After making such successful thrillers as THE CRIMINALS 2 - HOMICIDES, such well-received action films as BIG BROTHER CHENG, and such popular comedies as MR. FUNNY - BONE, director Kuei Chih-hung put his first "hex" on the audience. This serie, frightening, supernatural mystery thriller was so effective, it led to HEX VERSUS WITCHCRAFT and HEX AFTER HEX. But this was the original, starring the lovely Tanny Tien Ni in a challenging role of a wronged, bed-ridden wife who is at the mercy of her evil husband... and so much more. What starts as an Asian variation of the classic Fench suspense film DIABOLIQUE becomes an exercise in fervid and frightening Hong Kong horror as one ghost after another appears to wreak havoc, insanity, and death.
Sun Chung, an established comedy, romance, and modern crime filmmaker, now breathes mortality into this tale of the 100 Poison Clique's obsessive ambition to destroy all rivals. This is one spectacular martial arts viewing like never before. Kung-fu superstar David Chiang and prominent choreographer Tang Chia lead the cast in a bloody clan clash centered on the trial of an admitted mass murderer and serial rapist.
Sun Chung started exploring the kung-fu genre with this fascinating tale which mixes music and martial arts. It's a tale of conflicting clans and a mysterious song called 'The Proud One' which leads to slowly blossoming love as well as sudden death.
Liu Yung plays a young man at the wrong place at the wrong time. Simply because he displeased a police inspector, he’s thrown into jail. But even when he’s released, the police persecute him until he has no choice but to become a real criminal. Only a kind and beautiful probation officer, played by Fanny, is on his side, but she is not enough to help him…
Kwan leads a double life as a waitress and as an infamous outlaw, The Black Butterfly. When she steals a cache of gold from the Five Devils Rock bandits, she soon has the bandits, and the government, on her tail.
It is love beyond the grave, as a young scholar and his beautiful lover are torn apart forever by his dastardly uncle and his friend, who drive the girl to commit suicide... but with death comes revenge for the enchanting ghost. A spooky yet heart-wrenching tale...
Chang Mei-yao , Yang Li-hua , Lei Ming , Tsui Fu-sheng
In swordplay movies, females played a more central role in the plots and the swordswomen created in the genre are some of the most charismatic figures in Hong Kong cinema thanks in great part to Cheng Pei-pei. In The Jade Raksha, Cheng Pei-pei becomes a human combine harvester as she hacks and whacks a path through life avenging the death of her family under the moniker "The Jade Raksha." Cheng Pei-pei gained international recognition in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
After her father's murder at the hands of the Golden Knight organization, swords-women Yu Fei-hsia (Lily Ho Li Li) is accused of killing clan members in vengeance. To prove her innocence, Yu Fei-hsia attempts to track down the real killer.
The "Venoms" were no more. After five years and more than a dozen films together, the only one of the original five who proved so successful for the director was the muscleman Lo Meng. But with just that one "venom" and his incredibly agile new star Cheng Tien-chi, he made this spectacular, internationally popular, favorite. Evil ninjas (who attack with, and from, fire, sun, wood, water, and the ground) brutally slaughter a noble Chinese kung-fu school's students. The one survivor finds a teacher and four students who are ninjitsu experts. The five graduates take revenge. With this strong structure and exceptional kung-fu choreography (from the star and co-star Chu Ke), Chang Cheh produced platinum. This film was one of the director's best of his superheroic, grand guignol period. By any name, it could be called, almost literally, "bloody good" entertainment!
Frankie Wei Hung is the Swordsman At Large, who is hunted down by practically everyone. A superlative sword is created just for the purpose of taking his life, but the blade becomes more coveted than the hero's death by it! Bandits, beauties and blade masters battle for grandeur in this exciting story of deceit, betrayal and death; expertly guided by the director who brings showcases to the Shawscope screen!
Margaret Hsing Hui, Tina Chin Fei, Frankie Wei, Yu Feng
Lo Lieh was famous as Shaw Studio's first international kung-fu film star. He was famous throughout Asia for dozens of superlative performances in everything from horror to modern thrillers to martial arts. But it was the rare saga Lo also directed, and this was one of those special events. Following his huge success starring as the infamous Shaolin Temple traitor in preeminent kung-fu filmmaker Liu Chia-liang's Executioners From Shaolin, he returned to the role in this, a combination sequel and remake. Liu stayed on as choreographer, while his famed adoptive brother, Gordon Liu Chia-hui, and his discovery, Hui Ying-hung, stepped into the starring roles. The result is a lighter-hearted entertainment, as our hero learns "Embroidery Fist" and acupuncture to counter the evil White Lotus leader's deadly "Weightless Boxing" and "Nerve Centre Shutdown" techniques. The permutations of their fights are delightful to behold.
Arguably, the greatest kung-fu film director of all time is Liu Chia-liang. Unarguably the greatest kung-fu film character of all time is Huang Fei-hung. So what do you think would happen when you put these two titanic talents together? You get one of the finest "pure" kung-fu films ever made, with nary a character getting killed, but the thrills coming a mile a minute as two pugilism schools tests each other for a full hundred minutes. Following the director’s only other Huang Fei-hung film, CHALLENGE OF THE MASTERS, Lau returns his dynamic adoptive brother, Gordon Liu Chia-hui, to the leading role, then gives the king of screen villains, Wang Lung-wei, one of his few anti-heroic roles... just in time for a stunning climax unparalleled in its adeptness and invention.
In the same year, director/writer Chang Cheh and star Jimmy Wang Yu revolutionized Hong Kong kung-fu cinema with One-Armed Swordsman, they also collaborated on this epic of the Six Kingdoms era. Here, Yu is a two-armed swordsman who is also a Wei Empire patriot. Inside the Han Empire, Han Kuei who comes from the royal family, is actually assumed full power and he wants to eliminate loyal officer Yen Sui. Later, our main character is betrayed by a jealous rival and becomes a village butcher. When he meets Yen Sui accidentally, he is sent back on the road of vengeance. Chiao Chiao, the lovely and talented costar of One-Armed Swordsman, here plays Hsia Ying, the love of the hero's life, and the strong woman who survives to protect their child.
Wang Yu, Chiao Chiao, Li Hsiang-chun, Tien Feng, Huang Chung-shun
Cherie Chung headlines this sexy romance as the eponymous heroine, a fitness instructor who attracts the attentions of a wealthy businessman (Chu Yuan) and handsome artist (Tony Leung Ka-fai).
