Even at an early time during Hong Kong's erotica cinema development, highly renowned directors were willing to sacrifice their reputations and established actresses were lining up to take off their clothes. In Facets Of Love, the undisputed king of epic dramas, director Li Han-hsiang, gets some of Shaw's sexiest ladies to strip for camera. It's three sexy vignettes centering around a Ming Dynasty brothel that steams with secret erotic myths, trysts and twists of pleasurable indulgence.
Long before he became internationally famous for directing Bruce Lee's first film and giving Jackie Chan his big break, Lo Wei was famous for his acting. He was, in fact, a wellknown matinee idol in the 1950's. He enjoyed appearing in front of the camera throughout his career - even in his five years working at the Shaw Studio. This was one of his most central roles, as the loyal swordsman ShangkuanHao, leader of the Black Dragon Clan. Sharing the screen with him was swordswoman supreme Cheng Pei-pei, the lovely and luminous superstar who also created an international stir with her one and only villainous role (in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon). Here she is as most fans love her best: the heroic woman warrior who saves the country. But she must face the duplicitous White Dragons, the Flying Leopard, and the Red-headed Monk, among others, to secure the throne and safeguard a hoard of treasure.
Cheng Pei-pei , Yueh Hua , Wu Fung, Lo Wei, Tien Feng
Ti Lung is the title character, who lives on the Snake Mountain of Kwangsi with his brothers the Black Snake and the Yellow Snake, have been trying to turn into humans for a thousand years. Attracted by the sensual rain dance performed by three glorious tribeswomen of the nearby Miao Village, they set into motion a tale of romance, greed, insanity, envy, lust, murder, and tragedy.
In a rare reversal of typecasting, Shaw Brothers' perennial bad guy Lo Lieh breaks tradition to play the honorable and noble swordsman in The Swift Knight. Similar to Danny Kaye's The Court Jester without the jest, it's tale of brave knights, chivalry and fair maidens where the Swift Knight (Lo Lieh) finds himself involved in romance, court intrigue and deadly jousts while trying to protect a baby who is the Emperor's secret heir apparent.
Lo Lieh, Margaret Hsing Hui, Huang Tsung-hsing, Chin Han
In Sex, Love And Hate, director of erotica and kung-fu films, Chu Yuan, combines stars from both genres to create a masterpiece about Hong Kong society's differing views on love and what women want from it. The provocative Chu Tai (Ching Li), exotic Pai Mei (Lily Ho) and the princess of kung-fu films Yao Yao (Hsu Feng) compare notes on what makes them happy in love, and then subsequently proceed to find it.
Four martial arts experts live in Seoul after the Korean War in the 1950s. One of them inexplicably crosses path with a drug trafficking syndicate, and his three friends have no choice but to fight a brutal battle on his side...
David Chiang, Ti Lung, Wang Chung, Yasuaki Kurata, Chen Kuan-tai
Talented director Chen Gang wrote and co-directed this tale of a Chinese Zorro who wages a one-man war against the venal and tyrannical county authorities. Chi yau-tung (actor/director Ling Yun) is the "bandit with a thousand faces". After holding up a caravan taking money to the capital and escaping with a slash on his face, police officer Ma Tak (Tien Feng) is on Chi's tail. So Chi calls on his twin brother, Yau-lan (also Lin!) to help. Soon he needs rescuing too!
The Deadly Breaking Sword elevated director Sun Chung to the martial arts directorial rank of Chang Cheh. Starring the incomparable Ti Lung and Jackie Chan's kung-fu comedic rival Alexander Fu Sheng, acclaimed fight choreographer Tang Chia had a field day increasing the stars' venomous fighting appeal. Armed with the "Deadly Breaking Sword" technique, Tuen Cheng-tsin (Ti Lung) joins forces with thief Ko Mun (Alexander Fu Sheng) to defeat an assassin being "acupuncturingly" controlled by the evil Dr. Kuo.
