recent purchases

[kungpowmaster]

Today, I went to a local used shop and got these bargains:

1. Shaw Bro's Five Deadly Venoms(Master Arts Video, $4.99).
2. Bruce Lee's Game of Death(20th Cen Fox, $3.99).
3. Jet Li's Legend of the Red Dragon(Columbia Tristar, $3.99).
4. Jet Li's The Legend of the Swordsman(Dimension, $3.99).
5. Jackie Chan is the Prisoner(Columbia Tristar, $2.99).

This weekend I found these on sale at the Mall:

1. Zatoichi(1989, Tokyo Shock, $9.99).
2. Zatoichi, The Television Series, Vol. 1(Tokyo Shock, $9.99).


I think I may have seen some or all of Game of Death long ago, I don't remember. This was my 1st time to see Zatoichi, and I really liked that. I haven't seen any of the others yet.

Chosen One

[jethro]

Ikes, it maybe cheap, but you are throwing your money away.

1- Celestial has this remastered in all it's technicolor glory, the only way 5 Venoms should be watched.
2- I guess it really doesn't matter what version of Game of Death you get.
3- you should have gotten New Legend of Shaolin. The version you have is dubbed and cut.
4- you have the cut version and it is dubbed of course, but still a great movie. If you want to see this in it's entirety then get Swordsman 2 from Mei-eh.
5-Prisoner is just godawful. There is 1 good fight scene in the movie and there is a good audio commentary fom Phillip Rhee. Movies reall don't get worse than this though.


Haven't seen Zatoichi 89 or any of the TV series, but everything i have seen from Zatoichi has been magnificent. Those are some of the best movies ever



New DVD's I got

Love and Sword (1979) -awesome Roc Tien movie. Even better than Elimination pursuit. $6.99

The Sword (1971) -very good Jimmy Wang Yu flick. $11 (3 for $33)

I also just got a TaI Seng 6-pack for $14.99. Leg Fighter, Killer From Above, and Challenge Death are really good. Killer of Snake Fox of Shaolin, Death Ring, and Eagles Butterflies something are all watchable, if you like bad movies that is.

[kungpowmaster]

Hi,

That Tai Seng 6-Pack sounds good. I bought a few packs, some good, some cheap and bad. That Videoasia set I got a little while back, is el cheapo, glad I only spent 6.50 for it, Super Kung Fu Box Set. I sat back to watch it's Rickshaw Man, but the disc is defective, and the things stuck and pixalted that it was unable to play. The 2nd movie on the disc played OK.

But back to the titles at hand,

Yeah, but like I said, I only have a bit of blowing cash, and that's what they had there at that store. If they'd had the editions you mentioned for the same dough, I'd have gotten them.

One think I have noticed in these modern dubs, is I think the older style dubs are way way better. The dub of a 70's or 80's flick is better than these today. What's with that? Are these modern dubs made in the USA? Where the classic dubs also? or were they made in China?

Anyway.
Last night I watched the Game of Death. It was OK. I can imagine it being hard to make a movie without the star. Some of the scenes were crappy, like that Bruce superimpsed head over another body, that was noticable and should not have been used. But, it was OK for what it is, I thought.

I also watched The Prisoner. I liked this. I guess it didn't technically have a lot of kung fu action, but I enjoyed it. Didn't have much Jackie in it, as a lead, that is. The end was kinda confusing, but I guess they just played them to do their dirty work.

I sampled the Jet Li flicks, yeah, I know they arn't the "definitive" issues. I didn't realize I was getting Crouching Tiger clones though, which I do enjoy, though.

The 5 Deadly Venoms I had been wanting, this issue don't have a super picture, but hey, where does one even get the celestial version? Is it available in the US, for this region? I don't know, it was 4.99, I'm good with it for now.

Chosen One

[jethro]

I wouldn't consider the Jet Li flicks clones of Crouching tiger. they came long before. New Legend of Shaolin is crap, but Jet with a spear makes it worth watching. the villain is also a badass. Swordsman 2 (legend of swordsman) is a masterpiece. It is my favorite wuxia ever, and that is saying a lot.

For the remastered Celestial versions of 5 venoms, you would need the region 3 IVL version, the bootleg Red Sun version, or you could just wait and in the next year this will come out English dubbed in the US. Make sure you get at soem point though, I can't even describe how beautiful this movie looks. And that goes for all of the remastered Shaw Brothers movies.

And make sure you check out Kung Fu Zombie on that 10 pack. If that disc don't work, the set isn't worth a penny.

[Jimbo]

The English dubbing that was done in the '70s and '80s was better because for the most part, they weren't using Americans to dub. Most of the dubbers were British, and contrary to popular belief, did quite a good job at it. Sometimes those old dubbers could really get into the character. For just one example, check out the crazy Taoist drunk in Shaolin Drunkard; the guy who did his voice did a lot of voices in movies, and makes the character even funnier.

I can't stand the re-dubbed English voices on the 20th Century-Fox Golden Harvest releases. They seem to use ****y CA surfer-dude accents. That's why on those, I only watch the original Cantonese versions.

BTW, if you watch the movie Excalibur (my all-time favorite movie), listen to the voices of a lot of the actors. Several of them have accents almost identical to the commonly-heard old-school English voice dubbers of KF movies. Especially pay attention when Merlin speaks. You'll notice the similarities as the movie goes on.

[jethro]

It is 100% true that the British were the best and the Americans who do the voice dubbing should really be embarrassed. Legend of a Fighter and Shaolin vs. Lama are 2 great dub jobs that quickly come to mind. My favorite dub job ever is Claws of Steel.

[Jimbo]

Kinda off-topic, but when I was on one of my stays in Hong Kong, I happened to turn on the TV and there was a local news special on Chungking Mansions, a rather notorious rat warren of hotels, residences, and businesses in one bizarre complex in Kowloon (oddly enough, I was staying there at the time). The voice narrator of the news show was the same guy who dubbed countless KF movies; a very famous example is Gordon Liu's english-dubbed voice in Master Killer, Billy Chong's voice in Jade Claw, etc., etc. The voice is unmistakeable. So apparently, at least in his case, he was actually a professional media person they got to dub movies with. (obviously, most of the dubbing of the HK and Taiwan KF films was most certainly done in HK, back then a British Crown colony).

[kungpowmaster]

Yesterday I watched Kung Fu Zombie. I did like it, a lot, I think. But what made it so bad was the dvd presentation. I was thinking of getting other Videoasia stuff, but now, I don't think so. It's just, the quality is even worse than the dollar releases at Wal-mart. Kung Fu Zombie may be a classic if given a proper DVD release. The picture was watchable, but it obviously came from a widescreen with subtitles(probably a VDC), and then cropped to fullscreen. So, the subs often cut off on the sides, and it was hard to follow it, and also quite a few spots had no subs at all. Apart from the dead ghost wanting to be "reincarnated", I did not get the other side story at all. I did like the effects and premise. If this was in a decent widescreen transfer, or a decent image pan and scan with good full subs, my enjoyment of this would have been raised 100 percent.

Chosen One

PS. They also had a Billy Wong(I think that's his name) interview, that was uberweak, it seemed to me the interviewer sounded rude.

PPS. How are the labels: Ground Zero? Crash? Fortune 5?

[jethro]

Fortune 5 = Videoasia
Groundzero = crap

Crash Cinema used to be good intil they put out that stupid Venom Mob series. All of those versions are unwachable.

Like I said about Videoasia when you first asked, "NEVER BUY ANYTHIGN FROM VIDEOASIA". I think they have like 4 good releases out of 1000. Not that good of a ratio.

FYI on Kung Fu Zombie-the Videoasia version is actually not bad, compared to other versions that is. The subs are really not important. I think I can sum the story up for you pretty quick. Billy Chong's dad beats him every day so he will become a kung fu master. Kwan Young Moon comes to beat up Billy Chong's dad, he convinces his son to beat the villain for him. After Kwan Young Moon dies, the stocky guy and the Taoist guy (Chan Lau) look to use Moon's body for their plan from the start of the movie. The reason I didn't mention the plot at the beginning of the movie is because at this point we find out that Kwan Young Moon is too strong and their plan just won't work. He becomes liek a vampire, and it gets really weird from there.

It's certianly not a great movie, but is worth watching for that awesome fight between Billy Chong and Kwang Young Moon.

And yeah, I also noticed the interviewer being rude. That guy was the worst interviewer I have ever heard.

[kungpowmaster]

Yeah, I get into something, and I just go crazy with it. But I'm unemployed, and just manipulate best I can what I have money wise, so I try and seek out deals.

Anyway, today I bought some stuff:

Shaw Bros, Legendary Weapons of China(NS Video). $4.00.
Jet Li and the Legend of Wong Fei Hung, 6 Feature(Fortune 5). $4.00.

and I got this free, cuz the disc was kinda messy lookin',
Sonny Chiba double feature.
1. Karate Warriors.
2. The Bodyguard.

I can't get over how many movies Sonny Chiba has made. I already have a ton of them, but still missing a lot.

I also got in the mail:

Martial Arts Collection. 9 movies(St.Clair Vision). $6.59.

1.Chinese Connection.
2.Kung Fu: The Punch of Death.
3.Dragon Princess.
4.Samurai Reincarnation.
5.Snake-Crane Secret.
6.Duel of the Iron Fists.
7.Legend of the 8 Samurai.
8.Militant Eagle.
9.Dragon Lee Vs. The Five Brothers.

I had some of these movies already in other packs, but 5 of them I wanted.

And I recently ordered the Kung Fu 20 Movie Pack. Only one in that pack I already have, The Street Fighter, which is great, but is in like every set.

When I first decided to collect martial arts movies, I was originally thinking I didn't want the value packs, but I have found them so low-priced, and actually, most of their movies are great classics.

Comments are welcomed.

Chosen One.

[jethro]

Dude, you need to read my comments. Fortune 5 IS Videoasia. Please don't complain abotu their DVD's again, because you have been warned now many times

Also, I don't know what NS Video is, but I know you got screwed. Image Entertainment just released Legendary Weapons of China and you will never find a better version of this movie. Picture quality is seriously as good as it gets, it has a good Mandarin track, and an English dub!

[kungpowmaster]

Yes, yes. I do realize Videoasia is low-quality, and I do know it is also Fortune 5, and Ventura Dist. Now, that don't mean I won't ever buy them. But I do realize it won't be the best. I got that Jet Li thing, because I was curious, it was $19.99 at the mall, and on Amazon sellers, the lowest was about $15. So when I saw it for $4, I got it. I know it may be crap, but I was willing to sacrifice four bucks. Also, the Shaw movie, yes, I know it's not the top quality release of it. I think that NS Video is a part of Crash. But, also, it was four bucks, so what the heck.

Chosen One

[jethro]

NS Video and Crash Cinema have no relation whatsoever. Problem is, for like 8-10 bucks, you could have gotten the ultimate edition of Legendary Weapons, now you just have to hope your disc plays and has watchable picture quality.

And the Jet Li 6-pack- skip all the movies and just watch the documentary. Maybe the best Shaolin documentary I have ever seen.

[kungpowmaster]

OK, here is the link for the Weapons of China version I got. It's on Ground Zero.

http://www.hkcinema.co.uk/Reviews/legendaryweaponsofchina.htm

Haven't watched it yet. I did see the other version but it was $14.99.

I just don't have much cash right now, and while it's not the best version released, it was 4 bucks.

Maybe later when I get a better financial situation, I'll upgrade to the better versions, or if I see them cheap somewhere, I'll pick them up.

I just don't have an income right now.

I did start watching that "Jet Li" disc, so far I have just seen part of a documentary about Kung Fu and China.

Chosen One

[Jimbo]

I picked up the Image release of Legendary Weapons of China as a treat; I have not been buying very many KF movies lately. Will be watching it tonight; hope they haven't messed with the dubbing/original soundtrack like some companies do when they release Chinese movies.

One thing that p's me off is Miramax has hoarded a bunch of the Shaw Brothers titles and is keeping them under wraps to collect dust. Supposedly, a lot of the reason is to capitalize on Kill Bill, et al. And if their track record is anything to go by, IF they do release any of them, they will be heavily edited, redubbed, re-soundtracked, have redone sound effects, and the opening titles will all be changed. It was the biggest mistake to allow Miramax anywhere near the Shaw films. That means a lot of the best martial arts titles (esp. a lot of the Gordon Liu films) will most likely not ever get an Image release, or any release for that matter.

[jethro]

There are a lot of remastered movies, but Legendary weapons has one of the best transfers to DVD I have ever seen. It is truly crystal clear.

[Jimbo]

Watched Legendary Weapons and loved it. I haven't seen it that clear since I saw the actual movie way back when it was newly-released in the theater!

Thinking of maybe picking up The Water Margin, but as I dimly remember it, the fight scenes are kinda so-so (Chang Cheh's pre-Shaolin era). But the movie itself is a large-scale epic of the kind I like, plus there's a special feature about Chang Cheh that may add extra worth to it.

[jethro]

I really liked water Margin, but not cause of the fights. The final battle is pretty cool though, just because of the way it is set up.

I would recommend Boxer's Omen over this though.

[Jimbo]

I picked up The Water Margin and The Boxer's Omen the other day.
Yup, now that I see Boxer's Omen again, I remember it well; the regurgitated chicken anus, etc. That director had to be a twisted puppy. To be honest, it's not the sickest movie I've seen. Back in the '80s there was a Chinese documentary about weird Asia or something. In one part, they showed a shaman on Borneo going into a trance and taking a live chicken in his hands. Then he ate the living thing whole, including the feathers(!). The whole process was filmed from one angle, uncut, and took maybe five-ten(?) minutes or so.

I liked the Water Margin better, and enjoyed some of the extras on Chang Cheh, David Chiang, and Ti Lung. The movie itself is very well-done and has such a different flavor from some of his earlier films (Duel of Fists, etc.) and way different from his later (Venoms) films. It's a real epic, though not as large-scale an epic as Chang Cheh's The Boxer Rebellion or Shaolin Temple (not the Jet Li version). The fights are a bit disappointing, and I'm sorry, but David Chiang just looks weak as a 'wrestler'. His fights look embarrassingly fake in this one. Ti Lung looked a lot better (as usual), but hardly had any screen time.

Interesting that the two leading protagonists in WM are played by Japanese actors, but they are excellent actors and did quite the job. I was surprised they looked pretty good in their fight scenes, as they aren't really known as 'fighting actors'.

[jethro]

Wang Chung is the character that stands out the most to me in Water Margin, and I agree, David Chiang did look kind of weak. I heard the sequel has Bolo and Fan Mei wrestling. That sounds worth seeing to me!

On Boxer's Omen, I totally agree with you. The Fear Factor scene stood out the most to me. The liner notes on Boxer's Omen talks abotu how the movie is a sequel of sorts to Hex. I have seen a few of this directors movies and he does seem like a bit of a hack. A lot of movies he did are similiar to Boxer's Omen, but just don't deliver. The one kung fu movie he did was Killer COnstable, so I can't say too much bad about the guy.

[charp choi]

My recent buys:

Men From The Monastery. IVL
Fighting Fool. IVL
Kid With A Tattoo. IVL
Boxer From The Temple. IVL
Seven Grandmasters. Tokyo Shock.
Tom Yoong Goom. DD
Seven Swords. DD
This is Kung Fu. 55th Chamber.


I don't get out much, you know:(

[jethro]

I don't get out much either:)


I recently bought Project A2. Great movie, good priced DVD.

Another one I got was Best of the Best 2. The movie isn't that great but Fox put some awesome special features on there.

I also got this DVD called Everyone is Kung Fu Fighting and it has 9 short home movies. The famous Prison Warz is on there along with a few other great shorts. The special features are amazing and the Stunt People caused me to burst out crying with laughter.

[charp choi]

I don't get out much either:)


I also got this DVD called Everyone is Kung Fu Fighting and it has 9 short home movies. The famous Prison Warz is on there along with a few other great shorts. The special features are amazing and the Stunt People caused me to burst out crying with laughter.

I got that DVD, too. I liked the Kwoon and The stuntpeople best. very Funny.

You seen Contour yet?

Just ordered mine from the stuntpeople site. It rocks!!! If only Hollywood made action films that good!

[jethro]

Hey, I am the terror known as Morgoth on the Stunt People site. I don't do stunts, but i love to watch movie clips.





I also got a few Fusian titles.

King Of Kings- Joseph Kuo- 1969- freaking awesome movie

Eight Immortals- 1971- great movie. Much better than I expected.

Whirlwind Knight- unwatchable.



Oh, and I have not seen Contour. I am kind of new to these home videos.

[charp choi]

[QUOTE=jethro;758442]Hey, I am the terror known as Morgoth on the Stunt People site. I don't do stunts, but i love to watch movie clips.

Do you post on kung fu fandom also?

that name is very familiar

[jethro]

morgoth on the fandom and Stunt People site and Amazon.

Gorthu at the kfc site.

What abotu you?

[charp choi]

Charp choi, thats me.

I like kfc, kff and dragonsdenuk.com.
Really good and useful sites.

[jethro]

I will have to check out Dragon Den. I love Kung Fu Fandom. That is one hell of a knowledgable bunch over there.

[kungpowmaster]

Hi all,

Today I bought a few things:

Magnificent Butcher.
I have heard this is great, yet never saw it, as far as I can recall.
Haven't watched it yet.

The Guy With Secret Kung Fu.
Bruce Lee From Beyond The Grave.

These were a buck at Wal-mart.
Haven't seen these either.

Non MA stuff I got was:

The Incredible Hulk, Original TV Premiere.
Robot Vs. Aztec Mummy.

More Wal-mart buck DVDs:
Doublecross On Costa's Island(with Franco Columbu).
Laserhawk(with Mark Hamill).


Later,

Chosen One

[TenTigers]

I just scored a custom neck for a strat-birdseye maple with an ebony fingerboard, and abalone inlays-sweeeet! (114.00 on ebay) I'm gonna slap it on a mahogany (transparent red) strat body with some hot strat pickups, a floyd rose, and have one kicka$$ axe for under 400.00 .
oh yeah, nice movies.

[Jimbo]

I got the Dragon Dynasty release of Last Hurrah for Chivalry, even though I already own the original Fortune Star release, simply because I wanted to see the Fung Hark-On and Lee Hoi-San (Li Hai-Sheng) interviews. I know it's been a lot of years since the old-school kung fu movie era, but I was a bit surprised how old especially Fung Hark-On appears in the interview. IMO, this movie is the best wuxia flick, and definitely John Woo's best movie, though it lacks a Hollywood budget.

I have not yet bought the new release of Drunken Monkey, but that's way up on my list.

Non-martial arts-wise, I picked up the original Halloween. Mainly because it reminds me of my high school years, as it was originally released when I was in 10th grade.

[Jimbo]

Oh, BTW, the Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy; I remember seeing that as a kid. It's actually a patchwork film, and as I remember, the mummy footage was lifted from another old Mexican film, Attack of the Mayan Mummy.

[jethro]

You got a gem right there with MAgnificent Butcher Kungpowmaster. Story isn't that great, but the fights are some of the best I have ever seen.

[kungpowmaster]

Hi all,

Well, I got a haul this weekend.

Of martial arts interest, I got:

Drunken Dragon(Rarescope).
The Lost Swordship(Rarescope).
The Octagon(Trinity).
A Force of One(Trinity).
9 Deaths of the Ninja/Kill Point(BCI).
Mr. X/Ninja Connection(BCI).
Ninja Thunderbolt/Invincible Hero(BCI).
Bionic Ninja(Alpha VHS).

You know I love those Tang/Lai Ninja flicks.

