Kuei Chih-hung was famous for his modern day crime thrillers, his horror flicks, and even his comedies. But if the only kung-fu film he ever made was this one, he’d still be spoken of with respect by even the most ardent martial arts movie fan. Many consider this real life martial arts champion Chen Kuan-tai’s best performance. As a deeply, even obsessively, dedicated Chief Court Constable, he illuminates the screen with fighting skill and emotional passion. Award winning actor Ku Feng is his equal, playing an especially homicidal robber-chief who thinks nothing of throwing all his men at their relentless pursuer. Lu Tsun and Huang Pei-chi choreograph the many battles featuring such action stalwarts as Pai Piao and Ai Fei.
Li Han-hsiang wrote and directed this charming and fascinating comedy, Forbidden Tales Of Two Cities. The two cities in the picture are Macau, where a love quartet is a morally-unsound source for sexual entertainment; and Hong Kong, where a woman enters a gambler’s apartment to find four shackles hanging from his ceiling to aid in kinky activities...
"Godfather of the kung-fu film" Chang Cheh, is famous for introducing the revolutionary concept of "yanggang" (macho) martial arts movies – paving the way for Bruce Lee, among many others. Until then, female stars (often in male swordsmen roles) ruled the screens. So collaboration between writer/director Chang and swordswoman supreme Cheng Pei-pei (now famous for CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON) is exceptional indeed. Here she plays a righteous woman warrior who incurs the wrath of a "flying knife" master after she kills his rapist son. Lucky for her that an honorable dagger master played by Lo Lieh (the star of Shaw Brothers' first international kung-fu hit KING BOXER) is on her side. Although extremely attractive when she only played heroes, Cheng could hold her own with any man, freeing Chang to create the best of all possible martial arts worlds.
The thrills continue in the second part of this cherished adventure, created by the renowned director Chu Yuan and ingenious novelist Chin Yung. Only the union of the title weapons can save the six remaining martial arts sects who are vying for mastery. So just sit back and enjoy the movie event which spawned a legacy that continues even today with a long-running, internationally loved television series, a role-playing game, and even collectible replicas of the Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre themselves!
It's back to the Shaolin Monastery for one of the most unusual action-packed tales to invade its hallowed halls. Lo Lieh is the ringleader of the Snake Sect, intent on reviving a particularly deadly faction known as the "Five Poison Web" (which is also THE WEB OF DEATH's Chinese title). To achieve his ends, he has an affair with the sexy ringleader of the Scorpion Sect, Angela Yu Chien. But there is also the Centipede Sect to contend with, as well as other assorted martial artists, among them such top Shaw Brothers talents as Yueh Hua, Ching Li, and Lily Li. Under the fluid direction of Chu Yuan and action choreographers Tang Chia and Yuen Cheung-yan (member of the martial arts world's esteemed Yuen Family and brother of Matrix master Yuen Woo-ping), THE WEB OF DEATH goes places where no other Shaolin kung-fu movie has gone before or since.
Made at the peak of the martial arts film craze, BLOOD BROTHERS stands out against the run-of-the-mill kung-fu flicks that flooded the market in the 1970s. It would be hard to find more legendary names in front of and behind the camera: director Chang Cheh, who virtually reinvented the genre; the brilliant martial arts choreography by Liu Chia-liang, before he himself embarked on a directorial career; and the number one buddy team in kung-fu, Ti Lung and David Chiang, joined by Shaw Brothers newest superstar, Chen Kuan-tai. Set in the waning years of the Ching Dynasty, Blood Brothers tells of one of the most sensational scandals in Chinese history, the assassination of a provincial governor (Ti Lung) by his lieutenant and sworn brother (David Chiang). Ti Lung, in a complex role that allowed him to flex his thespian muscles, was honored with Golden Horse Award of Outstanding Performance.
No list compiled of all the screen's comic geniuses would be complete without Michael Hui. He created a hilarious and lovable comic persona that was both uniquely Asian and universally beloved. The Warlord, his first film, not only showcased his incomparable sense of humour but also a revolutionized Hong Kong comedy. Evoking Chaplin, he plays a warlord in early 20th century China, but makes the role his own with comedy. Some of the sexiest ladies on the Shaw Brothers lot add on to the ingenuity of the movie.