Incredibly, the title serpent is not a harbinger of horror, but actually the film's hero. This virtuous viper sniffs out bombs, fights gangs, battles a baby-killing rodent and even takes on a duplicitous woman. This one-of-a-kind thriller will be applauded by reptile fans everywhere.
Director Hsu Cheng-hung, much credited with the revolution of wuxia cinema in the 1960s returns to offer up another genre-bending take on the martial arts movie. This time it's Romeo and Juliet in the Chinese underworld! When Grand Master student Yu Chien-wen (Chang Yi) falls for Chiao Chiao (the dazzling and energetic Cheng Pei-pei), the daughter of arch enemy, the Poison Master, we know they are in for trouble. And when Chiao Chiao kills another clan in Yu's name, the Grand Master's clan is unable to stand by. But Yu is too much in love to obey orders...
Huangmei Opera movies like The Pearl Phoenix are unique to 1960s Hong Kong culture, a product of the Swinging Sixties but considerably more in touch with their Chinese roots. This one is completed with a gender-bending tale where the male lead is played by a female posing as a man, plus movie queen Li Ching and the singing voices of Ivy Ling Po and Jing Ting. Sit back and enjoy!
Perennial Shaw Brothers hero Ti Lung versus perennial Shaw Brothers villain Lo Lieh. This combination is always enough to make one buckle up for a rousing ride of stylized fun. Based on a story about the famous anti-Ching Hung Hua Society, Chen Chia-lo (Ti Lung) must endure music attacks, great acts of betrayal and loyalty, memorable twists and controlled confusion to capture Ching Emperor, Chien Lung, who turns out to be his brother. Chang Chao-Chung (Lo Lieh) wants Chien Lung back. Besides ultra-extravagant sets, THE EMPEROR AND HIS BROTHER uses cool special effects to embellish Chen's secret "peacock fist" technique. Of particular note, the final action sequence features Jackie Chan's kung-fu buddies, Yuan Te and Yuan Pin, who were both action directors for Sammo Hung's American TV show MARTIAL LAW.
The noted actress Li Li-hua, star of more than sixty films since 1947, beautifully portrays the drugged, then disgraced wife of a peddler in the waning days of the Ching Dynasty. To make matters worse, she's soon framed for her husband’s murder by her rapist - the son of the local magistrate! And even that isn’t the end of her woes. It's best to have a box of tissues nearby as two expert directors ratchet up the emotional suspense in this consummate tearjerker.
Li Li-hua, Kao Pao-shu, Ouyang Sha-fei, Kwan Shan, Ku Wen-chung
Kuo Ching-chung (Ling Yun), an office worker, his wife, Chen Mei-chuan (Terry Liu) and his sister, Carrie (Chiang San), are passengers on a ferry bound for an outlying island of Hong Kong. On board the same boat are a group of young hooligans who form the so-called 'speed gang' of motorcyclists. One of them called Michael makes advances to Carrie, but is stopped by his brother Johnny, the ringleader. On the island, the trio goes joy-riding on a car, while Carrie's boyfriend Huang Szu-wei (Danny Lee) goes fishing. The 'speed gang' harasses them by driving their motorbikes around their car at breakneck speed. In the evening the gangs take part in a motorcycle race organized by Johnny. The winners are given the company of girls from the 'speed gang'. Kuo and Huang plan to take Chen Mei-chuan and Carrie back to town to avoid being molested, but the gangs stop them by playing different tricks including the deflating of their car tyres. In an ensuing scuffle, Chen Mei-chuan is assaulted and Carrie is killed. Jumping on a motorbike, Huang races it against the hooligans, knocking them down, but is killed by a stone hurled at his head. Michael again tries to rape Chen Mei-chuan in a forest, but is overpowered by her husband who arrives in the nick of time. He is then tied up and took to Kuo's house. The teddy boys led by Johnny subsequently arrive to storm it and succeed in breaking into it after a series of attempts. However, they meet with stubborn resistance from Kuo and his wife. Fortunately, the Marine Police arrive just in time to arrest the teddy boys.