Non MA is:

When Worlds Collide(Paramount).
IT! The Terror From Beyond Space(MGM).
Screaming Skull/The Giant Leeches(Elite).
Black Candles/Evil Eye(Deimos).
Terror of Frankenstein(Image).
Frankenstein '90(Anchor Bay).
It's Alive/It Lives Again/It's Alive 3(Warner Bros).
Bronx Executioner(Dollar).

I love sci-fi and horror, esp Euro.

Not a bad haul. All found on sale, averaging about $6 each release.

The Chosen One

[jethro]

LOst Swordship is an awesome movie. Check out Elimination Pursuit if you get a chance. Dark swordplay madness. Do not take any hard drugs before watchign Elimination Pursuit, you will probably die. LOve and Sword is another GREAT movie. Roc Tien Peng is the man.

You will probably like Drunken Dragon more than Lost Swordship. Rarescope is the way too go if you want some really wacky stuff with your martial arts flicks. And I just remembered where I have seen the hero from Drunken Dragon. He is in Shaolin Blood Mission. He is a very good performer and he does a really painful looking stunt in Drunken Dragon.



Yesterday I picked up Kid From Tibet. I remember an interview with Yuen Biao where he said he thinks this is the best action he has ever done. I can't wait to see it.

[Jimbo]

Yesterday I picked up The City of Violence.
At first I almost felt buyer's remorse, which did not abate after the first couple of fights. But as the movie progressed, I found myself liking it more and more. The cinematography is excellent. The story, not completely original, but with interesting enough characters.

It's pretty clear there are aspects of this film that were inspired by Kill Bill Vol. 1, Tony Jaa's The Protector, and possibly some Jackie Chan movies. Even so, this film was able to separate itself enough, and IMO, the final fight was far better than that in Kill Bill. The two main stars clearly were doing their own fights/stunts. The first half I thought, "How many ways and times can you do a spin kick, anyway?" The finale, alas, includes more brutal surprises.

This is only the second of the new wave of Korean films that I really liked (the other being The Host). Most of the rest I personally haven't found as great as advertised.

[kungpowmaster]

Hi all,

I recently viewed some of the newer stuff I got.

Bionic Ninja was great. A Filmark Production. It was well done, and very happy with that. I don't care what anyone says, no one can do Ninjas better than IFD and Filmark.

The Octagon/A Force of One. These were very good too. Very enjoyable. Old school Chuck at his best. The red hooded Ninja in the Octagon reminded me of Darth Vader in a way, his character/role. Story was similar to American Samurai.

9 Deaths of The Ninja. Uh, this movie at 1st watch was very bad. I sat through it about an hour. I'll try and give it another shot sometime. But this movie seemed really bad, and not at all like I was hoping, as I really did like Revenge of the Ninja with Kosugi also.

Mr. X. This was great, in a wacked out way. Some say this is a Godfrey Ho movie, and he does have an acting role in it. It has Joe Lewis starring, whom I am not familiar with, I guess he was a Karate world champ. The movie is newer Lewis and Ho parts mixed in with a shoot em up blood bath Chinese mafia story. I liked it.

Drunken Dragon. This was a blast. Crazy action, and crazy gizmos. But it made me think this was a part of something bigger? But it was very enjoyable just for it's craziness.


Chosen One

[Jimbo]

kungpowmaster:
Drunken Dragon was its own movie. (I saw it in Taiwan when it was first released in '85). It is a really fun film. Its basic style was inspired by an earlier Golden Harvest-released film that was directed by Yuen Woo-Ping, The Miracle Fighters and its various spinoffs.

I liked A Force of One when it came out. I'm familiar with a lot of the locations, because it was filmed in the city I live/grew up in. Chuck was more fun then. As for the big ninja henchman in The Octagon, he was played by Richard Norton, a very good martial artist in his own right (who also played the Australian henchman in the same film).

[Jimbo]

Oh, and I recently bought another DVD, Dragon Heat. a Dragon Dynasty-released title. It stars Sammo Hung, Michael Biehn (Terminator, The Abyss), and Maggie Q. Or that's who are advertised.

Personally, it was a big disappointment. The real lead characters are a group of Interpol agents played by young actors who look more like pop idols. I dunno, but I wasn't impressed with the slow-mo spinning/prancing/gun posing of the idols. Sammo Hung has a couple of fights, but they are not choreographed or filmed well at all. Nothing at all like his fights in SPL, which was shot the same year. Michael Biehn has a sizeable role, but Maggie Q, billed as a major player in the film, has barely anything to do as a villain/sniper. Chin Kar-Lok was the martial arts choreographed, but it would have been better if they'd used Sammo Hung himself. Sammo's two fights against the Korean leader of the terrorists would have been much better, but instead, the fights seem flat. I think the film tries too hard to be stylish.

[jethro]

Don't forget about Bronson Lee (I can't remember his JApanese name). He was WAY underused in Octagon, but he did show some nice sickle skills. And I have to say I personally think A Force of One is one of Chuck's worst movies. It's not like any of his movies are great or anything, but some are decent. I thought Forced Veneance was a little above average. Lots of good cheesy lines in that one. "Never let your girl handle your piece."


And I saw Sammo's fight from Dragon Heat where he uses a big chopper on youtube and I think the editor was on crack. totally unwatchable. I will never ever watch that movie. Not even if someone payed me.

[Jimbo]

I think the editor was high on something. This is one of those movies where, if you watched it in a theater, it would make you queasy from motion sickness. And a lot did NOT make any sense at all; for one, there is a shooting near a dragon dancing demo, and yet after the chase leads away from the demo, the dragon dancers and audinece continue on as if nothing happened!?! Also, the very end of the movie is retarded and is nonsensical.

I actually liked A Force of One simply because it was so d0rky. Even back then, I thought it was hilarious. The fact that the settings were familiar yet the movie so serious seemed to add to that. It was obvious who the "karate killer" was; Bill Wallace threw a kick in disguise with his right leg at the beginning to try to "throw off" moviegoers who were familiar with him (he mostly kicked left leg). No one was fooled. The silly acting and dialogue were classic camp. :D

[doug maverick]

Oh, and I recently bought another DVD, Dragon Heat. a Dragon Dynasty-released title. It stars Sammo Hung, Michael Biehn (Terminator, The Abyss), and Maggie Q. Or that's who are advertised.

Personally, it was a big disappointment. The real lead characters are a group of Interpol agents played by young actors who look more like pop idols. I dunno, but I wasn't impressed with the slow-mo spinning/prancing/gun posing of the idols. Sammo Hung has a couple of fights, but they are not choreographed or filmed well at all. Nothing at all like his fights in SPL, which was shot the same year. Michael Biehn has a sizeable role, but Maggie Q, billed as a major player in the film, has barely anything to do as a villain/sniper. Chin Kar-Lok was the martial arts choreographed, but it would have been better if they'd used Sammo Hung himself. Sammo's two fights against the Korean leader of the terrorists would have been much better, but instead, the fights seem flat. I think the film tries too hard to be stylish.

i currently have a hit out on danniel lee for putting this crud out.

[jethro]

He should at least have his eyes gouged out. Or maybe he films his movies and doesn't look at the finished product. I remember the final fight of his Chen Zhen series with Vincent Zhao. It was like a 10 minute fight and I don't think there was any actual fighting. Not a single second! He would probably make better movies if he was blind.

[kungpowmaster]

Hi,

I finally got this set I'd been wantin'. I had read it was super crappy, and on Videoasia, but it had some Ninja movies I wanted. I've been looking for this for about a year, but all I saw was it for 10 or more bucks, and I didn't wanna pay that, from the reviews I read.

Well, I finally found it for 6.49 total. Well, the actual mechanical product is really crap. Some of the discs didn't even play, or play well, I'll try them on another player.

But anyway, it's the Martial Arts 10 Pack. It is 3 discs, just stacked on top of each other, with some clamp thing holding them down. I got it new, and sealed, but the discs did come loose, though they didn't get damaged, except one had a slight scratch, but that one seemed to play fine.

The line up is:

Cotton Mill
The rarest kung-fu movie ever has been found. Thought to be lost forever, this unseen classic is finally here. Superstarring Shaw Bros. Legend Chi Kuan Chuan and leg fighter Tan Tao Liang.

Tiger Over Wall
King of leg combat Hwang Jang Lee in his greatest role since drunken master. An absolute classic!

Ninja and Dragon(I think this actually Ninja Destroyer, which I already had)
Two agents must join forces to catch the tiger connection heroin gang. One agent is a secret ninja, the other a dragon on fire!

Hunt for Ninja(Ninja Hunt)
The CIA battle terrorists villains with their super weapon - the ninja master. Heads roll and bodies fly!

Ninja Challenge(Challenge the Ninja)
The red devils are a brutal gang that kill a mans entire family. He seeks revenge by training with the deadliest gang alive - the ninja. His new powers even the odds. Let the vengeance begin!

Knight and Warrior( called Ninja in the Imperial Court onscreen)
A ninja from Japan, a warrior from China and a villain from hell clash to the death and beyond! The greatest ninja action ever shown in the world!

Black Belt Fury
The jungle just got deadlier. The fiercest beast is man, and this kung fu spectacular proves it!

Burger Cop
Kung fu superstar Sammo Hung is the cop with the appetite of a fat dragon. Joining him is fellow superstar Yuen Biao (Prodigal Son) in this action-packed comedy thriller!

Deaf Mute Heroine
Her senses may be impaired, but her sword hand is not! The greatest sword since Zatoichi! Her blade is as dangerous as her fury!

Shaolin Lady
Mega star Cynthia Rothrock is the lady with the Shaolin Skills. She takes on all comers, Her best action role ever!

So, for what I paid, I'm good with it, as Ninja Hunt, and Challenge the Ninja play fine, and that's why I wanted it.
I'm not familiar with the other titles. I saw Burger Cop looked decent and has Sammo Hung in it.

Chosen One

[jethro]

Sorry you had to experience that 10 pack kungpowmaster. All of those movies have had good widescreen releases, except tiger Over wall. Seek out the Groundzero version of Tiger over Wall (pretty good picture quality). It comes with Goose Boxer which is a movie you would love. And best of all it is really cheap. Tiger Over Wall is in my opinion Hwang Jang Lee's greatest kicking performance, which is saying a hell of a lot. NInjas in the Dragon's den is on there. One of my top 20 favorite movies of all time. Corey Yuen really took the genre to a new level with that movie. The 10 pack has a REALLY crappy full screen version of Ninja in the dragon's Den. Very sad, because it has been beautifully remastered. And you may think I am joking when I say this, but I suggest just throwing that 10 pack in the trash can. after you try and watch the movies you may be more inclined to smash it with a rock before you throw it away. Also, Burger Cop (real name is 'Don't give a dam') has 2 audio tracks running at the same time. Without a doubt that is the worst 10 pack that any company has ever put out.

Also, Rarescope released Showdown at the Cottonmill. Not very good picture quality, but it is perfectly widescreened. The 10 pack you have cuts off about 70% of the picture, no joke. I would go over the other movies but talking about this 10 pack really makes me sick to my stomach.

[Jimbo]

A bit off-topic...
Bronson Lee's real name is Tadashi Yama****a, a Shorin-Ryu karate master.
I saw him in a Sonny Chiba movie that also had Bolo Yeung and a Chinese fighter who used the crane style as villains, forgot the title. In it, Chiba uses an electronic device to make his punches super-fast, and Yama****a has a final fight against Bolo. Not as well-made as, say, The Killing Machine.

I would also recommend the Rarescope version of Showdown at the Cotton Mill. You may end up paying a little more for the one movie, but you do get what you pay for.

I will make a confession: I tried to buy a special Gordon Liu 4-DVD special. I say "tried" because after I opened it (before I left the mall), I found that the plastic part that secures the 3rd DVD into the case was cracked off and that DVD and the broken case pieces were loose in the case. The movies were 4 Assassins (Marco Polo), Shaolin vs. Wu Tang, Master of Disaster (The Treasure Hunters) and Shaolin Martial Arts. What I really wanted was a DVD version of Shaolin Martial Arts, my fave m.a. film; I only have a poor VHS version. I returned it and opened up 3 other ones in the store; they all had that defect in the packaging. Perhaps the DVDs were fine, but that is p!$$-poor quality control and package design. I looked at the DVD company's name, it only said Yin-Yang Films or something, no other info. I later realized it was probably another name for Red Sun/Bonzai(??). So just as well I ended up not getting it.

The real disappointment was instead I decided to switch up and ended up buying Dragon Heat. I shoulda gotten Have Sword Will Travel instead.

[Jimbo]

Man, can't even write Yama s-h-i-t-a??
:D

[jethro]

I know, you can't even say dam(n). Anyways, i am realy interested in seeing that movie with Bolo. Check out this clip of a Bronson Lee movie. Kurata goes insane- http://youtube.com/watch?v=wvyuajg7Sig Actually I just remembered, you cant watch it, so check it out whenever you get a chance. Kurata is on the top of his game.

And yes, you should have gone with Have Sword Will Travel. It is a REALLY good movie. But you probably figured the special features on Dragon Heat would still be worth watching even if the movie sucked. Wrong!

[Jimbo]

Yeah, the Dragon Heat special features weren't worth it. The main thing was Michael Biehn gushing about how great a director Daniel Lee is, and how great the shootout scenes in the movie were. He must live in a cave or something, not knowing anything about HK cinema until now. Which is funny, because if DH is any indication, without Donnie Yen (and Stephen Chow), HK cinema is deep in the doldrums now.

I'll pick up Have Sword Will Travel next.

I wonder when (if?) Dragon Dynasty will release Tiger on Beat. That seems like a candidate for a wide release if ever there was one. (I saw part of the Conan Lee/Gordon Liu fight on Youtube before someone else at work had to use the computer!) ;) I'll try to check out the Yasuaki Kurata clip next week.

[Jimbo]

I think what I said about HK being in the cinematic doldrums was a bit harsh. There actually are other good directors/movies still coming out of there as well. I wrote that because I'm still miffed at myself for getting Dragon Heat.

[jethro]

Yeah Dragon Heat is not a good example of what HK cinema is about these days. Lets make a rule here, no one can talk about dragon Heat ever again on this site. I think we can agree on that:D

[kungpowmaster]

Why is Videoasia so crappy? I mean their stuff is so poorly made, and I don't mean the transfers of the movies. Even the various Dollar Tree store DVD labels are higher quality.

I was looking at my Martial Arts 10 Pack yesterday.

I was watching Challenge the Ninja last night, it seemed to be OK, then it stuck, and then jumped ahead. I could then rewind it back to the sticky area. I didn't see any scratches on it, but it did have an odd small spot that seemed maybe to be a manufacturing defect.

My older player would not read one of the discs sides, but my newer player did. So overall, crap as it is(I'm OK with not so great picture quality, it's the poor manufacturing that get's me), I'm glad I got it, and found it for $6.49 total. This item is out of print, and I can't just return or exchange it. It's not even on ebay, and Amazon's cheapest used is $13.98 total.

I guess it's no big deal, but like I said, I am a fan of, and a collector of the Lai/Tang Ninja movies, and this set has 2 titles I can't find anywhere else.

I wish there was enough a fan interest of these Lai/Tang Ninja movies, that a good company would release them as definitive editions, with trailors and even commentaries, and galley of posters etc.

anyway,

Chosen One

[Jimbo]

Videoasia is cr@ppy because IMO they don't care about the quality of product they put out. I have only one Videoasia DVD that's perfect, and that's The Invincible Armour. The Crane Fighter comes in second, but most of them are varying degrees of awful. I have a couple of their DVDs that don't even play properly. They play normal for 15 minutes or so, then jump out of sync or replay what just played. It's impossible to play those disks and just watch the movie straight through. And I've had to return some of their disks that did not play at all. That's why I stopped buying them; last Videoasia release I bought was Seven Steps of Kung FU, because it's a good film, and luckily the DVD worked acceptably.

Which is too bad, really, because SOME of the movies they release on DVD are good movies, and this makes it less likely that these movies will get a real DVD release from someone else.

[jethro]

I actually just bought 2 Videoasia DVDs today. Triumph of 2 Arts (Chan Wai Man) I haven't watched yet, and the other one I got is Duel of the 7 Tigers (a 2-pack with a crappy looking movie called Invincible From Hell). I am watching Duel of 7 Tigers right now and it is AMAZING. It stars Tony Leung Siu Hung (cameo), Yeung Pan Pan, Phillip Ko, Cliff Lok, Cassanova Wong, Chu Chi Ling (the muscleman with the brass rings around his wrists in Kung Fu Hustle), Han Ying Chieh, Pomson Shi (from Snake in MOnkey's Shadow) and Charlie Chan. I spotted all these guys and I have only watched the first 30 minutes!! San Kuai and Chan lau also have cameos. I can't follow the story very well because it is full screen and the subtitles are cut off quite a bit, but I am loving this movie! Definitely worth the $1.99 I paid for it.

I have noticed that a lot of Videoasia DVDs don't play on some DVD players, but luckily I have 4 DVD players so I have always been able to get them to work. Specifically I am talking about the double-sided discs that are the ones that don't play on some players. Dragon Blood/Fighting fist of Shanghai Joe, Writing Kung Fu/Ninja Killer, and also a collection called the "Shaolin Double Features". Shaolin Red Master, Secret of Shaolin Kung Fu...

Also, a lot of the movies jump around and skip chapters making it impossible to watch the whole movie. But, I figured it out. You have to keep the time display on and every time a chapter is about to end, you have to fast forward until the next chapter starts. Unfortunately the 2 movies I experienced this with were not worth all of that effort. Invincible Monkey Fist and Rivals of the Silver Fox. Both really crappy movies.

So yeah, like you said Jimbo, Videoasia DVDs are really crappy. But, I have noticed that all of their single-sided double features play just fine. Shaolin Blood Mission/Shaolin tmple Strikes Back, Kugn Fu Zombie/Fistful of talons, Circus Kids/High Voltage (both bad Donnie Yen movies), Duel of the 7 Tigers/Invincible From Hell...

So hopefully this information helps you out Jimbo. And if anybody ever needs help with Videoasia DVDs, just ask me and I will let you know if it is a DVD worth buying.

And speaking of 7 Steps of Kung Fu Jimbo, thank you very much for recommending that to me a while back. It is one of my favorite kung fu movies. Chang Shan has his best fight in my opinion. he even does some acrobatics!


Oh yeah, I also got the movie Code of Honor today. I heard D!ck Wei is the lead actor in this movie so I had to snatch it up when I saw it at the store.

[Jimbo]

Jethro:
Duel of the 7 Tigers is a classic film. I think it was done with the cooperation of the Hong Kong Martial Arts Association or something. That's why it's loaded with real-life kung fu masters in the cast (Chan Sau-Chung, Lee Koon-Hung, Chiu Chi-Ling, etc.). I saw it in theater back in the day, and the only nagging question I had was, if they were trying to show the greatness of kung fu, why did it take the knowledge of all those kung fu styles to beat one karate man (Phillip Ko).

Unfortunately, I can't give the same praise to Triumph of 2 Kung Fu Arts. Because "Triumph" is really a failure. It's depressingly boring; most of it is Chan Wai-Man feeling sorry for himself and showing his sad mother. There are no good fights to speak of. The whole thing looks like it was shot through a fogged-up lens. Which is probably just as well. Too bad for me it was NOT one of the Videoasias that skipped. This one gave me an especially bad case of buyer's remorse.


On a better note, I acquired Have Sword Will Travel and will watch it later tonight. Also picked up a non-martial film, The Descent, a well-done horror film, that was on sale for only about $6.99, brand new. There is a Filipino(?) girl in this film who in some ways comes off as far more dangerous and considerably more cunning than Maggie Q (or what I've seen of her so far).


