk music. Lai or Ho, they seem to like the same music I do. In short, it was really enjoyable. All of it, the Ninja action, and the kids part. But I would not call this a kids movie, it was full of extreme profanity.

I have noticed, the IFD releases seem pretty decent quality, at least for what they are. All the one's I have seen though.

But what really sucked to me, was, Ninja in the Killing Fields. I have read some say that Godfrey Ho is Tomas Tang, well, I don't think so. Killing Fields was a Filmark, Tomas Tang thing, and it did not have even a portion of the Godfrey Ho quality. Even the ninja scenes, were very small, though the very last fight was OK, it did not have the Ho flavor to it at all. It was more on par with Ninja Vs Ninja, which I read was a Filmark release too, though my copy does not say that.

Anyway, if the other Ninja Kids movies are like that one I just watched, and you like the IFD ninja movies, I'd recommend them.

Chosen One

[doug maverick]

he is currently teaching filmmaking in hong kong at the polytechnic univeristy. he was like the top b hong kong movie guy. he had a cut and paste style of filmmaking he would shoot a film and then get footage from unfinished hk,phillipino or taiwanese films and cut them togather and use voice dubbing to try and make a coherent story, that way he would get like five films with the budget of one. he didn't do this all the time but one some of his films, he was also known for using caucasian actors. he retired back in 2000.

[jethro]

There are many movies that Ho, Tang, and Lai just dubbed and put there names on it. Aside from the weird white ninja footage, Ho didn't direct much himself. 90-95% of his stuff is not his own. Look at secret Executioners with Hwang Lee or Revenge of Drunken Master with Eagle Han. He just did the dubbing and called himself director. Same with all the dragon lee movies.

[kungpowmaster]

OK,

I have now watched all these Thunder Ninja Kids DVDs I could find. Tell me if there are others. Here is my thoughts on them.

The best one was In the Golden Adventure. It was funny, entertaining, well put together, and I found very enjoyable. The added caucasion actors and Ninja action was good too. The transfer looked pretty good, and it was unedited of it's profanity, which was also a plus. This is an IFD film, Joseph Lai Production.

Next best really, to me, was Little Kickboxer. This was a full on asian movie, with no ninjas, and no spliced added footage, such as caucasion actors. Basically about a kid who is bullyed, and learns Tae Kwon Do, with an revenge element. This is a Filmark Int. Tang Production. This was very Rocky esque to me, and I enjoyed it. Worst thing about the transfer was it was a bit dark. I don't recall any profanity, edited or not.

Next best was The Wonderful Mission. This is also titled on the screen Thunder Kids 2. I think Golden Adventure said Thunder Kids 3. Which did also have a boxed statue as the main plot, as does this one. This one is in pre-modern setting. It was OK. The spliced caucasion scenes, I guess are Ninja, but they didn't wear regular Ninja suits, but modern protective head gear, which was out of place for this movie. It's also an IFD/Lai movie. The profanity is edited out. I guess they do this to play on TV, and the DVD company get's that version.

Worst was: Search for the Devil Boxer, mainly because it was stupid and made no sense. Something about a UFO, which makes kid ghosts rise from the grave, but the kids in similar suits had face make up and hopped, but a ghost girl didn't. The spliced caucasion scenes were OK, and started out pretty good. This is one were the spliced in caucasion stuff is better than the asian footage. But the story just didn't make sense, at least to me, and the profanity is edited out too, which does make a negative effect.

They were cheap, and OK overall. The first one was best, and the second had it's points.

Chosen One

[kungpowmaster]

Well, as I mentioned before, I bought Clash of the Ninja DVD, and it was brand new and sealed. BUT, it had a manufacturing defect, and was not the right movie on the disc, even though all the packaging and writing was for Clash. When I hit play, a title card came up that said "Cat Vs Rat". Well I looked up "Cat Vs Rat", and the movie on this disc, was not that. What is on the disc, and, I watched it yesterday is: Fatal Needles Vs Fatal Fists.

And it was pretty good. I got a refund for the defective disc, so I got this free basically. I don't know why it said "Cat Vs Rat". But, it's Fatal Needles Vs Fatal Fists. It's Ocean Shores release. The pic quality was low, vhs transfer. But I really enjoyed this movie.

Also in the mail today, I got the Shaw Martial Arts Legends 10 movie set.

I'm still waiting for Ninja Terminator.

Chosen One

PS! If anyone has Clash of the Ninja, please let me know. If you have it on that Treeline label, and yours is not defective, please let me know, I'm unsure to chance buying another if they may all be defective.