Enter the Game of Death | aka The King of Kung Fu (1978/1981) Review

“Enter the Game of Death” Theatrical Poster

“Enter the Game of Death” Theatrical Poster

Director: Joseph Kong
Co-director: Lee Tso Nam
Cast: Bruce Le (aka Huang Kin Long, Wong Kin Lung), Bolo Yeung, Li Hai Sheng, Lee Hoi San, James Nam, Chu Chi Ling, Kim Wang Kuk, Samuel Walls
Running Time: 90 min.

By Joseph Kuby

Guilty Exploitation Pleasure!

Enter The Game of Death (a.k.a. King of Kung Fu) is really a bad film though one that’s highly enjoyable for Bruce Lee/martial arts/action/Hong Kong movie aficionados! (there’s plenty of references to films such as Fist of Fury, Enter the Dragon and Game of Death for those who care to decipher them such as the sub-plot from ETD about having the Bruce character agreeing to do a secret mission because of his female relative being attacked by would-be rapists)

Guaranteed, it’s not really as good as some of the Bruce Li movies (e.g. The Chinese Stuntman, The Gold Connection a.k.a. Iron Dragon Strikes Back, The Lama Avengers a.k.a. The Three Avengers) nor is at as good as the official Game of Death movies, but nonetheless Enter the Game of Death has its moments and then some!

The film is probably most interesting for utilizing the same location Bruce Lee had intended for his unfilmed magnum opus/tour de force masterpiece Game of Death (which had also been used to good effect in the John Liu actioner Wu Tang Magic Kick a.k.a. The Mars Villa).

Bruce Le, at first, looks nothing like Bruce Lee (he appears in the opening credit sequence like an older Chinese version of Haley Joel Osmond) then as the film progresses there’s certain scenes, shots or rather frames that make you think or even say ‘Is that Brucie?!’ especially during the last fight Le has with Bolo and during his second to last fight scene with this black guy (in particular the beginning of the second slo-mo shot where he performs this kick and if you look carefully his face seems to resemble that of Lee’s).

Bruce Le may lack the acting skills and presence of Bruce Lee (not to mention immaculate performance of martial arts technique) but he manages to capture some of the movements and even the physique of Bruce Lee (physique-wise, he resembles the way Bruce looked when he did Enter the Dragon) even though his facial expressions are over the top (though perhaps not as much as Dragon Lee’s).

After reading the other Joe’s review, it’s very easy to see why the film has a slipshod nature as there’s little consistency in the film’s story (only a very basic plot which is vaguely linear).

The worst example of this consistency (or lack thereof) is the one concerning Bolo Yeung who switches between Japanese and Chinese costumes and is working for both a Chinese boss and a Japanese one without no narrative recourse. This is especially confusing when it’s seen at the beginning of the film when both bosses appear to be in allegiance with one another. A sub-plot would have been nice to explain such a rapid inconsistent moment of storytelling.

Speaking of allegiances, it’s never told comprehensively much less convincingly how Lisa (who faintly looks like Chingmy Yau Suk Ching – former starlet of Wong Jing) had become a double-spy for both the Chinese and Germans (this film is set prior to the World War II despite the fashions of Bruce Le and the Westerners he fights) and it’s never really been stated why she tries to convince Bruce to join both causes (I guess to keep her cover but again it’s not clear so as to make the viewer sure of what’s happening).

Also, when talking about female characters with strange motivations, Bruce’s cousin (for whom he’s avenging) asks for help after being raped but then moments later bites her tongue to commit suicide!… why bother to call for help in the first place? I know there’s this adage of making the audience guess and to figure things out for themselves but this is just ridiculously lazy, inane and virtually insane.

Henceforth, as a result, this movie is the best (or worst – depending on which way you look at it) example of making a film where there is no genuine motivation but to set up a series of fight scenes.

At least in some of the lesser examples of the genre, there’s a fairly substantial reason or reasonable excuse as to why the fights are there but this lacks logic (especially for the first encounter between Bruce Le and Bolo Yeung).

Also there’s a tournament sequence (that has a nice documentary feel to it) which even though features characters from the main storyline, it’s not been properly established as to why Bolo is fighting contenders in the ring. No explanation has been given afterwards, either.

The opening credit sequence features a funny and almost self-mocking portrait of its star Bruce Le which has two funky themes playing throughout (the last one which sounds like a retro version of the James Bond theme which I don’t think was ever used in any of the 70s Bond movies or even the Dr. No inspired Enter the Dragon – a missed opportunity for the latter, would have made it seem less of a rip-off of the former as the usage of the music cue would imply that the similarities were intentional, almost referential).

This credit sequence is strange because when the screen pauses each time a credit pops up, a virtually different music cue pops up (seemingly from different films altogether e.g. Drunken Master and The Hot, The Cool & The Vicious); distractingly, some of the same cues are used to encompass the credits towards the ending duration of the credit sequence.

For the last half of the film, music cues have been ripped off from Enter the Dragon. But for some reason, it never seems all that out of place or shamelessly derivative given the nature of the film (I guess it would have been sloppy if this had been done in a film where there hadn’t been such an exploitative nature and if it didn’t have so many references towards Bruce Lee).

The score features a strange airplane-esque soundtrack (I don’t mean Airplane: The Movie but the actual vehicle itself) which encompasses some of the slow motion segments of the fight scenes, not only is it overdone in their singular segments but just when they’re repeated in other fights.

What made me give this film a 4 rather than a 1 or no rating at all, is that the film is great cheeky fun and the fight scenes are surprisingly very good (especially the pagoda sequence) and are worth a rental alone. Nice use of weaponary and different exponents of different styles.

The snake fist exponent who fights with cobras is a nice tongue-in-cheek inventive touch and the best fight has to be the nunchaku duel which only has 50% of the talent Bruce and Dan had when they shot their nunchaku duel in the real Game of Death.

My favourite fight is the one where Bruce takes on these Westerners in the forest as he’s going for a jog – the choreography is crisp but the unintentional humour of the whole affair (courtesy of the dubbing and Le’s reactions) is priceless and worthy of rewinds.

The only bad thing about the fight scenes is that it’s obvious when the audio changes from the English dub to the Chinese one as the war cries sound more authentic and the sounds have a more crisper and fresh-sounding quality to them.

Of course this film doesn’t have the level of depth and symbolic metaphors which was a part of Bruce’s intended vision for his version of Game of Death, nor does it have the Kubrick standard of perfectionist filmmaking, subtlety and pacing which Bruce would have brought to the finished version of Game of Death.

What’s also noticeable is that rather than Bruce Le climbing onto tougher levels, he graduates through easier ones (the only explanation I can think of is that the filmmakers reasoned that if you wanted to protect something you’d have the toughest fighter on the bottom floor so that IF any intruder had actually passed the first floor then they wouldn’t be able to defeat the most tedious of fighters due to the sheer energy spent on the first floor).

Another reason to seek this film is that it serves as a historical document – not just as a retro reminder of the times but of how widely known the Game of Death project was even before John Little had found the script notes and extra footage that he was to use for his documentary Bruce Lee: A Warrior’s Journey.

For instance, the way Lee Hoi San (famous kung fu actor who also appeared as one of the temple guardians in Tower of Death) had blocked the entrance for Bruce to pass onto the next floor is eerily reminiscent of Kareem’s refusal in the footage the real Bruce had shot.

Also just like Chi Hon Joi, one of the exponents in the pagoda is also lying down on a bed. This should serve as a reminder as to why John Woo and Jackie Chan never use storyboards when they make movies.

Overall, good fun if you don’t take it too seriously. As a piece of trivia, the Game of Death style rip-off called The New Game of Death (a.k.a. Goodbye Bruce Lee: His Last Game of Death) has a theme song called King of Kung Fu (which, if you remember, was the alternative title for this movie).

Joseph Kuby’s Rating: 4/10


By Joe909

This movie proves yet again that Bruce Le sucks, and was the worst “fake Bruce” of them all. Even Dragon Lee had some charm, compared to him. The reason behind Le’s loathsomeness is the audacious levels of “action” he and his producers packed into each of his movies; plot, character development, and even dialog were cast aside whenever possible and replaced by unending kung-fu battles. At least Bruce Le was a good martial artist, with some impressive kicks, but the guy just looks too goofy with his overdone “Bruce Lee” expressions and mannerisms.

The film kicks off with an opening credits sequence which features Le on a blank set, wearing a GoD tracksuit, kicking apart large vases and other inanimate objects. During this some funky music plays that sounds like Kool and the Gang. The credits declare “SUPER STARRING Bruce Le,” and immediately we know we’re in for an exploitative beating.

Reports vary on this flick. Supposedly it was originally going to feature a bunch of clips of Bruce Lee, from his movies, a la “Tower of Death,” even including a bunch of unreleased stuff from Bruce’s original “Game of Death” footage. Filming began around 1978, with Le acting as Bruce’s stand-in. But then apparently Linda Lee/Raymond Chow threatened to sue, and the film was dropped, only to be revived in 1981 by Filipino producer Joseph Velasco, who remade most of the movie and cast Le solely in the lead. This goes to explain why Enter the Game of Death seems so incoherent; characters who were previously shown to be dead will suddenly reappear, and some characters and sets seem to change through the film, giving the impression that this thing was shot over a long span of time.

Whatever the story behind the movie, the only thing that really matters is that it blows. Literally, one fight follows the next, and you have no idea what in the hell is going on. From what I can understand, it’s set in the 1930s, and the Germans and Japanese are planning to do something to China, and it all hinges on a secret document that’s been captured by someone. What this document contains is anyone’s guess. All of us have seen movies where the plot is nothing more than an excuse to set up the next action sequence, and Enter the Game of Death is the pinnacle (or should I say nadir) of such movies. It comes off as if it’s been written by a bunch of kids who’ve watched three straight years of low-grade Hanna-Barbera cartoons.

To give you an idea of the pointlessness behind the fights, Le is introduced to us as he’s taking a leisurely jog through the forest. He stops his jog and proceeds to beat up an innocent tree. Bruce abruptly cuts off this impromptu sparring session, creeps behind a few trees as he goes into a “Bruce Lee” scowl. Then a group of sword-wielders materialize out of the foliage and attack him. Why? It’s never explained. Bolo (he of “Enter the Dragon” and “Bloodsport” fame) is one of the attackers, and Bruce beats him up.

Bruce takes off, and the very next scene features Bolo fighting a bunch of inferior martial artists in a tournament (kids, never follow one action scene with another). But guess who Bolo’s final opponent is? Why, it’s Bruce Le! The guy we just saw kick his ass! And Bruce kicks his ass again! So when does this fight happen? Before the confrontation in the forest? After it? Never explained.

After this tournament, Bruce is offered a job as a bodyguard for a Chinese official who’s a turncoat, working for the Japanese. Bruce denies the offer, and the official warns him that he’d better watch himself. Bruce leaves, and sure enough, gets attacked by this guy’s thugs! Bruce beats them up and runs off with Linda, the Chinese assistant of a German official. She tries to recruit him for the German cause, whatever that is. Bruce turns her down, and she returns forlornly to her employer, who decides that Bruce better be taken care of. Man, this complicated plot is making my head hurt. I hope there’s another action scene, soon.

Next we see Bruce jogging in the woods again, wearing the Game of Death tracksuit! Several scenes begin like this, with Le just jogging through the woods. Maybe he’s training for, oh, I don’t know, a fight or something. Sure enough, he’s attacked again, by another group of thugs who come out of the woodwork. Bruce beats the tar out of them, including a black fighter who shows off some fancy kicks.

After this we actually get a few minutes of action-free dialog, which I guess technically construes “plot advancement.” Bruce learns that Linda is really a double-agent for a group of Chinese patriots, who want Bruce to help them fight the Germans and Japanese, and rescue the document. Bruce refuses, claiming that he’s a free agent. A Chinese guy accuses Bruce of being heartless. Bruce scoffs and runs away. Next we get to see Le laying in bed, reminiscing over how his beloved cousin was murdered by the Japanese. “I hate the damn Japs so much!” Bruce reminds himself, which inspires him to in fact joining the patriots’ cause.

So, boringly-long story short, Bruce pulls on his tracksuit again and raids a pagoda with three of the Chinese patriots. The pagoda, of course, hides the secret document everyone’s looking for, but no one seems to know what in the hell this document is all about. Bruce’s pals get sidetracked outside the pagoda, fighting a bunch of stooges. Bruce sneaks inside by himself, going solo against the bizarre temple guardians.

On the first floor, Bruce takes on a Shaolin monk who uses butterfly swords and small metal balls, which he throws with deadly accuracy. This is the same monk from “Tower of Death,” the one who guarded the second level. Bruce fights him for a while, and the funny thing is, even though this is just the first guardian, Bruce has a harder time beating him than any of the following guardians. Bruce maybe takes a punch or two but he doesn’t get hurt at all, and kills the monk with a savage blow.

The second floor features a guy with a wild beard and crazy, fake hair who hangs out with a bunch of snakes. He also does snake style, of course. Le dodges a few snakes while beating the guy up. Then in what I assume the producers intended to be a “horrifying” moment, the guy bites off a snake’s head and shoots the blood at Le. This scene is hilarious due to the confused expressions Le shows off while the guy’s doing this. Le looks like a robot, he doesn’t even look real. Anyway, Bruce kills the guardian and proceeds upstairs.

The third floor’s guarded by another guy wearing a wig, and a fake white beard. He uses nunchucks, and this of course gives Le the opportunity to reveal his own yellow Œchucks, which previously must’ve been hidden up his ass or something. Le slams this guy around without breaking a sweat, despite the fact that he’s just been in two life-or-death battles, as well as having fought around twenty guys in the previous thirty minutes of the movie.

On the fourth floor, Le faces two guys: Black Tiger and White Tiger. He takes them on one at a time; White Tiger (old, fat, dressed in white, and white-haired) reclines on a bed while Black Tiger (younger, kinda fat, dressed in black, black-haired) tries to fight Bruce with some unimpressive kung-fu. Bruce kills both of them easily, but by this time you’ll be dusting your furniture due to boredom, so you won’t even notice. This scene IS interesting in that it proves that somehow, word leaked out about Bruce’s REAL “Game of Death.” In Bruce’s original story, as shown in “Warrior’s Journey,” Ji Han Jae flips on a red light on the fourth floor of the pagoda, and warns Bruce that the red light means death. White Tiger warns Bruce Le the same thing in this movie, even turning on a red light. So, given that the dialog Bruce wrote for “Game of Death” wasn’t discovered until the Œ90s, and that this movie was made in the very early Œ80s, how did the producers know that this line of dialog was in Bruce’s original?

Finally, the top floor. Le JUST MISSES a Japanese agent who rushes off with the secret document, thereby rendering the entire pagoda raid pointless. So Bruce is left to fight the final guardian, another fat Chinese guy who’s dressed like a mountain man or something. Bruce gets cut a few times in the process. Here the producers give us more bang for the Bruceploitation buck, combining the GoD tracksuit with the “bleeding claw marks” look from the final battle in “Enter the Dragon.” Bruce beats the guy to death in another boring match.

Bruce goes back outside, helps his pals finish off the stooges they’ve presumably been fighting for the past several minutes. Then Bruce goes on to fight the Chinese turncoat’s stooges, Bolo, the black fighter he took on earlier, the Japanese official (who, it turns out, is the same guy who killed Bruce’s cousin), and finally, the German official. Bruce fights ALL of these guys on his own. Keep in mind, this is directly after his raid on the pagoda! Yet he shows no signs of physical exhaustion, and he’s barely broken a sweat. Even Bruce Lee himself looks like he’s about to collapse, after his fight with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s character in the “Game of Death” footage.

This is one of the reasons Bruce Le’s movies suck so much; he’s presented as such a superhuman fighter that you care less than nothing for him. And it also doesn’t help that these fights happen back to back, which is a total beating on the viewer. Parts of the fight with the black guy are even drawn out via slow-motion! How much did the producers expect their audience to take?

This is a long review, which isn’t justified by such a poor movie. Basically I’m just trying to prevent others from making the mistake I made; namely, watching the damn thing. This one only comes recommended if 1). You want to see all of the “Game of Death” rip-offs, 2). You’re collecting Bruceploitation flicks, or 3). You have lost the will to live.

Speaking of the GoD rip-offs, this one’s easily the worst. Even worse than Bruce Li’s “New Game of Death,” and trust me, that’s saying something.

Joe909’s Rating: 2/10 (1 extra point for the sheer stubbornness of it all)

Posted in Bruceploitation, Chinese, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , |

Bruce Lee Fights Back from the Grave | aka The Stranger (1976) Review

"Bruce Lee Fights Back from the Grave" Korean Theatrical Poster

“Bruce Lee Fights Back from the Grave” Korean Theatrical Poster

AKA: Visitor in America
Director: Lee Doo-Yong
Cast: Jun Chong (aka Bruce K. L. Lea), Deborah Chaplin, Anthony Bronson, Steve Mak, Jack Houston, Charlie Chow, Philip Kennedy, Jimmy Sato, Sho Kosugi
Running Time: 85 min.

By Mighty Peking Man

Next to Fist of Fear, Touch of Death and Clones of Bruce Lee, this film is right up there as one of the biggest oddballs of the Bruceploitation genre. The funny thing is, it was never really intended to have anything to do with Bruce Lee to begin with. There have been numerous bits of trivia and accusations behind the making and direction of this film and trying to find the hard facts is like trying to solve a mystery.

First of all, this film was originally titled Visitor in America. Like many exploitation movies sold to shady distributors in the 1970’s, it was later re-titled to Bruce Lee Fights Back From the Grave to falsely advertise it as a “Bruce Lee” product. To further catch the attention of Bruce Lee fanatics, new footage was filmed for both the prologue and theatrical trailer of the movie. The new footage filmed consisted of “Bruce” popping out of his gravesite. Oddly enough, if you watch this scene closely, you’ll see that the man playing Bruce Lee is an over-buffed, caucasian guy who’s wearing blue jeans.

The trailer for Bruce Lee Fights Back From the Grave is so funny that it’s an instant classic. The makers of the trailer either: 1) Never watched the film, 2) Never watched the film but said “Screw it, let’s make sh*t up!” or 3) DID watch the film but said “Screw it, let’s make sh*t up!” – I’ll go with 3.

According to the trailer, Bruce Lee pops out of the ground to settle a deal he made before his death… a deal with the Dark Angel of Death! The best part of the trailer comes when the voice-over specifies: “Due to the graphic and excessive martial-arts violence, the producers ask that you be accompanied by an adult….” or something like that. As you can see, the trailer is an entertainment piece all in itself and worth seeking out.

The film’s real plot is about a martial-arts pro named Wong Han (Jun Chong, aka Bruce K. L. Lea) who flies from Korea to Los Angeles to visit an old friend named Go Hok Hung. Upon his arrival, he discovers that Go Hok Hung has committed suicide. After a little investigating, Wong Han speculates if his friend’s death may have actually been murder-related. With the help of a sexy babe named Susan (Deborah Chaplin), Wong Han sets himself on a mission to find the truth behind his friend’s passing, and is down for some serious revenge, if applicable. Since this is a kung-fu flick, it certainly is.