As for Videoasia DVDs, how is the quality on Secret Rivals 3? I saw a previously viewed one on sale but didn't get it due to quality concerns.

[jethro]

Pick up SR 3 immediately!! Picture quality is more than watchable, and all of the action can be seen clearly. You are the one who recommended that to me and I was more than happy with that purchase. Alex Lo, John Liu, Robert Tai and Chu Ker are all very good. But, the heart of the movie is Chin Lung. He plays the woodcarver and is the main reason why I love this movie so much. If you like comedy in your kung fu movie then you will love his role. And I don't know if you have seen Bone Crushing Kid but check that out if you get a chance. Chin Lung is such an amazing kung fu performer.

And I am about to watch Triumph of the 2 Kung fu arts right now and you had better be wrong!!

[jethro]

Jimbo you are right. I am watching it right now and man does it suck. I hope the Chan Wai Man Kam Kong fight is decent, but I am not expecting much. This movie is putting me to sleep.

[Jimbo]

Jethro:
When I saw Secret Rivals 3 in the theater, it was called The New South Hand Blows and North Kick Blows (!!). It's been one of my fave John Liu movies since the early '80s, and thanks for letting me know the DVD's picture quality is pretty good. If it's still there next time I go back (I really hate the mall), I'll pick it up (It's used, so hopefully it's not all fingerprinted up).

When I watched Triumph, I waited and waited for something decent to happen, and it never did. In fact, I consider it to be in my top five worst kung fu movies, and that says a lot. Even Kam Kong could do nothing for this one.

Chin Lung was great in Bone Crushing Kid. He was wasted in The Leg Fighters and Ninja in the Dragon's Den, though. He was one of those criminally underused players.

[Jimbo]

By the way, I watched Have Sword Will Travel last night. First time I've seen this one, and I liked it. I'm wondering if the tower and the heroes having to fight their way up it served as Bruce Lee's inspiration for Game of Death? I do know that Bruce Lee visited the Shaw studios and also the set of at least one Chang Cheh film, and posed with David Chiang, Chen Kuan-Tai, Lo Lieh, Ti Lung, etc, some of whom were in full costume. I'm sure he watched and studied a lot of the '60s-era Shaw films (and he definitely lifted some ideas from Japanese Samurai films as well).

I think I'll look into getting The Wandering Swordsman next. Another Chang Cheh classic.

[jethro]

I remember ordering Secret Rivals 3 immediately after you told me about it. The picture quallity is not great or anything but still not bad. And just so you know, when i got it in the mail the disc was loose (like most fvcking videoasia DVDs), and the disc was scratched to hell. BUT, I have NEVER had a problem playing the disc, and I have seen it countless times. Kinda like Tai seng DVDs they are extremely durable.

And I didn't think Wandering Swordsman was nearly as good as Have sword Will Travel but I still liked it. I thought I was the only one who liked it so thanks for making me feel better! And check out Shadow Whip if you get a chance. I give it the same rating as Wanderign Swordsman (7/10), but I liked Shadow Whip a bit more.

And check out Code of Honor of you get a chance. I am watching it right now and I am about half way through it. One of the best movies I have seen in a while. I will probably post a review of it here. Hopefuly by tomorrow.

And you are so right about Triumph of the 2 Arts. I thought the movie had a few unique touches to it, but overall it is just a godawful movie. 2/10 rating.

Take care Jimbo! always good to talk to you. :D

[jethro]

Hey Jimbo, check this out if you get a chance. LOADS of bootlegging information, mainly concerning Red Sun/Panmedia. Amazing how much these guys know- http://kungfucinema.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3603

[Jimbo]

I'll have to read that when I go into my Sunday job again. It all came up blank when I tried it tonight. Until then, I'll be guessing that Yin Yang Films is another name for Banzai/Red Sun/etc.

Come ON, Image/Celestial/Dragon Dynasty! Accelerate the releases of the better Shaw classics!

[jethro]

Hey Jimbo, Celestial is done remastering movies, but I agree that Image and DD should be releasing more Shaw movies. But don't hold your breath.

[Jimbo]

Well, today I picked up the used Secret Rivals 3 and will watch it later tonight, hopefully it'll work on my DVD player.
Along with it, I also got the Rarescope release of Choi Lee Fut. I already have it, but that version is the Black Belt Theater or something version, which is probably not as well presented.

At the store, I saw a new Celestial Shaw Bros release, The Bells of Death, starring Chang Yi. I'd never heard of that one, but it looked like it could be pretty good. It said the movie was from 1968. Well, if Celestial is through remastering movies, maybe now they and DD can start releasing their region 3 collection on standard release. I really want the Chang Cheh's Fu Sheng/ Shaolin series. I know they have Shaolin Martial Arts and Disciple of Shaolin, at least, on region 3, probably all the rest, too.

I watched The Wandering Swordsman last night. It's a decent movie. It looks like it was shot back to back or simultaneous with Have Sword Will Travel. Almost all the extras and supporting cast were the same. What always amazed me about Chang Cheh's Shaw movies was that he appears to seemlessly mesh outdoor scenes filmed probably in Taiwan with shots done in the interior Shaw studios in HK. It was fun spotting Yuen Chung-Yan, Yuen Sum-Yi (Yuen Xinyi), Bolo Yeung, Chen Sing, Cliff Lok, etc., in bit parts. I liked both of these movies about the same, pretty good, but neither as much as I liked The One-Armed Swordsman with Wang Yu. That one was a surprise for me that I liked it so much.

[Jimbo]

BTW:
I've seen a new release from DD, called Dog Bite Dog. Does anyone know if this one is any good?

[jethro]

I heard Dog Bite Dog is good. I plan on getting it when I can. I heard it was a dark and violent movie, so I really want to see it.

And the best part of that CLF disc is the interview with Cliff Lok. He is thicker nowadays, but he's still got it.

[kungpowmaster]

Hi,

I recently watched Hardboiled, I borrowed from a friend. I was curious about John Woo, as I read that movie Mr. X was similar, and it is, minus the Godfrey Ho.

I don't know if I mentioned it, but I got the Welcome to the Grindhouse DVD double feature of The Bodyguard and Sister Street Fighter, with Sonny Chiba. Watching The Bodyguard is decent picture and widescreen is a great and totally different experience than the washed out pan and scan versions out on various PD releases. I want to get their other Sonny Chiba Grindhouse set with Dragon Princess and Karate Warrior. I have these titles already, but only in the pan and scan washed out PD releases.

Yesterday I picked up Jackie Chan in Police Story. It was 2 bucks, so I couldn't say no. I haven't seen this, and I didn't have it already. It's the Media Asia release. I read some negative things about this, but I scanned through it, and it looks like a nice image and in widescreen, and the subs were legible. Apart from being nitpicky, which one can always find something wrong with every release, I didn't see anything majorly "bad" about it.

Oh, I also picked up a VHS for 50 cents, called Ninja Vengeance. I haven't seen it yet, but the reviews I read were terrible. About a "ninja" American guy who fights the Klan in some southern state. The idea sounds promising for a cheese fest.

Chosen One

[Jimbo]

kungpowmaster:
Police Story is a pretty good Jackie Chan film. For, me, the only part I really liked was the end fight in the mall -- classic Chan stuff!

My favorite Chiba movies are The Killing Machine (a.k.a., Shorinji Kempo), and Karate Bearfighter (surprisingly). Karate Bullfighter is more hokey, but Karate For Life was not a bad one. I'm kinda hot and cold as far as Chiba's movies go.
I have one of the poor versions of The Bodyguard. Was that the one with a cheesey part with William Louie in New York doing a Bruce Lee imitation, that has nothing to do with Chiba at all, other than a mention of him catching a flight back to Japan?

Jethro:
Today I went on the Kung Fu Cinema site. Some interesting stuff. I read the thread on Panmedia/Red Sun and was intrigued. Suffice to say, I will continue to stay away from those DVDs.

I had to laugh at one thread talking about Chang Cheh's movie Shaolin Martial Arts, how most of the responders were panning it as a poorly made or boring film. Well, everyone has an opinion, I guess. Every person I've shown it to who is an experienced kung fu practitioner has agreed that it's one of the best martial arts movies ever made, and its depiction of repetitive training on relatively simple moves over a long period and for a specific purpose, even though simplified/movie-ized, is a lot more accurate than in almost any other kung fu film. Perhaps many of the posters don't actually practice kung fu, or like many (probably) younger viewers, cannot relate to a movie that takes its time to build up; that lacks flash or quick-cut editing of the '80s and later.

And you're right, the best part of the CLF movie is the Cliff Lok demo/interview. His 6 Harmony 8 Methods style actually looks better now than he did 20-plus years ago. My CLF sifu in America was in a public demo that also featured Cliff Lok, Shek Kin, Marc Singer (Beastmaster), and many L.A.-based martial artists in 1984. Cliff was much thinner and more acrobatic then, but he looks much looser and more powerful now. I still wish they'd had someone else do the CLF, as his movement at CLF seems odd. But it's obvious he knows his own specialty very well.

[jethro]

Yeah Jimbo Bodyguard is the one where it starts out with that really cheesy scene with Bill Louie.

Check out the Dragon Princess/Karate Warriors 2 pack. Both movies are very good. Look for it in the horror section at Best Buy. It is only $9.99.

And I haven't seen Shaolin Martial Arts so I can't comment. There is one person on that site (well, there are a lot of people) that knows A LOT about Shaw Brothers movies. He knows a lot more than me, and he lists Disciples of Shaolin as his favorite. He has What price is Honesty as #10. THose are 2 movies I have to see, along with Shaolin Martial Arts.

[Jimbo]

Jethro:
Disciples of Shaolin is tied for my second-favorite KF movie, along with Men from the Monastery. It's a great film. In fact, Chi Kuan-Chun, who co-starred in it, says Disciples was his own personal favorite film.

I do have Dragon Princess. Except for the shaky, Cops-style camerawork, there are some good scenes in it; Yasuaki Kurata almost steals the show.

I was able to watch Secret Rivals 3. I got it used for only $5.99. It was in good condition, and you're right, the picture is not great but still acceptable, and at least it's widescreened so the picture doesn't get all cut off. Seeing it again after more than 20 years, I forgot how much Chin Lung actually does in the film. It's too bad he wasn't used more; he moves much better and more powerfully IMO than Yuen Tak, Corey Yuen, Li Yi-Min, and many of the other Peking Opera acrobats of that period. Most of the late-'70s films directed by Chang Hsin-Yi were very good, better than many of the Lee Tso-Nan films.

Too bad Pagoda Films (an offshoot of the old Crash Cinema) is no longer aroung. They took independent KF films and gave them awesome remasters, almost in the same league as Celestial's Shaw remasters. Hopefully some other company(s) will come along and start remastering those old Taiwanese kung fu films like Secret Rivals 3 and others.

[jethro]

I just got 'Snake Deadly Act' and 'Buddha's Palm and Dragon Fist'. Both very good. I can't decide which I liked more.

I also got Saviour of the Soul. Really sucky movie. I only made it through the first 15 minutes. I may try it again some time.


Hey Jimbo, check this out when you can. The Big Gundown trailer- http://youtube.com/watch?v=e3eaTcNpKuA that trailer is for the music (Secret Rivals), this trailer is for the action- http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ub7_LLzNwds

[Jimbo]

Thanks for The Big Gundown link. I will try to look into it next Sunday. :)
I've been trying to track down a CD with the soundtrack to that film, but haven't been able to find it, at least here in the States.

Another good soundtrack music I don't know the origin of is found in Shaolin Martial Arts, but other parts of that same soundtrack can be heard in Heroes of the Wild and at the very end of The Wandering Swordsman, when Lily Li is envisioning David Chiang riding his horse after he's died.

Who stars in Buddha's Palm and Dragon Fist?

I have the VHS of Snake Deadly Act, and it is a good film. Oddly, the guy who plays the lead, I don't remember seeing him in any films before or after that.

I'm considering picking up The Bells of Death, one I mentioned previously by Image. I'm enjoying more and more the Shaw films of the '60s. Before these remastered Image releases, the only '60s Shaws I'd seen were like Come Drink With Me(1966) and some others. They used to bore me, but now I appreciate the stories and filmmaking a lot more. Also saw Vengeance is a Golden Blade and Shadow Whip available there. It takes sometimes 15 minutes going back and forth to decide which Shaw title to get or leave for later. It seems that once they've been out for a while, the price goes down by about $5.

[jethro]

I really enjoyed Shadow Whip, but from what I have heard Bells of Death is a lot better.

Here is a review I just did for Buddha's Palm and Dragon Fist aka Roving Heroes (1980)-

Chi Kuan Chun is sent to look for a killer. Kuan Chun is a student at Shaolin and Lee I Min is mad that Kuan Chun was chosen to go. The rest of the movie is nonstop fights and comedy with Lee I Min playing jokes on Kuan Chun. It does get serious at times, but there is too much fighting to have a good plot. That's right, TOO MUCH FIGHTING! But I am not complaining, no sir. The fights are the reason I watch these movies. If the fighting wasn't good, then I would have a problem, but luckily the fights are very good. And overall the movie is above average with lots of good comedy. So turn your brain off and enjoy.

The choreography is done by the main villain of the movie Suen Shu Pau. I am guessing Robert Tai also had a hand in the action because I spotted him in the movie. The fighting is very dance like and it is so much fun to watch. There are too many fights to go over (11 major fights to be exact), but I will tell you that the final fight is the best. It is fast and furious and 8 minutes long.

3.5/5

The Videoasia DVD has poor picture quality, but don't worry, it is still watchable.

[doug maverick]

i just bought the DD release of this film listen to all the commentary on it and i gotta say this is still one of my favorite martial arts films of all time. I enjoy this film so much even more then flashpoint, i love how donnie was talking about wanting to practice kung fu more but not being able to do to injuries from being a stunt man its crazy that with his age and all his injuries that he doesn't use a double jackie does it sammo had three on spl donnie said sammo couldn't even throw a back kick with all his injuries. and donnie took out his patented three person kick cause he couldn't get high enough when he jumped. interesting, cause imagine whats going to happen to tony jaa when he reach's there age he'snot gonna be able to walk.

[jethro]

Killzone is the best martial arts special edition DVD I have ever seen.

Hey Doug, did you hear that Donnie Yen and Tony Jaa are talking about making a movie together? Damit, I just wet my pants again thinking about it.

And just so you know, Donnie uses a stunt double on a lot of his films. Look at Flash Point. I saw at least a few scenes here he used a stunt double. And the reason he took out the triple kick in SPL/Killzone is because he has matured as a filmmaker. He can't get up like he used to, and the other reason is because it didn't fit in with the scene. Good decision by him. It would have taken away from the intensity in the fight between him and Sammo.

[doug maverick]

maybe matured as in he'snot 20 anymore. also it wouldn;t have taken away from the fight with sammo at all just gave it more build up. and it did fit with the scene cause it made sense to have a mafia boss just sitting there by himself. maybe they should put in a scene like daredevil when kingpin told them to clear the building. as for the tony jaa donnie thats probably more hear say then actual fact. but i'll find out i know a couple ofpeople close to donnie so i'll ask them

[jethro]

What do you mean he hasn't matured? Let me put it another way, he has gotten better and better over the years. Look at Flash Point. That final fight is his best choreography yet. Donnie has learned what works and what doesn't.

And Tony and Donnie ARE talking about making a movie together. Look at Bey Logan's blog.

[doug maverick]

not saying he ddn't mature as a choreagrapher and as a filmmaker he was already good. also not saying that he's not doing it just saying i didn't know if it was true or not i recently just asked bey himself but i guess it may be true weather it happenes or not is another sory. calm down jethro man you get really wound up

[jethro]

Here is your quote- "i don't know about matured as a filmmaker"

Filmmaking and chroreography go hand in hand for an action filmmaker, don't ya think?

[doug maverick]

no i don't think choreagraphy and actual filmmaking are very defferent. i've done both so i know first hand you can have fantastic choreagraphy and still have know idea how to shoot it and vice versa.

[jethro]

You totally contradicted yourself in your last post Doug. You are giving me a headache. Continue typing if you want, but you are making no sense. Try to put some thought into your posts.

[doug maverick]

i said:

no i don't , i think choreagraphy and actual filmmaking are very defferent. i've done both so i know first hand you can have fantastic choreagraphy and still have know idea how to shoot it and vice versa.

how did i contradict myself. also i read bey's blog all that was said was that they were interested in making a film togather doesn't mean its going to happen just mean that it was talked about. you know how many actors and directors talk about making movies and it never happens?

again man you need to calm down you think your word is final and when people disagree with you, you go crazy relax man relax.

[jethro]

Well thank you for putting a comma in there, because your post didn't make any sense without it. this is what you said before- "no i don't think choreagraphy and actual filmmaking are very defferent". A comma changes what you are saying, so thank you for putting some thought into that part of your post.

And where did I say that "it is going to happen"? If you read my post you would see that I said that they "are talking about making a movie together". Don't twist my words around and then tell me to calm down, that aint gonna happen.

[doug maverick]

well on the bloq they said they expressed interest in wokring togather that could be like: "lets make a movie, okay sure" thats not talking about making a movie not seriously anyway. again like i said i don't have to agree with you if i think your wrong.

[jethro]

I never said I didn't agree with you. You really need to stop making stuff up and put some actual thought into your posts.

Here is what I said- "did you here they are talking about making a movie together?"

Here is your response "as for the tony jaa donnie thats probably more hear say then actual fact".

So I will go over this once again. It is not heresay, it IS fact. They ARE talking about making a movie together. i just got some aspirin for my headache so I can respond to you. What are you going to make up next?

[Jimbo]

Well, as long as they have put it on the table, I'll be happy enough.

As for injuries, I really can see it in Sammo's recent performances. Donnie seems to cover it up a bit better. I remember reading in a magazine overseas back in the early '90s that it can take Jackie sometimes 20 minutes to be able to stand up straight after he wakes up, due to pain and stiffness from all his injuries. Mind you, this was back when he was still somewhat on top of his game. Having experienced long-term injuries in the past, I know how much of a bummer it is when you can't practice as much as you want or know you're otherwise capable of.

Jethro:
I think I've seen The Roving Heroes before. I seem to remember Li Yi-Min and Chi Kuan-Chun teaming up at the end; doesn't Chi or Li do a front flip onto the villain's leg to break it?

Also, what is anyone's opinion of Super Inframan? I seem to always see this Shaw film available, but have held off on it, because it appears to be (well, is) an Ultraman ripoff. But all the reviews I've seen of it seem "glowing".

[jethro]

I will have to watch it again, I can't remember off the top of my head how exactly they killed the villain.

And Inframan is PURE cheese. I loved it. It is the best Power Rangers episode ever.

[doug maverick]

your a funny guy you that i put complete thought into my post and i've made up nothing. i said its probably more heresay then fact cause you here stuff like that all the time. you jumped down my throat like i was saying you lied like your saying i'm "making things up" which i've made nothing up. okay fine they had a conversation(even thou they don;t speak the same language) about making a movie okay whatever again doesn;t mean its going to made we can all hope it'll get made but it doesn't mean its going to get made. that was all i was trying to state, wow if internet post give you headaches i hate to see what real life is like for you.your head must explode at least twice a day

[jethro]

Yeah when people twist my words around I don't like it. Don't act surprised doug.

[doug maverick]

i wasn;t trying to twist your words at all. and if i did i apologies.

[jethro]

Well I was looking through the posts and I may have misunderstood you. Your posts are hard to understand sometimes. this is probably my fault. My bad.

