Part horror, part kung-fu, 100% outrageous, HUMAN LANTERS has a special place in the Cult Film Hall of Fame. Some of the biggest stars in Hong Kong martial arts movies enter the twilight zone in this over-the-top bloodfest, with Lo Lieh an insane swordsman who comes up with a unique way to avenge past humiliations. He opens a lantern workshop with the lampshades made from the beautiful hides of his enemies’ sisters, courtesans, and wives. Liu Yung steps down from the Emperor roles that made him famous to play a deliciously evil bad guy, and Chen Kuan-tai matches him in pride and power-lust. Lust of another kind is supplied by Tanny Tien Ni and Linda Chu, two ladies whose beautiful skin proves to be a most unwelcome asset. A rare entry in the horror-kung-fu genre, and one of Hong Kong’s most distinctive action films.
With Hong Kong cinema's new wave, high flying, martial arts action of the 1980's, came a new wave of actors; teeny-bopper, canto-pop singer/stars with little or no martial arts background. However, when a film like LITTLE DRAGON MAIDEN intelligently mixes the old with the new, the results are pure golden magic. This costume-action, drama, love story features relative newcomer Leslie Cheung, who falls in love with the Dragon Maiden while learning the art of swordplay. The recipe is complete when veteran kung-fu stars Chen Kuan-tai and Lo Lieh add just enough weapon-wielding spice to make this film really cook. Cheung garnered international recognition in John Woo's A BETTER TOMORROW and Ronny Yu's THE BRIDE WITH WHITE HAIR.
Leslie Cheung, Weng Tsing-tsing, Chen Kuan-tai, Liu Hsueh-yua
A comedy about a naïve villager who arrives in the big city to seek his fortune. "The Crazy Bumpkins" is hilarious and bittersweet, much like its simple tragic-hero who has a heart of gold but pockets of lint.
Lo Wei directs and stars as the chief detective in this gripping thriller; playing alongside Lily Ho, who excels in the role of an undercover avenger that can fight as well as she flirts! Caught between the crime bosses known as Baldhead and Black Widow, she only has four choices: punch, kick, shoot or bombard with explosives!
Forbidden love and magical weapons are at the centre of this enjoyable martial arts comedy. A reunited couple must recover the titular swords and avenge a murder from their past!
Jenny Hu and veteran co-star Margaret Tu Chuan join longtime0020idol Paul Chang Chung in a battle against the notorious Black Falcon crime mob in Singapore. Together they have to face forgery, fire, and even poisoned needles to stop the mob.
Chen Kuang (David Chiang) and Tu Fa (Wang Chung) are good friends who make an honest living as taxi drivers. Ma Hsiang-lung (Shih Chung-tien), a tenant in the same house as Chen, plots a bank robbery. They set a trap for Chen and the police identifies Chen as one of the robbers. Aided by his friends Tu Fa, Chen goes into hiding, trying at the same time to track down the real robbers.
Prominent kung-fu actor David Chiang teams up with Chang Cheh's award winning screenwriter Ni Kuang to create a visual masterpiece full of exotic martial arts skills and fights in Shaolin Hand Lock. Chiang, who learned the secret 'Shaolin Handlock' technique from his father, is on a mission to avenge his father's death, which was ordered by the evil Ling Hao, played by Shaw Brothers' penultimate bad guy, kung-fu star, Lo Lieh. Adding to the great success of this film was the glamorous yet outlandishly inventive action sequences staged by acclaimed martial arts choreographer Tang Chia and an imposing visual edge and meticulously stylish directing by the brilliant director Ho Meng-hua who was responsible for giving early film breaks to Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung.
Jimmy Wang Yu had become a star in 1965's TEMPLE OF THE RED LOTUS. He became a superstar in 1967's ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN and 1968's GOLDEN SWALLOW. But this was his first fully realized personal kung-fu vision. Jimmy Wang Yu wrote, directed and starred in this classic favorite as the Chinese kung-fu superman, years before Bruce Lee would become famous for the same themes. He plays the famous Lei Ming, a noble young martial arts student who doesn't know the meaning of giving up. He faces a treacherous, blood-thirsty Japanese karate expert, played, of all people, by Lo Lieh (who was to become The Shaws' first international star in THE KING BOXER just months later). Featuring unforgettable training sequences and many fights, this box office smash would lead to a career unparalleled in its eccentricity and excitement.
Wang Yu, Lo Lieh, Wang Ping, Chao Hsiung, Cheng Lei
Linda Lin Dai gives a soul-stirring performance as a real-life beauty that is tricked into sacrificing herself for the good of the Chinese people. Truth is revealed too late, and she kills herself. Life imitates art and years later, Linda committed suicide.
Lin Dai , Chao Lei , Hung Por ,Wang Yueh-ting , Chang Tsui-yin , Li Yin
The famed Ivy Ling Po (Temple Of The Red Lotus) stars as a mysterious swordswoman dedicated to keeping the five volume “Five Generations Fighting Methods” kung-fu manual out of evil-doers’ hands. She joins Ling Yun, star of The Iron Buddha, who plays a hero known only as the Roving Knight to fight, train, then fight again -- facing such characters as The Six-Armed Giant and The 1000-Cut in this action-packed adventure.
Linda Lin Dai struggles with The Blue forces of freedom, love, the sea and the sky, and The Black, the bottomless pit of evil. Lin’s poignant performance is memorable, however, it is that of newcomer Angela Yu Chien, who was named Best Supporting Actress. Part I ends with a literal cliffhanger, setting the stage for the equally memorable Part II.
Also known as Seven Soldiers Of Kung-fu and 108 Heroes, this sequel to the martial arts blockbuster The Water Margin is considered by many kung-fu cultists as even more action-packed than the original. Based on one of China’s enduring epic novels, written in the 14th century, All Men Are Brothers continues the patriotic story of righteous warriors battling despotic leaders, featuring mythic characters familiar to every Chinese, and with a cast that has achieved an equally celebrated status among Shaw Brothers devotees: Ti Lung, David Chiang, Chen Kuan-tai, and Danny Lee. A hard-edged feminine touch is provided by Lily Ho and Betty Chung Ling-ling. The behind-the-camera line-up is also of mythic proportions, with direction by Chang Cheh and no less than four martial arts choreographers, including Liu Chia-liang and brother Liu Chia-yung.
Betty Chung Ling-ling, Ti Lung, David Chiang, Chen Kuan-tai
Shaw's and TVB's biggest stars join hands in this ensemble cast tale of the woes of falling headfirst into a hunger chase for money and riches. In 1973, the Hong Kong Heng Seng Index hit extraordinary peaks, and people from all walks of life go stock market crazy. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's social problems pile up without anyone paying any attention to what's happening to the crazy lives of this mad city that so many people call home. An ingenious tongue-in-cheek tale from talented director Chu Yuan.