The film is extremely silly, hilariously dubbed and the action scenes are lame. The good thing is that it actually keeps your interest and is paced pretty damn good. The story, although it’s surrounded by extreme cheesiness (all of the villains resemble members of Joe909’s favorite band, “The Village People”), is actually well-done and it’s conclusion definitely caught me off guard. It’s by no means an overall good movie (which explains my low rating), but for what it is, it’s a riot to watch.

There have been numerous reports that Italian cult-filmmaker Umberto Lenzi, best known for his campy actions films and shocker-thrillers, actually directed Bruce Lee Fights Back From the Grave. Legend has it that Umberto Lenzi loved kung fu films and wanted to try the genre. Also, to give the film a more Asian-feel, some of the names of the Italian production crew were changed to made-up Chinese names to make it sound like an authentic martial arts film. It’s said that Umberto Lenzi even uses “Doo Yong Lee” as an alias under the “director” of the film for possibly the same reason. However, many Umberto Lenzi enthusiasts deny that the Italian cult-filmmaker would make or do such garbage.

This is what Scott Hamilton & Chris Holland of www.stomptokyo.com have to say:

“We have our doubts that Lenzi would have directed a film with such a generic style, but there are even posters for this film that credit “Bert Lenzi” as the director! Perhaps Lenzi was involved in the making of the brief prologue (which shows “Bruce” bursting out of grave), but the main feature is unmistakably an Asian film. It just goes to show that movie rumors die hard.”

As for me, I’m sort of mixed. According to imdb.com, Umberto Lenzi’s alias of “Doo Yong Lee” is an actual Korean director with a few films under his belt like Silent Assassins (a 1988 martial arts b-movie starring Linda Blair and Phillip Rhee). But then again, imdb.com isn’t the world’s most accurate film database when it comes to obscure titles. Hell, they still have Chuck Norris listed in their cast for Enter the Dragon. So, who knows… whoever submitted that information may have mistakened Doo Yong Lee for another director that sounded the same. You know how similar those Korean names are. You be the judge.

Before ending this review, I have to give a special shout-out to Scott Hamilton & Chris Holland for their discovery of Sho Kosugi’s real-life business card in the film. However, I made an even better discovery: Sho Kosugi himself is in the film as well. There’s a samurai guy towards the end of the film that attacks Wong Han, and anyone who knows Sho Kosugi’s face knows that the samurai guy highly resembles a young Sho Kosugi. His cameo makes perfect since and explains why his real-life business card is in the movie to begin with. If you’re not familiar with Sho Kosugi, he’s a famous Japanese martial-artist who made a name for himself in the 1980’s for starring in a string of successful ninja films like Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja and Ninja III: The Domination. He also had a brief TV career by playing the bad ninja opposite Lee Van Cleef in the short lived series The Master. Sho Kosugi may be the man responsible for sparking off America’s “Ninja Craze” in the 1980’s. And of course, there’s his son, Kane Kosugi who’s currently making a name for himself in Asian cinema… but that’s another story.

As for Bruce Lee Fights Back From the Grave, grab a few friends and I guarantee you’ll have a hell of a time. Mind alterations won’t hurt either.

Mighty Peking Man’s Rating: 4/10

Posted in Asian Related, Bruceploitation, Chinese, Italian, Reviews | Tagged , , |

Dragon Missile, The (1976) Review

"The Dragon Missile" Hong Kong DVD Cover

"The Dragon Missile" Hong Kong DVD Cover

AKA: The Guillotine
Director: Ho Meng Hua
Producer: Runme Shaw
Cast: Lo Lieh, Nancy Yen, Lau Wing, Ku Feng, Kong Yeung, Lau Wai-Yue, Lee Sau-Kei, Ouyang Shafei, Norman Chu, Yeung Chi-Hing, Fan Mei-Sheng, Chan Mei-Hua, Kok Lee-Yan, Lai Man, Wang Han-Chen, Ko Hung
Running Time: 82 min.

By Mighty Peking Man

It’s been over a year since I’ve watched The Dragon Missile, so instead of writing a review based on weak memory, let me give you a quick rundown to why I think you NEED to see this movie before you die:

1. It’s directed by Hoh Mung Wa (Killer Darts, Vengeance Is A Golden Blade) – He’s the ‘other’ Shaw Brothers filmmaker who doesn’t get as much credit as Chang Cheh and those others guys. I’ve seen a handful of his movies and he has yet to to disappoint. In some ways, it wouldn’t be totally out of line to say he’s THE most entertaining Shaw Brothers director ever. Yeah, that’s what I said.

2. It’s one whimsical film – Colorful, in more ways than one. It’s interesting and keeps you in check the whole time. The plot doesn’t take itself so seriously, yet we have no nonsense villains (Lo Lieh) doing their no nonsense, double-crossing sh*t. I remember the plot being something Quentin Tarantino would be proud of. Silly, yet straight to the point, and brutal.

3. The weapons that are showcased are fun to watch – This shouldn’t come to any surprise, considering it’s coming from the guy who made a movie called The Flying Guillotine. Here, we get a pair razor sharp boomerangs which are impossible to escape. Effects may be cheesy, but hey, this is why I like old school Shaw Brothers shit more than James Cameron’s blue cock.

4. Features a solid cast – Lo Lieh (if you don’t know who he is, then don’t even worry about it); Lau Wing (aka Tony Liu, aka the Big Boss’s son from the Bruce Lee movie of the same name), who I wish was in a lot more movies. He’s a charming cat, but sadly, he’s going to be stuck as “that one guy in the Bruce Lee movies” forever. There are some other recognizable cast members, but I just suck at names, so forgive me…

The Dragon Missile (what an awesome title!) is one hell of a hidden gem that shouldn’t be missed. Get off your ass and order it, you’ll thank me for it.

Well Go USA®, FUNimation®, Dragon Dynasty®, Image®… are you guys listening?

Mighty Peking Man’s Rating: 9/10

Posted in Chinese, Reviews, Shaw Brothers | Tagged , , , , , , |

Expect the Unexpected (1998) Review

"Expect the Unexpected" Italian DVD Cover

“Expect the Unexpected” Italian DVD Cover

Director: Patrick Yau
Producer: Johnnie To
Cast: Lau Ching Wan, Simon Yam Tat-wah, Ruby Wong Cheuk-ling, Hui Siu Hung, Raymond Wong Ho Yin, Yoyo Mung Ka Wai, Bak Ka San, Keiji Sato, Joe Cheng Cho
Running Time: 87 min.

By Joe909

I’ve always hated sitcoms that base their entire narrative upon one character’s hidden desire for another (which pretty much sums up most sitcoms). You know, Guy A secretly yearns for Girl B, and the only people who know of this desire are Guy A’s Platonic Friends 1 and 2. It goes on and on, with no resolution (at least, until the ratings drop). I’ve always wished these sort of sitcoms would just end with each of the bastards getting shotgunned out of their misery. Looks like the Milkyway guys felt the same.

Expect the Unexpected is like a sitcom mixed with a grisly crime story. Office hijinks rub against such horrifying images as a dead baby in a dryer. One officer tries to hook his brother up with a girl that he himself likes, while dark clouds endlessly piss on the city. An older cop tries to figure out if he should stick with his wife or his mistress, while a gang of crooks rape and pillage as they please. Even the bubbly theme song sounds like something you’d more expect to hear in a Hollywood comedy.

Lau Ching Wan and Simon Yam are great in otherwise bland roles as brothers who work in the same precinct; they both like Yoyo Meung, who apparently doesn’t know which of the two she herself likes. Lam Suet is introduced as a down-and-out mainlander who’s gotten into crime to feed his family, before he promptly disappears from the movie. Lam’s screw-up pals barely get a few minutes of screen time, and the film’s other criminals, the stone-faced, mainland rapists, look genuinely dangerous. So, while Wan and Yam try to decide which of them gets to bone Yoyo, the mainland crooks/rapists run rampant across Hong Kong. This proves to be the gist of the entire film.

There’s a little more action on display than other Milkyways I’ve seen, though not up there with “Fulltime Killer.” The opening scene in which Lam Suet runs aimlessly around back alleys is entertaining, as is the sequence where the mostly-naked criminal takes on the cops with his AK-47. But these action scenes are more along the realistic vibe. They aren’t artful shoot-outs, as you’d expect from other HK actioners.

The fact that Lam Suet’s pals are introduced as harmless goofballs, but morph into deadly murderers by the film’s end, does in fact reek of dues ex machina. This could have easily been avoided with a few storyline changes, but these changes were apparently overlooked. As it is, the only hint we receive that these goons might be capable of such destruction is when Jimmy the cop stares hard at the video footage of them robbing a jewelry store: the camera lingers on one of the goons, who holds a gun. This makes an impression on Jimmy, which seems all the more apparent in that he is not with the others in the final battle; perhaps he learned a lesson, while they did not. But then again, maybe I’m just reading too much into the damn thing.

Those of you who want a happy ending, just don’t watch the last ten minutes. The fatalistic, nihilistic last few minutes of film do nothing to leave a lasting impact; rather, the ending just gives you a “they must’ve run out of ideas” type feeling. If fatalism was the desired theme of the film, then the storytellers failed. Again, more of a set-up in the story would’ve helped. In summation, the plot has several bumps and the ending sucks, but it’s still a Milkyway film. Just not as good as most.

Joe909’s Rating: 6/10


By Alexander

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read this review if you are planning on seeing this film in the near future. I shamelessly give away the ending. If you plan on seeing the movie many weeks or months from now, read on, as you will have long forgotten anything I’ve written in the meandering review below.

(Oh, just read the damn thing.)

One of the things that initially appealed to me about Hong Kong cinema was the idea that gun-toting crime fighters are as fragile and prone to danger as the neighborhood grocer or school teacher. Far too many Hollywood films have featured the requisite barrel-chested uber-hero who can seemingly dodge bullets and even take one in the chest while defending a gorgeous damsel to ultimately recover, spending the rest of their chiseled-featured lives sipping fruity drinks on faraway beaches with nary a scar. Nicholas Cage, Eastwood, Arnold, Willis, Stallone, Travolta, Lundgren, Ford and a bevy of other American action “heroes” have walked headlong into waves of automatic fire and lived to tell the tale.

John Woo’s THE KILLER, however, is different. Having been reared on a steady diet of American action films, I watched wide-eyed many years ago as Chow Yun Fat crawled blindly to Danny Lee beneath flocks of pristine white doves and the strains of a Sally Yeh ballad. This hero, so menacing and cool with mammoth pistols clenched in two fists and cigarette dangling perpetually from the corner of a smirk, dies a grisly and decidedly un-heroic death. Jeffrey, a moniker only Chow Yun Fat could wear seriously, perishes in a hail of bullets. Used to seeing our heroes ending their films with a witty aside to their youthful sidekick, a smitten love or a defeated villain, I was completely caught off-guard when the two coolest cats in all of cinema are brutally murdered.

Films like BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, THE KILLER, HEROES SHED NO TEARS, A HERO NEVER DIES, A BULLET IN THE HEAD and A BETTER TOMORROW feature unfortunate consequences for their leads, further proving that Hong Kong cinema is still paying attention to the old Greek dramas and Shakespearean tragedies. The good guys, alas, do not always prevail.

Which brings me to EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED. No, it is not entirely original. Tragedies have been around for centuries. And yes, the buddy cop premise is as cliche here as it is in every other HK and US film. The love triangle between Simon Yam, Lau Ching Wan and Yo Yo Mung is simply silly. And we do need to suspend our disbelief for a few moments when we realize the tame, bumbling idiots in the first few minutes of the film have become, overnight, calculating marksmen capable of slaughtering entire police departments. But there is still something novel about seeing the good guys lose, seeing the bullets riddle their fine suits and muscled torsos. Even though I expected this somewhat ironic twist, I still enjoyed the audacity of the filmmaker to wipe out not just one of our honorable public servants, but the whole damn lot of them. Not quite as unexpected as the title suggests, but intriguing nonetheless.

ETU is also memorable for the believable relationship between the charismatic leads, Lau Ching Wan and Simon Yam. Sure, they could pull these roles off in their sleep, but these two light up the screen regardless, whether bantering inanely about women or plotting their next stake-out.

A nice change of pace from the plethora of TOKYO RAIDERS-like fluff I’ve been drowning in recently.

Alexander’s Rating: 7/10


By Numskull

If you watch this movie, expect it to be great…because it isn’t.

The botched heist. A story that’s been done way too many times. Is it any different this time ’round? Hell yes…but “different” doesn’t always mean “better”!

There are a bunch of cops. Two of them desperately want to fuck a girl who works in the restaurant across the street from the robbery site. This restaurant is located right next to a McDonald’s which is shown unobstructed about 73 times during the movie. Oh yeah, and those two cops are brothers. Two brothers at odds over a woman…golly gee, that’s a new one. The other cops have problems with their own, like adultery, getting shot in the neck, and paying too much for cigarettes. The cast shines in spots, but the story and characters don’t. The main plot is so thin that it seems almost half of this 87-minute movie consists of the cops just driving around and doing Seinfeld-style bitching and moaning. Here’s the biggest problem. You see, humor is supposed to be funny. “Funny” means something you can laugh at. This film either takes itself way too seriously or not nearly seriously enough. First a woman is hospitalized after being raped non-stop for a week; then one brother spies on the other talking to Yo Yo Mung and dubbing their voices in a make-believe conversation. In one scene, the token female cop force-feeds grapes to the bedridden, womanizing Jimmy as punishment for his promiscuous ways; in another, there’s a dead baby in the clothes dryer.

Also, it’s always raining in this movie. I mean always. It’s like they knew it had no substance, so they figured they’d make up for it with style.

SPOILER ALERT!!! IF YOU PLAN ON SEEING THIS PIECE OF CRAP, STOP READING HERE.

The ending is surprising…but again, that doesn’t mean it’s good. I find it more than a little hard to believe that two half-assed robbers who couldn’t rob the jewelery store in the first place could slaughter six trained police officers in a shootout before getting offed themselves. And don’t give me this shit about “That was their master plan.” If they were smart enough to conceive a “master plan” then they would have gotten away with the jewelery store loot in the first place, and, you know, LIVED.

Of course, the cops put up a really valiant struggle, crawling along the pavement after being shot multiple times, in excruciatingly slow motion no less. But by this time I just didn’t give a damn. I didn’t give a damn who lived or who died or who got away. My reaction was “C’mon, c’mon, die already.” I’m not opposed to having endings where things don’t all get wrapped up in a neat little package, but here, the writers just killed everyone to take the easy way out since they couldn’t think of a better finish to this thoroughly uninspired story. Of course they can make reference to the movie’s title afterwards, but the fact remains that this is a really half-assed film with a meaningless publicity stunt ending that seems to have suckered quite a few viewers.

Crap that surprises you is still crap.

Numskull’s Rating: 2/10


By Tequila

I think I’m ready to write this review now, after recovering from the temporary blindness the microscopic VCD subtitles on Expect The Unexpected’s Universe release induces. The subtitles are the smallest I’ve ever come across, I think they just had the usual VCD subs you encounter (white-on-white) downsized. If reading gives you headaches, get the DVD of the movie. Still, at least the words don’t run off the edge of the screen…

I’m going to write a review for those who haven’t seen the movie and those who have, as I have several points to make about the ending of the film, so here goes.

NON-SPOILER REVIEW:

I felt that Expect The Unexpected was a very good film, another quality Milkyway production. Unfortunately for me, I watched it last in a double bill with Needing You – a bad idea when you want something lighthearted after watching this film which is very pessimistic.

The acting is great, especially from Lau Ching-Wan (that wasn’t unexpected) and has nice enough subplots to go along with the main plot of a team of cops trying to track down a gang of psychotic baby killing live-in rapists who are exposed after a bungling robber flees the scene. While the subplot of the two brothers (Lau and Yam Tat-Wah) lusting after the same woman is old and used, it is portrayed well by all involved here. Big Bullet has an old and stereotypical plot but I don’t hear people moaning about that! It was a great film in it’s own right and I feel the same about Expect The Unexpected.

The combat is filmed realistically and fits in with the film. A John Woo-type shoot-out would be out of place; you can’t stylize rape and baby killing. The way the weather plays a part in the mood is good too, this movie is supposed to be depressing which is probably why so many people hated it.

The music is very good and very suitable and there is a good sense of location in the film, as you kind of get to know the area as the film progresses. The ending? Well, I won’t reveal it here but it certainly looked good to me – not unbelievable in any aspect. You may hate it though, a review is just an opinion.

SPOILER REVIEW:

Well then, the ending…I certainly don’t find it unbelievable – it can be quite easy for a bunch of crappy robbers to be psychotics. The cops were getting ready to celebrate the end of the serial rapist case and they weren’t wearing their vests. They expected the robbers to be bunglers yet again. So when Lau Ching-Wan tastes shotgun, it is unexpected. Get the title now? The cops had pistols, the robbers had a shotgun and an MP5 so it is highly likely that the robbers would win, although they do get wasted too. If you look at some of the most twisted men in history you can’t say they look like serial killers; Dahmer just looked like a strange loner – he was only caught due to bungling the handcuffing of some guy, and Rose West was just a middle-aged woman to most people yet she murdered more than a dozen women with her husband.

The ending worked for me, it wasn’t expected to me or the characters involved.

Tequila’s Rating: 9/10

Posted in Chinese, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Killer Darts (1968) Review

"Killer Darts" Chinese Theatrical Poster

"Killer Darts" Chinese Theatrical Poster

Director: Hoh Mung Wa
Cast: Chin Ping, Yueh Hua, Sam Yi, Fong Min, Guk Fung, Tong Dik, Paang Paang, Ma Ying, Cheung Pooi Saan, Ngai Ping Ngo, Han Ying Chieh, Siu Gam, Kok Lee Yan, Woo Tung, Cheung Yuk Kam
Running Time: 83 min.

By Mighty Peking Man

They brutally killed his wife, wiped out dozens of his innocent people, and burnt his entire village down to a charbroiled crisp. Now, master Liou Wen-lung (Fang Mien) is out for revenge. Armed with a near-invincible sword style and a pack of killer darts, he heads out to settle a 10-year old grudge with the cold-blooded evildoers. Joining him is his son (Yueh Hua), an orphan named Yu Sien (Chin Ping) and his trusty servant.

As I’ve said before, I love it when I come across a Shaw Brothers filmmaker (other than Chang Cheh or Lau Kar-Leung) who blows my mind. This time, it’s director Hoh Mung Wa; the only other movie I’ve seen of his was Mighty Peking Man, which I remember being an enjoyable King Kong knock off, but I had no idea this guy was making quality swordplay flicks like this.

Killer Darts is the perfect companion piece to Ching Gong’s 12 Gold Medallions. Not only do both movies star Yueh Hua and Chin Ping, they also share similar themes. For example: Chin Ping’s character is madly in love for Yueh Hua’s; she has some unforgiving issues involving her father, in this case, her foster father; and once again, she is lethal, cute and pouty.