[doug maverick]

thats because i forget to add comma's when i'm wrting on the net don't know why i just do.

[Jimbo]

Anyhoo...
Today I picked up The Bells of Death on a whim, 'cause I don't like the mall and didn't want to go on a weekend again to get it. Luckily the one copy they had was still there. I'm really looking forward to watching it. Don't want to get my expectations overly high, but this looks like a really good one. The listed length of the film is noticeably shorter than the Chang Cheh epics of that period, which could be a positive or a negative, depending.

[CLFNole]

To me this kind of has the feel of a Japanese Samurai flick. I had a VHS copy years ago and gave it away. A younger Ku Feng/Gok Fong is in it as a bad guy, but I just couldn't get into it. I have never been a fan of the early Shaws swordplay movies. I have learned to like the Chor Yuen movies with Dik Lung but the early ones bore me.

[Jimbo]

CLF Nole:
I used to not like the early (i.e., 1960s) Shaws either, until just recently. Now I can enjoy them, plus it's fun spotting guys that would become commonly seen faces or big names in martial arts films of the '70s. And I'm sure Celestial's quality remastering has a lot to do with how I feel about them now, too.

I watched Bells last night. Pretty basic, as revenge films go. Yes, it has the feel of some of the early Samurai films; it also has a flavor similar to the Italian spaghetti westerns as well. It's different from most wuxia flicks, in that it lacks the "martial clan" intrigues of most wuxias. It's just straight up revenge, very predictable, but not without its charm. In particular, Chang Yi's first couple of fights after he "masters" martial arts (which occurs within the first 20 minutes of the film, and the process is never shown) have a directness and smoothness that was often missing in such early films. It's *fairly* fast-paced for a wuxia film. And the cinematography is usually very well-done. Good editing between the swinging sword and severed body parts.

***spoiler alert***

The final showdown feels a bit of a letdown, but all in all, I would recommend The Bells of Death for anyone who wants to include the '60s-era Shaw adventure films into their collection.

[jethro]

Hey Jimbo you were right about Buddha's Palm. Chi Kuan Chun's double does a flip onto the villain's leg to defeat him. How the hell do you remember all this stuff?

And I just got 37 plots of Kung Fu. I just started watching it. Chin Lung is the star of the movie! Chia Kai is the villain and it also stars Chan Wai Lau (the drunken master teacher from World of Drunken Master). Chan Wai Lau is one of my favorite actors. This movie looks pretty good.

[Jimbo]

Jethro:
Thanks for clarifying that was indeed the Chi Kuan-Chun movie I remember. How do I remember? I've always had a sharp memory for things, even for some movies I saw only once 20-30 years ago. Although with time, the titles and some details become clouded.

Chan Wai Lau was also Jackie's teacher in Fearless Hyena, and was pinned up against a wall by Kwon Young Moon's left leg (or a spear) in Rebellious Reign. Also was the old master they re-dubbed/spoofed in Kung Pow. I like that guy, too.

I'd like to find Two Fists Against the Law. Maybe Rarescope or someone will find it. Stars Hwang Jang Lee and Alan Hsu. Some of Hwang's best work in final fight.

Hopefully, with the releases of Image/Celestial, and Dragon Dynasty and some others, more companies will seek out, remaster and release great KF films at a similar level of quality to those companies, and at good prices (like 20th Century-Fox did with those Golden Harvest films).

[jethro]

Yeah Chan Wai Lau showed some good fighting skills in Rebellious Reign. One of his best roles is in Butterfly 18 with Lee I Min and Sun Jung Chi. My favorite role from him is probably Shaolin King Boxer aka Iron Fist with Chen Kuan Tai. he plays Wilson Tong's "friend". The dub job was perfect in that movie. He had me laughing really hard.

And I have seen clips of 2 fists Against the Law. I would love to see that. And speaking of rarescope, have you seen the trailer for Sword of Justice? We probably talked abotu this before, but that movie looks AMAZING.

[Jimbo]

Was Sword of Justice the sword fight in the rain with the umbrellas? It looks interesting, but I've not seen the movie itself yet.

[jethro]

Yeah that is the one. I have heard some really good things about it. Lau Kar Leung and Tong Gai did the action. For some reason it doesn't seem like Toby Russel will be releasing it any time soon.

also, check out Elimination Pursuit (3 Famous constables) and Love and Sword if you get a chance. Roc Tien Peng is THE MAN. And Chan Wai Lau has a really funny role in the Roc Tien movie Lost Swordship. Other than Cub Tiger, Rarescope hasn't released any bad movies.

[jethro]

This isn't a recent purchase, but I recently saw Don't Open Your Eyes on the internet. it is a 2006 movie from Clarence Fok and Wong Jing. It has Alex Fong, Yuen Wah, Timmy Hung and Roderick Lam (from New Police Story), and it is one of the worst movies I have seen in a very long time.

And I just bought saviour of the Soul. It has Andy Lau, Anita Mui and Aaron Kwok. It is a mindless futuristic movie with a little bit of stylish action. Not recommended.

[kungpowmaster]

Hi all,

I'm going by memory here, so I may have something wrong. But I was at one of my fave stores yesterday, and they had a few of these 4 movie sets. I think the DVD company name is Yin Yang. The sets were in a thicker than normal DVD case, and they had many titles I had heard of, though the only one I can remember, and I may be wrong at that, is Shaolin Temple. It seemed to me that these are widescreen, english dubs going by the info on the back. My question is, what are these, and if anyone has seen them, and what the quality is like?

I didn't find any new MA yesterday, though I did get some other Asian titles:

Space Amoeba.
Atragon.
Yokai Monsters, Along with Ghosts.



Thanks,

Chosen One

[jethro]

Sounds like Red Sun/PAnmeida. You can was go ahead and waste your money on those, but there is a good chance the discs won't work. And if they do work, copy the discs to DVD-R, because Red Sun DVDs usually stop playing after a while.

[Jimbo]

Like Jethro said.
In fact, I mentioned my experience trying to buy the Gordon Liu 4-pack in an earlier post on this very thread. Red Sun/Panmedia are bootleg DVDs that hurt the legitimate releases from Image/Celestial. IMO, Yin-Yang Films is simply another name for Red Sun/Panmedia. In addition, though they say they are remastered versions, they always have flaws in them, even when they work. Far, far inferior to the remasters they stole from Celestial. Which is very sad, because most of these movies on these illegitimate releases are great movies, and buying them hurts the chances for legitimate releases of them.

[Egg fu young]

So far.......

-The Big Fight (Taiwan/Hong Kong-1972) - Roc Tien/Cheung Chin Chin
-Black Cobra (Italy-1987) - Fred Williamson/Eva Grimaldi
-Black Cobra 2 (Italy-1988) - Fred Williamson/Nicholas Hammond
-Black Cobra 3 (Italy-1988) - Fred Williamson/Forry Smith
-Black Fist (1975) - Richard Lawson/Dabney Coleman/Philip Michael Thomas
-The Black Godfather (1974) - Rod Perry/Damu King
-The Brave Lion (1977) - Wei Tzi Yung
-Bruce Lee from beyond the grave-Bruce Lea
-Breakout From Oppression (1978) - Fonda Lynn/Alan Tam
-Chase Step By Step (China-1982) - Chee Fung/Wong Gwan Sheong
-Chinese Connection-Bruce lee
-City Ninja (1986) - Wai-Man Chan/Chia Che Fu
-The Deadly Duo (Hong Kong-1971) - David Chiang/Chuen Chan
-Death Machines (1976) - Ronald L. Marchini/Michael Chong
-Death Of A Ninja ("Black Magic Wars") (Japan-1982) - Hiroyuki Sanada/Sonny Chiba (in support
-Exit the Dragon enter the tiger-Bruce Li
-Fighting Mad ("Death Force") (USA/Philippines-1978) - Jayne Kennedy/Leon Isaac Kenndey (both minor roles)
-Fists of fury-Bruce lee
-Four Robbers (Hong Kong-1987) - Charlie Cho/Feng Ku
-Four Shaolin Challengers (Homg Kong-1977) - Charlie Chan/Phillip Ko ---Game of death-Bruce lee
-The Guy With The Secret Kung Fu (2 of them)(Hong Kong-1981) - Sally Chen/Fei Meng
-Hands Of Death (Hong Kong-1987) - Richard Harrison/Roc Tien
-The Head Hunter (Hong Kong-1982) - Rosamund Kwan
-Heroes of Shaolin Part 1 (Hong Kong-1979) - Sing Chen/Jang Lee Hwang --Heroes of Shaolin Part 2 (Hong Kong-1979) - Sing Chen/Jang Lee Hwang --Image Of Bruce Lee (1978) - Bruce Li/Chang Leih
-The Impossible Kid (Philippines-1982) - Weng Weng
-Infernal Street (Taiwan/Hong Kong-1973) - Feng Chang/Wan Hsi Chin -----Karate Kids USA ("The Little Dragons") (1980) - Charles Lane/Ann
-Kung Fu Arts (Taiwan-1980) - Carter Wong/Sing Chen
-Kung Fu Kids Break Away (Hong Kong-1980) - Au Dai/Cheung Hoi
-The Master (series): "Max" (TV-1984) - Lee Van Cleef/Timothy Van Patten/Sho Kosogi/Demi Moore (bit part)
-The Master (series): "Out-Of-Time Step" (TV-1984) - Charles Collins/**** Durock
-Ninja Champion (Hong Kong-1985) - Bruce Baron/Pierre Tremblay
-Ninja Death I (1987) - Alexander Lou/Fei Meng
-Ninja Death II (1987) - Lo Yiu/Fei Ming
-Ninja Death III (1987) - Lo Yui/Fei Ming
-Ninja Empire (Hong Kong-1990) - Mike Abbott/Marko Ritchie
-Ninja Heat (1988) - Chan Sheng/Chan Wai Mang
-Ninja The Protector (Canada/Hong Kong-1986) - Richard Harrison/Jackie Chan
-The Real Bruce Lee (Hong Kong-1973) - Bruce Lee/Bruce Li/Dragon Lee ---Return of the dragon-Bruce lee
-Return Of The Kung Fu Dragon (Hong Kong-1976) - Sing Chen/Tao Chen ----Return Of The Street Fighter (Japan-1974) - Sonny Chiba/Yôko Ichiji ---Shadow Ninja (Hong Kong-1983) - Roy Chiao/Wei Tung
-Shaolin Deadly Kicks ("Flash Legs") (Hong Kong-1977) - Tao-liang Tan/Lieh Lo
-Shaolin Temple (Hong Kong-1976) - Sheng Fu/Kuan-Chun Chi
-Sister Street Fighter (Japan-1974) - Hiroshi Miyauchi/Sanae Ohba
-Snake Fist Dynamo (Homg Kong-1984) - Erik Yee/**** Lee
-The Snake, The Tiger, The Crane (Hong Kong-1975) - Carter Wong/Nan Hsi -Spirits Of Bruce Lee (Hong Kong-1973) - Michael Chan/Poon Lok
-The Street Fighter (Japan-1974) - Sonny Chiba/Waichi Yamada
-Tiger Love (1977) - Hu Chin/Lieh Lo/Ya Wang
-T.N.T. Jackson (Philippines/USA-1975) - Jeannie Bell/Stan Shaw
-The Weapons Of Death (1982) - Eric Lee/Bob Ramos

JACKIE CHAN
-Fantasy mission force
-In eagle shadow fist
-Rumble in Hong Kong
-Twin dragons

[doug maverick]

**** son thats alot of movies!!! i use own over 500 kung fu films but i started getting rid off alot of them and now i only get good ones, which i guess makes me a kung fu movie Connoisseur , instead of a kung fu movie buff like jethro.

[kungpowmaster]

Looks like you got one of those inexpensive multi movie sets. I have the Kung Fu 20 Movie Pack, 3 of the Brentwood 10 movie packs, and 2 of the St. Claire Vision 9 movie sets, and 3 10 movie Videoasia sets.

As well as a few single and dbl feature releases, all of various labels and quality.

Some good, some very good, some really bad, thats the transfer quality and the movie quality, mixed bags, but they are cheap, and have a lot of fun in them.

I know it's not "kung fu" or "MA", but I have also been collecting classic era "Peplum" movies, the mainly Italian made "Hercules/Gladiator" type movies of the 60's. Fun stuff.

Chosen One

One question I always wondered about these "bootlegs", is how come the people who make the "offical" releases can't get a copyright or title exclusive holdings? I mean, if was a DVD company and started putting out True Grit, I don't think it'd last long. Seems Celestial can stop these releases, but if they don't have the rights and the titles are in PD, then maybe they can mark their transfers or something?

[jethro]

Well if they put a mark or something on it like Ocean Shores did, then people would be mad that there is a mark on it. A company like Celestial pays money to have a contract with Shaw Brothers so that they can release their movies. Celestial's contract just expired, so therefore they won't be releasing anymore of the Shaw Brothers titles. A company like Red Sun just waits for Celestial to remaster the film print, and then steal it. The reason nobody does anything abotu Red Sun is because not a lot of people care about old school kung fu movies. It wouldn't even be worth taking them to court. Whoever took Red Sun to court would just end up losing money.

[doug maverick]

just take whoever's in charge of red sun out to vegas, have a good time, booze,broads gambling whatever and then take them out to the desert and put a bullet in the back of there head. end of story

[jethro]

I need to steal all of his money first:D

[Jimbo]

I picked up Super Inframan today and plan to see it tonight. I'll give my opinion on this soon.

[jethro]

I am looking forward to hearing what you have to say about that. And have you seen Deadly Breaking Sword? I saw it at best Buy today. I am guessing Cantonese is the original language, but Image only uses Mandarin tracks so I am trying to decide if I should get it.

[CLFNole]

Deadly Breaking Sword is pretty good, not Sun Chung's best but enjoyable. It was hyped a lot before it was released so I was a bit disappointed but all in all it is pretty good.

Kind of like Gangmaster in terms of hype but not quite living up to it.

[kungpowmaster]

I have a VHS of Inframan. I like it. Kinda Ultraman like. Shaw also did The Mighty Peking Man which is sorta like King Kong, it's good too, or they are all bad in that good way.

Chosen

[Jimbo]

I watched Super Inframan last night and liked it. I kinda grew up watching Ultraman TV series, and this is simply a Chinese version of it. I watched the Mandarin/English subtitle option and am glad I did. Although my Mandarin is rusty now after many years away from Taiwan and few opportunities to speak it, the dialogue I could follow w/out the subtitles made it very funny. Actually, the fact everyone was playing it straight, and the movie was done with such a serious tone, made it hilarious -- or unintentionally so. Especially the "professor" or whatever character played by Wang Hsieh, when he points to Danny Lee and says he will create the "Lightning Fist" or whatever, for him; "Lightnight Fist?" Then professor points at him: "Lightning Fist!" And of course, the monsters bobbing around like Weebles.

I was a bit surprised that they only had him grow to giant size once, to fight the one monster who grew into a giant. You'd think during the end fight, he could've saved a lot of time growing into a giant again and stomping all the monsters, but then there wouldn't be any drama to that. I think this movie is more for adults than children, at least nowadays, or people who can see the unintentional humor and enjoy the '70s wildness of the film.

I have seen Deadly Breaking Sword back in the day. Not Fu Sheng's, Sun Chung's, or Ti Lung's best film. But not bad, either. Certainly far better than the wuxia-type stuff released in recent years.

CLF Nole:
I actually like Gang Master a lot. Back when I saw it 25 years ago, I had no expectations, it was part of another Shaw Bros triple feature at the Chinese theater. I thought it was one of Jason Pai Piao's better roles as the villain.

I read somewhere that Celestial won't be releasing anymore Shaws, but I hope the ones still in the pipeline will come out, like Shaolin Intruders, one of the better ones on their short list. I know that Dragon Dynasty already has a list of about 50 Shaws classics, including the 4 already out, that they'll be releasing. I hope DD's list grows, because some of the best ones are not on that list of 50.

[jethro]

DD has 52 Shaw titles, but that doesn't mean they will be releasing them all. Here is the list, thanks to gfanik from the kungfufandom forum- http://hkfilmnews.blogspot.com/2007/11/hkcfn-exclusive-new-dragon-dynasty.html

And Celestial remastered over 500 shaw Bros movies, but they will not be doing anymore. Hopefully somebody else picks up those titles. Hong Kong godfather is one I really want to see uncut and remastered. Same with To Kill a MAstermind. And Image has Shaolin Intruders. Hopefully they will be releasing it soon. The next Image title to be released is Killer Snakes.

BTW, I just saw Brave Girl Boxer in Shanghai and a movie called Knife Of Devil's Roaring And Soul Missing. Both were a lot of fun. Both of these movies are in a Videoasia 2-pack under the titles Return of the Leg Fighter and Shanghai Girl Boxer. Picture quality is bad but watchable. Dorian Tan stars in Knife Of Devil's Roaring And Soul Missing and his voice is dubbed by the same guy who did Sanada's voice in Ninja in the dragon's den.

[Jimbo]

I think I saw Hong Kong Godfather; is that the gangster movie starring Gordon Liu? If that's the one, it was nice and bloody.

I read a list of Shaws remastered by Celestial. If DD and Image don't release all the good ones, perhaps another legitimate company can come along and properly release some, too (Anchor Bay, perhaps?).

[jethro]

You are probably thinking of Godfather of Canton, a classic gangster type movie with Gordon Liu. I haven't seen it. I haven't seen Hong Kong godfather either, but I saw the final fight and it is probably the craziest fight I have ever seen. It is like 8 minutes long and one of the bloodiest fights ever. I started a thread about it. http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48127&highlight=craziest+fight

[CLFNole]

Jimbo:

I did like Gangmaster it's just prior to Celestial releasing it there was such hype about how good it was and I guess the bar was set to high. I am not crazy about Hui Ying Hung's (Kara Hui) brother in the lead role. I thought it could have been better cast.

[kungpowmaster]

Today I picked up the Columbia/Tristar DVD of Jackie Chan's New Fist of Fury. I used to have a crappy dvd release of this, and I liked what I saw. So I was happy to get it on a good release, and for 4 bucks too. I know many don't like this movie, of the other Lo Wei ones, but I do.

Chosen One

[Jimbo]

Since I read a post on kungfucinema.com that the older Image/Celestial releases are going out of print, I decided to get The Shadow Whip now, in case. I'll try to watch it tonight, I always thought Cheng Pei-Pei was a good leading actress, and of course, she is the original cinematic kung fu queen. Though it is a Lo Wei film, so I'm not sure what I'll make of that.

By the way, I also post over there as Kungfood.

[jethro]

My only problem with Shadow Whip is that it is too short. But it is still a good movie.

[Jimbo]

Well, I watched Shadow Whip the other night. Not bad, it was good to see a Shaw movie filmed in a unique snowy setting (probably Korea). However, I think it would probably have been better if Lo Wei hadn't directed it. He seemed to like speeding up the film whenever one fighter was fighting multiple assailants; he did the same thing to parts of Bruce's dojo fight in The Fist of Fury, a.k.a., Chinese Connection. I liked the Ku Feng character, esp. the parts when he was first introduced. He was menacing, and was cool when he left no footprints in the snow. I did not like Yueh Hua's performance; he looked woefully inept in the fights.

BTW, jethro:
Did you notice that one of the three bullies/baddies who accompanied Ku Feng is the same guy who portrayed the cruel Japanese karate expert, Kurata's student, in Legend of a Fighter? He also was a non-fighting villain/manager of Tong Po in Van Damme's Kickboxer. In real life, he's a Goju-Ryu karate instructor in Hong Kong; I don't know his name, though.