Director Chu Yuan has been hailed as the premiere screen interpreter of famed author Ku Lung's martial arts novels, and this is one of their best. This is an exciting tale of two rival swordsmen in imperial China vying with a power-hungry villain for possession of the dangerous "Peacock Dart"It showcases brilliantly choreographed fights, glorious settings, superb cinematography, exceptional scenes, and a strong cast. It all leads to a final showdown that stands out as a highpoint in kung-fu cinema.
It's Meng Yuan-wen (star of The Master Strikes) versus Kuan Feng in this wild and wacky wushu saga of a priceless pole with a spectacular secret. A master martial artist's silly disciple struggles to save it from an evil white slaver, the slaver's duplicitous wife, and even his own bone-headed, but greedy, companion. Hsu Hsia choreographs the abundant action, as he had for both Five Superfighters and Drunken Master. The result is both sublime (for its kung-fu) and engagingly ridiculous.
Meng Yuan-wen, Chin Huang, Pan Ping-chang, Kuan Feng
A rare directorial foray for acclaimed martial arts choreographer Tang Chia, Shaolin Intruders is an entertaining amalgamation of eye-popping martial arts and thrilling detective story. On a routine courier mission, the prestigious Chin Hu Chief was murdered by four mysterious monks. When all evidence pointed to Ching Hua (Liu Yu-po) his friend Lei Hsin (Derek Yee) was determined to clear his name by barging in the Shaolin Temple thrice. When Lei thought justice was served for the culprits, he soon realized the table had turned and the monks stroke again. What followed is a series of intense pursuit for the ultimate villain﹗The film is filled with jaw-dropping action sequences developed by Tang and six leading choreographers of the era. Scenes including the "Blade Array", "Twelve Vajrayana Array" and the acclaimed "Stool Array" are all lauded as the defining Chinese screen gems, for their insane complexity and lightning speed.
The most prolific kung-fu director in Hong Kong martial arts cinema, Chang Cheh, ushered in a new phase of his career and a new generation of action stars with THE FIVE VENOMS. The setting is ancient China's School of Five Venoms, so named for its five types of kung-fu based on five venomous animals: centipede, scorpion, serpent, toad, and lizard. The school is notorious for the evil deeds of its disciples, leading to another classic battle between righteousness and depravity. THIS INTERNATIONAL HIT, LAUDED IN RIC MEYERS' PREMIERE, GROUNDBREAKING BOOK MARTIAL ARTS MOVIES AS ONE OF THE GREATEST, SPAWNED A SERIES FEATURING THE SAME ACTORS IN NEW ROLES WHICH WAS ALSO ENJOYED FROM AMERICA TO ASIA.
Kuo Chue, Sun Chien, Chiang Sheng, Lo Meng, Lu Feng
Cantopop king Aaron Kwok shows that he can kick and chop with the best of them. As THE BARE-FOOTED KID, he's an innocent country bumpkin/martial arts whiz in the Ching Dynasty who proves more than equal to the city slickers whose path he crosses. Ably assisted by director Johnnie To and with martial arts choreography by the legendary Liu Chia-liang, Aaron Kwok - generally acknowledged to be the best dancer among the pop idols - proves that he's equally graceful at kung-fu. The ladies in the bare-footed kid's life are impressive as well, with Maggie Cheung Man-yuk an introspective widow and Jacklyn Wu a rambunctious rich girl. Most imposing is Ti Lung, playing a mysterious fugitive, showing that he still possesses the screen presence that first brought him to kung-fu superstardom over twenty years earlier.
It's a fun and wild romp that mixes pleasure with pleasure. A nightclub owner, playboy Peter Chen Ho, has his ways with three sisters while gallivanting across Asia. Each one has a dangling relationship to save - ensuring a series of mishaps and comic moments. The film also introduces young up and coming starlet Betty Ting Pei as one of the sisters.
Cheng Chang-ho had already established his filmmaking fame in Korea when he was invited to join the Shaw Studio. He created new fame in Hong Kong by directing (and sometimes writing) such action epics as Valley Of The Fangs, The Swift Knight, and this tale of a decapitating swordswoman who will let nothing stand in her way when she falls in love with a bandit’s son. Chiao Chiao, made famous in One-Armed Swordsman, is the girl who won’t let such trifles as craniums keep her from freeing her man from jail. The one villain who manages to keep his head (in every definition of the phrase) is Fan Mei-sheng. The success of this film really helped the director get ahead in just two years he was to helm the very first internationally successful kung-fu film: King Boxer.
Chiao Chiao, Chen Liang, Wang Hsieh, Ching Miao, Chang Pei-shan