Watching 12 Gold Medallions, and now Killer Darts, I feel like I’m officially becoming a fan of Yueh Hua. He has a natural quality that makes him easier to watch than, say, Jimmy Wang Yu. There’s a sensitivity he applies to roles; and even though he’s playing a guy who can easily slice the fuck out of his enemies, he doesn’t come across like a cocky, stoned-face badass.

The villains of the film are flamboyant and sometimes cartoony. One of the baddies is an obese guy who has exaggerated chest hairs, pre-dating Austin Powers. Another sports a prothetic arm that shoots out sharp objects, reminiscent of what we would see years later in Chang Cheh’s Crippled Avengers.

Compared to most swordplay films of this time, the martial arts choreography seems more fluid and technical. Also noticeable is the classy cinematography which shows us lots of overview shots of the action below. As you would expect, Killer Darts is filled with a tremendous amount of slicing, dicing and bloody carnage; as well as unique weaponry and deadly traps.

Highly recommended.

Mighty Peking Man’s Rating: 8/10

Posted in Chinese, Reviews, Shaw Brothers | Tagged , , , , |

Odd One Dies, The (1997) Review

"The Odd One Dies" Chinese DVD Cover

"The Odd One Dies" Chinese DVD Cover

Director: Patrick Yau
Writer: Wai Ka-Fai
Producer: Johnnie To Kei-Fung, Wai Ka-Fai
Cast: Kaneshiro Takeshi, Carman Lee Yeuk Tung, Ken Choi Fung Wah, Lam Suet, Chiu Chi Shing, Kong Foo Keung, Wong Gwan Hong
Running Time: 89 min.

By Joe909

Like “Too Many Ways To Be No. 1,” The Odd One Dies was written by that mad genius Wai Kai-Fai. However, whereas “Too Many Ways” is known for its breakneck pace and large cast of characters, The Odd One Dies is a slower affair, concentrating only on the two main characters. That’s not to say that the movie isn’t as original or entertaining as “Too Many Ways,” as there are just as many chaotic situations and comedic moments in this movie. They just don’t come at you every second.

Takeshi Kaneshiro plays a stubborn gangster who takes a job from his Indian contract. The job: to kill a Thai triad boss. Takeshi blows his upfront payment on a junky car and an old, bulky cell phone. Then he goes to a gambling house and proceeds to win a sickening amount of cash. In a highly-unique twist on these sort of stories, Takeshi now finds himself with so much cash that he no longer needs to do the job he was hired for. So he hires a replacement killer: Carman Lee, who has been made to look so unattractive that you’ll barely recognize her. Takeshi and Carman (not sure if her character even had a name) go over the job and engage in several games with one another, punching waiters in the face, trying to escape hotel security, and cutting one another’s hair. Surely enough, they gradually fall in love, but this doesn’t occur in a sappy, Hollywood-esque fashion; their relationship seems very natural and organic to the plot. In probably the most touching, yet subtle scene I’ve seen in a romantic comedy, Carman admits to Takeshi: “I’m quite fond of you.” Takeshi chuckles and says: “Me to.” It’s a small scene, but those are sometimes the best kind for moments like this.

There isn’t much action in the movie, so don’t expect a traditional Heroic Bloodshed-type film. Only a few shots are fired in the end sequence, but it’s still one of the most thrilling scenes in Milkyway history, as you are left burning with the desire to find out if the Thai’s killer survives the job. Takeshi and Carman’s final scene together, in which Takeshi gives Carman the Thai’s photo and an automatic Magnum, has an especially bittersweet twist that gets me every time.

Overall, I’d recommend The Odd One Dies if you’re looking for a different approach to the Heroic Bloodshed genre. It’s a little slow-moving at first, but the comedy is as dark as you can get (this movie probably sets a record with “Too Many Ways” in the amount of fingers that get sliced off of Triad rascals), and the music is catchy, if minimal. Direction is top-notch, as well: lots of bold colors on screen at all times, and shots of Takeshi looking cool. The scene in which he strikes various poses with the huge cell phone is especially funny. All told, you’ll probably enjoy this movie without once realizing what it really is: a heavily-disguised chick flick, Milkyway style.

Joe909’s Rating: 7.5/10


By FrankEinstein

I view The Odd One Dies as having two halves. One half is about a stoic pretty boy asshole who frequents nightclubs with garish colored lighting, poses runway-style with mobile phones and beats people up.

The other, later half, would be about this stoic pretty boy asshole meeting his female asshole counterpart, and their love affair. I think there was some stuff about assassinations in there, but what little dialogue there was in the film was translated into subtitles poorly and I had to read the sleeve a third way in to garner a clue as to what was going on.

But do I recommend it? On one hand, the annoying synthesized theme, blinding filters and obscure plot made finishing the movie a chore. I felt like I was watching a bunch of subplots from a better movie strung together by themselves. Half an hour into it, I thought I’d end up turning it off after not too long.

But after sticking with it a little while longer, a new character was introduced, turning this repetitive I don’t know what into a really weird love story. So eventually, you see, the characters proved endearing, some comedy proved effective, and even the theme became a little catchy. But my eyes are still bleeding from that damn red lighting.

The review pretty much ends here. It’s as shallow as the movie it reviews. I say the movie’s shallow, but that may not be fair. The subtlety that was meant to reveal a deep, redeeming story may have bounced off of my thick skull, or perhaps the lousy Mei Ah translation lost a little of the story. But then maybe it’s an art film that doesn’t really have to be about anything in particular, because artistes will accept anything if you tell them it’s chic.

But in the end, the two likeable lead actors held my interest with their chemistry, and I learned why Takeshi Kaneshiro is a star (it’s the hair.) To put a lid on the deal – I don’t get it. I still can’t see. But I liked it.

FrankEinstein’s Rating: 6/10

Posted in Chinese, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , |

Killer, The (1989) Review

"The Killer" Japanese Theatrical Poster

“The Killer” Japanese Theatrical Poster

AKA: Bloodshed Brothers
Director: John Woo
Producer: Tsui Hark
Cast: Chow Yun-Fat, Danny Lee, Paul Chu Kong, Kenneth Tsang, Sally Yeh, Shing Fui-On
Running Time: 110 min.

By Numskull

At what point does a person who has made a career our of some creative endeavor…whether it’s filming films, painting paintings or making little sculptures out of office supplies…come to the conclusion that they have well and truly honed their craft to perfection? That they can’t possibly top their latest masterpiece? That it’s all downhill from here?

Is it when the critical acclaim for their work reaches an all-time high? Is it when they become depressed and disillusioned with their current output, look back upon the good old days and realize that their best period is behind them? Or is it just when they finish their newest labor of love, sit back and review it in its entirety, and come to the simple conclusion that IT’S SO FUCKING GOOD that nothing they accomplish in the future will ever quite measure up?

Whether or not John Woo considers this to be his best movie is irrelevant. If he does indeed hold that opinion, how he arrived at it is also irrelevant. What is relevant is that this movie, more so than any other, transcends the restrictive and pedestrian label of “action movie” and shines above the rest…like a diamond in the rough, like a lone star in the midnight sky, like a patch of porcelain visible on the inside of a toilet bowl filled to capacity with lackluster cinematic shit. It is not just a John Woo movie…it is THE John Woo movie.

Ask anybody. Ask anybody worth the chemicals that compose their bodily fluids what The Ultimate John Woo Movie is, and they’ll tell you it’s The Killer. Maybe this one made more money or that one was more “ground-breaking”, but The Killer is the one that takes all the elements that make John Woo movies John Woo movies and wraps them up in one superior package.

Let’s ask some HK movie fans what THEY think.

Excuse me, sir. What is The Ultimate John Woo Movie?

“Why, that would be The Killer, of course.”

Of course. How about you, ma’am? What would you say is The Ultimate John Woo Movie?

“Gee, I like all of them, but I would have to say The Killer is The Ultimate. It’s got everything you could want.”

Very good. And what do you say, sir? The Ultimate John Woo Movie?

“Duh. The Killer. Everyone knows that. Anyone who doesn’t like The Killer should be disemboweled and strangled with their own intestines.”

To be sure. And what about you, young man? Yes, you with the nose ring and the tribal tattoo and the Eminem T-shirt. Do you think The Killer is The Ultimate John Woo Movie?

“No way. The Ultimate John Woo Movie is Hard Target. The R-rated one with everything cut out. And, by the way, my I.Q. is 37, my favorite TV show is Jackass and I voted for Bush because Marilyn Manson told me to.”

Oh…I see. Well, ah, everyone’s got opinions, right?

(Yes…but some are worth more than others.)

The Killer has it all, folks. Beautifully visceral shootouts, excellent performances by talented actors, honor, bloodshed, betrayal, heroism, more bloodshed, and a preposterous plot unravlled deftly and coherently.

What, I ask you, is there not to like?

The excessive violence? Bah! Try watching the nightly news.

The hard-to-swallow poeticism of the “honor among thieves” theme? Fah! It’s not John Woo’s fault that notions like honor and dignity are little more than myths in our beer-swilling, asshole music star-worshipping, inferior presidential candidate-nominating society.

The lack of a nicely-wrapped fairy tale ending? Pah! After years and years of Hollywood’s mass-produced “Good Guy Meets Girl, Good Guy Kills Bad Guys, Good Guy Gets Girl” drek (with “Bad Guys” and “foreigners” being interchangeable with nauseating frequency), I for one got a big kick out of it.

The “message” that violence is the way to resolve conflicts? Phooey! If you’re the type of person who finds “messages” in movies, then you’re probably also the type of person who stands on street corners holding a sign with the name of your favorite politician on it and drives an SUV just to look important while shuttling your offspring to and from soccer practice, so kindly eat shit and die.

Also, it’s refreshing to know that the most easily-accessible version of the movie is the one that you’re “supposed to” see. The good folks at Fox Lorber have released The Killer on VHS and DVD, letterboxed with remastered subtitles, and they didn’t cut out anything that John Woo himself did not remove (it was originally 135 minutes, but it was trimmed down to 110 by the man HIMSELF, not some fuckwit studio executive).

Now, with all of that having been said, you might be puzzled by the fact that I gave this film a rating of 9/10 instead of a perfect score. The way I see it, the rating should reflect the amount of enjoyment you got from the movie and not necessarily how “good” it is. Although this is the best movie there is to introduce some culturally illiterate swine to Mr. Woo’s work, I personally got bigger kicks from Hard Boiled and Face/Off.

Anybody ever count the number of bullets spent in this movie?

Anybody got way too much time on their hands?

Numskull’s Rating: 9/10


By Mister Floyd

The Killer was the first John Woo movie I ever saw and that was back in ’95 and this was only because a friend of mine was raving about it at the time. It was completely different to any action movie I had seen before. 4 years ago I rediscovered this gem in a store and bought it – part of the Hong Kong Legends franchise. I have watched it numerous times since then being a big fan of Asian cinema generally. Even today, this movie really stands out from others of the genre.

To begin with, the lead role is played by the very personable and charismatic Chow Yun Fat. He is perfect for the role and exudes class and style throughout the movie. However, I think what makes this movie stand out truly is the combination of mood and music, slow motion scenes and the uniquely Asian feel to it. John Woo makes a point of giving a human dimension to the bloodshed; human relationships and drama are just as important as the gun play and both should look good. Noble human characteristics shine through in early Woo movies.

My favourite moment in the movie is a scene were Chow Yun Fat – Jeffrey in the movie, is sitting in his apartment waiting for his boss to deliver his money after a successful hit. It is in fact a very stylish slow motion scene with a very cool looking Chow Yun Fat seated in quiet contemplation. The scene is shot from outside the room pearing in through a series of glass windows. There are other moments that take advantage of the suave and stylish hitman.

Then of course there is the apartment shootout which is very memorable and stylish. I would not say it is the best action film I have ever seen – in fact I think A better Tommorow is John Woo’s best – but The Killer is a dramatic and very stylish movie, extremely violent at times while soft and almost like an Asian pop video in some parts. Some parts of the movie could be perceived as cheesy, but in fact as a westerner conditioned by the Hollywood approach to action, I find it refreshing even now and it adds to the charm of this film.

As an added note, it is easy to spot the star quality of Chow Yun Fat for such a role when you see him in the ‘Shanghai Bund’ – a hugely popular t.v. series that began running in 1980 – I suspect that the scalf worn during the bar shootout was a tribute to this earlier t.v. role.

Mister Floyd’s Rating: 8/10


By Joseph Kuby

Excellent Existential Mobster Movie!

This is a majestic masterpiece that is one of the best films of all time; a groundbreaking classic that’s at once commercially accessible yet artistically acceptable and commercially exportable yet artistically exceptional. Not only that, but it’s one of the most influential and referential films of all time!

My perception of films changed after when I saw The Killer back in 1999, not strictly due to the mixing of genres or highly innovative, imaginative and intense action; but due to the level of subtlety and quality in its storytelling and direction. It was probably the first time I ever saw a film that didn’t have a happy ending, from that point onwards I was never sure if the hero would live or die much less win or lose.

It’s a film about loyalty, honour, honesty, chivalry, gallantry, ethics, morality, heroism, sacrifice, friendship, romance, betrayal, redemption and martyrdom.

I can really relate to this film in its depiction of a person struggling to live in an immoral society with only few people you can truly relate to. One of the points John Woo makes in this film and others is that people have a really warped sense of what’s right and wrong. People always use not having a religion as an excuse to act in the way they do (paradoxically people also use religion to do things such as wars). People use the excuse “everyone has their own personal morals according to their lifestyle” to justify some pretty shoddy and shitty things that they do.

In The Killer, Woo makes a point that regardless of backgrounds, gender, race, age and religion, everyone has a certain list of morals that they should abide by, even if it means making selfless choices that benefits everyone and everything as a whole – including yourself.

The Killer has some small & subtle doses of humour, gallops of romance, buckets of bullets and hard-hitting drama. It has a rousing and riveting soundtrack that’s both mesmerizing & memorable. It manages to combine the realistic with the stylistic in a world that’s both real and surreal simultaneously.

It’s a well-rounded film that combines visual and visceral aspects of Hollywood, European & Hong Kong film-making; which is why it seems so familiar yet so fresh (partly because John Woo puts things into the film which makes it truly his own). Even Martin Scorsese had seen this film and called it a favourite, coincidentally John dedicated the film to Martin. Scorsese particularly liked the usage of the Messiah music cue during the finale.

The first time I saw this, the ending (i.e. the death scene of a pivotal character and the positionnement de caractère* of it) reminded me of a similar scene in Sammo Hung’s Pedicab Driver (released in the same year) – I wonder who took from who or if this was an idea shared by the two marvellous directors.

Also it should be noted that whilst the finale of Taxi Driver formed the inspiration of the apartment shootout in this film; the finale of the directorial feature Rolling Thunder (made by the scriptwriter for Taxi Driver) had served as a platform of inspiration for the apartment shootout in A Better Tomorrow 2 (also made by John Woo).

As a sidenote for this film, music cues were taken from Chuck Norris’ Hero & The Terror.

* Similar to the French term mise-en-scene. Positionnement de caractères, as you may be able to interpret, means positioning of characters.

Joseph Kuby’s Rating: 10/10


By Lady Tequila

Quite simply the greatest movie ever made. Filmed in lyrical shades of blue and shot through with slow-motion, this is a film full of heroes, honour, humanity and gunplay beautiful enough to be ballet. It’s far more than an action movie: it’s a haunting, unforgettable tale of honour, friendship and betrayal, and John Woo’s values shine right through the haze of blood and bullets. And it’s visually stunning.

Chow Yun-Fat plays Jeff, an assassin with a conscience who accidentally blinds a singer (Sally Yeh) while on a job. He takes care of her and eventually falls in love with her, and finds he can’t go straight as he had planend to because he needs to make money to pay for an eye operation for her. Things become even more complicated when he develops a strong bond with one of the cops on his tail, Inspector Li (played by Danny Lee).

The cast is fantastic. John Woo has a real knack for bringing out the best in his actors, and here we get the performance of a lifetime from Danny Lee, and probably also from Sally Yeh – although she doesn’t have much to do, to be honest. Chow Yun-Fat mesmerises, as per usual, and here he exudes a magnetic sense of fate and destiny which really carries his character. It’s interesting to see Shing Fui-On playing a good guy for once, after having played probably every bad guy in the history of Hong Kong cinema.

The characters of Jeff and Inspector Li are fascinating. Jeff is a killer who just happens to empathise with a cop; Inspector Li is a cop who just happens to empathise with a killer. Together, they fight on the wrong side of the law, for the right reasons. Woo uses their relationship to pose questions about humanity and morality – what is right? What is wrong? And who makes the rules anyway? Interesting stuff, especially given Woo’s strongly religious background. And much has been made of the ‘homosexual undertones’ between Jeff and Inspector Li – personally I think these suspicions just show how sensitive the Western world is, i.e. not very.

What is amazing about this film is the way it says so much while hardly saying anything at all. Woo really knows how to set a scene which ‘talks’ visually, which means that not only is dialogue not so important, but the dialogue which IS used becomes far more powerful (and how’s “do you believe in God?” for an opening line?). A moment of slow-motion, a beat of silence, a pulse of music – and we learn so many things. Everything has meaning. Nothing is trivial. And Chow Yun-Fat really plays up to this, and does similar things with his face and body-language – a twitch of an eyebrow, a head-turn, and the story is advanced a million light years. The same goes for the ‘bonding scenes’ between Jeff and Inspector Li; much is made of a silence, or a look. In their world, a moment can mean so much; in some ways the whole film is based around a single moment when a singer is blinded in a night-club, and the lives of so many are changed irrevovably.

And then there is the action, which shouldn’t be forgotten because it’s bloody brilliant. No one does it like Woo. Big fucking handguns; artfully used slow-motion; thundering silence in the stillness before a storm of gunfire; heroes who never run out of ammunition; stunning, balletically choreographed scenes; a totally glorious body-count, and the visual impact of black bullets and red blood on white walls. And the action is so great because we care. It’s not just mindless action. It has impact because it has an emotional, human level. For instance, we care when the singer is blinded, and when a little girl gets injured (a moment Woo uses to full effect when Jeff rescues the girl, which adds impact to his character), and these moments of ‘caring’ underscore the violence perfectly.

Woo uses religious imagary to full effect in this movie. Some of the most powerful scenes occur inside a church. Probably the most haunting image of all is Jeff at the foot of a cross, right after he blinded the singer. Other unforgettable moments include white doves flying up when a death-knell gunshot sounds, the church being wrecked, and a real spine-tingler when a statue of the Virgin Mary is shattered in stunning and grotesque slow-motion, and we know the end is nigh. Woo also proves himself to be the king of the flashback, using flashbacks to add punch to emotional moments, rather than to remind the watcher of something.

But great movie or no, this one is flawed. There is no real place for women, Sally Yeh is underused, there are a few minor plot holes (like why the heck do so many people on John Woo Land conveniently leave their cars unlocked and their keys in the ignition?) and anyone who has seen Jean Paul Melville’s Le Samurai will know that the plot is not completely original, and that the character of Jeff is more than a little ‘inspired’ by Alan Delon.