[jethro]

I liked the fighting quite a lot, but the undercranking did bug the hell out of me too. THat guy is Lee Ka Ting. Some of his better roles were in Dragons forever and Little Superman (Bruce Leung). He was in countless movies. And I remember him from Kickboxer. Wicked sounding voice. Other than Legend of a Fighter, my favorite role from him was in East is Red. he has a really cool part in that movie.



I got a bunch of good movies recently.

Life Gamble
House of Traps
Fortune Code (kinda sucky, but cool to see Chen Kuan Tai, Gordon Liu, Frankie Chan, Paio Paio and sammo all fighting in a modern day movie)
Hero of Shanghai
counter Attack aka Chinese Stuntman
Duel at the Supreme Gate
Horse Boxing Killer/Against Kung fu Rascals 2-pack
Horse Boxing Killer was great

[Jimbo]

Picked up D.O.A. for no other reason than Jaime Pressly.
Sooooo....other than the cheesey, straight-to-DVD quality CGI, and other silliness, there was still Jaime Pressly. :)

[doug maverick]

she actually was the on thing watching in that film

[Jimbo]

Yeah. I confess, I was also curious to see Kane Kosugi; I hadn't seen him in a film since his appearance in one or two of his dad's films, as a little kid. I'd heard good stuff about him on kungfucinema, but other than some good kicking I didn't see anything special about him in particular. At least in this film, I found his character's stereotyped, extreme submissiveness very annoying. That submissiveness did NOT match well with his fighting.

Besides Jaime, the other reason I got it was I liked Cory Yuen's So Close. However, that was a HK film, and this being an American m.a. film wasn't going to come anywhere close. With So Close, it seemed Cory Yuen was becoming a better, more mature director, but since then, he's directed some cr@p Stateside, IMO.
Shoulda known, this one being based on a videogame.

[doug maverick]

corey yuen has a hit once in a blue moon. and its mostly girl power flicks. but with this he failed. he needs to be smacked in the head with yes madam and wake the hell up. that was the last chance he's gonna get to direct an american film.

[jethro]

I really liked Kane Kosugi's 2 fights. Not his best work, but still pertty good. I also liked Jamie Pressley's fight against the black guy. I would like to see him in more movies. But other than the women and those 3 fights, I hated DOA. The movie is so goddam stupid, and I felt ripped off by the Eric roberts Collin Chou fight.

[banditshaw]

Just got and watched ''Showdown at the cotton mill''.
Good Kung Fu but really bad plot.
The quality of the print was terrible and the sound was poor.

The packaging was nice and thought it to be some kind of remaster. But it looked to be ripped from someones VCR almost:mad:

[jethro]

The only version that was available prior to the Rarescope release had about 70% of the picture cut out. Completely unwatchable. if you know of a better print than rarescope's then let me know. I didn't think it was too bad for that rare of a film.

[banditshaw]

Yep Rarescope is the version I have.

[doug maverick]

Just got and watched ''Showdown at the cotton mill''.
Good Kung Fu but really bad plot.
The quality of the print was terrible and the sound was poor.

The packaging was nice and thought it to be some kind of remaster. But it looked to be ripped from someones VCR almost:mad:

well you gotta remember or know that they thought this movie was lost until it was found in taiwan and it wasn't preserved so the print is all ****ted out.

[Jimbo]

I don't think you will ever find a remaster of Showdown at the Cotton Mill at the level of a Dragon Dynasty release, simply because I doubt such a master print of it exists. Rarescope's version may not be perfect, but one thing I appreciate about them is that they are at least honest and mention on the cover that the film is not in perfect condition. Believe me, I've seen DVD releases that were far worse than that.

A lot of the older movies in Taiwan were not taken care of at all, obviously not put into temperature-controlled vaults like the Shaw or Golden Harvest films probably were. And having spent most of my 20s living in Taiwan, I know for a fact that the humidity and atmosphere in general over there will screw up about anything that's just been sitting around.

[jethro]

I don't think you will ever find a remaster of Showdown at the Cotton Mill at the level of a Dragon Dynasty release, simply because I doubt such a master print of it exists. Rarescope's version may not be perfect, but one thing I appreciate about them is that they are at least honest and mention on the cover that the film is not in perfect condition. Believe me, I've seen DVD releases that were far worse than that.

A lot of the older movies in Taiwan were not taken care of at all, obviously not put into temperature-controlled vaults like the Shaw or Golden Harvest films probably were. And having spent most of my 20s living in Taiwan, I know for a fact that the humidity and atmosphere in general over there will screw up about anything that's just been sitting around.

Its nowhere near perfect, but its widescreened, and it costs 7 bucks at best Buy. AND it has an exclusive interview with Chi Kuan Chun and Ching Kuo Chung.

[Jimbo]

...not to mention the demo '70s footage of Tan Tao-Liang and Kam Kong! :)

[jethro]

Yeah that was awesome. Check this out when you can Jimbo- http://youtube.com/watch?v=7pbk6IIkLng

It looks to be a recent interview with Tan. He talks about his hopping kick technique and a few other things. It also shows him instructing his students, and these kids can freaking kick!!

[doug maverick]

**** i was going to post that you beat me to it.

[Jimbo]

Hey, I believe that is footage taken from Toby Russel's documentary on kung fu movies. Doesn't he talk about how he forced John Liu into the splits and that's why Liu could kick after being in pain 2 years? Yeah, his students were good; I saw Tan and some of his students at the Tat Wong Internationals in San Fran in '93, and his students did very well in competition. I saw who I think was Tan's son spin hook kick another kid in the nose for a K.O. As his son had to kneel facing away as his opponent was tended to, Tan had kind of an cold smile on his face as he talked to his son from the sidelines. Yup, his students seemed to have high-quality TKD.

[Jimbo]

I got three more today:
The Deadly Breaking Sword
The Cave of Silken Web
Legend of Seven Monks

I specifically got Legend of Seven Monks because it features Yasuaki Kurata and Sonny Chiba. So far, this is the first of the DVDs I've had a chance to watch. I will not give away the story, but here is my take on this film so far:

This is the first film I've seen from Japanese action director Kenji Tanigaki. If this film is any indication, I must see more! This is a movie that completely went beyond my expectations. The opening credits has a one (demon) vs. many fight scene in a forest done in one continuous take; I didn't time it, but it's probably as
long as Tony Jaa's scene in Tom Yum Goong, though without all the sets.

The fight scenes are well-done, and have the fast pace reminiscent of some of the '80s Hong Kong choreography. Fights are fast-paced, with a little wire-work but not much. Kurata and Chiba are still amazing; Kurata still has his trademark kicking skills and crispness in his early 60s, and Chiba, 67 when it was filmed (2006), is still amazingly spry. I will say, in their climactic fight, Kurata does seem to dominate much of the action, but their scenes were done with no noticeable doubling, or very little I could see.

This is the first film in a while that actually had me cracking up at times. The characterizations of the seven new disciples are typical Manga-style, but there is good chemistry among them, including an African character played by Adogony Lolo. Even Kurata at times acts a bit out-of-character goofy, but not overly so, and it seems to work. There are also some serious scenes between Kurata and Chiba that make an odd but effective contrast to some of the comic hijinks of the young disciples. Overall, I was struck how they made a fairly basic type of storyline feel so fresh, at least to me.

If this (and The Returner and Azumi) are indications of the action genre coming out of Japan, I can foresee a fresh new force in Asian action cinema. The acting, humor, cinematography, and storyline are far better than anything yet from Tony Jaa's camp. If martial arts action is slowly petering out in HK, at least Japan, Korea and Thailand seem ready to take up the slack.

[kungpowmaster]

Hi all,

I was shopping a little today and got a few martial arts related DVDs.

1st I got the double feature of Sonny Chiba's Street Fighter and Return of the Street Fighter. Yeah, I had these already, but in a multi movie pack set, and this was just these 2 movies on one disc, plus it was 50 cents brand new at Dollar Tree. I don't know why it was 50 cents? It's on the Digiview label, which I think is the best dollar label, with decent quality. Walmart sells this label. These are also both nice widescreen transfers.

Next up, more Sonny Chiba. The Grindhouse Double Feature for Dragon Princess and Karate Warriors. These are nice widescreen transfers too, as is the other Sonny Chiba Grindhouse Double Feature set of The Bodyguard and Sister Street Fighter. These are $9.99 at Best Buy.

Then I went to FYE, and their used stuff is buy 3 get one free. Which I did, making it about 7 bucks for this Chuck Norris Triple Feature I picked up. There is another Norris triple feature I'd more like to have(with Missing in Action), but this one looked decent(I haven't seen these). It has Hellbound, and The Hitman, and Forced Vengeance.

Comments welcome.

Chosen One

[jethro]

kpmaster you got a great deal on Dragon Princess/Karate Warriors. Both are great movies, and have awesome pic quality. And Forced Vengeance is surprisingly decent. Lots of good one liners from Chuck. "never let your girl handle your piece".:D

Jimbo I saw Legend of 7 Monks awhile ago and I had to rewind that opening fight scene at least 3 times before I could go on watching the rest of the movie. AMAZING scene. And I also like that short fight between Kurata and the demon. I thought the movie was only average, but worth watchign for the fights. the only other time Chiba and Kurata fought eachother on screen was on the TV show Shadow Warriors where Chiba played Hatori Hanzo.

[Jimbo]

Forced Vengeance is pretty good...lots better than most of Norris' films. IMO, The Hitman is one of his worst, though, along with Top Dog and Sidekicks. One somewhat interesting Norris movie is Hero and the Terror, about a monstrously large serial killer hiding out in an old movie theater. I'd be interested to learn what Hellbound is like. My fave Norris horror film was Silent Rage, patterned after Halloween.

Even if someone enjoys cheesey films, I seriously doubt anyone could take Top Dog. I only saw it because parts of it were filmed about a mile from where I live, and it's where I saw Chuck in person. Otherwise, it's kinda embarrassing to watch.


Jethro:
I actually think the opening demon/karate school fight in Legend of Seven Monks was probably more difficult to do than Jaa's fight in Tom Yum Goong. That demon guy barely had any rest; it was nonstop kicking, fighting, stabbing, and moving from one guy to the other. Near the end, you can see the big guy starting to tire. It's an amazing show of endurance, memory, and probably also on-the-spot improvising.

I watched The Deadly Breaking Sword (DBS) and Cave of Silken Web (CSW). I'd put off buying CSW, but actually enjoyed it. It's basically a Peking opera-type screen adaptation of Journey to the West. Didn't care for the singing/musical parts, but not too bad. Fan Mei-Sheng was the only actor I could recognize in this one, as a red-haired/horned demon. I think this type of movie is an acquired taste.

DBS was pretty much as I remembered it after 25 years. It was fun to see Ti Lung as an obnoxious mysoginist, totally unlike his gentleman roles. This must have been made by Shaws as a response to The Heroes, as Ti Lung, Chan Wai-Man and Shih Szu all return together here. Not one of Fu Sheng's better roles, IMO. This is the film where he broke both his legs filming, which ever after affected his ability to show his kung fu.

[jethro]

Thanks for the info. I didn't know this was the movie where Fu Sheng broke both his legs. And how did you like that English dub on the Image DVD? I love it when Kara Hui tells Ti Lung that she is taking away his invitation to a party, and Ti Lung calls her a snobbish b!tch. :D

And I really liked FU Sheng in this movie. How bout that part where he drops Lily Li down a well:eek:

[Jimbo]

Yeah, I watched the English dub and cracked up when Ti Lung said that! And I liked Fu Sheng's character's personality here, but his fighting was not up to his Chang Cheh Shaolin series work. I really liked Chan Wai-Man in this one. One thing that bothered me way back then and now; if Ti Lung's sword breaks after each fight about an inch, how many fights until he's got no more sword???

[jethro]

Yeah Chan Wai Man is awesome in DBS. Such a great actor. He should have gotten more screen time. And I don't know how many fights Ti Lung has to have before he has no sword left, but on kung fu fandom we figured out why his sword is normal size in the movie even though he has fought so many people. He started off with a 10 foot long sword and used it as a spear, which explains why he rides on a horse. :p

[Jimbo]

I thought I'd toss this in:
Yesterday I ended up in a Sam Goody and got the Celestial/Shaw release of Vengeance is a Golden Blade. They were all on sale new for $4.99. I also went to a Suncoast about 75 yards away, and it was also on sale there for the same price. I think Suncoast and Sam Goody are under the same ownership. I'm assuming this title did not sell well at all, and they're trying to get rid of it. I also saw one copy of Boxer's Omen also for $4.99, though I got mine a long time ago.

Vengeance is a Golden Blade (VGB) is not a great wuxia; I'd rate it as below Wandering Swordsman, Have Sword Will Travel, Bells of Death, Shadow Whip, etc., though not too far below Shadow Whip, IMO. Even so, it's not a bad film, just a bit too much crying and pity scenes. Also, the film suffers from an absence of anyone with any martial training, including Yueh Hua, in a supporting role. But it was a great opportunity to get a brand-new, unused Celestial/Shaw release for only about 5 bucks. Not a bad deal.

I did see the newly-released The Killer Snakes at Border's, but like Black Magic, I'm dubious about wanting to buy this one. I can take gross stuff in movies, but I do not like gross for the sake of gross. I would have to see what others have to say about it first. Besides, it's still at the full price at this time.

[doug maverick]

Yeah Chan Wai Man is awesome in DBS. Such a great actor. He should have gotten more screen time. And I don't know how many fights Ti Lung has to have before he has no sword left, but on kung fu fandom we figured out why his sword is normal size in the movie even though he has fought so many people. He started off with a 10 foot long sword and used it as a spear, which explains why he rides on a horse. :p

chan wai man aka the original chinese gangster. heard he was signed on to the iron fist project. whenever it gets made, also heard that they might drop ray park from it sssshhhhh don't tell nobody.lol bud honestly after his stint as the greatest ninja in ninja history aka snake eyes i highly doubt thats going to happen.

[Egg fu young]

Shinobi: Complete Collection (2 Disc)[Dubbed] - DVD from best buy. 4 movies on 2 DVD's and so far it's awesome.

[jethro]

I got a whole bunch of movies in the last couple week or so.

Bourne Ultimatum- this movie is intense all the way through. Don't blink or you will have to rewind. If this is the end of the Bourne series then that is ok. It is a good ending

All 5 Kickboxer movies- I had to get this because I haden't seen parts 2 and 5. Karate superstar James Ryan is in part 5 so I was really excited to see it, but it is not a very good movie.

Crank Yankers season 1- even funnier than I remember it being

The Cranefighters- i thought this movie has some good parts, but the Videoasia DVD sucks major ass

Woo Ping 6 pack- great deal. Here is a review I did for it- http://www.amazon.com/Martial-Arts-Essentials-Films-Yuen/dp/B000VSDN32/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1197939386&sr=8-1

Belly of the Beast- Steven Seagal

Urban Justice- seagal takes revenge on the ghetto

Counter Attack- Bruce Li, John Ladaski and Sze Ma Lung (The Shaking Eagle)

China Heat with Sibelle Hu- I am having hard time deciding which a worse movie, this or Angel of Vengeance

Long Arm of the Law III- Andy Lau's best action sequences of his career

[doug maverick]

Bourne Ultimatum- this movie is intense all the way through. Don't blink or you will have to rewind. If this is the end of the Bourne series then that is ok. It is a good ending

there is one more bourne movie coming cause there is one more book out.

[jethro]

there is one more bourne movie coming cause there is one more book out.

Doug have you heard if its been confirmed that there will be a 4th? I heard there was a possibility, but that as awhile ago. That would be so awesome if there is a 4th.

[doug maverick]

well the sales on the fourht book were pretty big. so i'm just assuming that there will be a fourht once i hear of a fourth film in the works i'll let you know. right now the only thing coming out of hollywood is strike strike strike. every union wants to strike now.

[Jimbo]

Jethro:
How good is Counterattack? Besides Bruce Li and John Ladalski, it also has Dan Inosanto featured in it. I'd assume it should be decent if Inosanto lent himself to the project.

I have heard that The Kid from Kwangtung is supposed to be released soon (or by now). I dunno about that; I'll believe it when I see it, but I've been waiting 25 years to own this one. Is it from Celestial, DD, or ???

I love the Bourne movies. Though I missed the second one. These are fast-paced, exciting, and as a bonus, the fights are very well-done; Matt Damon's fight scene with the hitman in Morocco was excellent.

[jethro]

You have to have a region 3 PAL player to see Kid From Kwangtung. I am hoping to see it soon. Go to the buy/sell/trade section on kungfufandom and someone will make a copy for you if you want to trade.

Counter Attack is decent. Horrible story, but good fights. It is the best performance I have ever seen from John Ladaski. Inosanto is wasted, but he has a good fight wth Bruce Li towards the end. he shows some amazing speed using double sticks. Final fight between Shaking Eagle and Bruce Li is a bit of a letdown, but still decent.

[kungpowmaster]

Hi all,

I was at my usual store the other day, and got some more MA movies and related.

Picked up Bruce Lee's "Return of the Dragon". I've never seen this, nor any of the other ones I got with this.

Sammo Hung's "The Prodigal Son".

Sonny Chiba Action Pack, with "Virus", "Bullet Train", and "Gologo 13"(I think that's the title).

Hope it's all good. Comments welcome.

Chosen One

[doug maverick]

Hi all,

I was at my usual store the other day, and got some more MA movies and related.

Picked up Bruce Lee's "Return of the Dragon". I've never seen this, nor any of the other ones I got with this.

Sammo Hung's "The Prodigal Son".

Sonny Chiba Action Pack, with "Virus", "Bullet Train", and "Gologo 13"(I think that's the title).

Hope it's all good. Comments welcome.

Chosen One

Sammo Hung's "The Prodigal Son". thats the best of the bunch definitely. amzing fights and good story.

[Snake77]

I picked up Shaw Bros. 10pack. So far i've watched The White Lotus Trio,Raiders of buddhist kung fu, and Guns of the Master Killer. I thought they were all good.

[doug maverick]

just picked up goregeous. they idea of this film was pretty good it was just poorly executed.

[jethro]

Such a great christmas, just like it always is. I got-

Newsradio season 5
The Office season 2
Crank Yankers Season 2 Volume 1
Where's Officer Tuba?
Duel of Ultimate Weapons
Sword Named Revenge/Dream Sword- Rarescope 2-pack

[Jimbo]

kungpowmaster:
Return of the Dragon (aka, Way of the Dragon) is my favorite of Bruce Lee's films, simply because his moves seem a lot sharper than in his other films, and he has sharper opponents in Chuck Norris and Hwang In-Sik (who was the villain in Jackie Chan's The Young Master as well as Dragon Lord).

Prodigal Son is simply one of the best m.a. movies.

I haven't seen those particular Chiba movies, but I think some of those are not bad from what I hear.

Doug:
All I liked about Gorgeous were the fights between Jackie and the little Australian(?) guy. Those were fun, but the rest was a bit depressing. Hong Kong seems almost like a ghost town in this film; there's hardly any characters at all, and it feels claustrophobic. But I think it's still better than what Jackie's been putting out recently (or what I've seen recently).

I've been waiting for more Shaw releases to come out...good ones, though. I kinda want to get the new release of 'Help!' but it's still full-price. I'm also planning to get the season 1 to 3 of Harvey Birdman: Attorney-At-Law", but those are a little pricey, too, but they're hilarious.

[jethro]

Those 2 fights in Gorgeous were good, but the wire worked really bugged me. And I hate how it turns into a stupid comedy at the end. If JAckie would have played it straight faced all the way through, the movie would have been a lot better.

Kungpowmaster let me know what you think of Virus. I have never seen it. I thought Bullet Train and Golgo 13 were decent enough, but Golgo could have been so much better. And just so you know, Bullet Train is not a fighting movie and Chiba only has a cameo. still pretty good though.


I got the Videoasia Grindhouse volume 2 20-pack today and there are tons of good movies. Three Avengers is one of the 2 kung fu movies included, and the other is Master Killers. I just watched MK and the 12 minute final fight with Phillip Ko vs Cassanova Wong and Blacky Ko is awesome. Definitely one of the best fights I have ever seen.

I also got-

Ma Su Chen- Wang Yu
Gods of Wutang aka Duel of the Masters
Mr Show season 1 and 2
The Adventures of Super Mario Bros 3 (guilty pleasure:D)

[Jimbo]

Jethro:
Is the picture quality in the Grindhouse 2 pack of decent quality? The Three Avengers (aka, The Lama Avenger) is one of Bruce Li's best movies, also has a good role for Chien Yueh-Sheng and Lee Hoi-San. And I've been wanting to buy a DVD of Master Killers for a long time. Did you find this at Best Buy? I'm a little leery of buying a multi-pack of Videoasias, but dang, they do get their hands on some really good ones (haven't yet got the Videoasia release of Rebellious Reign due to these ongoing concerns).

[jethro]

You should get Rebellious Reign ASAP. They have that 5 pack that has rebellious Reign, Crazy Guy with Super Kung Fu (Lee I Min, Sun Jung Chi, Peng Kong), Shaolin MAster and the Kid (one of Yueh Hua's best), Five Fingers of Steel (Kwan Young Moon, Yen Shi Kwan, Hwang...) and Ninja Terminator (super fun Godfrey Ho ninja flick with Hwang). Picture quality on all those are good except for Crazy Guy with super Kung Fu. Rebellious Reign is going to be remastered soon by Joy Sales and a good version will FINALLY be out, but the videoasia version is more than watchable. It is full screen, but I would let you know if it cut out a lot of action, like the very badly full screened Duel of the 7 Tigers.

I previewed 3 Avengers that is part of the 20 pack and it looks fine to me. Dare I say good? Master Killers is from the Ocean Shores print and the picture quality is fine. Sound goes bad for about 20 minutes and is hard to hear, but nothign to worry about. I got the 20 pack at Best Buy and I found it in the horror section. Make sure to get grindhouse volume 2 and not volume 1. Only 2 kung fu flicks, but a few of the other movies look good. Car chase movies, Bond spoofs, shark movies. I just watched The Shark Hunter and it was pretty cool.

Also check otu the Woo Ping 6-pack. It has a movie called Kung Fu MAssacre aka Big showdown that is an AWESOME basher. Charles Heung is great in it and there is some other guy who is a great kicker. It also has a really good version of dance of the drunken Mantis. Here is a review I did for it. http://www.amazon.com/Martial-Arts-Essentials-Films-Yuen/dp/B000VSDN32/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1198735800&sr=8-1

And stay far away from the Jackie chan 4 pack. The only reason I got it was for the movie Kung Fu Cook. Cheung Lik and Bolo have a fight at the start of the movie. Lik looks pretty awesome, but the fight is way too short. You have to wait until the end of the movie to see the other good fight. It is a pole fight between Bolo and an old master and it gets really weird. Strobe lights come on and the old guy is doing flips and stuff. He gets beat, and then Bruce TOng does some drunken style. And Bruce Tong does a really weird dance that even Carlton of Fresh Prince of Bel Air would call weird. Crazy stuff. I don't know who the old guy is in this fight, but he has some really good acrobatics and is a good fighter. This movie is horrible, but I enjoyed some of it. I give it a rating of 1.5/5.

[Jimbo]

Jethro:
Thanks for the info.
I think next time I'm out at Best Buy I'll look for the pack with Rebellious Reign and the Grindhouse 2 pack. I really want to see Master Killers, and if it's from the Ocean Shores print, it should be pretty decent quality. Anyways, I don't think these packs are very expensive, anyway.

This isn't a m.a. movie, but one of my gifts for Christmas was the original soundtrack CD of La Resa Dei Conti (a.k.a., The Big Gundown; a.k.a., Colorado). As you already know, this soundtrack or parts of it are heard in the Secret Rivals 1 & 2, Fighting Ace, The Dragon the Hero, Bandits Prostitutes & Silver, etc., etc. As far as I can tell, they don't sell it anywhere; my sister-in-law had to special-order it from Europe. I like collecting good, old soundtracks, especially spaghetti western soundtracks and other types that were used in a lot of the old-school kf movies. Besides, I'm a fan of the great composer Ennio Morricone anyway.

[jethro]

That is good to hear. If I had that CD I would be blasting it really loud from my car stereo. And the Grindhouse Experience Volume 2 is $29.99, but I think its worth it. I had a lot of fun watching Three Avengers.

BTW- I thought Master Killers was a pretty bad movie. It is boring, the story and comedy is bad, and only Phillip Ko's fights have good fast choreography. Most of the other fights are slow. But the final fight is soooo good. Phillip Ko works extra hard in this movie and he is drenched with sweat in all of his fights. Plus Bolo looks pretty good. He gets to kick a lot more than he normally does. It is one of those movies where you may want to fast forward to the fights.

[Jimbo]

Yeah, I like it, but there are some parts that are pretty funny, including a square-dance fiddle version of the main tune, and of course, is starts and ends with the version with vocals. The words sung in English are really unintentionally hilarious. Those parts you may not want to blast from your car stereo. :)

I totally believe it that Master Killers would be good for the fights only. It would seem like that type. I really want to see Casanova Wong and the late Blackie Ko team. They were both great kickers, and would bring out a good fight with Phillip Ko. This was one of those few that I never got a chance to see.

I saw some clips of Five Fingers of Steel. It seems to star Kwan Young-Moon, perhaps filmed in HK? If it does have Hwang Jang-Lee, maybe it was filmed back-to-back with Young Hero(?). In the clip, it looked like Kwan was fighting the guy who played the lead from Young Hero.

[jethro]

Yeah it may have been filmed back to back. I haven't seen Young Hero but I do know it has Yuen Mo who is also a main actor in Five Fingers. Unfortunately Hwang only fights in the finale, but I enjoyed the movie because Yen Shi Kwan does a lot of fighting. Five Fingers is an aka for Blood Child. Best line of the movie- "Monster! How come the baby's a monster!"

[Jimbo]

I went to Best Buy yesterday and they didn't have the Rebellious Reign multi-pack, but I did get the Grindhouse 2 collection. And watched Master Killers. The story and comedy ARE bad. I can't tell you how tiring it is to see another old seedy master playing keep-away with a prospective student. And I thought Casanova Wong came off surprisingly weak compared to usual. He didn't seem as technically sharp or sure of himself in this film. Neither he nor Blackie Ko seemed to know or care that Casanova's "wife" was dead and the kid missing...instead, Blackie gets caught up in said juvenile "hide the bowl" game.

The final 15 or so minutes, though, is awesome. And Phillip Ko simply dominates in his fights. This COULD have been a great film, had they tried a little harder with the story. Also, the dubbing was the "C" crew (how I refer to the dubbers who mostly seemed to dub Godfrey Ho's films into English). Half the time they are unintelligible.

Phillip Ko shows why he was one of the best old-school villains of all time. He also possessed excellent all-around abilities. Although not a super-kicker himself, he made a superb opponent for super-kicking heroes. Oddly enough, in this film he not only dominates the fights, but the kicking as well.

[jethro]

That is definitely Phillip Ko at his best. Nobody can move like him. And I thought Cassanova looked pretty good. He has a moment where he starts doing his incredibly fast spinning kicks, and then he has that one part where he jumps off of Blackie Ko and jumps over Phillip Ko and kicks him in the back. :eek: On repeated viewings that fight just gets better and better.

[Jimbo]

Yeah, there are some kf movie final fights that you can watch over and over again, and they're always fun, even get better and better. Master Killers is one of those. Others include the finale of The Kid from Kwangtung, The Master Strikes, Warriors Two, Two Fists Against the Law, The Himalayan, Five Superfighters, 3 Evil Masters, etc., etc.

I am hoping that DD will eventually release The Himalayan, IMO perhaps Tan Tao-Liang's best overall performance. Also one of Angela Mao's best. And their finale against Chen Sing is a classic. That is, if DD ever gets around to releasing any old-school films again. (I wanted to gripe about this on kungfucinema, but since they changed/upgraded, I can no longer login and post there. But my account is still there, according to Mark Pollard. But I will probably need a whole new, upgraded computer to log in there again).

[jethro]

That sucks. I hope to see you back there soon. You are probably my favorite person I like to talk kung with.

BTW, I am going to get the remastered versions of What Price Honesty. Killer Constable, and Kid From Kwangtung soon. I will be sure to tell you my thoughts.

[Jimbo]

Jethro:
All three of those are good films. What Price Honesty is a very dark film, so I think you will like it. Killer Constable has some of the best and most brutal sword fights in it, as you already know!! And though there is some lame comedy in Kid From Kwangtung (do I remember disco zombies?), Hwang Jang Lee and Ren Shi-Guan are awesome (what little you see of Ren). Wang Yu is okay. His training scenes are very nice. One of his better fight movies, but it's carried by Hwang all the way. Yang Pan-Pan and her "mother" in the film are awesome. Little Unicorn even had a small role as a Ming patriot. The end finale is, IMO, Hwang at his very best. Enjoy!!

[jethro]

Fire Bulls directed by Lee Chia

[Zenshiite]

I bought Heroes Two and Instructors of Death today. A couple weeks ago I bought the Jet Li Ultimate Collection(Evil Cult, Shaolin Temple 1 & 2, Claws of Steel) and the Gordon Liu Ultimate Collection(4 Assassins, Master of Disaster AKA Treasure Hunters, Shaolin & Wu Tang, Shaolin Martial Arts). Unfortunately most of those are dubbed and are horrible transfers.

Kung fu movies are a crapshoot.

[jethro]

Secret of the Water Technique
Green jade Statuette- I have been waiting to see this forever!

I also got War and I liked it a lot. Not a great movie, but its stylish and has a nice twist in the story at the end. And even though corey Yuen is restricted to what he can choreograph I still liked the fights. There is a lot of editing but it flows together very smoothly. I liked all the action scenes, except that samurai sword fight. But the sledgehammer against shovel fight makes up for that.

[jethro]

I just got done watching the first 6 episodes of volume 4 of Batman the Animated Series. I don't know why I bought the first 3 volumes and held off on buying this for so long. This show is so fvcking dark!! In episode 6 Batman tries to kill a guy and Robin (the new Robin) has to stop him. This show was not meant for kids, but I loved it when I was a kid! Dare I say it, volume 4 is probably the best out of the 4 volumes. I will have to watch the other 18 episodes before making a final judgement on that. Such an awesome show!

[doug maverick]

I just got done watching the first 6 episodes of volume 4 of Batman the Animated Series. I don't know why I bought the first 3 volumes and held off on buying this for so long. This show is so fvcking dark!! In episode 6 Batman tries to kill a guy and Robin (the new Robin) has to stop him. This show was not meant for kids, but I loved it when I was a kid! Dare I say it, volume 4 is probably the best out of the 4 volumes. I will have to watch the other 18 episodes before making a final judgement on that. Such an awesome show!

man this show was forkids thats why it came on kids WB(just kidding i know exactly what you mean). but anyway it was the best you will never see cartoons like this not anymore. they touch dark subjects but they tread softly batman plunged into it like the dark night jumping off a building rooftop into the moonlight. beautful. i loved this show and still do. another one which was pretty dark was the x men show. that came on fox. expiecially the wolverine eps.

[jethro]

it seems like volume 4 is darker than 1-3. You are right they touch on a lot of dark subjects. This show is way better than I remember it, probably because I can fully understand everything now that I am older.

[doug maverick]

man i use to watch batman everyday when i got home. i was obsessed with batman as a kid. i even watched the old adam west show. but this by far was the best. yeah it gets darker in four.

[Jimbo]

I only ever got into Batman mildly. My favorite superheroes were the Hulk and Spiderman in the early '70s; also the early-to-mid-'70s Tomb of Dracua, Werewolf by Night, and The Man-Thing, all by Marvel. All those comics touched on some very dark and sensitive subjects at that time, and the last three would even be considered adult and very dark today. All those comics touched on things that simply have not been touched upon, or at least as skillfully, since. Another great one was the mid-'70s Howard the Duck; forget the "movie", the comic was outstanding for a short while.

Well, a little used-items shop opened next door to one of my workplaces, and I found two used DVDs for cheap there; Top Fighter 2: Deadly China Dolls; and a Japanese horror thriller, Dead Waves. I got TF2 for under $4.

If you're familiar with the first Top Fighter, as well as Cinema of Vengeance, this sequel is another Toby Russell documentary on the (mostly) Asian martial arts film industry. Obviously, this one features the female stars. What really sets Toby Russell's productions apart is his ability and willingness to track down very rare interviews with even stars that are lesser-known in the West. The interviews include: Angela Mao, Judy Lee (aka, Chia Ling), Moon Lee, Yukari Oshima, Michiko Nishiwaki, Kara Hui Ying-Hung, Yang Pan-Pan, Sophie Crawford, Kathy Long, Cynthia Rothrock, Michelle Yeoh, Elaine Lui, etc. Also shown in clips are Cheng Pei-Pei, Hsu Feng, etc. Unfortunately, he did neglect to show Hsia Kuang-Li (The Woman Avenger, The Leg Fighters).

To be truthful, I already owned this on VHS from Xenon. But at the price I decided to get it. It's released on DVD by Fortune 5 (Videoasia) but the picture quality is about the same as the VHS version; some parts are like 2nd-gen videotape, and some are quite clear. Aside from about 4 or 5 brief screen "pauses" which was probably a result of the transfer process, it was fine. This is one of those Fortune 5 releases no longer in general circulation in the stores.

The other DVD was Dead Waves. This is another very dark take on the typical Japanese ghost thriller. It starts off fairly interesting, then drags off into a slow pace. About a TV producer of a show called Spirit Sightings, whose broadcasts of the show cause evil spirits to travel through TV signals and infect viewers. I know, it's one more of a thousand Japanese ghost movies. But if they have anything, the Japanese understand atmosphere. This movie overall has a creepy atmosphere to it, which makes it more effective a horror film than most of the overblown American horror films or remakes of Japanese horror. Since I paid less than $10 for it, and it retails for lots more, it was a decent buy.

[jethro]

I never read comics, except 1 which was Spiderman. Batman the Animated series is special to me for 2 reasons, I used to watch it every day when I got home from school, and the other reason is that it is without a doubt one of my top 5 favorite TV shows of all time. My other 4 favorites are Taxi, Newsradio, The Office and Ninja Turtles. I am probably forgetting one...

[Zenshiite]

I just got done watching the first 6 episodes of volume 4 of Batman the Animated Series. I don't know why I bought the first 3 volumes and held off on buying this for so long. This show is so fvcking dark!! In episode 6 Batman tries to kill a guy and Robin (the new Robin) has to stop him. This show was not meant for kids, but I loved it when I was a kid! Dare I say it, volume 4 is probably the best out of the 4 volumes. I will have to watch the other 18 episodes before making a final judgement on that. Such an awesome show!

Volume 4 is way darker. The budget of the show dropped, the designs got even more stylized and it was definitely darker. This was the time when they did an adaptation of Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns and it was F-ing awesome!

I need to buy volumes 2-4, I'm still watching volume 1. What I like about Justice League and Justice League Unlimited is that they give Batman the darker, no yellow, costume design while maintaining the higher quality animation of the first 3 volumes of Batman TAS.

Jethro, the newer TMNT show that started 4 or 5 years ago is vastly superior to our classic TMNT. Darker, grittier, and more like the original comics with the comic value and Saturday morning sensibilities mixed in to make it marketable to kids. I enjoy it way more than the old school stuff. Unfortunately they've gotten into this TMNT Fast Forward crap with the turtles like 2 centuries in the future and it sucks hard.

[doug maverick]

Jethro, the newer TMNT show that started 4 or 5 years ago is vastly superior to our classic TMNT. Darker, grittier, and more like the original comics with the comic value and Saturday morning sensibilities mixed in to make it marketable to kids. I enjoy it way more than the old school stuff. Unfortunately they've gotten into this TMNT Fast Forward crap with the turtles like 2 centuries in the future and it sucks hard.

you mean the one where they run around in the future with some little kid. thats darker are serious

[Zenshiite]

^No way dude, that's all brilliantly colored and more slapsticky than the first 4 seasons of TMNT that came right before it. That stuff was classic.

[jethro]

Kid From Kwangtung- really crappy movie. Good stuff from Hwang and Yen Shi Kwan, but nothing else really to speak about. VERY stupid humor. Just before the freeze frame ending they do the stupidest joke with Yen Shi Kwan's dead body. I wanted to take a pis on the DVD after seeing that.

What Price Honesty- really awesome movie with Sun Chien and Jason Pai Paio. Starts out like it is going to be only a decent movie but just keeps getting better and better as it goes along. One hell of an ending.

Killer Constable- I just got the remastered version of my favorite Shaw movie of all time, and with the picture cleaned up I now realize this is probably the most beautifully shot Shaw movie ever. One of the best movies ever made, period.

[jethro]

I just got 3:10 to Yuma and Son of the Swordsman. Looks like it has the brother and sister from Joseph Kuo's King of Kings. And Kuo directed Son of the Swordsman. I can't wait to see this.

[Jimbo]

I'm hearing that "Mediablasters" is releasing a fully high-quality release of Heroes Two, but I don't know anything about that company(?). Do they release in regular outlets, or is it just another internet company? I hope they release the great old Shaw classics that so far are hard to find, and certainly Image and DD are apparently not going to release.

I know it's been said before, but why did Image/Celestial release a number of mediocre films and hold back on the really good ones? Then there is talk of them not selling well. Gee, I wonder why??

Jethro:
Sorry to hear you didn't like Kid From Kwangtung. Really, what makes the film are Hwang and Ren. I loved the choreography given to them; it's great to see Hwang able to do his thing on the Shaw sets in Shawscope. Ghosts Galore also has Hwang but is a far lesser movie, kind of a copy of Sammo's Encounter of the Spooky King (Spooky Encounters). Oh yeah, the ending of KFK really is one of the weirdest and tasteless in movies; I remember them using Ren's body to slap Wang Yu in the face or something before it freeze-frames. Totally bizarre, and did not fit. But then, I saw it only in theaters, so my image of seeing the film may be colored by that; it's a different feeling between seeing such a movie in a loud, full, boisterous theater and watching it at home. I may feel different about it if I see it again now.

[jethro]

Media Blasters puts out for Tokyo Shock, which means their new releases may end up in Best Buy. At least I hope so.

And I agree it was really nice to see Hwang in a Shaws role, but I didn't like the movie. I only liked his fights and the couple of fights that Ren had. And I didn't like the final fight too much. The whole incense thing didn't work for me. But at least it wasn't as stupid as the way that Hwang ususally dies, like in Where's Officer Tuba, Duel of Ultimate weapons, and many other movies.

EDIT- btw- DD is releasing Come Drink with me and Heroes of the east on April 22nd.

[Jimbo]

Glad to hear that Mediablasters is with Tokyo Shock. I really liked TS's released of 7 Grand Masters and Riki-Oh.