But hey. Aren’t all great movies flawed?

Lady Tequila’s Rating: 10/10


By Joe909

The Killer is still the best modern Hong Kong movie I’ve seen. The action is fierce and paced perfectly, the acting is top-notch, the directing is textbook perfection, and, just as importantly, the melodrama isn’t piled on very thick. I hadn’t seen this movie in several years, and, having just watched it again, I’m knocked out by how powerful and excellent it really is. All hyperbole and crafty metaphors aside, the Killer is a great movie. Even the soundtrack is great ? though I must admit that the melody which plays throughout kind of reminds me of the music they played in those old Juan Valdez coffee bean commercials.

The characters in this film are so mythic and larger than life that they don’t seem to live in our world, and the cast does a wonderful job of bringing them to life. Chow Yun Fat shines as Jeff, as does Danny Li as the Inspector. And looking cool as hell is the replacement killer who’s called in to rub out Jeff ? I don’t know the actor’s name, but apparently in the extended Taiwanese print of this movie the character is named “Frank.” This guy isn’t as developed as Mad Dog in Hard-Boiled, but what little we see of him (especially in the deleted scene featured on the Criterion disc, of him tracking Jeff and Li) only serves to increase his almost-inhuman menace. And to top it off, he’s the guy who blows apart the statue of Mary. I would say that one of my regrets in this movie is that we didn’t get to see Jeff and this guy go head to head.

Unlike Hard-Boiled, which is so long due to its extended bouts of gunplay, the Killer is a better-paced film with action setpieces that are just as elaborate as any others Woo has directed. The shoot-out in the church is amazing, of course, but so is the gunfight in Jeff’s apartment. And one thing that heightens the action scenes in the Killer over those in Hard-Boiled is that there’s an emotional undercurrent throughout each of the fights in the Killer: they aren’t just over-the-top shootouts.

On an odd note, the US commercial for this movie says that the Killer is a “thriller comedy.” Not sure who they were trying to fool with that one. Maybe this is where the rumor came from, that proposes that the Killer was intended as a send-up of crime films?

Hands-down my favorite Woo film, and my favorite Hong Kong movie.

Joe909’s Rating: 10/10 (all it needs is a digitized “Street Fighter” voice chirping “Perfect!”)


By Tequila

Spoiler review, but I’m sure you have seen it already. Ooh, controversy!

Yes, it’s true – The Killer is a classic movie that I almost dislike. I love the action, the acting, the direction and everything else – this film is brilliant and there is no doubt about that.

I’m not going to bore you with repetition of what everybody else already said and no, Numskull, I don’t watch Jackass, but this is what I don’t like about The Killer:

The colour scheme: I just hate that whole brown and white colour scheme! It makes the visual aspect of the film look boring and if you aren’t concentrating on the dialogue you will want to nod off to sleep because it just seems so dull.

The finale: Jeff gets his ass kicked completely! He doesn’t even get to kill the main henchman, let alone the big boss, and then just goes and dies. Sorry, but I was looking forward to seeing him do a bit more, as after the finale he looks like any old gunman with a bit of skill; not at all like Mark Lee in A Better Tomorrow who was basically a superman with a gun (I’m not going to count Tequila Yuen from Hardboiled cause he lived). He may have looked good in all the other shootouts but he was fighting against mooks, not people who take more than one bullet in the ribs to kill like Weng or Yau.

The way Danny Lee blames Jeff for his partner’s death: It was hardly his fault! The guy went in himself, Jeff had nothing to do with it and it just seemed kinda contrived to me.

Tequila’s Rating: My personal enjoyment: 6/10 Overall quality of the film: 9/10


By Alvin George

“The Killer” is a considerably better movie than “Hard-Boiled.” It has John Woo’s trademark shootouts and doves, but the shootouts are shorter and don’t overwhelm the storyline and the characterizations. I could identify with the story (Chow Yun-Fat wants to stop being a hit man, but must do one last hit to raise money to get corneas for Sally Yeh, whom he accidentally blinds during a shootout). And there are even car chases, so the action scenes don’t just consist of shootouts. One powerful scene has a statue of the Virgin Mary shattering into a million pieces due to the gunfire. As a Roman Catholic, that scene really shook me up. It especially helped that I know how the cool Chow Yun-Fat looks like now. Not all Asians look alike, folks. Recommended.

Alvin George’s Rating: 9.5/10


By Jonathan Yates

This film is the film that really got me into John Woo. It is good from beginning to end. The gunfights, direction, music and the acting are the greatest you will ever see, I promise you! The four leads (Chow Yun Fat, Sally Yeh, Danny Lee, Chu Kong) are all really great and I cannot think of one unbelievable perfomance in the film. Oh yeah, be prepared, because unless you are a real hardass, you will cry at the end. If you know someone who dosent think that Chow Yun Fat is the coolest man on the face of this earth, show them this film. Is there a cooler man on the face of this earth? See this film and I think that you will agree with me that there is not.

Jonathan Yates’ Rating: 10/10


By Perkele

The first time I saw this film I thought it was the best action movie ever. Now, when I’ve seen the flick numerous times I think it’s an over-hyped, over-dramatic though fun movie about a killer and a cop who team up to battle it out with the bad people. Now that I’m already pissed everybody off, I might as well tell you another thing than bugs me about this movie: the main characters. While beautifully portrayed by Chow Yun-Fat and Danny Lee it seems that they don’t have a life outside of this story at all! No past, no nothing! But no matter what, “The Killer” is a good movie. I’m not going to tell you why, because you can’t actually live your life as a movie aficionado without bumping into these guys who don’t have anything bad to say about “The Killer”. Check out “A Better Tomorrow” and “A Bullet in the Head” instead, I say.

Perkele’s Rating: 8.5/10


By Vic Nguyen

Perhaps the most acclaimed Cantonese language production in the west, The Killer is generally considered by critics to be John Woo’s greatest achievement. Chow Yun-fat delivers, yet again, another memorable performance as the moral induced killer, while Danny Lee shines as the cop who unexpectedly develops a bond with the man he’s hunting down. John Woo is at the top of his game, balancing out blistering hyperviolent action sequences (by Ching Siu-tung) along with strong melodrama and numerous instances which displays his patented themes (Christianity, morality etc). A perfect introduction to the world of Hong Kong Cinema.

Vic Nguyen’s Rating: 10/10


By S!DM

Definately John Woo’s most acclaimed effort. In short, Chow Yun Fat’s performance is brilliant as a hitman who accidentally blinds a bystander during his “retirement job.” The cop on his trail (Danny Lee), eventually becomes his teammate, and when they are placed in the same scene, action is bound to follow. Emotionally stirring, yet stunningly violent, The Killer delivers many explosions and shoot-outs, punctuated with scenes of intense drama. An instant classic and high-class action film, The Killer is the standard by which HK actioners should be judged.

S!DM’s Rating: 10/10

Posted in Chinese, Reviews | Tagged , , , , |

Wheels on Meals | aka Spartan X (1984) Review

"Wheels on Meals" Japanese Theatrical Poster

“Wheels on Meals” Japanese Theatrical Poster

AKA: Million Dollar Heiress
Director: Sammo Hung
Cast: Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, Sammo Hung, Lola Forner, Benny Urquidez, Keith Vitali, Herb Edelman, Susanna Sentis, Wu Ma, Paul Chang, Blacky Ko, Richard Ng, John Sham, Herb Edelman, Stanley Fung Sui-Fan, Miguel Aniles
Running Time: 104 min.

By Dan-O

First off, I’ve gotta say this: Benny Urkidez is a first class, gold star, collector’s edition ass kicker. He’s the guy who shows Hollywood weekend warriors like Nick Cage how to look like they know what the fuck they’re doing when they throw a punch. And while it pains me to say this, Benny would more than likely take Jackie out in a real fight. He never lost a match is his professional career as a fighter, and that’s like 50 or 60+ pro fights.

Yeah, you’re right… I’m gushing.

Now, whether or not “Inside Kung-Fu” magazine called Benny’s final showdown with Jackie in this movie “The greatest onscreen fight ever” is moot, because I don’t read Inside Kung-Fu, and neither do the majority of you who’re reading this. I know that if you heard that it’s because you saw that anthology “The Deadliest Art”, and not because you read it in the magazine. But if they did print that, then I would have to back that statement up, because I don’t think I’ve yet witnessed a more perfect one-on-one battle scene. Sammo may make the silliest fuckin’ movies in the world, which he does (if you’re doubting that, watch the “Lucky Stars” movies, and then watch “Mr. Nice Guy”, and then we’ll chat), but goddamn if he doesn’t direct a good fight scene.

Well, so far, this ain’t no kinda movie review; it’s just me running off at the mouth about isolated aspects of the movie.

Ok, the movie, as a whole, is patchy (which is typical of a Sammo Hung film). Sammo ain’t no Steven Spielberg when it comes to pacing or characters. However, he IS the Spielberg/Cameron of the fight scene. His fight scenes are always kinetic, intuitive, dynamic, ingenious, and so on and so on, and the fight scenes in ‘Meals’ have all of those qualities, but they’re spaced out a bit too far, save for the end. Specifically, I found the fight with the dork bikers waaaay too damn short, although it was spectacular in that slo-mo crane shot, but I ain’t tellin’ what happens, for those still virgins to this film.

The cornball stuff is cute, but gets a little “too cute” in spots. The female lead here is, as always, a friggin’ knockout, as any less just wouldn’t do in a HK movie. The story, well, I’ve forgotten it already. That’s how involved I was with it. Like I’ve said before, if you want a good story, watch Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai”, or the original “Jaws”. This movie is for fans to get their fight fix, maybe a couple of yukyuks, and that’s it.

There’s one thing that confuses the crap outta me…

How the hell did Yeun Biao keep his spine from flying out of his body like a cork in that stunt where, well, if you’ve seen the movie you know what the frak I’m talking about.

Dan-O’s Rating: 7/10 (Benny vs. Jackie finale scene; 10)


By James H.

What we have here is a fun movie. It combines the some great fights with some of Jackie’s funniest moments. Jackie & Yuen run are mobile restaurateurs who know how to kick asses. There is a plot in there, but I won’t bore you with the details. The fights are incredibly fast & furious! The fight between Jackie and Benny “The Jet” is now legendary. There were not too many fights, but the ones at the end are well worth the wait.

Jackie, Sammo & Yuen make a great team. I would love to see them reunite for a kick-ass action/comedy. The jokes are genuinely funny, the three playing off each other like the 3 Stooges and the Marx Brothers. Did anyone else notice that Sammo didn’t get ANY respect from anyone in the movie?

I’m glad Tai Seng is becoming a real video company. I saw the new re-release with excellent subtitles! The only time I had to hit the rewind button was to see Jackie’s moves over & over & over….

James H’s Rating: 9.5/10


By Ro

First the plot: Jackie and Yuen Biao are friends who run a mobile food van. They discover that Yuen’s father’s girlfriend’s daughter (got that?) is a pickpocket. Their old friend, Samo Hung, is a P.I. who’s supposed to find her and her mother. There are a gang of bad guys also after the women.

The emphasis in this picture is more on comedy (there are some really old jokes in it) than on fighting and action. The fights are few, far between and FAR too short until the glorious one at the end (more on that later). But have to admit, the comedy worked for me! I thought it was hilarious, mostly because of the incredible chemistry between the 3 ‘brothers’. I guess that kind of rapport only comes after 10 years of training, torture and starvation together. But, man, then they’re hot, they’re hot! The girl is only useful to give them an excuse to fight with each other. (OK, she’s beautiful, but couldn’t they get somebody who has talent other than being able to come out of a shower with full makeup and hair that dries in 5 minutes? She acts like somebody told her that using her face muscles would cause wrinkles!)

Although the fight scenes are short, they’re sweet, and the car chase is awesome! I admit to being prejudiced when it comes to car chases. I think nobody can do them like Hollywood. This one proves me wrong! And the idea of using the facilities of their roach coach as weapons ALA the Batmobile or Bond’s car was just brilliant! The final fight scenes with the 3 brothers all over the castle is wonderful. And of course, the final fight between Benny Urquidez and Jackie is a classic. I have to agree with all the hype – this fight is one of the best I’ve seen yet. And it’s not just because of the incredible power and skill of the two opponents. A lot of the credit has to go to Samo Hung for his direction of the scene. These men don’t just fight, flinging fists and chairs and feet at each other, they take time to size each other up. You can see the intelligence and purpose in their eyes, and you watch them plan their next course of attack. I believe that is what makes this scene so great.

Samo’s sense of pacing, which is noticeably lacking in the rest of the film (the song really has to go!), is spot on in this fight and makes this movie one of Jackie’s best. If you want to buy it, I recommend Tai Seng’s letterbox, subtitled version. It’s good qualities and the subtitles are very clear (I’ve heard there are a lot of bad copies around).

Ro’s Rating: 9.5/10


By Master of the Stick

Well, I finally got around to seeing Wheels on Meals, and it lives up to the hype. Trademark zany comedy, a skateboardin’ Jackie, and a fast-food van car chase are some of the reasons why this movie kicks ass. Unfortunately, the plot sucked, and the only way to make up for that would be with an abundance of fight scenes (like in Drunken Master). Wheels on Meals doesn’t deliver, and it sometimes drags between fights (It didn’t help that the dubbing was awful). The biker gang also sucked, although not nearly as much as the Rumble in the Bronx punks. Any shortcomings will be forgotten, however, when you see the final battle. While Jackie dukes it out in a stellar fight with Benny “the Jet,” Yuen Biao mixes it up with a standard bad guy, and Sammo Hung shows off his swashbuckling skills. All together, it just might be the greatest ending fight scene in kung fu cinema. Watch it!

Master of the Stick’s Rating: 9/10


By Marcia

OK, it’s pretty funny, but I have to disagree with some of the high ratings other folks give this film. For me, the best part of the humor is the (apparently somewhat real) tension between Samo and Yuen Biao/Jackie. They “act” like they’ve grown up annoying each other.

Various points throughout made me laugh quite a bit (e.g., Samo’s comment that elephants don’t climb trees, or his traditional two-sword style against a European fencer), and the fights at the end are some good action, but I’d have to say it’s only average overall.

Marcia’s Rating: 7/10


By Shazbot!

An OK movie that I don’t think lives up to its hype. The fight against the motorcycle gang was too short. Some good comedy and a high-tech van that seemed to repair itself after every crash (must have been inspired by Sheriff Buford T Justice’s regenerating car in Smokey II). While the final fight was OK, I was most impressed with a sequence with Keith Vitali and Yuen Biao. Keith chases Yuen up on a table, Yuen flips off and lands in an overstuffed chair avoiding a sweeping kick, then flips out of the chair over the table, twists, and lands on the couch as Keith does a flying kick where Yuen WAS and lands in the chair. One continuous shot! I replayed this slomo several times in awe. Better than any single JC shot, and worth seeing the movie.

Shazbot!’s Rating: 7/10


By Stockton22

Am I the only one who doesn’t like this movie? A year after the phenomenal Project A, the three brothers return for this surprisingly dull effort. While it is a pretty funny movie (it’s almost like a kung-fu version of “Dumb and Dumber”), I don’t watch Jackie Chan movies exclusively for the comedy. The laughs in a Jackie Chan movie usually serve to lighten up the mood to make the film more enjoyable, not to serve as the basis for the film’s entire entertainment. There’s hardly any action for the first hour of the movie, and the few action sequences that do come were over before I had the chance to sit up. Example, a motorcyle gang goes after Jackie and Yuen. Now, there’s four or five mean lookin’ thugs on choppers, this looks like it’s gonna be totally rad. Then they head for Jackie and Yuen Biao, who both jump and kick the guys as they ride in and knock them to the ground. AND THAT’S IT! THE FREAKIN’ SCENE’S OVER! ARE YOU KIDDIN’ ME?

There’s finally action in the last half hour, but even that is pretty sporadic until the very end. The much heralded showdown between Jackie and Benny “the Jet” Urquidez is pretty slammin’, especially with all the real blows that ensued during the filming. But I personally don’t find Sammo Hung’s direction very exciting. His fighting scenes are more realistic, but in this movie at least, it seems to come at the expense of the flashy theatrics we’ve come to expect from Jackie. Looking more like real life may be admirable, but it isn’t very thrilling. I live in New York City, if I want to see real fighting, I can just look out the damn window. And speaking of keeping it real, what the hell is Urquidez wearing under his shirt? Foam rubber? Thermal insulation? A LIFE JACKET? No wonder Jackie got mad when Urquidez really kicked him. And while I’m being totally petty, let me bring up the subject of Sammo’s perm. What the hell’s that all about? I kept wondering when he was gonna put on a single glove, do the moonwalk and get the whole Michael Jackson impression over with. Overall, there’s enough action that it’s not a bad movie. But on the whole, it’s a strenuously disappointing snoozerama.

Stockton22’s Rating: 4/10


By Numskull

I like Samo Hung’s humor and I like his fight choreography but by Buddha I hate his sense of pacing! It’s not as bad as in “My Lucky Stars” or “First Mission”, but this movie really has lags in places. It’s mostly for comic relief, but I prefer that in small doses when there are asses to be kicked. The best bit of the humor award goes to the bum taking a shit next to Samo Hung.

The best fight, of course is Jackie vs. Benny Urquidez, if only by contrast to the other stuff going on in the castle at the time. While Chan the man and Benny the Jet are going at it like a couple of mad dogs, Samo is getting slice and diced by the baron and Yuen Biao (wearing chem lab goggles?!?) is running like a madman away from some other guy. My reaction to this was pretty much the same as when Jackie’s hotel room gets broken into by these two Australian guys in “First Strike”, “What the hell are you running away for?!? Fight damnit!”

I didn’t get my mechanical bull for Christmas so now life owes me!! Grab one of them sword thingies and wipe his ass with it!!!! *sigh*… Maybe I’m painting an unfair picture of this movie…right before seeing it I saw John Woo’s “Once a Thief” (The original, not the remake), which surpassed my expectations, while “Wheels on Meals'” fell a little bit short. But that’s no excuse not to see the damn thing people!

Numskull’s Rating: 8/10

Posted in Chinese, Golden Harvest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , |

Image of Bruce Lee, The | aka Storming Attacks (1978) Review

"Storming Attacks" Theatrical Poster

“Storming Attacks” Theatrical Poster

Director: Yueng Kuen
Cast: Bruce Li (aka Ho Chung Tao, James Ho), Han Ying Chieh, Danna, Chang Lei, Chang Wu Lang, Bolo Yeung (Yang Sze, Yang Tze, Bolo Yang)
Running Time: 88 min.

By Joe909

Image of Bruce Lee isn’t the best Bruce Li movie, but neither is it the worst. The martial arts are better than any of his earlier flicks, but the ad naseum fighting, nonsensical script, and exploitative moments place it below such later Li classics as “Dynamo” and “Chinese Stuntman.”