I agree that Hwang's characters often died stupid deaths at the hands of a lot of movie heroes, many of whom clearly could not carry his jockstrap. After Hwang dominates the action of the entire fight, these hero characters would usually pull some totally ridiculous move out of the blue and beat him very suddenly. That after taking longer and far more serious punishment that Hwang had dished out to them.

Another one of his worst movies was 36 Deadly Styles, where he fights Cheung Lik.

[jethro]

Yeah 7 Grandmasters and Riki-oh were great releases.

And I lOVED 36 Deadly Styles, but the end was pretty stupid. You are right he always dominates the whole movie and then gets defeated too easily. The guys he gets beat by in Duel of Ultimate Weapons and Eagle vs Silver Fox were probably the weakest looking guys. And he gets defeated in a pretty funny way in Ninja Terminator. It has to do with his shoes being too heavy:rolleyes:

[Jimbo]

I'm not sure if this is one Ninja Terminator, but I've seen one where Dragon Lee and another guy team up against Hwang, and there are bowling-ball-sized iron balls or something that get used during the fight. It's a Korean film, and in truth, the final fight is actually pretty decent. Again, though, Hwang dominates.

Dual of Ultimate Weapons and Eagle vs. Silver Fox are also Korean movies, and those guys WERE super-weak looking, I agree.

I think only a very few guys could really hang with Hwang in a final fight. That doesn't mean others couldn't co-create a great fight; only that IMO, these few could at least hang well with or not necessarily be dominated in the action by him:
Jackie Chan
John Liu
Phillip Ko
Wang Tao (would have been interesting to see him face Hwang in more than just Secret Rivals).
Tino Wong (surprisingly).

Guys who beat Hwang's villains in movies, but seemed physically outclassed:
Sammo Hung
Dragon Lee
Cheung Lik
Ho Chung-Tao (Bruce Li).
Lau Kar-Yung (Nephew of Lau Kar-Leung).
Meng Hai
Meng Yuan-Wen
Yeh-something (star of Instant Kung Fu Man, was in Hell's Windstaff).
Kwon Young-Moon (in Young Hero; also lost to Hwang in other films. He could stand with Hwang easily, but the choreography seemed to dictate he generally be dominated by Hwang).
Wang Yu, Chiang Chin, Yang Pan-Pan (Kid From Kwangtung).
John Chang (Eagle's Killer).
Michelle Yeoh (Magnificent Warriors).
Cynthia Rothrock (No Retreat, No Surrender II: Rolling Thunder).
Cliff Lok
Yuen Wu (Yuen Mo).

That's all for now; sure there's more, but I'm tired. :)
Guess this thread got temporarity hijacked by HJL!!

[jethro]

Hijacking a thread with HJL talk is always a good thing:D

Those are a lot of good ones you brought up. The name of that Dragon lee movie is Secret Ninja, roaring Tiger. I liked that fight too. The bowling ball thing was probably taking from Ninja in the Dragon' Den.

Ninja Terminator is one you should see. Hwang only has one fight (a nice long one), but the lead actor Jack Lam puts on a great kicking display the whole movie. And where else will you find a line like this- "I don't usually smoke this brand, but I'll do it for you". Only in a Godfrey Ho dub job. Ninja Terminator is one of my favorite cheesy movies of all time. Richard Harrison uses a Garfield phone. And you have to see the robot that brings a message to Harrison from the bad guy. It is a little toy robot and it shows up with smoke effects. Godfrey Ho really wanted to show off his $5 budget.

And the end of Officer Tuba where David Chiang's ghost helps sammo really made me mad. i think they should have used the technique used in Hellz Windstaff and Dance of the Drunken Mantis where the hero just throwns his body into him. Anything would have been better than having Sammo fly up in the air to deliver a knockout kick.

Also, I hate the way he gets beat in Buddha assassinator where Chien Yuet Sang grabs his legs. That is probably my favorite fight EVER, and it is a shame they couldn't end it better. Ah well, at least we have movies like tiger Over Wall and Demon Strike where he dies in a really cool way.

[Jimbo]

Looks like I'll have to see Ninja Terminator! That's quite an accurate description of Godfrey Ho's greatest aspirations. :)

Hwang was in a poor movie starring Huang Kin-Lung (Bruce Le) that was partly filmed in Europe/Italy, designed to make Le an international star. The final fight takes part in the Roman Colloseum, like Way of the Dragon. It ends with Le stopping Hwang's heart, and showing a bad animated cartoon of Hwang's heart stopping. The same film also had Harold Sakata (Oddjob in Goldfinger) beating up on Casanova Wong. Neither seemed to have much importance to the story.

In Ninja in the Dragon's Den, I thought Hiroyuki Sanada, if given a good one-on-one against Hwang, could probably stand with him and not be overwhelmed, based on the skills he showed in that film.

Oh, and speaking of Kwon Young-Moon, I remember a Chinese movie filmed in New York, I believe it was titled Yellow Skin. It had to do with a crime family in Chinatown, two hitmen played by Kwon and Wang Lung-Wei, two "heroes" (Wang Kuan-Hsiung, a.k.a., Champ Wang and Phillip Ko), and several dirty white cops and black street gang members. Kwon was menacing as he stalked Champ Wang in the subway, and in the final fight against him and Ko. I believe it was made in '83, but have never seen it on video or DVD. One funny thing was they had all the black criminals in the film say "M-F-er!" almost every other word.

I also thought the finishing move against Hwang in Buddha Assassinator was weak. Little Meng Hai jumping up and landing butt-first in lotus position on him. If it were like Sammo Hung doing it, it might have had some credibility, but considering all the trip-hammer kicks Hwang had dealt out to Meng, it seems unlikely just being landed on by such a little guy would finish Hwang, while Meng was relatively unhurt. Hwang is already fairly small; he towered over Meng in their films together.

[jethro]

Man, Yellow Skin sounds AWESOME. Moon, Ko, and WLW?!?!?!!! And I love Wang Kuan-Hsiung. I always thought he was very underrated. He was great in Horse Boxing Killer, Chase Step by Step, and a few others. I am sure some collector on kungfufandom has this movie. I have to get it.

[jethro]

Wonderman of Shaolin aka Magnificent Wonderman
Shaolin Death Squad aka The Shaolin Kids
Foul Hero/Super Kung Fu Fighter 2-pack


Brentwood 10-pack- "Kung fu Crusade"
Vengeance of Snow Maiden
Hurricane Sword
Black and White Swordsman
Magnificent Kick
Fighting Life- modern day movie starring the 2 lead actors from Crippled Masters
Bruce Li's Magnum Fist
Ninja Grand Masters of Death aka Life of Ninja
Seven Blows of the Dragon
Kung Fu of 8 Drunkards
The Godfather Squad aka Little Godfather

Magnum Fist, Life of Ninja and Kung Fu of 8 Drunkards are fully widescreen, and a lot of the others are partly widescreen. Awesome!

[Egg fu young]

Wonderman of Shaolin aka Magnificent Wonderman
Shaolin Death Squad aka The Shaolin Kids
Foul Hero/Super Kung Fu Fighter 2-pack


Brentwood 10-pack- "Kung fu Crusade"
Vengeance of Snow Maiden
Hurricane Sword
Black and White Swordsman
Magnificent Kick
Fighting Life- modern day movie starring the 2 lead actors from Crippled Masters
Bruce Li's Magnum Fist
Ninja Grand Masters of Death aka Life of Ninja
Seven Blows of the Dragon
Kung Fu of 8 Drunkards
The Godfather Squad aka Little Godfather

Magnum Fist, Life of Ninja and Kung Fu of 8 Drunkards are fully widescreen, and a lot of the others are partly widescreen. Awesome!

I was looking into that 10- pack. Let me know if it's any good!

[jethro]

here are the movies I have seen-

Little Godfather- horrible.
Seven Blows of the Dragon- shortened American version of The Water Margin. Pretty good.
Kung Fu of 8 Drunkards- good fun and lots of fights.
Magnificent Kick- worth seeing for a small role from Kwan Tak Hing. TONS of fights, but not a great movie or anything.

I have only skimmed through the rest. They all look pretty decent. The 2 lead actors in Fighting Life are real cripples. One has no arms and one has no legs. Looks like a weird, but uplifting movie.

[Jimbo]

A Life of Ninja, is a pretty good Chen Kuan-Tai film directed by Lee Tso-Nan, and co-stars Yasuaki Kurata.

Magnificent Wonderman ... eh. Not a great Casanova Wong film, but not his worst Korean film by a long shot. Also has Han Ying (Eagle Han) in a minor role as an evil monk, and Austin Wai (Kara Hui Ying-Hung's brother) as an 'outsider' villain brought in to help the baddies.

Magnificent Kick is one of those films that could have been better, but settled for mediocre.

As far as Yellow Skin, I only vaguely remember it having that title. It was subtitled, seen in an Asian theatre. Unfortunately, Wang Lung-Wei's part was fairly brief. The main star is Wang Kuan-Hsiung. Kwon Young-Moon's character was described as being a former bodyguard for the South Korean president. Not really a martial arts film, more a crime movie with a little martial arts included. I remembered it as pretty good and fairly dark, but I'm hoping if I saw it today I would still think it's well-made, but hard to tell.

[jethro]

Life of Ninja looks ok I guess (I only briefly skimmed throught it). I think Sun Jung Chi also stars. He played the crazy hilarious monk in Shaolin vs Lama.

[Jimbo]

Yesterday, I noticed the last Suncoast in my immediate area was closing, and having a clearance sale. I got the Five Deadly Videos 5-pack. The movies are Rebellious Reign, Ninja Terminator, Five Fingers of Steel, Shaolin Master and the Kid, and Crazy Guy with Super Kung Fu.

Firstly, I would have preferred another title to that last one (Crazy Guy), as I already owned it, and do not like it much (very bad picture quality). But I really got it for Rebellious Reign and Five Fingers of Steel.

First I watched Five Fingers (FFS). This one I'd never seen, but it's obvious it was shot back-to-back with Young Hero; FFS was probably shot first, judging by the less-refined quality of the movie. Stars Yuen Mo, Ren Shi-Guan, Kwon Young-Moon, Hwang Jang-Lee, Chu Tieh-Ho, Liu Ho-Nien, Chen Liu (Chan Lau).

This film had a lot of excellent old-school performers, and some well-done fighting, but there was something that seemed a bit 'off' about it. Many of the fights seemed to go on and on, and then had anti-climactic endings. Or people would take tremendous amounts of punishment showing little effect other than some bruising and bloody mouths. IMO, the best-choreographed fight scene is the beginning of the end finale, where Ren Shi-Guan and Yuen Mo team up with weapons against Kwon's henchmen. There is some fast brutality, and the moves take effect on opponents.

Once again, Hwang Jang-Lee proved to be IMO the best kicker in cinema. Kwon Young-Moon is a master kicker, but Hwang's kicks have that 'something' that separates him from the pack. He had a bizarre combination of agility/coordination/speed/power/accuracy that has not been replicated in films since; this without all the wire-work today. Besides his legs, Hwang's hands seemed very powerful. In fact, in everything he does, from strikes, kicks, to even staff work (Hell's Windstaff) he demonstrated full-body torquing power, which made his movements look painful to be the recipient of.

Even here, with Kwon as the arch super-villain, he seems a bit oddly-matched against Hwang (they've met in at least 3 other films). It seems their onscreen styles don't mesh very well together. Other than a decent mid-movie fight in Young Hero, their onscreen fights mostly strike me as being less than they could/should have been. Both Hwang and Kwon have had good onscreen battles with John Liu, who seemed able to mesh styles nicely with most any other superkicker onscreen. And the conclusion to FFS was a disappointment to me. But overall a movie worth owning for anyone into the old-school KF films.

I was surprised by the quality of the transfer of Rebellious Reign. Considering it's released by Videoasia, the only other near-perfect transfer from them I have is Invincible Armour. I'd seen the film in theater, and later in Taiwan I bought an old VHS version of it. This was much clearer/cleaner than either of those.

It's a surprise Jimmy Lee never got any other starring roles. Usually a bit player, most often in Bruce Li movies, in this one he shows he was one of those rare few who could smoothly mix together his punches and kicks in seemless, flowing combinations. Most screen performers either only excelled in hands; excelled in kicks; or excelled in both, but could only do one at a time, i.e., now use only hands, then switch to only feet. Actually, everyone in this films turn in excellent performances: Alan Hsu, Chen Hui-Lou, Kwon Young-Moon, Chu Ko, Hsu Shao-Chiang ( Norman Tsui Siu-Keung), etc. There are really no boring moments, as even the non-fighting parts are well-done. Of the non-fighters, I esp. like the guy who plays Norman Tsui's old loyal servant, best-recognized in the West as a co-star in Bruce Lee's first 2 kf films, but a mainstay in several Taiwanese kf movies.

Kwon Young-Moon is far better here than in FFS; I can only assume it has all to do with casting, story and choreography. IMO his best onscreen performance. In the end, he becomes a virtual one-man killing machine against the Ming Patriots. BTW, the Chings are misnamed as Mongolians when in fact they were Manchurians. Still one of the best and every bit as enjoyable as I remembered it.

[jethro]

I agree Jimbo, I thought this was Moon's best performance. He was a maniac. And it definitely had to do with the choreography, and they probably had a pretty big budget on Rebellious Reign. I doubt Five Fingers of Steel had the that kind of time and money. Let me know what you think of Ninja Terminator and Shaolin Master and the Kid. And I agree with Crazy Guy wth Super Kung Fu not being that good. Its not even close to being on par with other movies from Sun Jung Chi and Peng Kong (Leg Fighters and Shaolin vs Lama).

[jethro]

Shaolin and Tai Chi with Eagle Han Ying and Secret of the Shaolin Poles.

[Jimbo]

Jethro:
Secret of the Shaolin Poles is a pretty good movie, and the choreography is by Lau Kar-Leung (or the Lau brothers). The version I have by Crash's Shaolin Collection had a washed-out looking print, but with Meng Fei, Yasuaki Kurata, Chang Yi, Tan Tao-Liang, and Lau Kar-Wing in the cast, it's better than one might expect. Hopefully the version you got is a better-quality release.

[jethro]

Yeah I got the crappy version. Shaolin and Tai Chi is widescreen and has better pic quality so I am watching that first. I'm halfway through and I like it a lot. Good kung, and a good story to go along with it.

[jethro]

It's a surprise Jimmy Lee never got any other starring roles.

You know, I was thinking about that and all I could come up with are Bigg Boss of Shanghai and Wiley Match. He was in plenty of films, but you are right he was mainly a bit player. I remember him from all the Lee Tso Nan movies. And he must have been one of Tommy Lee's main guys because he had a part in almost of all the movies Tommy Lee did the action for.

[Jimbo]

You're right. And the most recent film I remember him in is Kickboxer's Tears as the big boss-man villain.

[jethro]

Iron Fisted Monk
Best of Shaolin Kung Fu

[Jimbo]

Iron-Fisted Monk is a great old Sammo movie, but I absolutely hate the rape scene (and rape scenes in general).

I didn't like Best of Shaolin Kung Fu. For one thing, the DVD I got cannot play straight through; instead, every 15 minutes or so, it skips around. It's an older Videoasia version, so I'm sure the "insta-action" was not programmed(?) correctly on it. But even so, I was expecting a lot more of it, because I've heard it so hyped up. And judging from Cliff Lok's interview in the Choi Lee Fut DVD, he seems to feel it's his best film, though I would disagree.

[jethro]

Yeah nothing too special. I like how Lok learns all the Shaolin techniques in one day. That was funny. And you are right it is one of those discs where you have to fastforward through when it gets to the end of the chapter to watch the movie with no interruptions. Ironfisted Monk was pretty good, just not as good as other Sammo movies like The Victim, Prodigal Son and Warriors Two.

[jethro]

I just did a trade with someone and I got-

Swordsman's Adventure- Adam Cheng, Chang Shan, Alan Hsu, JAck Long, Lung Fei, and action by Ching Siu Tung
Vampire Kid- TV movie with Jack Long and Chang Shan
Crazy Girl Killers- Chang Shan and Lo Rei
No Guilty- Chang Shan, Lo Rei, David Lam Wai, Ku Feng and Wong Chi Sang

[kungpowmaster]

I was looking in FYE, and I also got this set, someone else picked up:

Brentwood 10-pack- "Kung fu Crusade"
Vengeance of Snow Maiden
Hurricane Sword
Black and White Swordsman
Magnificent Kick
Fighting Life- modern day movie starring the 2 lead actors from Crippled Masters
Bruce Li's Magnum Fist
Ninja Grand Masters of Death aka Life of Ninja
Seven Blows of the Dragon
Kung Fu of 8 Drunkards
The Godfather Squad aka Little Godfather
(I copied and pasted that).

I think this is the 4th Brentwood 10 pack I have of Martial arts.

I also picked up, for $1.99 new:

Jackie Chan - Who is he?

Haven't looked at it, or anything yet, but it's a documentary, on New Media label, says widescreen.

I love Ninja Terminator! I read someone mentioning that. I love all those Ninja movies from IFD Films and Arts, and Filmark, and have collected quite a bit of them. Today I ordered Ghost Ninja online.

Media Blasters is a great label, I have lots of their horror, and Asian titles, through their sub-labels, Shriek Show, Tokyo Shock etc.

Comments welcome,

Chosen One

[jethro]

Yeah Ninja Terminator is one of IFD's best movies.

Did you order "Ghost of the Ninja"? If so, cancel your order. GHost of the Ninja is an aka for Killer in White, which is a great kung fu movie. Unfortunately, the Ghost of the Ninja version cuts out the final fight. So prepare to be disappointed when you see that. And just so you know, Killer in White is an aka for Shadow Ninja, which comes in the 50 and 20 pack.

[jethro]

Hey kpmaster, I meant to post this for you a long time ago but I musta forgot. Here is a 6-page interview with Godfrey Ho, enjoy- http://www.hkcinemagic.com/en/page.asp?aid=230&page=1

[kungpowmaster]

Thanks Jethro,

I read an interview somewhere else a while back, this one looks different and has pics. I also read an interview with Stuart Steen(?), that was really good, he's great.

Maybe there isn't a big market, but I wish all the IFD/Filmark Ninja movies would get a DVD release. I'd like to see them with audio commentary, good transfers, and extras and stuff. I noticed some company I never heard of called Synergy, had City Ninja, which I don't have, but they wanted ten bucks for it. I'd also like to get Clash of the Ninja, but I think the versions out may be messed up.

No, it's Ghost Ninja, it's on this double feature set called Tales of Voodoo.

Chosen

[jethro]

OK good to see that you didn't get Ghost of the Ninja.

City Ninja comes in the 50-pack. I don't know if it is the same movie you were looking at buying, but the one in the 50-pack isn't a ninja movie. It stars a bunch of old school stars like Chen Sing, chan Wai Man and Fong Yeh. It's quite terrible.

[Zenshiite]

I just picked up the first volume of The Immortal Iron Fist comic. GREAT!

Hope this isn't just for recent video purchases.

[jethro]

The Revenger (Ti Lung)
2009 Lost Memories/Yesterday 2-pack

[Jimbo]

I didn't care much for The Revenger, though Ti Lung is one of my favorites.

I hope a good company will eventually release Killer Wears White, perhaps Tokyo Shock or other high-end co.

[jethro]

Yeah it would be nice if a good version of Killer Wears White came out. That is Tung Wei's shining moment in his acting career. And I agree about The Revenger. Not horrible or anything, but nothing special. Wong Ching as the main villain didn't impress me much.

[Jimbo]

I'm also really hoping to see The Loot come out, either by Rarescope or Tokyo Shock. It's one of the few kung fu comedies where, at least IMO, the comedy is actually funny, at least as I saw it in the Mandarin version.

Others I wouldn't mind seeing in DVD release:

The Stranger and the Gunfighter
Lee Van Cleef and Lo Lieh. Not a great film, but a crossover Italian spaghetti western with early appearances by Yuen Chung-Yan, Yuen Sum-Yi, and Ren Shi-Guan (Yen Shi-Kuan) to name a few. For novelty's sake.

The Himalayan
IMO, possibly the best for Angela Mao and Tan Tao-Liang both. It's a Golden Harvest.

Zen Kwun Do Strikes in Paris
One of the best "bad movies" of all time.

Two Fists Against the Law

The Woman Avenger
Mostly an average kung fu flick, but for the fact the protagonist is obviously a female; until the last 20 minutes or so makes it unique with Hsia Kuang-Li's leg/kick training sequences and her fight with Peng Kang.

The Miracle Fighters
The first of the "bizarre Taoist" movies by the Yuen clan, and the best. A Golden Harvest film.

Pedicab Driver
Why hasn't this been out yet??? It's one of Sammo's all-time best.

The Outlaw Brothers
Possibly the best Yukari Oshima performance, and her best role. A good final warehouse fight with Oshima vs. Jeff Falcon, among others.

[jethro]

I have a good widescreen version English dub of The loot. I thought it was good but not great. Very good fights. Deadly Challenger is one I want to see. And Pedicab Driver needs to be released SO badly. The rest of those I need to see except for Miracle Fighters.


Today I got Twilight Samurai and Two Wondrous Tigers. I remember reading your thoughts on Twilight so I look forward to that. As long as it has a good story I think I will like it. And have you seen Two Wonderous Tigers? I read it stars John Cheung, Yeung Pan Pan, Charlie Chan, Wilson Tong, Phillip Ko and Tiger Yang.

[Jimbo]

I like Two Wondrous Tigers, but I wished they'd had a better villain than Tiger Yang. His acting always seems to come off as cheesey to me, and his way of moving, while good, seems kind of odd. If Hwang Jang Lee, Wang Lung-Wei or Ren Shi-Guan had been the villain, it would've been much better, though there is some great 3-way weapons fighting with Phillip Ko, John Chang and Yang Pan-Pan.

[jethro]

Sounds good. I have only seen Yang in 2 movies. I thought he was good in Warriors 2 and he was good in GOD 2 though there was not really much of a chance to show his acting. I will let you know what I think of 2 Wonderous Tigers.

[Jimbo]

Today I got The Hidden Blade and Counterattack.

First I tried to watch Counterattack. First I watched the special features...the Bruce Li interview I'd already seen in Top Fighter and Cinema of Vengeance. The John Ladalski/Danny Inosanto sections were okay for historical sake. However, when I turned the disk over to play the movie, it will not play. No surprise. I suppose on some new players it will work, but not on this one. So I decided to keep it anyway, for the interviews, and on the off-chance it may work on a future DVD player. Not to mention, I only spent $5 on it; it was used, and it's less hassle anyway than having to return it.

I haven't yet had time to watch The Hidden Blade. It's directed by Yoji Yamada, the same director or Twilight Samurai. HB is released by Tartan Video. I've only watched some of the special features, but at about 135 minutes, I want to see the whole thing at once when I watch it. According to the insert, it's one of a trio of films (along with Twilight Samurai) by the director, part of a trilogy of sorts, though not really a sequel. And like TS, HB has only two fights in the whole movie, which is more based around the story/characters. That's fine with me, so long as the story/acting are good, like in TS.

One movie I've already had for a couple years, When the Last Sword is Drawn, also a quality Japanese film (not directed by Yamada), starts out great. But then, oh, Lord, it seems to drag on after about the first 90 minutes. It seems to last over 3 hours or so. When the Last Sword is a perfect example of a film that needed to end at least an hour earlier than it does.

[jethro]

Man that sucks you didn't get to see Counter Attack. Maybe when you get a new DVD player one day it will play. Maybe is the key word here.

[jethro]

Hey Jimbo I just found out Image bought a new batch of films. I will let you know what they are ASAP.

[jethro]

I just got The Executioner with Wang Yu and Chin Siu Ho. Looks like a weird one.

[Jimbo]

Jethro:
I'll be looking forward to finding out what those new Image films will be.

I just finished watching The Hidden Blade. I like it. It is a bit reminiscent of Twilight Samurai, being by the same director. However, I actually like this one a little more. It's just over 2 hours long, and if you like period dramas with good acting and storyline, then you should like this one, though neither Hidden Blade nor Twilight Samurai are aimed towards the martial arts movie crowd. So anyone expecting a loud, flashy movie will be disappointed. It's more an attempt to recreate what daily life might have been like for the samurai at the end of that era.
As for the 2 fights, there is no flash, no CGI, wires, or overly dramatized movements. But there are a few more skills shown in HB than there were in TS. In particular, the training sequence between the film's hero and his old sensei is very well-done. The moves appear simple, but nicely executed.

[jethro]

Linn, the administrator on kungfufandom said they got some good titles, so that's good enough to hold me over till I find out what they got. They still have to release Human Lanterns. Its supposed to be the best uncut version yet. I don't know what other titles they still have to release from their first batch. You kept saying you wish we could get more Shaw titles released here, and your wish is coming true.

[jethro]

Ti Lung Yin Yang collection- I know this is a boot but I had to get it because I have always wanted to see All Men are Brothers. I was takin a chance because I didn't know if it was remastered or not, but it is! I am so happy. And just so people know, The Duel and Ten Tigers of Kwangtung are also remastered. Blood Brothers is good quality, but not as good as the other 3 movies. There must have been a poblem with the transfer from DVD to DVD. How you screw that up I don't know.

[Jimbo]

Sacrilege! Sacrilege!

Just kiddin'! ;)

Was the plastic part of the cover that holds the DVDs intact or cracked? A few months ago, I tried to buy the Gordon Liu 4-pack and the part holding the 3rd DVD was cracked and the disk was jiggling around free in the case, so I returned it. I actually knew it was a bootleg, but wanted Shaolin Martial Arts on DVD, as I don't foresee a legitimate U.S. release anytime soon. I do think Yin-Yang is Red Sun; do your DVDs have the same problems that the Red Suns do?

[jethro]

Yeah Red Sun is definitely the same as Ying Yang. I got that Gordon Liu one awhile ago. 2 of the disc holder things were broke so I could only fit 2 of the 4 DVDs in the case. Only 1 broke in the Ti Lung collection so I am able to fit 3 DVDs in there. Woohoo:p Don't waste your time with that Liu collection. Shaolin Martial Arts is transferred from a bad VHS copy. Treasure Hunters and 4 Assassins are remastered.

Check out this site if you get a chance. I have been watching a lot of would have been purchases here- http://www.eztakes.com/store/download/public/products.jsp?dc=26&dc=26&page=1

[Jimbo]

Jethro:
Did you notice, on that list, Master of Death is actually another title for Fighting Ace (aka, Kid's Ace in the Hole). Actually, there are several kf movies that were retitled Master of Death, including a decent Chi Kuan-Chun one.

Well, I'm glad you set me straight on that Gordon Liu 4-pack once and for all. I'll simply wait for a true release of those films. Though SMA, Treasure Hunters, and Marco Polo are great films. I think they even gave Treasure Hunters the title Master of Disaster, which was also the name given to the re-titled, spliced-up version of New Kids in Town with Lau Kar-Leung, Moon Lee, and Chin Siu-Ho.

Off-topic:
I found out that the film Ma Lu Xiao Ying-Xiong that I told you about has the English title Heroic Fight. I don't know if it's D!ck Wei's best performance, but it's my favorite of him. IMO, it's one of the best of the '80s Taiwan modern-day actioners; it combines that with the oddly clever inventions seen in other early-'80s Yuen family-directed films. I saw a bit of it on youtube, and had forgotten that D!ck Wei and Chang Shan had that brief fight. Chang Shan is dressed up in pseudo-military garb with the headband, resembling Chung Fa in Yes, Madam. The main star, a young tomboy named Lin Hsiao-Lou, did well, too, though was only in a few films herself.

And another one I had mentioned but didn't know the title to, has the English title Book of Heroes. It stars two (male and female) Taiwanese TV personalities, as well as Yasuaki Kurata, Yukari Oshima, Elsa Yeung (Yang Hui-Shang), Eugene Trammel. I discovered the final fight on youtube: they cut out the part where the two main male/female stars, while fighting Eugene, called him a "baboon", but most of it is intact.

Seeing parts of these again, it makes me wonder what the heck happened to the Taiwanese action film industry. Most might not have been up to the best HK level, but some came awfully close.

Also, there is a D!ck Wei interview on youtube. I don't remember the link; just type in "D!ck Wei interview" and it will come up. Pretty interesting. Maybe he's just acting nice for the interview, but it's kinda hard to reconcile his personality here and his reputation among some other old-school stars. Either that, or age has mellowed him (somewhat).

[jethro]

Chang Shan put some serious heat on D!ck Wei in that fight. Too bad its only like 5 seconds long. I have been trying hard to track down all of Chang shan's movies and I've almost done it. Check out this clip when you get a chance. http://youtube.com/watch?v=VH2EwkiPdUU Its from some movie called 7 Foxes, 8 Dogs.

And I hear you on Taiwanese action cinema. I also wish I knew what happened to it.

[Jimbo]

Well, I do know that sometime in the early '90s they seemed to stop making action films altogether in Taiwan, and went to art-house-style films. In the late '80s they were still making some action/martial arts films, and some Lo Rei ones into about 1992 or so. There are probably some good movies that came out of the art-house fare (Eat Drink Man Woman, Pushing Hands, etc.), but IMO the action industry as a whole just did not draw people there anymore, which is a shame, though by '92 it had clearly been getting worse.

Today I picked up a couple of Bruce Li (Ho Chung-Tao) DVDs. One is a double-feature of Image of Bruce Lee and Blind Fist of Bruce. I watched Blind Fist because it's the one I hadn't yet seen.

Blind Fist of Bruce is a Goldig Film, which means it's one of those super low-budget films that were done in Hong Kong (as opposed to Taiwan). Its budget appears about the same as Five Fingers of Steel, and even has some of the same guys in it (Chan Lau, etc.). No decent fighting until almost an hour into it, and in fact some of the early parts are extremely embarrassing to watch (stupid training scenes w/badly made-up animal styles). The basic premise is similar to Prodigal Son, where the hero initially learns a bunch of ineffective nonsense from two fake teachers and eventually gets his but t handed to him.

I mainly got this because it was very cheap, less than $5, and also has Yuen Siu-Tin. It's odd seeing Bruce Li in a semi-comedy. Tiger Yang shows up more than an hour in. As usual, his kicks seem a bit odd, like he curls up or overbends forward into them. IMO Yang's best work was as Casanova Wong's opponent in Warriors Two.

Also got Iron Dragon Strikes Back, which I know is a pretty good film. Phillip Ko and Bruce Li have a good fight in it, but it's been a while since I've seen it. Will comment on it after I watch it again.

[jethro]

I just got Blind fist so I should be seeing that soon. I really like Tiger Yang. His kicks are a bit weird like you said, but I love how he can use both legs equally. And good choice getting Iron Dragon. That movie is soooooo good. Its easily my favorite Bruce Li movie.

[Jimbo]

Small correction, but I don't know if Blind Fist is a Goldig film or not; I had seen the Goldig name on the back cover of Iron Dragon and made an assumption.

IMO, the 1970s independent kf films from Taiwan were in general better than most of the independents from HK. Many of those Taiwan-filmed period movies, esp. from 1976 to 1978 (before the over-saturation of comedy kung fu), had very good plots as well as action (and better sets than the non-Shaw HK kf films).

[jethro]

Well other than Robert Tai I don't know of a lot of kung fu movies shot in Taiwan. I know I have probably seen plenty but I just don't know if they were filmed in Taiwan or not. I think a bunch of the Rarescope wuxias like Love and sword and Lost Swordship were filmed there, and the stories in those are excellent. I have seen 4 Ti lung Taiwanese movies (I don't know if he did any others), and those didn't impress me too much. The Heroes was above average but it so way too cheap looking.

[Su Lin]

Stop all this talk of Gordon Liu boxsets ,it's unfair :( I need to get me a multi region dvd player as I still can't find any decent uk based websites selling rare kung fu flicks :(

[HtownShaolinBum]

Blind Fist of Bruce is a Goldig Film, which means it's one of those super low-budget films that were done in Hong Kong (as opposed to Taiwan). Its budget appears about the same as Five Fingers of Steel, and even has some of the same guys in it (Chan Lau, etc.). No decent fighting until almost an hour into it, and in fact some of the early parts are extremely embarrassing to watch (stupid training scenes w/badly made-up animal styles). The basic premise is similar to Prodigal Son, where the hero initially learns a bunch of ineffective nonsense from two fake teachers and eventually gets his but t handed to him.
.


Haha, I think I've seen that one. He is wearing this baby blue vest the whole movie and he has those two teachers who are just jerking him around the whole movie. It was packaged with a couple other fake Bruce Lee movies and Chinese Connection.

[Jimbo]

Jethro:
Most of Lee Tso-Nan's films (a notable exception being Tattoo Connection) were filmed in Taiwan. Most of the movies with Wang Tao, John Liu, Li Yi-Min, Lo Rei, Chang Yi, Kam Kong, Jack Long, Mark Long, etc. Actually, more independent kf movies were filmed in Taiwan than HK. Shaolin Vs. Lama, Rebellious Reign, Invincible Armour, Secret Rivals II, Leg Fighters, Half a Loaf of Kung Fu, 7 Grandmasters, Revenge of the Patriots, etc., all were Taiwan-filmed.

After awhile, you can recognize the same landscapes and outdoor and indoor sets in the period dramas, and the stunt extras, although in many movies HK stunt extras appeared in Taiwanese kf movies, too. Most of the ancient Chinese town, restaurant, brothel, etc. sets in Taiwan were done at the movie town in Wai Shuang Hsi, a suburb of Taipei that tourists can visit (or at least could back when I was there). It also has a tall wall and city gate at the entrance to the sets that is often seen in Taiwan kf movies (Invincible Armour and Carter Wong's fight in Revenge of the Patriots comes to mind).

Many of the HK period kf films also used the same sets in different films, esp. that house that doubles between a brothel in some films and a home or mayor's or villain's house in others...see The Master Strikes, Five Fingers of Steel, Blind Fist, etc.

end of ramble... ;)

[jethro]

Yeah I guess I forgot all those Lee Tso Nan and Joseph Kuo movies. I think Shaolin Vs Lama, secret Rivals an Death Duel of Kung Fu were filmed in Korea? It seems like all the Roc Tien movies are in Taiwan. You are right there are a lot from over there.

I just got done watching Blind fist of Bruce. Decent movie. I love that fight with Bruce Li vs Kong Do and 2 other guys. Tiger Yang didn't really get to show off and the second half of the final fight sucked. I agree warriors 2 is his best performance. I remember he was good in Tower of death. I don't really remember what he did, but my favorite part of the movie is when he gets kicked through that box.

[Jimbo]

Death Duel of Kung Fu, Secret Rivals 1, Hitman in the Hand of Buddha, Ninja vs. Shaolin Guards, Wonderman of Shaolin, Shaolin Drunken Monk, Hand of Death, etc., were among the many filmed in Korea. Also, in the '70s, there were some movies that had some parts filmed in both Hong Kong and Korea (Iron-Fisted Monk, Warriors Two, etc.). Some of Jackie's Lo Wei films were filmed wholly in Korea or partly in Taiwan and Korea, such as Dragon Fist, etc.). IMO, Shadow Whip was filmed in Korea.

Shaolin Vs. Lama was filmed completely in Taiwan.

The Korean landscape, temples, statues, mountains, etc., are very distinctive.

Also, movies filmed in the various countries (HK, Taiwan, Korea) simply have their own flavors. Hard to explain...they just have different "feels" to them. Ninja in the Dragons Den was all filmed in Taiwan, though it was a Seasonal/Toei co-production, so some of it was done in the Japanese film style.

Tower of Death was filmed in Japan, Korea, and HK. I remember Tiger Yang wearing like a leopard Tarzan outfit or something in that.

Bruce Li's Return of the Tiger was filmed in Taiwan; possibly both in Taipei and Kaohsiung(?).

Iron Dragon Strikes Back was done in HK. I watched it again last night and it's excellent, better than I liked it before. The final 15 minutes are classic. I recognized the interior of Chiu Chi-Ling's school before he walked in at the beginning (his old HK school was in Kowloon on, I think, Bak Hoi St.).

All of Chang Cheh's Shaolin cycle released by Shaws were filmed in Taiwan except for Shaolin Temple in '76.

PS: Chiang Tao (Kong Do) actually got to inflict more punishment in Blind Fist than he usually does; normally he's cast as the really tough opponent whose main purpose is to make the hero look good. His movements are not pretty, but he looks like the type who could handle himself quite well for real.

[jethro]

Yeah Iron Dragon Strikes Back is just a really great movie. Its different, in a good way.

I thought about it for awhile and I think Kong Do's best performances were in Tiger Over Wall, Super Power and Kung Fu Zombie. He was in so many movies. Well over 100.

And thanks for the info on all that location stuff. Now that I think about I can think of tons of movies from Taiwan. Their output was probably close to being equal to HK from the late 60's to the mid 80's.

[jethro]

Dragon Dynasty Royal Tramp Collection- this woulda been a good deal, but I didn't like Royal Tramp part 2. Only special features are a great commentary from Bey Logan and a 10 minute interview with Wong Jing.

[Jimbo]

I dropped by Best Buy today and got the Image release of Shaolin Intruders.

[banditshaw]

PS: Chiang Tao (Kong Do) actually got to inflict more punishment in Blind Fist than he usually does; normally he's cast as the really tough opponent whose main purpose is to make the hero look good. His movements are not pretty, but he looks like the type who could handle himself quite well for real.

Chiang Tao....he was the meatheaded guy who goads The Wong family during Lion dance in ''Challenge Of the Masters'' right? God that guy used to get the **** beaten outta him.
He was also in ''Avenging Eagle'' or was it ''Kung Fu instructor'' with Ti Lung?

Great stuff.

All those Ocean shore movies looked like they were filmed in Taiwan.

[Jimbo]

banditshaw:
Yeah, Chiang Tao was the smart-mouth in Challenge of the Masters. He actually got his start in Chang Cheh's movies, I believe his very first were The Savage Five, Men From the Monastery, and Shaolin Martial Arts. Maybe his longest fights were against Billy Chong (Super Power, Kung Fu Executioner).

Here are a few of the old-schoolers who were great performers but were exceptionally good at helping others get over (i.e., make others look good in fights):

Chien Yueh-Sheng (Cantonese: Chin Yuet-San).
Li Hai-Sheng (Lee Hoi-San).
Chung Fa.
Chiang Tao.

I watched Shaolin Intruders last night. It came out in 1983, right near the end of the Shaw Brothers era. Not a great film, but still better IMO than any martial arts films made in the past ten years. Almost non-stop fighting action. Once more, Phillip Ko (Kao Fei) proves he has the best corny villain laugh to go with his great physical performances. The star, Derek Yee (brother of David Chiang) does a fine job, but there doesn't seem to be anything about him that stands out martial-wise. Jason Pai Piao plays a goofy gambler. I enjoyed it more now than when the movie was first released in theaters; much had been forgotten.
Though you can tell by this film that the filmmakers were running out of ideas for the old period kung fu films.

[jethro]

Shaolin Intruders is one of my favs. The wirework is so smooth. I liked Intruders even more than Shaolin Prince.