But let’s get back to the exploitation. There’s more nudity in Image of Bruce Lee than any other old-school chop sockey I’ve seen. I’m talking full-on, Grade A, female nudity. And luckily, the featured actress is pretty attractive. The actress’ name is Dana (no last name; who knows, maybe she inspired Madonna), and cutely enough her character is named “Donna.” She’s the daughter of a crime boss, who’s littering Hong Kong with counterfeit US bills. It’s up to special agent Bruce Li and his shaggy-haired partner (a dead ringer for Conan’s pal in “Conan the Barbarian”) to stop the madness.

Li is introduced as he attempts to stop a suicide at the beginning of the film. Decked out in a yellow Game of Death outfit (complete with blue Asics Tigers!) that’s been modified with some sort of special forces logo, he rappels up a large building and tries to foil the guy. No luck, though; Bruce grabs the guy’s arm, only to discover too late that it’s a prosthetic appendage!

An original opening; most other movies would capitalize on this, maybe showing Li’s character going through some sort of depression. But after a quick sparring session with his hapless teammates, Li’s on to a new mission: namely, team up with his partner and tail Donna, who’s soon to arrive in Hong Kong from London. During a mission screening (in which we see that Bruce Li smokes!), Li and his pal learn that beyond the crime boss and his flunkies, there’s also a Japanese faction on the scene, lead by a very nonJapanese-looking Bolo Yeung.

What follows is a comedy of errors, as Bruce and pal prove to be the most inept undercover cops in the history of movies. Their assignment is to “quietly” follow Donna, but instead they openly tail her. I mean, within moments of her getting off the plane in Hong Kong, she knows they’re following her! And from there it just gets worse. I’d say this could be a parody of undercover cop movies, but the rest of the movie just doesn’t justify that theory; it’s just kung-fu mayhem all the way. One of those movies where fights break out at the drop of a hat. I wouldn’t say it’s as bad as a Bruce Le movie, but still, there are enough interesting characters on display to justify a little more character/plot development, and a little less “I’m gonna teach you a lesson!” fighting.

There are a few clever twists and surprises in store for viewers. Most notably, some nice scenes where Donna has a little fun with her pursuers (while she shows off her entire body for us viewers), and a little reversal at the end when someone reveals they aren’t who we thought they were. But beyond that, Image of Bruce Lee just doesn’t achieve the cheesy greatness of Li’s other films, mostly because it seems that the filmmakers were afraid to take a few chances with the story. They could’ve given us a nice ensemble piece with mulitple plots and only a few great fights, but instead they toned down the characterization and loaded up on the chop sockey.

Joe909’s Rating: 5.5/10


By Alvin George

I bought this video at a secondhand store. OK, so this is yet another Bruceploitation movie, with some guy named Bruce Li instead of Bruce Lee. But if you can get past the title, it’s actually a fairly decent movie. For one thing, it’s set in 1970s (I think) Hong Kong instead of some ancient Shaolin temple. The fight choreography, while not as good as that in a typical Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan film, is at least considerably better than that in “Slaughter in San Francisco.” There’s also a foxy Asian lady with Farrah-type hair who often goes naked. In all, passable.

Alvin George’s Rating: 5/10

Posted in Bruceploitation, Chinese, Reviews | Tagged , , , , |

Chinese Stuntman, The | aka Counter Strike (1981) Review

"The Chinese Stuntman" International Poster

“The Chinese Stuntman” International Poster

Director: Bruce Li
Cast: Bruce Li (Ho Chung Tao), Sze Ma Lung, John Ladalski, Paul Wei Ping Ao, Peng Kang, Chiu Ting, Melvin Cheung Wan Man, Kong Yeung, Dan Inosanto, Liu Hok Ming, Samuel Suen Sau-San, Yeung Wah, Chung Yu-Lee
Running Time: 90 min.

By Joseph Kuby

Groundbreaking New Wave Classic!

The Chinese Stuntman is a lot more than being some typical Bruceploitation flick. It’s actually one of the most important films to be made during the New Wave era of Hong Kong cinema – it brings over a surprising level of realism and maturity that previous films had lacked and which, at best, was rarely seen (unlike the surrealism and overly comic under/overtones which permeated previous offerings).

So this film should really be taken seriously on first viewing and its prominence should be noted. This film is wonderfully satirical and with Bruce Le as the assistant director, I think it’s fair to say that the less-inspired moments may have come from him and whoever else was assisting the director.

In fact, the only reason why the film is referred to as a Bruceploitation film is because on the UK DVD cover the film’s star (and director), James Ho Chung Tao, is advertised as Bruce Li – his original star name and one he applied to the previous film’s he appeared in (not that he ever intended to use it since he respects Bruce). Really, the only comparison he shares with Bruce is what other Chinese actors at the time shared with Bruce – they all wear a Chinese afro.

Additionally, the film features Bruce’s friend/teacher/student/actor Dan Inosanto, Dan’s Jeet Kune Do student John Ladalski (who can be seen in Jackie Chan’s Armour of God), Paul Wei Ping Ao (the actor who played the Chinese interpreter for the foreign villains in Fist of Fury and The Way of the Dragon) and there are plenty of Bruce Lee poster/magazines which can be seen in the apartment of Ho Chung Tao (which brings to mind a scene in Sammo Hung’s Heart of Dragon where we see this person’s apartment which prominently displays a poster of Bruce Lee) as well a verbal reference to the man himself.

The Chinese Stuntman is a lot more better than the similarly themed/titled The Stuntwoman directed by Ann Hui, starring Michelle Yeoh and Sammo Hung which started out promisingly but soon outstayed its welcome and become an utter bore despite good performances which came from the two leads.

The Stuntwoman lost its way when we were introduced to this comical looking Triad villain and the look of the action sequences which came from this plot-point took away from the realism and emotional power of the film. There was an annoying kid actor with a dated Elvis hairstyle and despite some moments of poignancy, The Stuntwoman was very ponderous (it was slow-paced, meaningless and lethargic). The story of The Stuntwoman became cliche as she fell in love with this film producer/millionaire type who turns out to be a playboy who eventually two-times on her.

Just like The Chinese Stuntman, The Stuntwoman has this room-mate who lives with her though it’s not as explored well as in this film. The Stuntwoman may have been directed by Ann Hui but that doesn’t mean to say that her movie was better.

The Chinese Stuntman explores more into the insights of the Hong Kong film industry, something which Ann Hui didn’t do with her movie. Moreover the film ends with delicious irony as we see these two contemporary-dressed Kung Fu actors fighting on a period Kung Fu movie set.

The action is innovative such as the way the camera tilts side to side as Ho and John exchanges hooks (punch-wise) that hit the other to tilt to their side. Their relationship is filmed (i.e. acted, scripted and directed) in a more realistic manner than the overly stylistic even stilted manner present in previous Hong Kong films.

Overall, a classic which makes one wish Ho had stayed to make more films. On the strength of Chinese Stuntman and The Gold Connection (US title Iron Dragon Strikes Back), he would have easily made films with Tsui Hark, Kirk Wong, John Woo, Johnnie To, Ringo Lam, Ronnie Yu and others. Perhaps making a name for himself in a genre outside martial arts (e.g. like how Danny Lee went from Bruceploitation actor to the obligatory cop and how Lam Ching Ying went from Kung Fu player to ghost buster). Ho left because he was tired of being associated with the Bruceploitation genre and being marketed as Bruce Li (though this film has him credited by his real name). In addition, his wife had died and prior to that she had made him promise not to make any more films (whether this was a dying wish or one that was done with no foresight of her death is not as important as the fact that it was a marital vow). Ho is now an owner of a Singaporean gym teaching students gymnastics and the ins and outs of film production.

Very good film!

As a footnote, from this point on I will refer to Bruce Li as James Ho, out of respect, since that’s what he preferred to be referred to as. The guy deserves it!

Joseph Kuby’s Rating: 9/10


By Joe909

Bruce Li (real name: Ho Chung Tao) could’ve been one of the big stars of Hong Kong’s New Wave film explosion in the early ’80s. Instead, he chose to retire, just as Hong Kong filmmaking was reaching its peak. Vilified in the past, Bruce Li is now openly admired by chop-sockey lovers. The facts alone endear him: he didn’t choose to be called Bruce Li (in fact, he fought against being called this from the beginning of his film career), he was a great admirer of the real Bruce Lee, he worked night and day to become a more realistic, on-screen fighter, and he experienced heartache; his wife of many years died of cancer toward the end of his film career. In fact, that, along with his continuing dismay with how international distributors were marketing him under a fake, disrespectful name, was what lead Chung Tao to retire.

But still, this guy made a ton of movies in his time, and though the early ones are terrible due to his lack of on-screen skill, later Bruce Li movies are some of the best kung-fu flicks of all time. He learned how to move quick, how to portray his own image, rather than cop the real Bruce Lee’s. Whereas Bruce Le and Dragon Lee were content to star in the worst crap ever, Bruce Li eventually took pains to ensure that his films provided sheer entertainment.

This film was both written and directed by Chung Tao, who for once actually got his real name displayed in the opening credits. Of course international distributors plastered the name Bruce Li all over advertisements, and this name is also displayed on the video release (actually, my video says that it stars Bruce Le, and even has a pic from Bruce Le’s Enter the Game of Death), but regardless, the name Ho Chung Tao shows up in the credits, and it’s his movie all the way.

The movie opens typically enough: a white guy walks into a Hong Kong kung-fu school and starts challenging people. He cleans the floor with them, until Bruce Li steps in and gives the gweilo a run for his money. This goes on throughout the opening credits, with fast-paced funk music throughout. Bruce Li beats the white guy (John) around for a while, but then the fight ends very creatively: a phone call comes in for Bruce. Excited, he tells John thanks, runs over to the phone, and finds out he’s been given an insurance job he really wanted.

We follow Bruce through his first day, and it’s really funny how damn much this guy wants to sell insurance. It’s like his entire life purpose is to fill this position. Unfortunately, this being a kung-fu movie, things aren’t so easy for Bruce. He gets challenged often and for obscure reasons by various people. After a hard day of work, he comes home to find John outside his apartment. But no fear, John’s hear to learn kung-fu from Bruce. And in another burst of creativity, John becomes Bruce’s live-in student and pal.

We’re treated to several scenes of John and Bruce engaging in bizarre kung-fu training, such as kicking at eggs that hang from ropes, or just your basic sparring. All, I might add, while they wear color-coordinated tracksuits. And also all while they talk about what’s going on with Bruce’s job. This gave me the idea for a TV show: it could be about a Chinese guy and a white guy who live together and train in kung-fu together, all while going through the usual sitcom bullshit. Like they could be sparring while they’re talking about their girlfriends or whatever. The name I came up for the show is “Bruce And The White Guy”.

Anyway, there are a ton of fights to cover up the hazy plot. Unlike early Bruce Li flicks, these fights are all excellent. The highlight of the movie is when Dan Inosanto enters into combat. Inosanto plays a cocky kung-fu teacher who’s hired to act as fight choreographer for the film Bruce is working on. Inosanto’s character is very gray in that at first he’s presented as evil, then he’s a good guy because he’s on Bruce’s side, but then finally he’s bad as he whips the floor with John and then takes on Bruce. Using his trademark escrima sticks, Dan proves that he could’ve been an excellent kung-fu actor. His fight isn’t as great as the one with the real Bruce Lee in Game of Death, but it’s pretty close.

I’ve heard that this and Dynamo are considered Bruce Li’s two best movies. I haven’t seen Dynamo, but I’d like to. Chinese Stuntman is a perfect fix if you’re melancholy for the good old days of Kung-Fu Theater.

Joe909’s Rating: 8/10

Posted in Bruceploitation, Chinese, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , |

Finishing the Game (2007) Review

"Finishing the Game" Theatrical Poster

"Finishing the Game" Theatrical Poster

AKA: Finishing The Game of Death
Director: Justin Lin
Writer: Josh Diamond
Cast: James Franco, Roger Fan, Sung Kang, Dustin Nguyen, McCaleb Burnett, MC Hammer, Ron Jeremy, Bella Thorne
Running Time: 88 min.

By Ningen

This is essentially a mockumentary which asks, “What if the greedy bastards who owned his footage actually wanted to realize Bruce Lee’s original vision for ‘Game of Death’, and shoot it the way it was intended?” Thus, a casting call is made for Asian-American actors who can fill Bruce’s shoes. The contenders include a pretty boy b-actor, a Vietnamese refugee, a wash-out who was mostly known for one-note characters, a Chuck Norris-type who’s actually part-Chinese and an advocate for Asian causes, and a goofy dope who rarely takes the initiative.

“Finishing the Game” goes for more than just Hollywood’s portrayal of Asians in film. It also covers their treatment in this country, sometimes in a vicious and ironic way, sometimes in a straight-forward way. What makes it all work is that Lin tries to have fun with the material. He doesn’t fall into the trap of lecturing or talking down to the audience; he simply points it out in an easy-going, albeit matter-of-fact, way. (I guess the closest similar approach I can think of, when I watch this film, is “The Boondocks”.)

The actors are believable, and yet unique, in their appearance and approach. It’s refreshing to see Asians who actually look and talk like Asians you might know, and not the “One ethnic group fits all” mentality which led to the recent casting decisions for “Memoirs of a Geisha”. Of course, the downside is that they look more like people you’d know, if you’ve lived in L.A., so you might not “get” them as well otherwise. Still, their performances are decent enough, that it doesn’t matter if you know them, because you can still relate to them on an impersonal level.

Plus, it also helps to have some familiarity with the martial arts movie scene of that time; but you can also simply accept it all as 70s kitsch-like much of Boogie Nights. My only gripe is that the story gets a little too melodramatic, as one of the aspiring actors, Cole Kim (Sung Kang), takes his relationship issues a little too seriously, and that slows down the momentum of the film. Still, it leads to a great climax, so it’s worth it to be patient.

When I attended the weekend premiere in L.A., I found out that ‘Game was shot in 19 days, but it hardly looks like it, possibly because Lin was able to get some free sets and clothes from “You, Me, and Dupree”. In spite of success, he still finds it tough to pitch non-white casting choices to producers, which is why he prefers the indie route. Lin also feels there’s a world of difference between Asian film and Asian-American film in terms of professionalism and success. However, he is happy that he’s been able to break down Hollywood’s perceived barriers for what is considered “appealing”.

Ningen’s Rating: 7.5/10 if you get bored with Cole Kim’s girl troubles, 8.5 if you think it enhances the story.

Posted in Asian Related, Bruceploitation, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , |

Dragon Lives, The | aka He’s a Legend, He’s a Hero (1978) Review

"The Dragon Lives" US Theatrical Poster

“The Dragon Lives” US Theatrical Poster

Director: Singloy Wang
Cast: Bruce Li (aka Ho Chung Tao, James Ho), Caryn White, Betty Chen, Ernest “Curt” Curtis, Joe Nerbonne, Fred Cargle, Li Won Chung, Elton Hugee, Jim Burnett
Running Time: 88 min.

By Joseph Kuby

There’s so much inaccuracies that it’s hard to tell if the filmmakers were being for real, trying to get a rise out of the audience or sharing an in-joke with the people who knew better.

Now I could write a sarcastic review like what Eric Clark (or Numskull as he’s otherwise known) did for his Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth review (or like what Keith Dixon did for his Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story review over at the Many Bruces site) where I list all the “new” facts I learned about the life of Bruce Lee, but there’s way too many “new” facts for me to list here so instead I’ll just list the pros & cons that The Dragon Lives has going for & against it.

The Dragon Lives is a funny film on its own terms but for me a lot of the humour stems from people’s reactions to the film or imagining how people would react to the film.

Maybe I’m not the only one with this opinion but I always feel that a film can be funny or funnier when imagining, seeing or hearing what a person would look like or have to say if they were to watch it. For instance if people were to watch this movie, chances are there’ll be various reactions to the film whether it be humourously derogative, cynically critical or just plain dumbfounded.

A lot of the humour in The Dragon Lives can come from how seriously people could take it.

There’s two ways a person can take things seriously. A person can take things seriously in that they’re viewing things from a serious perspective or a person can take things seriously in that they’ll impart a level of importance to what they’re discussing or observing. For instance, you might have someone like me who watches Wong Jing’s films knowing fully well he’s not trying to make a serious statement, win awards or change society through politically charged cinema but will take him seriously because that person might realize that he’s a very talented and underrated filmmaker who’s better than the average filmmaker. A more better example for this is Stephen Chow’s Shaolin Soccer. It’s a funny comedy but people took it seriously because they felt it was a very good film that was being mishandled by Miramax.

People who watch Dragon Lives are more likely to take it seriously in that they think what they’re seeing is true. Some of you may laugh at this but don’t forget that one of the reasons as to why the Bruceploitation genre was going strong was due to people’s indifference (ignorance) as to whether they were seeing the real Bruce Lee or not.

Again, let me illustrate some examples. There was one particular time when the UK TV station Channel 5 had aired Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. After when it aired, there was this Indian friend of mine called Waqas who thought Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story was accurate and he actually believed that Bruce had a fight with a Thai extra during the making of The Big Boss, now this is partially true but it was never blown up to such outlandish proportions as seen in the film.

I have another friend, called Leigh, and he was telling me about how he saw this movie featuring Bruce Lee in this orange tracksuit then I thought “Finally, someone realizes it’s orange!” before telling me that, in said flick, Bruce was thrusting his fingers & fists through various shaped holes in this training machine which measured hits through light bulbs and meters, then I realized that he wasn’t talking about Game of Death but Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth. It was at this point I realized how the average person would react to a Bruce Lee biopic.

On further note, there’s this rental website I order films from, called Screen Select, where you can comments/reviews after when you’ve seen the DVD in question and when I looked at the Bruceploitation films available, there were all kinds of comments with one theme sticking them together: people go in expecting Bruce Lee only to find otherwise.

God knows what any of the above people would have to say about this flick!

Bruce Lee fans would go on about how Bruce is rolling in his grave, the average film goer wouldn’t get it, whereas film critics/historians might be able to look past the surface and appreciate its values. I think it’s fair to say that John Little would take The Dragon Lives as less lightly than Bey Logan. Fuck knows how Lee’s friends and family would react if they were to get their hands on this.

How I got my hands on this was through this competition that was held on the City On Fire forum back in early 2003 where the aim was to answer these factual/fictional questions about Bruce Lee’s life with answers that would make the makers of this film blush. I was one of the ten winners. The fact that I got it for free helped me to appreciate the film.

How Herman Cohen got his hands on this was back in 1981 when he decided that The Dragon Lives would be among his second* range of titles picked up for distribution through his company Cobra Media. Hence the references on the DVD and film itself that “Herman Cohen presents”. What grabbed his attention about the film was its quirkiness, horror elements (the eerie beginning & closing scenes and the training machine which haunts Bruce) and its hint of science fiction (the music that plays during Bruce’s knockdown at the Long Beach martial arts tournament and the training machine with noises that seemingly come straight out of Cohen’s sci-fi flicks).

Martial arts movies had something of a revival in 1981 thanks to the ninja sub-genre whose Western success was mainly due to Enter The Ninja therefore The Dragon Lives made enough money to ensure Cobra Media’s existence until 2002 when Herm unfortunately passed away. For those who want to learn more about Herm, go here.

The company who produced the film was Eternal Films, the same company who served as a low budget Golden Harvest for Indonesian Kung Fu star Billy Chong whose talent far exceeded their budgets in the same way Golden Harvest served as a low budget Shaw Bros. for Bruce. The Dragon Lives must be the biggest budgeted film Eternal Films ever worked on, even moreso than their Kung Fu Western (again, starring Billy Chong) called Sun Dragon (a.k.a. A Hard Way To Die).

However, I’m thinking this must have been a co-production as there are certain elements inherent in Bruce Lee’s Secret, namely the actor who plays Ho’s teacher and some of the Western actors (e.g. Robert Kerver {who plays a karateka in Dragon Lives} and the stoner I referred to in my review of Bruce Lee’s Secret). I’m also beginning to think there was a production manager who worked on both Dragon Lives and Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth as both films contain actor Sham Chin Po (here he plays a Thai fighter whereas in the other Bruce biopic he plays Bruce’s sidekick Butchie), the same orange tracksuit pants, the same novel concept of larger-than-life training apparatus and even the same footage (of “Bruce” riding a cable car in San Francisco – complete with some of its riders waving & pointing at the camera).

I tried to find information on the Western actors in this film but I couldn’t find anything. The only thing about the Western actors that’s worthy of note is the soundalike (if not spellalike**) Jack Nickelson.

What’s reassuring of the film’s quality is that we have Ni Kuang as screenwriter (though he’s credited here as Yi Kwan – alternate spelling of his name Yi Kuang). It’s hard to judge a script on the basis of a dubbed track but the dialogue has some gems and occasionally contains every bit of punch as the fights do.

Get this funny line for instance…

“You’re playing in an American movie here and if I want you to walk around with a chopstick stuck up your ass then you’re gonna do it boy!”

Ni does a good job of turning a well known life into an unpredictable narrative. How can you hate a script where you have a black karateka-cum-wannabe gangster called “Elton The Black Devil’s Fist”?

One of the other things that holds this film together is James Ho Chung Tao’s performance as the legendary Bruce Lee. Even when the film becomes too silly for comfort, his performance is the one thing that remains constantly dependable. I prefer him to Jason Scott Lee as I always felt that whilst Jay was a passionate actor who captured Bruce’s magnetism & intensity, there were times when I thought he was downright cheesy – something I wouldn’t describe Ho’s performance as such given the nature of the film. In a sense Ho’s performance in this film is like Lisa in The Simpsons, a sane individual in insane situations where said person’s sanity can be compromised. His performance in Dragon Lives is one of his best and a firm reminder that he was a very good actor.

The main highlight for his acting talents is the scene where he tries to hitchhike a ride to the Long Beach martial arts tournament, his agony-ridden face overridden with desperation clearly conveys emotion which pages of dialogue couldn’t match pound for pound or ounce for ounce.

The Dragon Lives could be categorized as a Tingsploitation flick as well as a Bruceploitation one. One has to remember that Betty Ting Pei was a very big, if controversial, movie star. Even though she was nowhere near as huge as Bruce, she was big enough to inspire movie producers to find the next steamy sex sirens and I think Betty Chen (who plays Ting Pei) looks so much like her that she could easily have made B movie sexploitation movies in Hong Kong, their similar names just begs for commercial exploitation.

Speaking of commercialism, there’s quite a lot of things this neat little movie has going for it. You have one of the best theme tunes ever devised for a film (courtesy of Anders Nelsson and his band Ming – it’s definately up there with the Shaft theme and arguably better than it) and you have dubbing which may ring a bell with certain generations of audiences. For older audiences, Bruce’s teacher (when seen in the pre-credit sequence) sounds like British actor Michael York and for younger audiences, the pre-teen Bruce’s voice sounds like the voices we’ve come to associate with the animated show South Park. The guy who does the voice for Bruce’s rival, boxer Sam Curtis, is completely miscast dubbing-wise but that only adds to the Mystery Science Theater 3000 feel of this movie!

If there’s flaws I had to list, it would be that when Bruce is having to be spanked on the bottom by a cane (due to the order of his teacher), you can see that one of the senior students holding Bruce down is actually using his hand as some kind of alternative padding to make sure the child actor playing Bruce won’t get injured. Another flaw is when Bruce gets knocked down in his fight at the Long Beach tournament and the referee starts counting down from ten to one, it’s hard to believe that the flashback that occurs during Bruce’s knockdown would last that long before him being able to get up before the culmination of the countdown and still fight.

This is also one of the few films where criticism of dubbing can be justified. The tournament sequence features some lines of dialogue that aren’t dubbed when Bruce is speaking to his cop friend. After these two meet each other at the tournament, the dialogue that follows is obviously ad-libbed (i.e. made up as it went along).

Which reminds me, there’s a continuity error in the storytelling (if not in the visual transitions from shot to shot) but it wasn’t something I noticed due to how astonishingly absorbing this film is. Bruce’s buddy is depicted as a cop then for no reason he ends up being a sports reporter. Before Bruce finds out about the tournament via newspaper and runs off to get there in time, his buddy is still depicted as being a police officer who seemingly has no involvement with journalism unless maybe the implication was that the cop turned to journalism during the time it took Bruce hours to travel there (due to little resources). But this wouldn’t explain why the cop/journalist is surprised to see Bruce at the tournament given their last encounter.

The Enter The Dragon sequence is a bit incoherent because when the producers arrive at the shooting location (after walking past these bushes) they’re shocked to see Bruce fighting one of the Westerners when for all they know he could be fighting them under choreographed circumstances!

My final complaint would be the depiction of Sam Curtis’ record breaking blow of making eighteen opponents fall to the ground with one punch, one of the “injured” combatants is seen to be smiling! WHAT THE HELL?!…..pffft…..some punch!

I don’t think the inaccuracies and missing “pages” of Bruce’s life count as flaws seeing as how you can’t put everything about a person’s life on film and I don’t think the filmmakers were intending to be authentic with how they approached bringing Bruce’s life to the screen (though a lot of the humour can come from imagining that the filmmakers were being for real).

There’s many ways this film can be viewed. It can be seen as a parody of the many biopics covering Bruce’s life as well as lampooning success stories. You could even say that the film is lampooning Bruce’s life – poking fun at how people tend to over-exaggerate Bruce’s achievements (during a montage sequence, Bruce is depicted as being adored by loads of American citizens like he’s a national sports hero and is displayed on the cover of Time magazine). But it doing so they’ve made the film utterly devoid of cliche which isn’t something you can say with genre flicks.

It even mocks Bruce’s attempt of portraying realism of on-screen combat (or at least there’s a passing swipe being made at people who claimed that Bruce brought no-holds-barred realism to on-screen fighting). When Bruce is depicted as making Enter The Dragon, there’s a dispute with Western martial artists about how stagy movie fighting is to which Bruce responds by saying they’ll film the fight for real. It’s as if the filmmakers are sneering at the mere popular notion that Bruce’s on-screen bouts played like real fights, with no sense of rehearsal or routine.

If this was any other movie or if this was done by any other director, the film would have been seen as completely sloppy but due to the unique spin that’s been played on the telling of Bruce’s life story it kind of works. The zaniness is part of the film’s appeal. It’s like the producer told the director and screenwriter “Let’s make a film about a guy whose life is similar to that of the real Bruce but without the facts restraining us from making unpredictable storytelling and popular entertainment!”; with that mindstate it’s easy to see where the filmmakers were heading with this. They wanted to give the audience a fun and entertaining film but with Bruce’s name connected to it to sell more tickets, thus by disguising it with a slim veil containing the letters ‘biography’.

At least with Dragon Lives, some of its weakness are turned into strengths thanks to the absurd quality of the move. Take for instance the Hollywood producer who shows a constant, if curious, interest in Bruce Lee. After the success of the Long Beach tournament, the producer walks into this room where a party is thrown and despite Bruce standing half a metre in front of him, the producer fails to see him – in that his use of sight is questionable (he’s as blind as a bat), he looks at the far end of the room first before searching the nearer end of the room he’s based in. It never fails to make me laugh each time!

There are hints that The Dragon Lives was intended to be comedy such as when we see Bruce conveniently training in a playground whose idea of fun concerns lots of vertical wooden logs that are more ideal for a martial artist’s or a Shaolin monk’s ‘playground’ than that of a child’s. In one of the scenes featuring this location, James Ho Chung Tao seemingly goes out of character and pulls a face towards the camera whilst making some gestures with his hands that are apeing the preying mantis style of Kung Fu. In the second scene where we see Bruce hitting the logs, they appear to be made out of metal if sound (when turned up a few notches) is anything to go by!

We even have a parody of the Shaw Brothers movie making methods when Bruce is seen to be negotiating with a Chang Cheh-style director on the set of what looks like a deleted scene from one of Chang’s Heroic Bloodbath*** pictures.

The Disney-style music that weaves in and out of the picture like a professionally trained boxer should be enough to tell you that this is indeed a comedy! If it weren’t for the bloody tournament sequence, this would be seen as a PG take on the life of Bruce Lee.

Regardless of its childish moments, the soundtrack contains one of the most original scores ever produced for a Hong Kong film (besides one cue from The Sand Pebbles that can be heard in Dragon Fist). I think Anders is one of the world’s most overlooked music composers. The theme song, alone, is that great (for some reason, I can even imagine Homer Simpson singing it) and I think Anders’ score has some very good moments that’s refreshing given that it was made in an era where music cues were rehashed by the dozen. I liked the piano melodies that played during two specific scenes: when Bruce hears about his offer to be in Green Hornet and the montage sequence depicting Bruce’s discovery of Jeet Kune Do. I particularly liked the first piano melody, it brought over a sensitive & sensible side to this sometimes chaotic and childish movie!

Bruce’s cop buddy gives new meaning to the term “Keystone cops” and there seems to be this allegory being made about Bruce Lee treat like a dog. Again, this is due to the way biographers, cinematic historians and perhaps Bruce give the impression that Chinese are treat like dogs everywhere. When Bruce meets his cop pal for the third time in the aforementioned park, the cop gives him some food in the same vocal and physical mannerisms a person would give an abandoned dog some food! (minus the handshake of course, hehe) Later on we see Bruce in his personal swimming pool when a Hollywood movie producer comes to negotiate with him; during the first part of their conversation the producer starts rubbing Bruce’s head and speaking down to him in such a simplified & broad-faced manner you’d think that the filmmakers were also attacking the very notion of ‘political correctness’ in society.

Much has been made in past reviews of the film’s comedic nature, there really are loads of comedic gems to choose from as far as personal favourites are
concerned. Let’s put it this way, there’s as much comic highlights as there are inaccuracies. In fact there’s so much comedic highlights it’s hard to list them all down which I think is the key to a successful comedy and a surefire way to test how good your material is, whether you’re a stand-up comedian, television writer, play writer, film writer or, fuck, even book writer.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the Long Beach segment of the film. The film’s primary comedic highlight is, without question or argument, the Long Beach martial arts tournament which is probably the quintessential example of how far from the film strays from Lee’s life. I mean since when did wrestlers (besides sumo) come to figure in the martial arts (besides grappling arts like Hapkido, Aikido and Judo). We have guys in capes and with beards that are shaped like upside down afros. On certain occasions, you’d think that ZZ Top or Jews were auditioning to play extras in a martial arts flick! (or wrestlers auditioning to be a part of the ZZ Top phenomenon)

We also have one of the most cringe-inducing yet rip-roaringly hilarious bonding moments ever captured on film. It’s when Bruce meets both the cop/journalist and this other journalist (a black sports writer). The way they embrace each other’s company in such an open, vivid yet non-homosexual manner (it has to be seen to be believed) even has some of the staff & fellow reporters in the background reduced to laughter! (with a few of them taking pictures of this joyous {that’s putting it lightly & loosely} and ‘friendly’ event)

There’s unintentional humour as evidenced by extras in the audience as it’s pretty obvious that they’re laughing at the hokeyness of the flick. Perhaps an exception has to be made with the Thai boxer scene since maybe the idea was for the audience to laugh at how Thai boxers have to dance before a fight. At one point we see a woman laughing in hysterics (complete with body actions than only be described as body shock….think electrocution). Then there’s a kid in the audience who looks like Michael J. Fox but more chubbier (puppy fat?!) and then there’s the multimentioned stoner.

I remember a commment on Bey Logan’s audio commentary for Game of Death where he said something on the lines of “If you look closely you can see the audience are not having a good time being extras!” but their reactions to the Sammo Hung vs. Bob Wall fight look like authentic reactions that an audience makes when viewing public professional fighting events. It’s very obvious that the audience in Dragon Lives are laughing at the movie (i.e. derisively) or playing along with it (i.e. overacting to the extent that it looks like they’re scorning the movie in a sardonic manner). Obviously Bey Logan has not seen The Dragon Lives hence his comments on the Game of Death commentary.

The tournament has a wildly contrasting, almost schizophrenic, nature to it. When we see a black karateka meet his ugly fate at the hands (or head rather) of a Thai fighter, we have one side of the audience who are crying, covering their faces and with looks of shock, appall and disgust written all over their face; then on another side of the audience we see people cheering & laughing almost like what they were seeing was a harmless & light-hearted event!!!

Okay, so the people in the tournament are a little bit nuts but what about the actual tournament itself?……okay, well when was the last time you went to a “big”**** martial arts tournament and saw basketball hoops, usage of flashlights (yes, vehicle traffic flashlights), war-time stretchers (complete with paramedics who look like they’ve just come out of a hospital), an announcer who looks like Groucho Marx and walls that advertise food stands in big capital letters like “FRESH MILK” and “ICE CREAM”? The tournament is a joke, no wonder the audience is laughing!

There’s also these types of buzzers & beepers that seem alien to the world of fighting tournaments.

The film has above average production values for a Hong Kong movie. We really get our money’s worth courtesy of some foxy 70s chicks (even more foxier than Linda Cristal as seen in Mr. Majestyk*****). Besides one or two hot chicks we see in the tournament sequence, we have one fine looking lass who can be seen on the left hand side of the screen when people are watching the televised announcement of Bruce’s defeat of Samuel Curtis. Heck, the actress who plays Linda Lee here is more of a babe than Bruce’s wife! (definately not what I’d call the girl next door)

In terms of technical production values, the film is a little bit rough around the edges so it’s not entirely polished, but it does succeed in telling the story and we get some nice usage of colours and out-of-control camera effects during the more crazy moments of the movie! (I especially liked the zoom-ins used during Bruce & Betty’s hot night of passion, kind of hokey but I dig it)

There’s a nice attempt at symbolism during the much-mentioned bout of sexual combat (hehe) between Bruce & Betty. I think the hot water/coffee image is meant to symbolize that Betty will be in hot water (metaphorically speaking) over Bruce’s death or that a storm is brewing (hence what’s going on outside the room) or that maybe the sex is the calm before the storm (the storm being a figure of speech whose double meaning is the death of Bruce Lee himself).

A lot of symbolism is shown through the imagery and verbal quotations of time (throughout the film) thus the coffee scene representing that Bruce is running out of time! I think this plot device of using time as a strong visual and narrative element is something that may have influenced Tsui Hark for Once Upon A Time In China 2 (something which is partially confirmed by Australian film critic Stephen Teo in his book Hong Kong Cinema: The Extra Dimensions).

I like the way the director did this neat little trick where we see all these magazines, containing the face of Bruce, thrown onto this unknown surface with the last magazine containing his face on the cover of Time magazine then all of a sudden we go past the frame of the photograph and we see Lee from going static to energetic.

I think one of the things going for this movie is its texture, there’s so much happening visually that I ended up rewinding the DVD just to pick up all the visual nuances (something I don’t usually do in regards to my movie viewing habits) e.g. I wanted to see all the various magazines Bruce was standing by just so that I could get a peek into 70s culture (but not through the eyes of some Hollywood producer but just 70s culture seen through its undiluted, unadulterated, untainted and ultimately purest form). It’s because of this that I noticed that one of the Westerners who walks past Bruce is a guy wearing a T shirt that reads “Have A Shitty Day!”

Just to go over the stuff they actually got right in this picture, I’m surprised they were right about Bruce’s feelings of Jeet Kune Do and Bruce’s over-training much to the extent that he became anti-social.

…and the stuff they got wrong? Really the question should be “What did they get right?” since there’s so much stuff they fluff up but I’ve gone through that already. Well, Game of Death is referred to as The Last Game. Bruce is shown to be pleased with the international distribution of his first three action films (something which, in reality, was the other way round). Bruce never admitted that he was a show-off and his master never lived to see Bruce after the completion of Enter The Dragon.

The funniest assumption the filmmakers make is that during Lee’s self-destructing period, Linda actually wanted Betty to help him! (I think it’s safe to say that Linda would have wanted the opposite)

…and since when did Bruce live in a Hollywood-style estate in Hong Kong. I know documentaries and biographies say that Bruce’s home in Kowloon was nothing short of a palace (for Hong Kong standards) but this is ridiculous!

The DVD has the audacious verve to say that Ho trained with Bruce Lee as well as confusing the plotline (and alias) for that of Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth.
Also, the biography featured on the DVD is wrong too.

Here’s what Carl Jones from the KFC forum had to say about this…

“I wrote that (horribly inaccurate in some places) bio/filmography on The Dragon Lives. At the time, Keith Dixon (creator of Bruceploitation site and weirdo) and I were given info about Mistaken Identity by a guy called William Wilson who claimed it was real. Unfortunately, we found out that 90% of the stuff he was saying/writing was made up. As it stands, Mistaken Identity is not a real film and we removed it from the site. Sorry for the confusion.”

Much has to be made of the similarities between this and Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. We have the same over-glorified tournament sequence where everyone boos Bruce at first and when he springs back at the minute to fight a foe in the ring. We have the same idea of a Hollywood producer who betrays Bruce several times before coming to see him in Hong Kong to make things up with Enter The Dragon. Then there’s the notion that Bruce published Jeet Kune Do in book form. Eerily, there’s the training machine whose face resembles the demon seen in the 1992-made (though 1993-released) Bruce Lee biopic; though funnily there’s a point overbearingly brought across about Bruce detesting pig-tails.

But the reason for the many comparisons stems from one simple fact I almost overlooked about 8/10 into the typing of this review….Herman Cohen and Rob Cohen are related – father & son. So I guess Rob was either throwing several homages to his pops or his father gave him some of the “knowledge” he learned from The Dragon Lives.

If you’re an eagle eye when it comes to viewing anything whether it be films, paintings or photos then you’ll spot cameos of various Hong Kong actors, no-one famous but just regular faces you’ll see from time to time. Coincidentally, there’s three actors in this movie who appeared in another Bruceploitation movie that was made in the same year, New Fist of Fury. We have Hon Siu, Shih Ting Ken and Hau Pak Wai, I’m not gonna go to great lengths to describe their roles so if you happen to see this flick (and I don’t see why not) then check out this page to keep a note on who to look out for.

Ever so rarely in an action film of any kind, do you talk about the action as if it was the tertiary or quaternary****** element of a film. Usually it will be the primary or, at least, the secondary element of a film so the fact that it took me this long to get to the “How good the action is?” part of the review just goes to show you that The Dragon Lives can be viewed as a film as much as it can viewed as a martial arts film. To a larger extent, it goes to show you that an action film (particularly a martial arts film) can have many cinematic elements interspersed throughout if enough faith and patience is given by both the filmmakers and the audience! In the case of Dragon Lives, it shows the director had the brains, talent and overall deeper insight to deliver something that contained more than just one-way tickets to fight scenes.

As for the action itself, it’s not the most pleasantly shot action you’ll ever see nor will you confuse it for having intricate choreography this side of a Jackie Chan/Lau Kar Leung flick, but it is realistic and hard-hitting with impressive moves and cutting-edge moments of cinematography, which is something even the most ardent nitpicky naysayer couldn’t place a grudge against.

The editor for the film was a Westerner called Mike Harris. Editing is very important in an action sequence. Jackie Chan has said many times that it doesn’t matter if you have the best martial artist or the best director, if the editing sucks – it sucks! Of course things like camera speed, camera positioning and choreography are also integral. Thankfully, Harris’ work doesn’t have the usual editing problems usually associated with Western productions. His skillful, perhaps even masterful, editing reminds me of Sally Menke’s work on Kill Bill – their editing actually allows you to appreciate the fights in their visual splendour than wonder what the fuck just went on!

There are some fast-cutting techniques but they actually add a bit of distinguished flavour to the film rather than overwhelm it. Very rarely (apart from Sammo Hung’s Pedicab Driver) do we have a film where fast editing actually compliments the choreography of an action set-piece, though fight fans needn’t worry about seeing a non-stop continuity of blurred shots!

As for the choreography itself, besides a shameless rip of the Bob Wall vs. Bruce Lee fight reinvented between Bruce and Elton (where we see Bruce evade Elton’s flying kick with a kick to Elton’s groin), a lot of stuff on display here is fairly original like slapping an opponent’s ribs at both sides and one bit that impressed me was when Bruce was deflecting Sam’s punches repeatedly and quickly with the same hand!

As it stands, The Dragon Lives is a very good example of 70s pop culture and should be viewed as both as a historical artefact as well as a good film. Certainly, like 2001: A Space Odyssey, the film will come to be appreciated by hippies who will use it as an alternative to LSD. Very few films in the 70s were as warped and/or psychedelic as this! (unless you count Ken Russell’s films Lisztomania and Tommy – the latter which was originally going to be directed by George Lucas)

Really, The Dragon Lives is such a hallucinogenic ride that it could be easily compared to The Magical Mystery Tour and Head (some of the music heard near the end is reminiscent of Head). On a similar note, the animated Bruceploitation film The Story of Chinese Gods could be seen as Hong Kong’s answer to The Yellow Submarine.

Now if someone was to base their Bruce Lee biography on this…

* The Dragon Lives was picked up after Cohen after the success of Steel-Fisted Dragon which was one of the first titles he released under Cobra Media. To learn more about Cobra Media, go here.

** My own personal riffs on the word lookalike.

*** …or quinary, senary, septenary, octonary, nonary, denary. Words also exist for ‘twelfth order’ (duodenary) and ‘twentieth order’ (vigenary). But I suppose you get the point by now!

**** My attempt at pulling off a Rick Baker and coming up with a phrase used to describe Chang Cheh’s style of moviemaking which is equivalent to what John Woo did with his Heroic Bloodshed movies!

***** According to director Singloy Wang (who was also the co-writer of this flick), Bruce Lee was a big fan of Charles Bronson as can be seen if one was to look carefully for a poster of Charles’ face in Bruce’s office (this takes place in the scene prior to when Bruce accepts a ride {non-sexual that is} from Betty).

****** As in not a high-school gym ala No Retreat, No Surrender.

More on Anders Nelsson

Anders Nelsson was born in the U.S.A. and later lived in Hong Kong until his late teenage years (His parents were missionaries). He then moved to Sweden as he was required to do his military service there in order to retain his Swedish citizenship.

Anders Nelsson had already been a big popstar in Hong Kong, and Cool Candy’s band leader Einar Svensson tried to launch him on his new recording label, Anette Records, where Nelsson’s single became the company’s first release. Nelson also got to live with the Svensson family. The Kontinentals included some members from String Tones and Cads.

Anders Nelsson returned, however, to Hong Kong. His blond hair and blue eyes fit in well in Hong Kong.

Nelsson also recorded an album there together with a group called Inspiration, and one can assume there were even some singles released from it. Anders Nelsson also became a film star and enjoyed great success playing villains in James Bond-influenced films.

Anders Nelsson came from Hong Kong to Sweden. He showed up here in the middle of a winter cold spell. The first thing Anders said when he landed in Sweden was: “Brrrr! This is really cold! So this is what snow looks like.” You see, he had never experienced a Swedish winter and had never seen snow before, this despite the fact he was Swedish! How can that be? Well, now I’ll tell you a little about Anders so you can get to know him better.

Anders was born in California on June 10, 1946, of Swedish parents. He has only lived in Sweden a few months of his life.Ý For so many years Hong Kong has been his home. He went to school there (he took the GCE-exam, which corresponds to Sweden’s upper-secondary final exams) and, as well, became a top name in the music business. Together with his own group, The Kontinentals, Anders was Hong Kong’s most popular local band. The big breakthrough for Anders and The Kontinentals came with the group’s first single. One of Anders’ own songs, “I Still Need You,” became a big hit and went straight to the top of the charts. It even beat out such hits as the Beatles’ “Yesterday” (I guess it lends more credence to what I said about Anders being one of the best all-time composers).

When the offer came for him to move to Sweden, Anders and the Kontinentals were at the peak of their career. They had top billing at pop concerts and appeared often on radio and TV. But now the group had to split up, and Anders’ fans took this really hard. At The Kontinentals’ farewell performance at the Concert Hall in Hong Kong’s City Hall building, no one could hold back the tears. “It was really an amazing pop concert,” Anders says. “It was hard to sing. Everybody just cried.”

The day that Anders set off for Sweden, the airport was stormed by thousands of fans screaming: “Anders, come back. Anders, come back!” Although he had to leave, Anders was determined to pick up where he left off, starting up The Kontinentals again in Sweden. He’s a great guy, a bit shy perhaps but with a wonderful charm. Listen to his stuff, and then you’ll understand why he made it to the top so quickly. It didn’t take many of his lucky listeners long to realize he’s absolutely a world-class pop singer.

Now if only every single Westerner involved in Hong Kong film had set up their own personal site!

Jospeph Kuby’s Rating: 8/10


By Woody

By far the best movie I’ve seen in quite some time. No, it’s not “Citizen Kane.” Shit, it’s not even “Kickboxer.” It’s just a good, solid, funny Brucesploitation pick starring Bruce Li, my favorite old school martial artist. No, he isn’t the most charismatic guy, and yeah, the majority of his movies were shit, but Bruce Li just had a happy-go-lucky charm about him, and his movies reflect that attitude. Particularly this one. If you want to see an accurate account of Bruce Lee’s life, and you rent/buy a movie starring Bruce Li, you’ll get what you deserve, dipshit. If this movie were correct, Bruce Lee was a grinning idiot with some freaky death curse. I think this flick really benefits by playing off of Bruce Li’s charms instead of trying to fashion him after Bruce Lee. Even if that is who this flick is supposedly about.

Basically, if you are watching an old exploitation movie, you want to know what separates it from the rest. Well, off the top of my head…

– There is a great scene where Li is unable to hitch a ride.

– A never-ending wrestling match involving a tiny Chinese guy dressed as a Native American, who, after beating countless opponents, is thrown out of the ring by a really big Chinese dude with a Hitler mustache.

– Sam Curtis, the big, intimidating black guy, has a squeaky, high-pitched voice in the dub. One reason I will never be able to get enough of these old school movies.

– Never-ending sex scene with NO NUDITY! Must be seen to believed.

– Bruce Li at his absolute “aw shucks” best, either grinning widely or cracking wise throughout the whole picture.

– A comic relief fat slob cop. Great stuff.

– More than anything, the great disco soundtrack.

Peep the lyrics to the theme song: He’s a Legend, He’s a Hero

See his feet flying through the air like a hurricane.
He’s got hands of steel, and he always gets his man.
He’s a legend, he’s a hero,
He’s everything a man could be.
Little Dragon, he’s a hero,
He’s the man they call Bruce Lee.

He can kick so high, he can almost reach the sky.
He’s a kung fu king of the world and that’s no lie.
He’s a legend, he’s a hero,
But his life’s a mystery.
Little Dragon, he’s a hero,
He’ll go down is history.

Bruce Lee!
Bruce Lee!

He’s a legend, he’s a hero,
But his life’s a mystery.
Little Dragon, he’s a hero,
He’ll go down in history.

Bruce Leeeeeee!

If reading those lyrics dosen’t get you up, out, and buying the movie…hahaha….

And more than anything, it’s all in good fun. There is something so good natured about this particular Bruceploitation movie, it just had me kind of smiling. I’m not recommending this to the casual film fan, but if you are in the mood for some quality old school Bruce Li mayhem, this is the best I’ve seen in some time. Right up there with “Tower of Death” and “Image of Bruce Lee”.

Oh yeah, the VCI DVD is by far the best Brucesploitation presentation I’ve seen thus far…widescreen!

Woody’s Rating: 7.5/10

Posted in Bruceploitation, Chinese, Reviews | Tagged |

Enter the Fat Dragon (1978) Review

"Enter the Fat Dragon" Japanese Theatrical Poster

“Enter the Fat Dragon” Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Sammo Hung
Writer: Ni Kuang
Cast: Sammo Hung, Peter Yang, Meg Lam, Leung Kar Yan, Fung Fung, Lee Hoi San, Roy Chiao, Fung Hak On, Ankie Lau, Luk Chu Sek, Chan Dik Hak, Chik Ngai Hung, Ching Chu, Huang Ha, Lam Ching Ying, Lee Hoi Suk, Tony Leung
Running Time: 100 min.

By Joseph Kuby

Watching this flick for the second time made me realize that I’d rather take this on a bad day than Bruce Le on a good day.

At first glance, the film appears to be a spoof of Enter the Dragon but when one looks underneath the surface it’s really more of a spoof of Way of the Dragon with nods to Enter The Dragon and Fist of Fury, particularly in the style of music chosen (like what Stephen Chow did in Shaolin Soccer for the opening credit sequence, Sammo does his own remix of Way of the Dragon’s theme during this fight with stuntmen on a Bruceploitation movie set). With this film, Sammo makes several points about the Bruceploitation movie genre through the use of satire. Sammo clearly has an affection for Bruce Lee so I never felt he was lampooning Bruce as he was humourously referencing him.

In one scene, set during this party which takes place outside this villa, Sammo simultaneously piss-takes Drunken Master and Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow (like how the makers of the Shaw Bros. classic Killer Army threw a sly wink towards the Seasonal boys). Actually, the scene draws parallels with a scene in The Incredible Kung Fu Master* (another Sammo Hung flick made in the same year but released in 1979) where Sammo equates kung fu with food! On one side of the metaphorical tennis court, you could say that maybe Sammo was making a slam towards the makers of Killer Army by throwing back the tennis ball into their court with their dismissal of Jackie’s snake fist escapades. Once again, Dai gaw (big brother) comes to the rescue!

Heck, it’s probably more of a genuinely heart-felt and poignantly fitting homage to Bruce Lee in comparison to the so-called “tribute” flicks which have been associated with Bruce Lee’s name. Sammo does more for the preservation of the image and spirit of Bruce Lee than Jason Scott Lee and Rob Cohen could ever hope to. Which is no surprise since Sammo had first hand insight into being with Bruce Lee, on film or off. Alongside Peter Chan Lung (first guy to get hit by Bruce in Fist of Fury and brother of Billy Chan Wui Ngai – the hunchback in The Odd Couple), Sammo had the most contact with Bruce Lee (except Linda & the rest of the family of course).

Unfortunately, the film suffers from a few flaws which kind of give away the low budget/independent nature of the film. The flaws of the film is that during some of the fights you can see people laughing. For instance, during the fight at this outdoor villa party, we can see Professor Pai, Leung Kar Yan, Lee Hoi San and the Westerner laughing as Sammo drunkenly wails on his opponents (which contradicts their opposition towards Sammo and their acting later on in said scene) though I suppose you’d have to be an eagle eye to spot that (i.e. somebody who pays attention to the background of a certain scene or someone who likes to look at other things besides the focus point of a certain shot).

When Sammo fights with stuntmen on a movie set after a disagreement about the way the Bruceploitation actor** is portraying him, you can clearly see one of the stuntmen on the floor laughing (it’s Chung Fat – crazy cat-fist kung fu stylist in Magnificent Butcher). I’m glad and somewhat relieved that I’m not the only one who spotted this, even someone on the Internet Movie Database spotted this too (though it’s not listed in the goofs section)!

A lot of people have miscontrued Sammo Hung’s intentions with casting Lee Hoi San as the black Karate stylist (when he’s introduced, the original subtitled version refers to him as a ‘harate expert’). Whilst it could be argued that maybe Jim Kelly, Carl Scott, Ron Van Clief or, f*ck, even Steve James weren’t available or that nobody had the skill of Lee Hoi San, the truth of the matter is Sammo was doing Bruce a favour by taking the mick out of Hollywood and, to a grander scale, the Western psyche.

You see, Sammo was great friends with Bruce (they even had a sparring match which resulted in a draw) and their friendship took place a long time before they shot that scene in Enter the Dragon. Bruce had taught Sammo many things about martial arts and filmmaking as well as having great times together as they socially interacted with one another. As one may expect from such a friendship, facts were exchanged among the two about their backgrounds and future ambitions. Sammo was both shocked and appalled when he found out how humiliating it was for Bruce to face mockery from Westerners partially due to the Charlie Chan movies and Mickey Rooney’s role in Breakfast At Tiffany’s, so with Enter the Fat Dragon, Sammo was making a point by giving the Western filmmakers a taste of their own medicine! (“If they can do it and get away with it, why not us?”)

Heck, I’m black (or more precisely, West African, Czechoslavakian, French, Irish and English) and I wasn’t the tiniest bit offended, instead I was rather amused the first time I saw it!

If you want offensive humour in a Sammo Hung movie, look no further than License to Steal. Check out the following exchange between Joyce Godenzi and Agnes Aurelio…

Agnes: You look plump and butch. Wasn’t life wonderful in cell?

Joyce: Yes, better than you with sunburn like a nigger.

Racial-tinted humour notwithstanding, it’s not like Sammo directed or wrote License To Steal, he just produced it.

Even Wong Jing’s done more offensive humour like how in Sixty Million Dollar Man there’s a dark skinned FBI agent called Mr. Black Stone or even, worse still, in Royal Tramp there’s a scene where the main villain (Ao Bye, played by Elvis Tsui) has several women in his possession who are accused of being his accomplices, when Natalis Chan asks Stephen Chow why the black woman would be his accomplice (as well as a possible thief), the latter retorts “Even a black one couldn’t escape, they’re all the same in the dark.”

Though Jim Kelly was a great martial artist in his own right, the role wouldn’t require him to do much anyway. The stuff Lee does in this is nothing compared to what Kelly did in The Tattoo Connection besides maybe take more hits and thus give well-timed and well-acted reactions to Sammo’s blows.

For artistic reasons rather than politically correct ones, I would have preferred Jim Kelly because it would have the been the icing on the cake as far as Bruce Lee references are concerned. It would have made for a far more greater as well as longer fight had we seen the Black Karate stylist do more stuff, it would have probably been the best fight of the decade…”Sammo Hung VS. Jim Kelly”, it would surely have allowed the film to be picked up for international distribution much earlier and better…ah well!

Politically correctness has never been one of Sammo’s strongest points (if you were to equate political correctness with social acceptance), whether it be abuse towards animals or abuse towards women though he reasons that it’s more realistic as men aren’t the only ones who get hurt in his movies, but children, women and animals. I guess it would seem one-sided if there was a crime thriller where a psychopathic hoodlum would go all out on a male but would hardly do a thing towards a woman.

Feminists will probably slam Sammo (rather than the subtitling job) for the scene where Professor Pai tells his two cronies to put “it” down – “it” referring to the woman they’ve just kidnapped after giving her a drugged bowl of soup at the restaurant. I can imagine feminists throwing up their arms in the air over the near-date rape allegory as well as the way she’s placed in a box like an antique!

Animal lovers might get offended by Sammo’s introductory scene where we see him practising his Lee-isms on a bunch of pigs. I don’t mind it myself, with the way he was doing it, I hardly think they would have suffered from internal bleeding or anything.

Car lovers might be equally offended by a scene where Sammo mistakingly vandalizes a smooth-looking car thinking it belongs to one of the two crooks who have given his friend a hard time!

The only thing missing here is one or two gags relating to homosexuals. With that being said, did you know that despite it’s stereotyping of homosexuality, a selected few have stated that Sammo’s Pantyhose Hero is actually a pro-gay film and it was screened at a Boston Queer Film Festival in 2003? (no sh*t)

Whilst not hitting the same comedic high-notes of his later directorial feature Winners & Sinners or even My Lucky Stars, the script is still original, clever and sharply written (with wonderful sight gags that would make Wong Jing proud – trust me, it’s a good thing) thanks to the ever-so-reliable scribe Ni Kuang (a.k.a. Yi Kwang who played Sammo’s father in Skinny Tiger Fatty Dragon), who’s written so much notable stuff that there’s no room for it here, so here’s a link:

As in Skinny Tiger Fatty Dragon, Sammo uses the escrima sticks (or kali sticks) ala Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon though whilst it was technically filmed better in his 1989 effort, his skill is more proficient and evident here. Same thing with his utilization of the nunchaku. Which brings us to the action, while the film shows us why Sammo was the premiere action director after Bruce Lee***, it doesn’t reach the same heights as his other work in the 70s (e.g. Warriors Two) and later stuff (e.g. Pantyhose Hero), it isn’t so much to do with the contemporary setting prohibiting the action as it to with the fact that Sammo wasn’t working with the people who made his fight scenes top-notch (i.e. fantastic) rather than just being great. The people, in question, being Lam Ching Ying, Billy Chan Wui Ngai and Bill Yuen Biao.****

The same thing applies with Yuen Kwai, Yuen Woo Ping and Lau Kar Leung. Yuen Kwai, by himself, is a good action director but he’s only at his best (very good) when he’s with Meng Hoi and Yuen Tak. Yuen Woo Ping, by himself, is a very good action director but he’s only at his best (great) when he’s working with Yuen Cheung Yan, Yuen Shun Yi, Yuen Yat Chor and Yuen Chun Wei (a.k.a. Brandy Yuen Jan Yeung). In theory, Lau Kar Leung’s fight scenes would be improved if he was to work with Lau Kar Wing but in actuality it’s been proven that Lau is at his best (great) when he has Lee King Chue and Hsiao Ho by his side. To be frank, Leung’s stand-alone abilities as an action director (very good) is such that Wing doesn’t add much to the ornate design of Leung’s quality set-pieces. If anything, it detracts rather than enhances Leung’s auteuristic***** sensibilities as a craftsman of martial mayhem.

Sammo Hung, by himself, is a great action director but he’s only at his best (brilliant/outstanding/excellent/fantastic/wonderful, etc.) when he’s with the aforementioned three assistant fight choreographers.

The action here goes beyond genre limitations and includes a wonderful sequence where Sammo incorporates a large gold ring/hoop ala Close Encounters of the Spooky Kind to intercept Leung Kar Yan’s pole. Like any Bruce Lee-related movie (or 70s kung fu movie for that matter) there is a showdown where the hero must take on different opponents of a different fighting style (and even race – One Armed Boxer being the more outlandish example), but then again it could be argued that it’s a requisite idea that’s become apart of martial arts filmmaking in general – it’s just it was more obvious in the 70s.

People (or more precisely media students desperately looking for material to produce an article about product placement or people who are too over-analytical and read too much into things) will probably say that the finale is filled with product placement (with the Marlboro boxes stacked on top of each other along with other stuff), but I just say “Aw phooey!, it’s just a coincidence” – if anything, it just helps create convincing mise-en-scene.

The highlight for this film though, cinematically speaking, is when Hung takes on the stuntmen on this false Lee movie called Death Appointment. It’s a rip-roaring scene which makes the nature of the finale look like a tea party! It wonderfully portrays Sammo’s frustration over people’s attempts to copy & rival his friend and idol! The set design partially resembles the Lee Hoi San-guarded floor in Enter the Game of Death (complete with the cardboard cut-outs which are supposed to simulate fighting targets). What’s also interesting about this scene is that the people used in this scene are the same as the thugs who trash the uncle’s restaurant, as if Sammo was to imply the notion that a lot of the stuntmen were working as Triads and perhaps vice versa!

Other good points about Enter the Fat Dragon is that Sammo, as always, is charming and lovable with an infectious innocence that not even the most youngest or pretentiously coyest of movie stars could ever rival or surpass. He looks as powerful as he ever has been in this film which helps sell his portrayal as someone who follows Bruce Lee. Though it’s not saying much, he makes Kurt McKinney look like a wimp… wait, that is saying much seeing as how Kurt is of a fairly slimmer and well-toned build. You’d think a fat guy imitating Lee would be the worst imitation of all time and lacking in clarity in technique, whereas it’s the other way round.

Like Van Damme (or any other action star for that matter), Sammo has his own trademark moves which he brings along from film to film such as the flying double front kick (as seen in The Odd Couple, Carry on Pickpocket, Winners & Sinners and Project A). Another trademark move (which he does in this movie) is when he counteracts someone’s kick by blocking, tripping them up and usually finishing them off with a punch (he’s done this in The Victim, Dragons Forever and the U.S. TV series Martial Law).

Co-starring in this movie is Rowena Lam (a.k.a. Meg Lam Kee Ming) who plays the rival restaurteur. She can be seen in other Sammo Hung films (i.e. Paper Marriage, Millionaire’s Express, Two Toothless Tigers and Dirty Tiger Crazy Frog).

Any movie with the legendary Roy Chiao is at least worth watching once! Interestingly, in the first scene we see him in, there’s a businessman who comes in to discuss with him about deals relating to South Korea and he looks A LOT like David Spade, the actor who played Dennis Finch in the American sitcom Just Shoot Me!.

It was also fun seeing Fong Hak On acting alongside his dad, Fung Fung, in roles which state otherwise.

I appreciated Sammo’s reference towards Chuck Norris’ chest hair in Way of the Dragon. It feels like almost every actor has done that gag of swiping someone’s hair and blowing it away whether it be Jackie swiping a piece of Huang Ha’s hair in Drunken Master or Jet Li swiping a piece of Yu Cheng Hui’s beard in Martial Arts of Shaolin. I think that fight scene between Billy Chow and Sophia Crawford should have had Billy grab some of Soph’s pubic hair or maybe vice versa.

What’s funny about this film is that it was made in the same year as Half A Loaf of Kung Fu, starring Jackie Chan (who, as we all know, were former classmates at the same Peking Opera school), which was also the latter’s attempt at mocking Kung Fu movie conventions and stereotypes. Both share the similarity of having an opening credit sequence that both parodies and defies the martial artist performing in front of a blank background routine. Also, another thing used in the opening parts of both films is when the camera pulls back to see that the hero of the piece is taking on a much more smaller target than first perceived. One more similarity between both films is that they both share a dream sequence (involving someone idolizing about a goal or dream) with even the same Italian-esque music featured in the background.

Hmmm…. I wonder if they were talking to each other at the same time both films were being made or if they either swiped the other’s ideas or perhaps collaborated!

Ironically, there’s another similarity between Enter the Fat Dragon and a Jackie Chan movie, the JC movie being Rumble in the Bronx (a film whose basic story resembles Way of the Dragon). Just like in Rumble in the Bronx, there’s a scene where the thugs retaliate by smashing up the protagonist’s business.

Watching this film twice made me realize that Ho Chung Tao copied the gag of someone having to travel at great miles via menial means to catch a bunch of kidnappers, for his film Interpol (a.k.a. Fists of Bruce Lee). If an analogy had to be made, it would be that Ho’s lifting of that scene is his way of saying “Back at ya, Hung Ching Pao!” as if to suggest that they’re on equal terms about the Bruceploitation tomfoolery! Akin to James Ho’s Bruce Lee, We Miss You, the chase scene in Enter the Fat Dragon predates and rivals Jackie’s opening chase sequence in Police Story (well, the second half of it anyway).

Just like Jackie Chan and Bill, Sammo also proved to be immensely popular in Japan (i.e. establishing a sizable fanbase) when Enter the Fat Dragon was released over there. Their individual popularities in Japan is what helped them (or rather helped Golden Harvest vice president Leonard Ho) to break box office records when they made films together rather than the films making big bucks solely because Jackie was in them.

Big Boss fans (yep, including you Jeff) would be surprised to learn that the guy who plays the eccentric professor/millionaire antique dealer is non other than Peter Yang Kwan (or Yang Chun)****** who was one of the two Chinese ice factory workers who get whacked when they refuse to work for the manager’s drug-trafficking scam. Peter was the yellow striped T-shirt one with the small hair (the one who receives the hatchet to the head). Coincidnetally, he was in another film called Big Boss which was directed by Lee Tso Nam (who, if you’ve been keeping up to speed with my reviews, was the assistant director for Bruce Lee’s Big Boss) which also starred Danny Lee (who was in the aforementioned Bruce Lee & I).

Heroic Bloodshed fans may have seen him playing Andy Lau’s father in the Rich & Famous films (the sequel of which is called Tragic Hero – both films had Chow Yun Fat in principal roles) and who was also in Andy Lau’s Sworn Brothers (which had Sammo Hung’s action team co-ordinating the stunts). Stephen Chow fans may remember him as gangster boss Wei in My Hero******* which also had kung fu regulars Yuen Woo Ping and Pomson Shi in the cast.

Enter the Fat Dragon isn’t one of Sammo Hung’s worst or lesser features nor is it one of his best. It doesn’t possess the sheer excellent fight choreography or ground-breaking narrative structure of The Victim, it doesn’t have the same creativity of humour & all-round genius which permeated Millionaire’s Express, it lacks the overall cinematic quality of The Prodigal Son, it lacks the in-depth characterization and powerful themes of Eastern Condors (referring to the uncut version) and it doesn’t have the superbly superlative genre-mixing and powerhouse acting performances of Pedicab Driver.

Having said that, the film still shows what Bey Logan meant in the Game of Death audio commentary when he said that Sammo was the true successor to Bruce Lee in terms of on-screen fight choreography. Sammo shows that, unlike many of the martial arts/action filmmakers of the period, he had the interest and talent to go beyond providing audiences wave after wave of fight scenes and gives us equally professional clout in the acting department as no-one comes off as a stinker in this. The story, no matter how episodic, still generates and retains interest. In spite of working with a budget usually associated with independent/underground productions, he surprisingly demonstrates a real directorial flair particularly through his intuitive eye for sight gags and keen ear for verbal humour. Though nevertheless the assured handling probably comes from his previous expenditure of directorial duties.

It still manages to be a mini-classic that mixes hilarious humour with dazzling displays of martial machismo. It’s definately one of the best martial arts films of the period, if not one of Sammo’s greatest movies. Whilst Iron Fisted Monk was more technically polished, Enter the Fat Dragon shows more originality and, in a sense, it’s the superior film which shows more of Sammo’s distinctive personality as a filmmaker.

No matter which way you look at it, Enter the Fat Dragon is superior than all Bruceploitation movies combined (perhaps save for Chinese Stuntman and Gold Connection). Hong Kong audiences seemed to think so, the film was a very big hit back in 1978 – earning HK$ 2,866,700 (US$ 369,369).

As a nice tidbit of trivia, the guy you hear on the bus-radio commentating on the horse race is no other than Eric Tsang Chi Wai (stocky funny guy who was in My Lucky Stars), who also can be seen with the orange specs at the previously mentioned villa party scene…. which reminds me, there’s a joke about Gin in this movie, it’d make for a great double entendre if someone, in a film, was to equate Gin with Wong Jing like through a series of comical mishaps due to misunderstanding of what was exactly said!

* The Incredible Kung Fu Master is also a film where Sammo pays respect to Bruce Lee, though in the form of his philosophy about not adhering to one particular style of combat. Sammo says that whilst some people prefer one type of food over another, he likes everything hence why he’s so fat (or filled with knowledge) to which gains an amusing response from Stephen Tung who states that he hopes to be as “fat” as Sammo (Stephen, of course, being the kid who receives from that lesson from Bruce at the beginning of Enter the Dragon).

** The guy who plays him is action director Tony Leung Siu Heung (someone of whom I will discuss in greater detail for my King of the Kickboxers review), who was doing double-duty in this point of time as an actor. He can be seen as the unlucky informant in Tattoo Connection and as the guy who fights Sharon Yeung Pan Yan in her show-stopping showcase moment in Duel of the 7 Tigers. He was one of the main protagonists of 36 Crazy Fists, whose behind the scenes story concerning Jackie Chan is equivalent to that of Fist of Unicorn with Bruce Lee. But even with Jackie surpassing Bruce’s fame in Hong Kong, there was not much Chansploitation going on besides only a few guys with similar names and a film starring Kim Tai Chung which was marketed as a Bruce Meets Jackie  movie!

*** By 1978, Hung had so much clout in the Hong Kong film industry (he and his stunt team were regarded as the best in the business) that he was able to form three production companies – Gar Bo, Boho and Bojon.

**** Yuen Biao’s official English name is Bill Yuen whereas Bill Yuen Biao is his full name, like how Yuen Kwai’s full English name is Corey Yuen Kwai but his official name is Corey Yuen. Bill Yuen is the Anglo name people refer to him by, including when he emigrated to Canada. His alternate alias, Jimmy Yuen, was coined by Raymond Chow as a name to ensure international success (i.e. to do with him what he was trying to do with Jackie hence the similar name).

***** Auteuristic is an adjective for the French word auteur. The term auteur is given to those directors who have demonstrated some sort of originality, creativity and/or longevity (timelessness of quality).

****** Peter was the consultant for this film.

******* Leung Kar Yan was the action director, director, screenwriter and co-star of My Hero.

Joseph Kuby’s Rating: 9/10


By Kenneth T

Another Bruce Lee parody, but probably the best and closet thing that you’ll ever get to the legend. It sounds kind of funny that Sammo Hung would be the one to imatate Bruce Lee so well, but for all who has seen this movie knows what I’m talking about. Sammo Hung uses Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do and does damn near perfect. He even throws in some kung fu ‘n there once in a while. Only problem there was that there are a couple of dead spots. But there are 4 or 5 fight scenes so you won’t be disappointed. Really good fight scene at the end against Leung Kar Yan!

Kenneth T’s Rating: 9/10 (Take it from me, Sammo Hung is one of the best things to happen to cinema period.)

Posted in Bruceploitation, Chinese, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , |

Dynamo (1978) Review

"Dynamo" US Theatrical Poster

“Dynamo” US Theatrical Poster

Director: Yi Hwa Hsi
Co-director: I-Jung Hua
Cast: Bruce Li (aka Ho Chung Tao, James Ho), James Griffiths, Mary Ha, Feng Ku, Hoi San Lee, Steve Sanders, Joseph Soto, George Yirikian, Yuen Shun Yee
Running Time: 90 min.

By Joe909

For the first half of the film, Dynamo is one of the best Bruce Li movies out there, certainly as good as his best flick of all, “Chinese Stuntman.” It has action, comedy, great kung-fu, and most importantly, solid pacing. Miles above the usual Bruce Li flick, which features pointless fight after pointless, numbing fight. But unfortunately, Dynamo just can’t hold itself up, and by the 60-minute mark it collapses into “just another Bruce Li movie,” complete with the aforementioned, pointless fight scenes.

Dynamo’s plot is very similar to that of “Chinese Stuntman.” In fact, in some ways it seems that Bruce Li (aka Ho Chun Tao) realized that Dynamo had some problems, and attempted to rectify them in “Chinese Stuntman,” which he wrote and directed. It’s a shame, because Dynamo could’ve been a great flick on its own. I laughed throughout the first half of the movie, and don’t think I was laughing out of derision; it was out of pure enjoyment.

Like “Chinese Stuntman,” the best thing about Dynamo is Bruce’s interaction with his only friend in the flick, his grizzled, hard-drinking teacher. The teacher might be washed up, but his kung-fu skills are still excellent. “Attack me whenever you want,” he instructs Bruce, “because I’ll do the same.” This leads to lots of surprise moments in the film, as Bruce will just be jogging around, or going about his business, but will suddenly launch an attack against the teacher, who is, of course, always prepared. The teacher pushes Bruce relentlessly, making him a better martial artist.

This wouldn’t be a Bruce Li movie if there wasn’t some weird stuff going on. Twice in the film, we get these extended fight scenes of some Bruce Lee-looking guy taking on opponents. First he fights some Japanese guys in a scene very much like that in “Fist of Fury,” and then fighting some opponents in the desert. Only then do we realize that this guy is supposed to be the “real” Bruce Lee, and Bruce Li is just thinking about him! Yes, it’s just as weird as it sounds.

Things go swimmingly until sixty minutes into the movie. Bruce goes across the world for various films, and is attacked everywhere. He goes skiing in Korea, gets attacked. He goes to America, gets attacked a bunch of times, even by a bellhop who pretends to be a fan. The scenes in “America” are really funny. This movie obviously didn’t have the budget to fly to the US, so they had to do a little improvising. When Bruce fights a black opponent in an underground parking lot, you can see on the door behind them a sign that reads “exit.” However, this sign is obviously handwritten, and taped to the door. Yep, just like in America.

Bruce’s girlfriend gets abducted, and he must fight an overweight monster of an opponent in a tournament. This fight is underwhelming and possibly the least interesting in the flick, even though it’s supposed to be the climactic, final battle. However, Bruce does wear a variation on the Game of Death tracksuit; it’s orange and white. He also wears the Game of Death tracksuit itself, earlier in the film, except the black stripes seem to be blue on his version.

Bruce Li is the best thing about the movie, as usual. His moves are genuinely fast, and he’s a capable martial artist through and through. I know I’m in the minority, but this is really how I feel: you can keep your Jackie Chan. I’d rather watch Bruce Li any day.

Joe909’s Rating: 6.5/10

Posted in Bruceploitation, Chinese, Reviews | Tagged , , |

Duel, The | aka Duel of the Iron Fist (1971) Review

"Duel of the Iron Fist" American Theatrical Poster

“Duel of the Iron Fist” American Theatrical Poster

AKA: Duel of the Iron Fists
Director: Chang Cheh
Cast: David Chiang, Ti Lung, Guk Fung (Ku Feng), Lo Wai, Yeung Chi Hing, Cheng Hong Yip, Wong Ching Ho, Wong Ping, Wong Chung, Chuen Yuen, Cheng Lui, Chan Sing, Cliff Lok, Yuen Wo Ping, Yuen Cheung Yan, Fung Hak On, Hsu Hsia, Yen Shi-Kwan, Chen Kuan Tai
Running Time: 105 min.

By Mighty Peking Man

Mr. Shen (Yeung Chi Hing), the head of an organized crime family, was on the verge of retirement when he was killed during a celebration. During the attack, his men – including his tattooed godson, Ren Jie (Ti Lung), and a mysterious new recruit called The Rambler (David Chiang) – still got the best of the enemy. But because the fatal fight broke out at a public restaurant, the remaining head members of Mr. Shen’s organization – mainly his bookkeeper, Mr. Gan (Chuen Yuen), and Ren Jie’s older brother, Ren Lin (Ku Feng) – had to come up with quick a plan to divert police from imprisoning the entire organization.

The plan went something like this: Ren Jie would take the blame for the killings and flee to the south (a la Michael Corleone in the first Godfather film) for a year, then come back when things settled down.

A year passes. As planned, Ren Jie heads back home, only to find things have completely changed. His older brother is now a drunk and no longer part of the gang. Mr. Gan, on the other hand, has pretty much took over Mr. Shen’s operation. On top of it all, random people have been trying to kill Ren Jie.

Ren Jie uncovers a conspiracy surrounding the death of Mr. Shen, which involves Mr. Gan and The Rambler. With the help of his drunken brother and his trusted friend (Cheng Hong Yip), Ren Jie sets out for bloody revenge.

Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers can eat their hearts out! The Duel (aka Duel of the Iron Fist) has a lot more stabbing and slashes than all the Friday The 13th and Halloween flicks combined, not to mention constant blood spurts, which can only be compared to Peter North’s talent, as far as liquid amount is concerned. The violence is tight and creative: at one point, a knife punctures through a wooden stool and onto a guy’s skull, followed by a kick to his head where he falls to the ground. Though the action scenes are swift and fast, keep in mind that they’re more like street fighting, than the usual choreographed martial arts moves.

1971’s The Duel has often been compared to 1972’s The Godfather for its similar themes. Some even say that Francis Ford Coppola stole from it (even though Mario Puzo’s novel came out in 1969, two years before The Duel). Other than the story, which revolves around “gangsters,” and the fact that the lead characters are forced into exile, both movies are a world apart. In my opinion, saying one ripped off the other is absurd.

I dug the soundtrack. In addition to the mellow funky music that breaks in just before a brawl may or may not happen, we get to hear Richard Strauss’ intense “Also sprach Zarathustra,” which is a nice touch, but it’s a little hard not to think about Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey or even an Elvis concert.

The Duel is a well-paced, action packed tale that won’t disappoint. It’s the perfect example of Chang Cheh’s slickness. It’s also one of Ti Lung’s and David Chiang’s coolest roles together.

Mighty Peking Man’s Rating: 8.5/10

Posted in Chinese, Reviews, Shaw Brothers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , |