The Faces of Fu

Kung Fu Time Capsule: Marquees and Admat

2012-01-02T03:20:00.000-05:00

Hey everybody! We're taking a trip back to May 1982, so let's skip down to the Deuce and hit The Cine 42 for a Billy Chong double feature! Showing first we have "Kung Fu Zombie," an over the top kung fu horror comedy flick that sees Billy taking on ghosts, ghouls, vampires, and more! Second on the bill is "Kung Fu Executioner," which sees Billy taking revenge on a criminal and his clan who murdered his father and family. Here's an admat for that double feature:

Next up we'll jump to 1983. The Empire was also showing a Billy Chong double feature as well. This time it was "Fistful of Talons" paired up with "Kung Fu Zombie." "Talons" is another great display of Chong's fighting prowess! Here's a picture of the Empire marquee from that run in 1983:

Interesting to note for you grindhouse and cannibal flick fans, right next door at the Liberty they were showing "Make Them Die Slowly" (AKA Cannibal Ferox). In this picture you can see the bottom of the Empire marquee peeking out. Quite the advertising campaign, huh??

I wish I had the opportunity to see all these glorious martial arts masterpieces back in the day, at some dingy and dank theatre... But I'm sure glad I can watch them at all, thanks to many being available on DVD. It's probably safer seeing them from the comforts of my own home anyway!

"Kung Fu Zombie" Intro

"Buddha's name be praised..."

Trailer: Bruce and Shaolin Kung Fu 2 (1977)

2011-12-26T21:12:00.000-05:00

Here's the trailer for "Bruce and Shaolin Kung Fu 2," a steamy pile of Brucespolitation starring Bruce Le.

It's China vs. Japan by way of South Korea, as Bruce Le learns Tae Kwon Do and takes on a crazy Japanese general, his head samurai, and their legion of goons. Below standard Brucespolitation here, it has basically what you'd expect... Bruce ripping off his shirt whenever possible, flicking his nose, bad wigs and glued on mustaches. But you know what I say, for better or worse, the worse the better! Check this one out and have a few laughs!

P.S. - Does that music sound familiar, or is it just me?

"Amita Fo..."

Merry Christmas! (pt. 2)

2011-12-25T20:13:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone had a great holiday!

"What style of Kung Fu is this?"

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T09:20:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas from Kung Fu Manchu and The Faces of Fu!

(And Shaw Brothers Studios!)

Buddha bless you...

Kung Fu Humor: Finger-Fu

2011-12-17T02:45:00.002-05:00

Hey, remember me?

"Amitabha Buddha..."

Kung Fu Humor: Flubbed Dubs + Review: Ways of Kung Fu (1978)

2011-02-05T18:17:00.009-05:00

Ah, if there's one aspect to old school kung fu flicks that really brings me back to the days of my youth, it's a nice ridiculous English dub. Don't get me wrong, I do very much enjoy watching a film in it's original audio, but a classic dubbing job really gives me that ol' Saturday Afternoon "Black Belt Theatre" vibe! If someone ever played a kung fu movie drinking game, say "Count the 'You bastard!'s", then with the right movie you could get wasted in the first 20 minutes! What we have next is what I like to call a "Flubbed Dub." In other words, one of those moments where you're really not sure of what you just heard, or one of those "Did he REALLY just say that?!" moments! Sometimes they make no sense whatsoever, other times the character is stating the complete obvious, but most of the time you're either laughing, scratching your head in confusion, or both!

This first installment of Flubbed Dubs comes from "Ways of Kung Fu" (1978).

"What on Earth did you put in those buttholes?! (bottles)"

This movie centers around Ta Kung (Chi Kuan-Chun), a hapless student who refuses to learn kung fu because he doesn't like it. When a corrupt monk enters the temple, and continually humiliates Ta Kung, the head monk sends him to stay with Shang King (Leung Kar-Yan) and his family of kung fu experts, knowing that Ta Kung will eventually learn. Even after arriving, Ta Kung is still hesitant to learn kung fu, so Shang King puts him to work... Well guess what buddy, by fetching that water, and splitting those logs, you're learning kung fu! Ta Kung eventually realizes this and becomes Shang King's student. After two years of training, he feels he's ready to go get revenge on the renegade monk. He returns to the temple to face off against the monk and is nearly defeated, but Shang King shows up and is killed, allowing Ta Kung enough time to escape. Ta Kung then meets up with an old drunken master and his student (Meng Fei) and hones his kung fu skills. Then together, they go after the evil monk and defeat him.

This movie is fairly lackluster. The story is nothing new (are they ever?), but does provide a few occasional moments of excitement. There's a couple good training segments, and a couple good fights. The highlight of the film is a training fight between Ta Kung and Shang King outside in the rain where Beardy dons an umbrella as a weapon. The final fight between the corrupt monk and Ta Kung/Meng Fei is pretty good, including nice use of an iron ring, but the ending is abrupt and kind of a let down. Also a couple side plots were introduced but never really elaborated on, specifically the drunken master (who never teaches Ta Kung drunken boxing!) and a police constable who has apparently been after the corrupt monk for quite a while. It's worth a view if you're a fan of the genre, but not worth going out of your way to see it.

RATING:
2 out of 5 Venoms

¹KUNG FU CLICHES: Classic dubbing, potty humor, freeze frame, bad skin.

Ways of Kung Fu trailer
"Buddha's name be praised..."

Kung Fu Humor: Subpar Subtitles

2011-01-27T22:39:00.013-05:00

Time for another installment of Subpar Subtitles!

Sometimes the language barrier is harder to break than a stack of boards, and they say English is the hardest language of all to learn. Literal translations of cliches and sayings common to a particular language can be quite comical. Here's some screen caps of English subtitles taken from various kung fu and action films. Special thanks go out to Hong Kong Subtitles on Facebook and t witter. Enjoy!

It's like they're looking right through the screen at me!

This first date is going smoothly...

What a little pig, literally!

I think I saw something like that in Tijuana once...

Can you imagine his mother calling for him? "FUCK! FUCK! DINNER TIME, FUCK!"

40 - 50% of malliages end in dirorce.

Everybody have fun tonight! Everybody Wang Puke tonight!

"What, you're dead? You die easy!"

What the FU..?!?!? Matching Escort (1982)

2011-01-27T01:23:00.006-05:00

Welcome to the first installment of "What the FU..?!?!?" WTF is it you ask? Well, it's a showcase of some crazy, whacked out scenes from various kung fu movies. You know, the kind that make you scratch your head and ask yourself "What the hell just happened?" Then of course you rewind, and watch a few more times before giving up hope of ever understanding. These are the type of scenes that I find most entertaining, and I hope you'll enjoy them too!

This clip comes from the movie "Matching Escort" (AKA Fury of the Silver Fox). Directed by and starring Pearl Cheung, and also starring Meng Fei, this flick is a real trip. Basically a revenge story, Pearl's parents are murdered, and she's taken under the wing of Silver Fox, who teaches her some strange type of LSD-laden psycho kung fu in his magical flower and smoke filled cave! She then sets out and learns her friend the Prince (Meng Fei) has been kidnapped. Pearl heads off to save him, and together they get their revenge! This movie's got crazy sets, costumes, action, and just an overall cool strangeness that must be seen! Well... this clip might give you an idea...

"Old Man.... Cow?? Peanut!!!" HUH?

Kung Fu Humor: Kung Fu Hillbilly

2010-09-07T00:52:00.004-04:00

Yes, I'm still alive! Enjoy a scene from "Diemon Dave's Ninja School" training video.

"Don't go ninjain' nobody that don't need ninjain'..."

Kung Fu Time Capsule: The Evolution of Collecting Kung Fu & Asian Film

2010-05-19T00:45:00.003-04:00

Head on over to City On Fire and check out this very informative and entertaining article on what's basically a time-line from the early 80's to present day collecting of kung fu and asian action films! Hats off to Mighty Peking Man for his hard work in putting this together. It really brought back a lot of memories on how it used to be!

Click the image below for the article!

"Because a man can see, he does not look..."

Kung Fu Humor: How NOT to Audition!

2010-05-16T22:41:00.002-04:00

I'm pretty sure all of these (except the guy that back-flips onto his face!) are staged, but it's still pretty funny! Enjoy "The Worst Kung Fu Movie Auditons EVER!!"

What kind of wood is this??!?"

Some wonderfully horrible (and cheap!) ninja flicks from splice-n-dice master Godfrey Ho!

New DVD Releases: 5/11/10

2010-05-11T01:12:00.011-04:00

On May 11th, 2010, Media Blasters/Tokyo Shock are releasing the following titles:

First off, "The Kid with the Golden Arm," a classic movie featuring the Venom clan, gets it's long awaited release on DVD. With Chang Cheh at the helm, you know what to expect... Good vs Bad, lots of gimmicks, and top notch fighting! Basic story, a large shipment of gold has to make it from point A to point B... with the good guys protecting it, and the bad guys trying to steal it. Well... as you can imagine this sets the stage for many confrontations involving a lot of crazy gimmicks and weapons. This is definitely one to check out!

Also dropping today from Tokyo Shock is "Deadly Duo" on the Blu-ray format (previously available on standard definition DVD). Classic Shaw mainstays David Chiang and Ti Lung star in this old-schooler also directed by Chang Cheh.

From the Media Blasters description:

"When a handsome prince is taken captive and guarded by a martial arts master, it's up to two powerful patriots to fight overwhelming odds. From the first fascinating minute to the final desperate battle to the death culminating in an unforgettably evocative conclusion - this duo is dynamic as well as deadly."

Kid with the Golden Arm opening

"You can take the gold now, I am going to get drunk..."

New DVD Releases: 4/27/10

2010-04-27T14:02:00.011-04:00

A couple long awaited releases are hitting the shelves today, April 27th, 2010, both from Funimation.

First off, we have one of the most popular and sought after triad movies of all time, "Hong Kong Godfather." This brutal Shaw Brothers actioner stars good ol' Beardy (Leung Kar-Yan) as a triad who leaves the biz after his wife dies, so he can care for his daughter. Well, a few years later the triad gang boss is murdered by a power-hungry traitor among the ranks, and Beardy grabs his trusty old machete and heads out for revenge. What follows is a bunch of brutal and hard-hitting fun as Beardy cleans up one mess by making a very bloody other! The finale is pure chaos. GET IT!

Also released today is another Shaw flick, this time starring Ti Lung. "Opium and the Kung Fu Master" sees Lung as one of the Ten Tigers of Kwangtung. He gets a little too hooked on the chinaman's nightcap, and can no longer defend the town. As Ti Lung spirals into addiction, his rivals take over the town, and his young student is killed trying to defend his honor. Lung snaps out of it, cleans himself up, and then cleans up the town. The action and fights are classic in this late era Shaw production.

Hong Kong Godfather finale

"Buddha bless you..."

Kung Fu Time Capsule: One-Sheets

2010-04-18T23:03:00.004-04:00

As an addendum of sorts to my last Time Capsule post on admats, I shuffled through my one-sheet collection and took pics of the posters I have for those fu flicks. So here I present to you "Kung Fu Warlords" and "Masked Avengers." Enjoy!

(click to enlarge)

(click to enlarge)

“Showing off is the fool's idea of glory...”

Kung Fu Time Capsule: Admats

2010-04-08T23:12:00.007-04:00

Here's an admat for a Shaw Brothers double feature that played at the Lyric Theatre on the Deuce back in the early 1980's... The first film, "Kung Fu Warlords" is better known under it's actual title of "The Brave Archer." This classic starring Alexander Fu Sheng and directed by Chang Cheh spawned three sequels. The second film, "Masked Avengers," was another feature directed by Chang Cheh, this time starring three of the famous Venoms.

Overall I'd say it's a pretty cool double feature!

Scenes from Masked Avengers

“As you think, so shall you become...”

New DVD Releases: 4/06/10

2010-04-06T01:07:00.008-04:00

Just a quick update on releases for April 6th, 2010. Well Go USA is releasing a few titles on Blu-ray. These titles are "Delightful Forest," "Brothers Five," and "The Heroic Ones." These classic Shaw Brothers films have all previously been available from Well Go USA in standard DVD, and now they're finally going the high definition route. Check out a previous review of "Delightful Forest" here.

Trailer for "The Heroic Ones"

"Amitabha Buddha..."

Trailer - Young Hero (1980)

2010-04-02T00:36:00.009-04:00

Here's a trailer for the 1980 film "Young Hero" starring Hwang Jang-Lee, Tino Wong Cheung, and Kwan Yung-Moon. I haven't actually seen this one, but just seeing the trailer makes me want to seek out a copy. I loves me some Hwang Jang-Lee!

Hwang Jang Lee, best known as The Silver Fox from Secret Rivals, is up to his old high kicking games in this tale of revenge and counter revenge. Hwang Jang Lee is the leader of a local band of Japanese thugs whose only obstacle is Master Lok and his sons, in particular Loks fourth son who secretly practices Kung Fu. His skills eventually surpass his brothers and it is up to he and his father to stop Lee. The final fight scene alone is worth the price of admission.

Solid kung fu throughout the film with impressive acrobatics and skillful agility, but it's Hwang Jang Lees fine form and his high kicking that is the real highlight of Young Hero.

"Buddha's name be praised..."

New DVD Releases: 3/30/10

2010-03-30T01:21:00.008-04:00

One big release this week, and one smaller release. First the big release. Making it's long awaited return to home video is John Woo's "The Killer," starring Chow Yun-Fat. Originally released to the masses by Criterion, this time Dragon Dynasty is doing the honors on both standard definition and Blu-Ray with this classic bullet-ballet.

Here's a synopsis:

When Jeffrey, a hit man, accidentally blinds a young nightclub chanteuse, his guilt makes him leave the racket to take care of her. Falling in love with the vulnerable singer, he eventually agrees to do one last hit to raise the money needed for a cornea transplant that might restore her vision. His assignment is to assassinate mob leader Tony Weng during the crowded Dragon Boat Festival. The hit is successful, despite all the police protection, and he almost gets away. But a child is injured during his escape, and Jeffrey nearly gets caught while taking the time to drive her to a nearby hospital for medical attention. Because his identity was revealed while saving the child, the new crime boss now wants him killed. Refusing to pay him for the successful hit, he puts a contract out on his life instead.

Trailer for "The Killer"

Up next is "High Kick Girl" from director Fuyuhiko Nishi. Kei (Rina Takeda) joins a karate dojo and quickly proves herself to be the most skilled fighter amongst all her male peers. However, her sensei Matsumura still refuses to give her the coveted black belt until she learns all the kata. Too impatient to wait any longer, Kei hastily joins a fighting group called the Destroyers. The Destroyers don't care about anything but fighting and earning money, and this suits Kei just fine. But when she finds out their true purpose is to destroy Matsumura, she decides she must do whatever it takes to put a stop to them.

Check out the trailer! High impact kicking, and short skirts... what's not to love here!?

"I plan to kill every one armed man I come across here..."

Kung Fu Humor: Subpar Subtitles

2010-03-28T23:47:00.012-04:00

Time for another installment of Subpar Subtitles!

Sometimes the language barrier is harder to break than a stack of boards, and they say English is the hardest language of all to learn. Literal translations of cliches and sayings common to a particular language can be quite comical. Here's some screen caps of English subtitles taken from various kung fu and action films. Special thanks go out to Hong Kong Subtitles on Facebook and twitter. Enjoy!

That's gonna be a long list of credits...

And they go well with your underwear shoes!

Well aren't you special?

Uh oh, looks like the Chupacabra finally has some competition!

Kind of young to have that attitude already, no?

The birds and the bees, Asian style.

Go ahead, I think I'll pass...

That chicken ass must be a delicacy in China!

"I have come here to avenge my teacher..."

New DVD Releases: 3/23/10

2010-03-23T01:29:00.016-04:00

Wow. A whole bunch of martial arts and asian cinema releases for Tuesday the 23rd! Let's start with the old and move up to the newer films...

First, coming to Blu-Ray from Criterion, we have Yojimbo and Sanjuro, two classic Kurasawa films. Here's a little run down from amazon.com:

Thanks to perhaps the most indelible character in Akira Kurosawa’s oeuvre, Yojimbo surpassed even Seven Samurai in popularity when it was released. The masterless samurai Sanjuro, who slyly manipulates two warring clans to his own advantage in a small, dusty village, was so entertainingly embodied by the brilliant Toshiro Mifune, that it was only a matter of time before he returned in a sequel. Made just one year later, Sanjuro matches Yojimbo’s storytelling dexterity, yet adds a layer of world-weary pragmatism that brings the duo to a thrilling and unforgettable conclusion.

Yojimbo (1961): To rid a terror-stricken village of corruption, wily masterless samurai Sanjuro turns a range war between two evil clans to his own advantage in Akira Kurosawa’s visually stunning and darkly comic Yojimbo.

Sanjuro (1962): In Kurosawa’s sly companion piece to Yojimbo, the jaded samurai Sanjuro helps an idealistic group of young warriors weed out their clan’s evil influences, and in the process turns their image of a proper, samurai on its ear.

Available individually, or together in a 2-disc Blu-Ray set!

Trailer for Yojimbo...

Next up we have the Red Ninja 3 Film Collection. This includes the movies "Ninjascope," (1966) "Watari the Conqueror," (1967) and "Watari and the Fantastiks" (1970). These three stories follow the fantastic adventures of Watari the Ninja Boy as he battles a bevy of evil ninjas and crazy monsters with his mystical weapons and unearthly powers! If you like it trippy, wacky, and campy, then this is for you. At the retail price of only $9.98, it's a must grab! Check out the trailer...

Trailer for Ninjascope...

Next up, from FUNimation Entertainment, is the Shaw Brothers film "14 Amazons" (1972). Long before "feminism" made it to Hong Kong, women proved themselves more than equal to men in this martial arts classic. The cast is a veritable "who's who" of the golden age of Shaw Brothers swordplay adventures, and was not only a major box office hit (ranking fourth for 1972), but also a top prize winner, including Best Supporting Actress for Lisa Lu, a special citation for outstanding lead female performance for Lily Ho, Best Director for Cheng Kang, and an award for Honourable Mention For Drama.

Also releasing from FUNimation, another Shaw production, "Shaolin Hand Lock" (1978). From the director who gave Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung early breaks in film, Ho Meng-Hua teams up with Mr. Kung Fu Hero, David Chiang, in a funky, over the top martial arts chiller based upon a secret kung fu technique that is also the film's English title, "Shaolin Hand Lock". Fans and non-fans of the genre will elate to again see Chiang match fists with Shaw's number one villain, Lo Lieh.

And finally, from Magnolia Home Entertainment, is the release of "Red Cliff" (2008). Directed by John Woo, Red Cliff follows the epic historical drama based on a legendary 208 A.D. battle that heralded the end of the Han Dynasty. A power-hungry Prime Minister-turned-General Cao Cao seeks permission from the Han Dynasty Emperor to organize a southward-bound mission designed to crush the two troublesome warlords who stand in his way, Liu Bei and Sun Quan. Vastly outnumbered by Cao Cao's brutal, fast-approaching army, the warlords band together to mount a heroic campaign - unrivaled in history - that changes the face of China forever. Red Cliff (Theatrical Version) is available in standard definition as well as Blu-Ray. Also available in SD or Blu-Ray is the Red Cliff (International version) Parts I and II.

Trailer for "Red Cliff"...

"Buddha bless you..."

Kung Fu Time Capsule: Marquees

2010-03-22T19:05:00.007-04:00

Well looky here! It's Leg Fighters Week at the Roxy! 4 Smash hits, one admission price! Can't beat that! First up we have 'Twister Kicker,' a 1974 melodramatic basher, with a little bit less action than one would expect from a movie with that title. Next up is 'Dual Flying Kicks,' a 1978 Taiwanese production starring Chan Sing, and ol' Flash-Legs himself, Dorian Tan! Feature number three looks like 1979's 'The Magnificent,' with Carter Wong, Chan Sing, and a bunch of other familiar faces. Here's a pressbook (.PDF format) for what looks like a recent video release. And finally we have "Eagle's Killer," a 1981 flick featuring spectacular bootmaster villain Hwang Jang-Lee. What a line-up! Looks like I better get to work on my time machine!

(Click to Enlarge...)

"Quickly as you can, snatch the pebble from my hand. .."

New DVD Releases: 3/16/10

2010-03-16T01:48:00.006-04:00

Ok, some old-school and some new-school releases are hitting the shelves today!

First for the old-school, coming from Code Red, we have a double feature of "Challenge the Dragon" (1973 - AKA The Way of the Tiger) and "The Needle Avenger" which seems to be "Dragons vs. Needles of Death" (1976 - AKA Dragon, Tiger And Phoenix). Neither title has been officially confirmed yet. According to the cover art, it says "Master Lee's Drunkard Cinema Vol. 1" which looks like this may be the beginning of a series of old school kung-fu releases from Code Red. That's a good thing in my book! Bring it on!

And for the new-school action, being released on DVD and Blu-Ray today we have "Ninja Assassin" (2009). Korean actor Rain makes his first Hollywood production appearance in this high impact modern day take on the much loved 1980's ninja flick genre. Rain takes on the role of Raizo, a ninja who teams up with an investigator and turns his back on his former ninja clan. He sets out to put an end to the ruthless violence and killings the clan is responsible for, which leads to a confrontation with his former master. Everyone's favorite 80's ninja Sho Kosugi also stars as the evil clan leader Ozunu!

"Ninja Assassin" Trailer...

"Amita Fo..."

New DVD Releases: 3/2/10

2010-03-01T21:19:00.009-05:00

A couple great martial arts DVDs are hitting the shelves tomorrow...

Hitting Blu-ray tomorrow is the Shaw Brothers classic "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin" starring the Master Killer himself, Gordon Liu. Liu plays the role of San Te, a young rebel who's family was slaughtered by General Tien (Lo Lieh), the local Manchu head. San Te ends up at Shaolin, where he goes through rigorous training in the 35 Chambers of Shaolin. San Te becomes an accomplished fighter and returns to his hometown to get his hard worked for revenge on the Manchus. This is one of the top classic martial arts films of all time. Not your standard revenge flick, but a real movie that has heart and a real message. A must see. Released by Vivendi/Dragon Dynasty.

Also releasing on 3/2/10 by Vivendi/Dragon Dynasty is "Return To the 36th Chamber" again starring Gordon Liu. This, a sequel of sorts to the previous mentioned film, sees Liu in a more comedic light playing the role of a young man, who again, trying to keep the Manchus off the working man's back, attempts to con them into thinking he's the Shaolin master San Te! Of course this doesn't work out and he once again ends up at Shaolin and meets the real San Te, who puts him to work doing various maintenance jobs around the temple. Unbeknownst to him, he's actually learning kung fu at the same time, and finally returns to town to get his revenge. Another Master Killer classic!

"The 36th Chamber of Shaolin" opening...

"What style of Kung Fu is this? Rooftop Kung Fu!"

Kung Fu Time Capsule: Brucesploitation & One-Sheets

2010-02-17T13:31:00.020-05:00

Ahhh.... Brucesploitation.

"Bruceploitation" came about after the death of Bruce Lee in 1973. Bruce Lee was the first martial arts film star to make a huge impact internationally. After he died, and "Enter the Dragon" became a worldwide smash hit, many of the Hong Kong film studios were afraid their productions would make less money without an internationally known star spreading the popularity of kung-fu films. So what did they do? Well, to ca$h in on the death of Bruce Lee, they hired a bunch of look-a-likes to star in cheap kung-fu films to make audiences think they were seeing an actual Bruce Lee film! These actors even changed their stage names to sound much more like Bruce Lee. Probably the three most prolific of these imitators were Bruce Li, Bruce Le, and Dragon Lee.

Bruce Li, Bruce Le, and Dragon Lee
(click to enlarge)

What we have next is a one-sheet poster that takes Bruceploitation to the EXTREME. It's a poster for a film titled "Bruce Is Loose" starring "Lee Bruce" which is actually another name that Bruce Le went by! What makes it even more confusing is the fact that NO Bruce Lee, Lee Bruce, Bruce Le, or any other Bruce imitator ever actually appears in the film at all! The film is actually "Green Dragon Inn" from 1977, starring Polly Kuan, Lo Lieh, and Yueh Hua.

(click to enlarge)
The movie "Green Dragon Inn" is good... but this poster is AWESOME. "Deadlier than Chiba, Quicker than "The Juice," Look out baby, Cause BRUCE IS LOOSE!" "Starring LEE BRUCE, the only star who could play the part written for BRUCE LEE!" "The most VIOLENT, SPECTACULAR fighting we've ever seen! - Kung Fu Express" (isn't that a chinese restaurant?) "NEVER SHOWN BEFORE!" "An Official Chinese Black Belt Society Film," whatever the hell that is! And then look at the artwork! That dude is a killing MACHINE! He's crushing one guy's sternum with a back kick, annihilating another guy's ballsack with a front kick, and SEVERING a THIRD dude's head with a chop... ALL AT THE SAME TIME! The poor fourth chap completely passed out just from sheer TERROR! I mean really, what on this poster would make somebody NOT want to see it? I guarantee this poster put quite a few asses in seats, but I wonder how disappointed the people were when they finally found out there was no Bruce(s)? Only those people know.... Anyway, thanks again for dropping by and look out for more one-sheets in the near FU-ture!

PS - I wonder if they would update the tagline to "Deadlier than Chiba, DEADLIER than "The Juice," Look out baby, Cause..." if they ever re-ran this film??

"Amitabha Buddha..."

New DVD Releases: 2/16/10

2010-02-14T02:34:00.011-05:00

A couple notable DVD releases coming up this Tuesday...

First and foremost is "Black Dynamite," a tribute to blaxploitation films of the 70's. Michael Jai White is Black Dynamite, a vengeance minded man intent on finding and taking down the people responsible for the death of his younger brother. It was no small town job either, and Black Dynamite follows the trail all the way to the top in a great finale that has to be seen to be believed. This is a great laugh-a-minute trip filled with kung fu fights galore, blazing guns action, great "bad" acting, and sight gag throwbacks that are both expected and a surprise at the same time! Dolemite, Superfly, and Shaft all rolled into one, "Black Dynamite" is sure to become a cult classic! A MUST SEE! Available on DVD and Blu-ray on 2/16/10.

Also coming on 2/16/10 is Akira Kurasawa's "Ran." Basically Kurasawa's vision of William Shakespeare's King Lear, a historical epic about power, greed, and loyalty. Set in feudal Japan, it recounts the story of Lord Hidetora, an aging ruler who intends to divide his kingdom equally among his three sons. This sets forth a greedy power struggle between the sons which eventually drives Hidetora insane and leads to the ultimate destruction of his entire family and kingdom. This Kurasawa epic is touted as one of the greatest foreign films of all time. Available on Blu-Ray.

"How many times have I told you not to call here and interrupt my Kung Fu?!"

Black Dynamite trailer...

Kung Fu Time Capsule: Admats

2010-02-13T00:16:00.009-05:00

Here's an old admat for an interesting double feature. First off we have "Duel of the Iron Fist" (AKA The Duel - 1971). This was a Shaw Brothers production, directed by Chang Cheh and starring Ti Lung and David Chiang. Many consider it to be the first of the Hong Kong style ganster type movies. Knife fights galore in this one!

The second feature isn't actually a Kung Fu flick at all, but a Euro-Western. Cut-Throats Nine was a Spanish western released in 1972. It follows the story of a soldier and his young daughter who have to transport a chain-gang of seven vicious criminals across some treacherous mountain terrain. It's known to be one of the most bloody and violent westerns to come out of the early 70's Europe. Definitely worth checking out!

Special thanks to Fred for this admat scan, and probably some others you'll see in the future! Check out his great review site Critical Condition: Obscure & Bizarre Films on Video & DVD!

"Blackbelt killers on the loose!"

...and...

Cut-Throats Nine

Review: Unbeaten 28 (1980)

2010-02-05T20:24:00.021-05:00

After watching "Delightful Forest, I decided pick a flick that was a little less polished and less serious in tone. "Ahhh... "Unbeaten 28." Now this is the kind of fu flick that brings back the childhood memories. Full screen, scratchy print, old school dubbing, that boomy echoing narrator telling the lead-in story... and a lot of pure goofy fun.

"Unbeaten 28," written, produced, and directed by Joseph Kuo, stars Mang Fei as Tiger, and features Jack & Mark Long in supporting roles. The narrator tells us that the evil warlord Yen Chan Tin (Mark Long) has ordered and carried out the slaughter of a family and their entire clan. Only a baby survived, and was taken to safety to the nearby Abbot. Meanwhile we see a duel between Yen Chan Tin and a brave man who's hellbent on putting an end to Yen Chan Tin and his reign of tyranny. Needless to say, Yen Chan Tin stomps the hell out of the guy, killing him in a wonderful freeze frame shot while yelling "May you rot in hell!" Who did you THINK would win? We wouldn't have much of a story if the bad guy died in the first five minutes, now would we??

Next we find that the Abbot has taken the aforementioned baby (Tiger) to Master Yung (Jack Long), a respected kung fu instructor, to teach him the art of fighting to eventually avenge the death of his family. Master Yung takes Tiger to Lin Wan Mountain and starts his training at 1 year old with "a special diet of tiger's milk and wild herbs." In a scene I found particularly funny, we see Tiger sitting in a giant wok over a fire as Master Yung rubs hot sand on him to "temper the muscles and give the body power." "His hands were hardened in hot sand until his fingers had the strength of tensile steel!" Gotta love that narrator! Meanwhile, while Master Yung is busy training Tiger at Lin Wan Mountain, Yen Chan Tin strikes again, this time killing Master Yung's wife and all his students. Now is Tiger not only training to avenge his own family's death, but the slaughter of Master Yung's clan also!

After 18 years of constant training, Tiger is now ready to go to the Tai Shin Temple to test his skills against the 18 obstacles and be awarded the secret kung fu manual. Tiger enters the temple and must use his skills to deal with heavy bronze doors, a giggling stone man that slaps him around, fighting statues, and the effeminate 'spirit' of Tai Shin Temple that fights in various animal styles, ox, snake, and monkey included. Tiger is unsuccessful in his first attempts to complete all the obstacles, and during this time Master Yung is slain by Yen Chan Tin in a too short duel in the forest. This gives the motivation Tiger needs to complete the temple challenges, obtain the Tai Shin Kung Fu Manual, and face off in the final fight against Yen Chan Tin, which includes flying hats, a bunch of giant styrofoam rocks and fire breathing statue. Tiger emerges victorious, and we are to assume he goes on to rebuild his clan.

I found this to be a slightly better than mediocre Joseph Kuo effort. While it wasn't filled with wall to wall fights like, say, "The 7 Grandmasters," or a genre classic like "18 Bronzemen," or even up to the par of "Born Invincible," it did have enough entertaining training sequences and charming wackiness in the Tai Shin Temple and KFC's¹ to keep my interest. Meng Fei was good as Tiger, and Mark Long made an excellent villain as Yen Chen Tin. And even though he didn't really get a chance to show off much of his kung fu skill, Jack Long was quite captivating as Master Yung. Actually the one thing that disappointed me was the very short and uneventful duel between Master Yung and Yen Chen Tin. With the supreme skills of Mark & Jack Long at his disposal, Joseph Kuo really dropped the ball by not showcasing their talents and making that a longer, more dramatic battle. Altogether though, "Unbeaten 28" is certainly worth checking out, so what are you waiting for? (PS. - I still haven't figured out what the 28 were, as they only refer to the "18" obstacles of the Tai Shin Temple.... oh well, I guess that's all part of the goofy charm!)

RATING:
3 out of 5 Venoms

¹KUNG FU CLICHES: Classic dubbing, cheap props, freeze frame, confusing genders, flying hats, animal abuse, and more.

Unbeaten 28 trailer

"May you rot in hell!!!"

New DVD Releases: 2/2/10

2010-02-03T01:35:00.011-05:00

Pretty good week for martial arts releases!

"Ong Bak 2: The Beginning" (2008) - Tony Jaa stars and co-directs this prequel of sorts to his hit film "Ong Bak: Thai Warrior." High impact stunts and fights galore in this one, as Jaa utilizes a variety of styles (Muay Thai, Wing Chun, Drunken Boxing!!) and weapons. From Magnolia Home Entertainment, available in Single Disc, Two-Disc Collectors Edition, and on Blu-ray.

"Delightful Forest" (1972) - Ti Lung stars in this blood soaked Shaw Brothers classic. Well Go USA gives this one an individual release, as it has been previously available in their Epic Heroes 4 DVD Metal Tin Collectors Set. See a review here: Review: The Delightful Forest (1972).

"Heroes Shed No Tears" (1980) - Alexander Fu Sheng stars in this Shaw Brothers wuxia fantasy. Well Go USA also gives this one an individual release, as it was also previously available in their Epic Heroes 4 DVD Metal Tin Collectors Set.

And in other good news, I got a shipment notification yesterday that my pre-order of "Five Element Ninja" has shipped! Only a one week delay, not that bad. Hopefully it will be popping up on store shelves soon. Most online retailers are still listing it as backordered, possibly there was a much higher demand than expected, which would be a great sign for future classic kung fu DVD releases!

Ong Bak 2 trailer.

"Buddha bless you..."

Kung Fu Humor: Subpar Subtitles

2010-02-02T12:59:00.006-05:00

What a kick ass pimp-cycle!

That's a great way to pick up a damsel in distress...

Better to be pissed off than pissed on, I guess...

Good, I always hated shaving myself...

Maybe you should ask her first...

Once again, great pick-up line...

Mmm! Chicken ass! My favorite!

"Beware! Your bones are going to be disconnected..."

Kung Fu Time Capsule: Marquees

2010-01-30T03:11:00.006-05:00

Back in the late 70's and early 80's, it was common to find dingy grindhouses showing double bills, triple bills, or even all day marathons of kung fu flicks. Here's a picture of a 42nd Street NYC theatre marquee in the process of being changed. I'm not sure what's coming or what's going, but I'm damn sure I would have spent the day in there watching it! How about you?

"Never take your eyes off your opponent... even when you're bowing!

Review: The Delightful Forest (1972)

2010-01-29T01:36:00.030-05:00

Most of my Shaw Brothers viewing has been of films involving the Venoms, Alexander Fu Sheng, or Gordon Liu. Last night I decided to watch "Delightful Forest", a Chang Cheh film starring Ti Lung, one of biggest Shaw Brothers superstars to grace the films of the 70's. If I knew what I was missing, I would have sought out this movie a long, long time ago. I found it to be an excellent film!

"Delightful Forest" tells part of the story of Wu Song (Ti Lung) from the classic Chinese novel "Outlaws of the Marsh." Wu Song is a heroic, no-nonsense guy with strong moralistic ideals and a penchant for getting hammered on strong wine! He once slayed a tiger with his bare hands, which he makes sure to let everyone know whenever he gets the chance. The story starts with an intense fight between Wu Song and Ximen Qing, with Wu Song avenging his brother's death by killing Ximen Qing. Ximen Qing was an adulterer who poisoned and killed Wu Song's brother. Once getting his vengeance, Wu Song turns himself in to the authorities and is escorted to prison, befriending a couple at an inn on the way. Once at the prison, he meets Shi En (the son of the prison head). Wu Song earns a very short and pampered prison stay by agreeing to help Shi En take down Chiang Chung, who is feared by the people and has taken control of all the businesses in the town of Delightful Forest. Wu Song heads out to confront Chiang Chung, drinking three bowls of wine at every inn on the way, and proceeds to drunkenly demolish him. After the battle, Chiang Chung's allies scheme together to frame Wu Song and have him put away for good. While practically at death's door, Wu Song is saved once again, and sets out to put an end to Chiang Chung and everyone else that framed him. This leads to a super intense bloody battle ending with Wu Song covered pretty much head to toe in blood, victoriously standing amongst the bodies of Chiang Chung and his many cronies. Wu Song marks the spot by writing "Wu Song killed all these men" on the wall in his own blood, then leaves Delightful Forest. He then goes on the run disguised as a priest with the help of the couple he befriended while being escorted to the prison.

This was an awesome movie! Ti Lung's portrayal of Wu Song was classic. His fighting, acting, and presence was incredible and I really got absorbed in the character. The movie also started with a bang with the great opening fight against Ximen Qing and ended in a flood of blood after the epic ending battle. This movie has certainly made me take notice of Ti Lung, and I'm going to make sure to watch a lot of his other work, especially "The Water Margin" and "All Men Are Brothers," both movie adaptations of parts of the "Outlaws of the Marsh." novel. Anyway, do yourself a favor and check out this classic Fu flick! You won't regret it!

RATING:
4½ out of 5 Venoms

Trailer

"Buddha's name be praised..."

Kung Fu Humor: Imaginary Ninjas

2010-01-28T00:40:00.009-05:00

Well, I finally got an email pertaining to my pre-order for "Five Element Ninjas" and it wasn't good news. Apparently it's delayed AGAIN. No announcement on when it will be available yet. I keep hearing February 23rd, but that's not officially confirmed. Oh well, I've been waiting this long...

Anyway, to stay on the recent ninja theme, I happened to run across this video that cheered me up. This guy's got some bad-ass moves, huh? Enjoy!

"So who are you going to kill next, Mr. Ninja?"
"My friend, a ninja doesn't kill. He eliminates and only for defensive purposes."

Happy Birthday Sun Chien!

2010-01-26T23:42:00.013-05:00

Another day, another birthday for another famous Face of Fu! Today, January 26th, is the 55th birthday of Sun Chien, one of the Five Deadly Venoms!

Sun Chien got his start in martial arts movies in 1977 when he was chosen for the supporting role in Chang Cheh's "Chinatown Kid." Soon after, he signed a contract with Shaw Brothers and started appearing in many more films. His place in kung fu cult history was cemented when he got the part of the Scorpion in "The Five Venoms." Sun Chien went on to act in many more Shaw Brothers films throughout the rest of the 70's and 80's. Happy birthday Sun Chien!

RECOMMENDED VIEWING

The Five Venoms (1978)
Invincible Shaolin (1978)
Crippled Avengers (1978)
Magnificent Ruffians (1979)
House of Traps (1982)

Meet the Five Venoms

"Poison Clan Rocks the world!"

New DVD Release: Five Element Ninjas (1982)

2010-01-26T14:35:00.008-05:00

As you've probably noticed, I've had ninjas on the brain recently. It's probably subconsciously due to the fact that today marks the long awaited release of "Five Element Ninjas" (Chinese Super Ninja) from Media Blasters/Tokyo Shock. This is one of the bloodiest, most violent kung fu epics ever. Many Fu fans have been waiting for this, as our bootleg VHS and DVDs can't take much more! I'm hoping it actually shows up on shelves today. I've had it pre-ordered for a long time and am still waiting for a shipment notification. I'm keeping my fingers crossed...

Original trailer

"Loss of a fight means loss of one's life to a Samurai..."

Review: Revenge of the Ninja (1983)

2010-01-26T03:47:00.011-05:00

Well, posting the trailer for "Ninja Destroyer" really got me craving some hardcore ninja action. So... what did I need to satisfy that craving? Nope, not even a Snickers® could handle that. I had to go for the throat, pull out the big guns, reach for the pinnacle of ninja films.... REVENGE OF THE NINJA! This was the movie that we watched many times over many summers, and made us want to become ninjas ourselves. In fact, it was our training film! So how did it stand up to the test of time? Let's find out...

The story begins in Tokyo, with a happy Japanese family strolling through their garden, feeding the coy fish, and admiring a new baby boy. Out of the shadows appears a gang of ninjas and they just start tearin' shit up. A man takes 5 blades to the back, a woman gets her throat slit, and a young boy takes a BRUTAL shuriken to the face. SWEET! The young mother escapes long enough to hide her newborn baby in the bushes, and promptly runs back and gets skewered by an arrow. The ninjas hear someone coming and disappear back into the shadows. Along comes Cho (Shô Kosugi) and his American friend Braden. Braden is trying to talk Cho into coming to America to run some art galleries specializing in Japanese Dolls. They happen upon the scene of NINJA DESTRUCTION, and back out come the ninjas. Cho and Braden make short work of them. We find out that Cho's wife and son were among those sliced up by the ninjas, and the baby hidden in the bushes is Cho's youngest son Kane. Now that there's nothing left in Tokyo, Cho decides to take his mother and Kane to the States to start a new life....

So... jump ahead six years. Cho is in the States and he's given up fighting. He's sealed his sword forever. He's opening up a Japanese doll gallery for Braden.... Well it turns out, unbeknownst to Cho, the gallery is a front for Braden's heroin smuggling operation. The first shipment of heroin is for Chifano, the local mafia boss, and he ain't paying. Braden's pissed and we also find out... he's a NINJA (who wears a bad-ass silver mask)! He starts knocking off Chifano's thugs one by one. Chifano calls Braden and says he has his money, and they agree to meet at the art gallery in three hours. In an attempt to double cross Braden, Chifano sends out some thugs (including a Native American named "Chief," complete with tomahawks..) to steal the heroin filled dolls from Cho's gallery. Cho happens to walk into the gallery during the robbery and confronts the thugs, and then gets dragged around town hanging off the back of their Dodge van. After the dolls are already gone, Braden sneaks into the gallery in his ninja gear hoping to finish Chifano, and realizes he's been duped. Cho's mother sees Braden, they fight, and he kills her. Kane also sees Braden when he unmasks. Braden chases Kane out onto the rooftop and Kane manages to escape from the evil ninja. Meanwhile Cho returns to the gallery bruised and bloodied and finds his dead mother. Next, trying to get a lead on who robbed the gallery, Cho and his cop friend get into a fight with the Village People at the local playground. (Check out the gay cowboy!) After takin' care of business there, Cho goes back to the gallery and finds out Kane has been kidnapped. Time to unseal the sword! Braden heads off to put an end to Chifano, and Cho heads off to put an end to Braden! Braden infiltrates Chifano's headquarters, and this leads to the climactic battle of Cho vs Braden on top of the building!

So how does it stand up to the test of time? It's even better now! Aside from the awesome ninja ass-kicking and some pretty good gore, this movie is so bad it's good, which is something you don't notice when you're 10 years old and watching it. It's got amazingly bad acting, unintentionally funny dialog, and hilariously horrible characters. I can't recommend this one enough, it's a must see. And I still want to be a ninja!

LINES TO LISTEN FOR

"If you want to work out, you forgot your pants."
"What the fuck is this, Halloween? Get outta here!"
"You guys celebrate downtown every time one of us gets the clap!"
"Only a NEENJA can stop a NEENJA!"
"Hey look! Superman!"
"Son of a bitch ninja!"

RATING:

5 out of 5 Venoms

Final battle of "Revenge of the Ninja"

"400 years of training in the art of sudden death... unleashed on 20th century America..."

Happy Birthday Sonny Chiba!

2010-01-23T00:40:00.024-05:00

Today, January 23rd, we here at The Faces of Fu celebrate the 71st birthday of Sonny Chiba, Japanese martial arts superstar!

Chiba started his acting career around 1960. His first starring role was in 1961 in the film "Invasion of the Neptune Men." Throughout the 60's Chiba continued to act, mostly in sci-fi and crime/thriller movies. Around 1970, he started the Japan Action Club, a training school for young martial arts actors. In 1974, not long after the Bruce Lee craze and popularity-explosion of martial arts movies, Chiba got his international breakthrough role. The film was The Street Fighter. This movie was notorious for it's graphic extreme violence. In fact, due to a scene where Chiba's character Terry Tsurugi "neuters" a rapist with his bare hands, the film garnered an X-rating. It's said this was the first movie to receive an X-rating due to violence alone. In order to receive an R-rating, nearly 16 minutes of violence had to be edited from the film! The film's popularity sparked several related sequels: Return of the Street Fighter, Sister Street Fighter, and Street Fighter's Last Revenge, all also released in 1974! Chiba continued to act through the 70's, 80's, 90's and beyond, doing a lot sci-fi, action, thriller, and martial arts movies, as well as taking many television roles. He can most recently be seen in Kill Bill: Vol 1 (2003) and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006).

So... Thank you Sonny Chiba for many great martial arts movies, and much much more! We wish you many more years of health and happiness. Happy birthday!

MY CHIBA FAVORITES
not all martial arts...

The Street Fighter (1974)
Bullet Train (1975)
G.I. Samurai (1978)
Message From Space (1978)
Shogun's Ninja (1980)
Ninja Wars (1982)

"The Street Fighter" trailer...

"If you've got to fight... fight dirty!"

Happy Birthday Beardy!

2010-01-20T02:28:00.011-05:00

Faces of Fu would like to send out warm birthday wishes to Leung Kar-Yan, who was born on this date, January 20th, in 1949. Happy 61st birthday, Beardy! Check out our Beardy profile here!

What's your Beardy top 5? I'd have to go with, in no particular order:

Thundering Mantis
Legend of a Fighter
Exciting Dragon
Warriors Two
Miracle Fighters

Beardy in a comical role in "Exciting Dragon."

"Buddha's name be praised..."

Trailer - Ninja Destroyer

2010-01-19T02:38:00.013-05:00

What we have here is a trailer for the 1986 Godfrey Ho splice & dice "Ninja Destroyer." Basically what Ho would do was film a few scenes of some weird dudes dressed in ninja outfits (usually sporting headbands that say "NINJA," in case we got them confused with the people NOT in ninja outfits I guess??) flipping around and disappearing and throwing things at each other. Most of the time, these ninjas would have authentic ninja names like "Mark," "Donald," or "Maurice." Anyway, he would take that footage and splice it into other pre-existing, already-crappy-enough films. The end product? A even crappier, even less coherent movie! This can be seen on display in the following video clip:

I really like this trailer because, for a movie relased in 1986, they gave it a classic 70's vibe with that boomy, echoing narration. And the movie is a laugh a minute riot. Horrible dubbing and dialog, NINJA headbands, breakdancer graffiti, it's got it all. I especially loved the line "I never trust anyone who'll double cross me." CLASSIC! Just remember, to keep from getting a headache, don't try to follow the "plot." Just watch in awe and amazement at the authentic ninjas and martial arts action! To avoid fainting, keep repeating "It's only a movie... It's only a movie..."

"Buddha bless you..."

Purchase Ninja Destroyer at amazon.com

Trailer - The Hot, the Cool, and the Vicious

2009-12-24T00:56:00.009-05:00

Here's the trailer for the 1976 film "The Hot, the Cool, and the Vicious."
Dig that music!

"Buddha's name be praised..."

New Posters!

2009-05-16T02:01:00.008-04:00

So I picked up a few new posters for my collection the other day. These come from Thailand, they're smaller than the standard U.S. One-Sheets. These measure in at approximately 31" x 21". I can't wait to get these into frames! Too bad I don't really have any space to display them!

The first one is from the 1982 Shaw Brothers production "Buddha's Palm." I actually just watched this one for the first time the other day, and I loved it. It's a colorful action-packed kung fu/wuxia fantasy with over the top special effects, and interesting characters with names like "Flaming Cloud Devil," "Foot Monster," (played by Sek Kin, Mr. Han of "Enter the Dragon" fame) and "BI GU OF EAST ISLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" who always enters his scenes to hilarious fanfare! Well anyway, here's the poster:

Next up we have the poster for "Taoism Drunkard," which was a wacky kung fu magic/taoism/comedy romp from 1984 featuring the action direction of the Yuen Clan. Again, we have some interesting characters such as "Old Devil," "Mountain Dog," "Starry Devil," and "the Watermelon Monster." This, and a few other films in this vein are some of those that you just have to see to believe.

And finally, I picked up the poster for "Kung Fu of 8 Drunkards" which was released in 1980, a couple years after Jackie Chan and Simon Yuen popularized the drunken fighting style in "Drunken Master." This one features Mang Fei and Chan Sing.

Three pretty cool posters, eh? Thanks for checking them out. Hopefully I'll find time to get some more reviews in soon. I have been quite busy lately, starting a new job, and I am also getting married in less than a month! After things calm down hopefully this place will get a little more lively!

"Buddha bless you..."

Review: Challenge of the Masters (1976)

2009-04-15T21:29:00.018-04:00

"Challenge of the Masters" is the story of young Wong Fei-Hung (Gordon Liu, in his first starring role). Wong Fei-Hung is a brash young man who wants nothing more than to learn kung fu. His father, Wong Chi-Ying, runs a kung fu school but will not train Wong Fei-Hung because he feels his son is too hasty and not yet mature enough. Of course this makes Wong Fei-Hung angry, as he feels he's ready and able. He spends his time practicing his own shoddy kung fu in his father's courtyard, which embarrasses him.

Officer Yuan Ching (Lau Kar-Wing) comes into town seeking to arrest Ho Fu (Lau Kar-Leung), a wanted killer. Ho Fu has been holed up at the rival school of Master Pang, although they are unaware that he is a killer. Yuan Ching arrives at the school of Master Lu Ah Tsai (Chen Kwan-Tai) and sees Wong Fei-Hung outside, mistaking him as a student, which of course annoys him and he runs off to town. All the while, the killer Ho Fu has been trailing Officer Yuan to see what he's up to. As Yuan Ching enters Master Lu's school, Ho Fu follows Wong Fei-Hung to town. While this is going on, Officer Yuan asks if Master Lu has any info on Ho Fu, and also mentions that he saw a lot of potential in the young man he saw out front (Wong Fei-Hung). In town, Ho Fu confronts Wong Fei-Hung and asks him why Officer Yuan was talking to him. Wong Fei-Hung, still agitated, tells him to go to hell, and Ho Fu tries to beat it out of him. The fight is broken up by the townspeople, Ho Fu heads off, and Wong Fei-Hung returns home more determined than ever to teach himself kung fu!

Now at the school of Wong Chi-Ying, Officer Yuan meets Wong Fei-Hung's father (who had the same master, Lu Ah Tsai) to catch up on old times. During this time he sees Wong Fei-Hung wildly swinging around and knocking things over, as some form of training, and asks his father who he is. Wong Chi-Ying, embarrassed, explains that it is his son. Officer Yuan again mentions the potential he sees in Wong Fei-Hung, surprising his father!

Next up is the yearly Pao Competition, where all the local schools compete to see who is the best. Wong Fei-Hung sneaks into the competition, and is partly responsible for his father's school losing to Master Pang's school. By the way, Ho Fu has been training Master Pang's students to use uncouth tactics to win the event! Wong Fei-Hung, angry because of the loss, finally has had enough, and goes to Lu Ah Tsai's school where he runs into Officer Yuan. Yuan takes him inside and convinces Master Lu to train him! "That's good! Father and son, both learning from the same teacher! That should make history!" says Officer Yuan. Wong Fei-Hung also tells Officer Yuan about his run in with Ho Fu. Yuan then goes after Ho Fu and they duel it out in the forest. Ho Fu wins the duel, killing Officer Yuan with his Death Kick technique.

Master Lu and Wong Fei-Hung are now isolated out on the countryside, beginning training. Three months pass before Master Lu informs Wong Fei-Hung that Officer Yuan has been killed. Wong Fei-Hung, saddened at the death of his friend, vows revenge and kicks his training into overdrive! Wong Fei-Hung trains with Master Lu for over 2 years and becomes proficient in kung fu and the use of the Shaolin Long Pole weapon. He is also taught the importance of discipline, forgiveness, humility, and kindness...

Wong Fei-Hung then returns to town to seek out Ho Fu. They meet in the same bamboo grove where Ho Fu previously defeated Officer Yuan. This time Wong Fei-Hung is the victor, but instead of killing Ho Fu, he remembers Master Lu's teachings of forgiveness, and spares his life, but does get him sent to jail.

There is also another Pao Competition coming up, and this time Master Pang instructs his students to illegally use hidden iron bars as weapons to gain the upper hand in the Competition. The day of the Competition comes, and Master Pang's school is cheating to win. Wong Fei-Hung has the competition won, but shows mercy on one of Pang's students, displaying the kindness and discipline taught to him by Lu Ah Tsai. The rest of the competitors take hold of the lesson shown by Wong Fei-Hung, and call a truce, making the Pao Competition a draw, and they all celebrate together. The next day, Master Pang and his students meet Wong Chi-Ying and his students at Chi-Ying's school. Master Pang shows humility and admits that he instructed his students to break the rules of the Pao Competition. Pang decides he must punish himself, but just as he's about to strike himself with one of the illegal iron bars, Wong Fei-Hung jumps in and stops him, FREEZE FRAME, THE END!

This movie falls into the category I like to call the "Classic Kung Fu Story." It's not chock full of violence, blood, and action, but what fights it does have are quality. The stand out fights are Officer Yuan vs. Ho Fu (great sword vs. spear & hand to hand) and then Wong Fei-Hung vs. Ho Fu (Pole vs. spear). The training sequences with Lu Ah Tsai and Wong Fei-Hung are excellent. While getting revenge is part of the story, the main point of this movie is the moral of having discipline, forgiveness, and humility. It is summed up best by these lines, spoken by Master Lu Ah Tsai: "Forgive and forebear, Wong Fei-Hung, never forget... humility and kindness." and "When you fight and beat your opponent, you've only won a physical match. But then, if you can show kindness, that man may surrender his heart to you. Wong Fei-Hung, don't you ever forget that." So, if you're looking for a great old school "Classic Kung Fu Story," look no further than "Challenge of the Masters."

RATING:

4 out of 5 Venoms

"Challenge of the Masters" Trailer

"Buddha's name be praised..."

Kung Fu Time Capsule: Admats

2009-04-06T01:24:00.021-04:00

There was once a time when you could open the newspaper to check the local movie listings, and instead of finding just a boring box of text listing of the movies like now days, you could find a bunch of admats with artwork, taglines, review snippets, and other things to really grab your attention. It's definitely a lost art that you don't see much anymore, which is unfortunate. Well here in the Faces of Fu Kung Fu Time Capsule, I'll occasionally bring you a glimpse of these blasts from the past. Today I bring to you an admat for "Master of the Flying Guillotine," starring Jimmy Wang Yu which happens to be one of my most favorite Fu flicks of all time.

You can see the similarites to my original one-sheet.

Here's some close-ups of the cool captions...

(click to enlarge)

Now doesn't an ad like that make a movie seem more interesting than just...

Master of Flying Guillotine [R] .......... 8pm

You bet it does! Keep an eye out for more admats in the future!

"Buddha bless you..."

Profile: Carter Wong

2009-04-03T01:54:00.009-04:00

Whether you're a fan of hard training bald headed Shaolin monks, or evil white haired kung fu villains, you've probably seen this next Face of Fu, Carter Wong. Carter was definitely a familiar face in films of the 70's and early 80's. Before becoming an actor, Carter trained in the martial art of Goju Kai Karate. His Black Belt skills got him a job as the head martial arts instructor of the Hong Kong police force. A student of Carter's knew director Huang Feng, and suggested he check out Carter for a potential kung fu actor. Huang sat in on one of Carter's classes and was immediately impressed by his youth and martial arts prowess. Huang decided to cast Carter alongside his other 'discoveries' Sammo Hung & Angela Mao in the Golden Harvest film "Hapkido." This movie was filmed concurrently at an adjacent soundstage as Bruce Lee's "Enter the Dragon," and Bruce once visited Carter's set and demonstrated some martial arts for him!

Carter's film career continued as he did other Golden Harvest films such as "When Taekwondo Strikes," "The Tournament," and "The Skyhawk." In 1975, after Carter's contract with Golden Harvest expired, he went on to act in Chang Cheh's Shaw Brothers production "Marco Polo" alongside such genre greats as Alexander Fu Sheng, Gordon Liu, Kuo Chui, and... Beardy! After that he continued to act in many independent productions in Hong Kong and Taiwan throughout the late 70's and early 80's. After 1982, Carter's acting career slowed down, but in 1986 he played the role of "Thunder" in John Carpenter's "Big Trouble In Little China."

Today, Carter still occasionally pops up in movies, but spends most of his time spreading the word about a new Tai Chi training system he has developed. He has worked alongside some of the genre's greatest actors and left behind a legacy of classic kung fu films. So... the next time you're in the mood for some old school action, grab a Carter Wong film and enjoy the work of this legendary Face of Fu!

RECOMMENDED VIEWING

Hapkido (1972)
When Taekwondo Strikes (1973)
18 Bronzemen (1976)
Shaolin Kung Fu Mystagogue (1976)
Born Invincible (1978)

From "Born Invincible"

"Buddha's name be praised..."

Review: Tai Chi Master (1993)

2009-03-26T09:05:00.019-04:00

Tai Chi Master is the story of Junbao (Jet Li) and Tienbao (Chin Siu-Ho), two young friends growing up together in a Shaolin temple. Junbao is at peace and content with the life of a monk, whereas Tienbao is always looking for excitement and causing trouble for both of them. During a competition between Tienbao and another fellow student, Tienbao gets cheated and loses his cool, taking his anger out on his opponent. When the opponents Sifu steps in, Tienbao uses the Sifu's own Iron Palm technique (which he learned by spying) against him. Junbao tries to defend his best friend, but both end up expelled from the temple.

They go on their way, settling in a nearby village. In town, they meet Qiushie (Michelle Yeoh), who leads a group of rebels against the corrupt and powerful Eunuch Jin, the provincial governor. One day, Junbao & Tienbao are in the village trying to make money to survive, when Jin's army comes and demands all their earnings for taxation. Junbao resists, but Tienbao is intrigued by the power and money of the army and gives them all that they earned. The two remain friends but go their separate ways, Junbao joining the rebels and Tienbao joining the army.

Junbao & Tienbao remain in contact and eventually Tienbao, ambitious to rise through the ranks of the army, tricks Junbao and the rebels into thinking he'll help them. This betrayal leads to an ambush in which most of the rebel forces are slaughtered. Junbao, deeply saddened by the betrayal of his best friend, loses his mind. Qiushie and the Taoist Priest Ling attempt to bring Junbao back to reality with little success. Junbao is eventually enlightened by the forces of nature and learns the style of Tai Chi. This leads to the final conflict of Junbao vs. Tienbao, good vs. evil, yin vs yang.

This is a movie with a good story filled with action packed fights. The choreography by Yuen Wo-Ping is incredible, aside from a few hokey things here and there. Kung fu purists take note, being an early 90's film, this is full of wire work (much of the wires visible), but don't let that stop you from seeing it. There's tons of excellent martial arts besides the wire work. Some of the stand-out fights are Junbao & Tienbao fighting the other students in the temple, Qiushie's battle against her ex-husband's new mistress, and of course the final fight. Jet Li is incredible as Junbao, Chin Siu-Ho makes an excellent power hungry villain as Tienbao, and Michelle Yeoh, although underused, adds to the mix. In the middle of the movie, during the point where Junbao loses his mind, there is also some comedy thrown in. I feel that this helps lighten things a little bit, and keeps things from getting too dark and depressing. Overall, this is a great movie, and I would strongly recommend it to anyone who has not seen it, even if they are not a big fan of the genre. So what are you waiting for? See Tai Chi Master!

RATING:
4 ½ out of 5 Venoms

Kung Fu Cliches: Superhuman feats, wire-work

Original Hong Kong Trailer.

"Buddha bless you...

Kung Fu Humor: Subpar Subtitles

2009-03-24T01:30:00.012-04:00

Sometimes the language barrier is harder to break than a stack of boards, and they say English is the hardest language of all to learn. Literal translations of cliches and sayings common to a particular language can be quite comical. I came across the following list while cruising the web. It is a list of English subtitles taken from various Asian kung fu and action films. Whether they are true or fictional I do not know, but some of them are damn funny! Enjoy!

I am damn unsatisfied to be killed in this way.
Fatty, you with your thick face have hurt my instep.
Gun wounds again?
Same old rules: no eyes, no groin.
A normal person wouldn't steal pituitaries.
Damn, I'll burn you into a BBQ chicken!
Take my advice, or I'll spank you without pants.
Who gave you the nerve to get killed here?
Quiet or I'll blow your throat up.
You always use violence. I should've ordered glutinous rice chicken.
I'll fire aimlessly if you don't come out!
You daring lousy guy.
Beat him out of recognizable shape!
I have been scared like a mouse too much lately.
I got knife scars more than the number of your leg's hair!
Beware! Your bones are going to be disconnected.
The bullets inside are very hot. Why do I feel so cold?
How can you use my intestines as a gift?
This will be of fine service for you, you bag of the scum. I am sure you will not mind that I remove your manhoods and leave them out on the dessert flour for your aunts to eat.

"Buddha bless you..."

Profile: Hwang Jang-Lee

2009-03-22T13:13:00.024-04:00

Hwang Jang-Lee, also known as the "Silver Fox," is one of the most recognizable kung fu villains of the genre. He was born in Japan in 1944, and his family soon left for Korea. Around the age of 14, Jang-Lee took an interest in Taekwondo. After a few years, and becoming proficient in the art, he joined the Korean Army as a Taekwondo instructor. After leaving the army he began acting in Korean cinema, where he was noticed by famed Hong Kong producer/director Ng See-Yuen. In 1976, Hwang Jang-Lee was invited back to Hong Kong by Ng See-Yuen to make films for his new independent Seasonal Films Corporation. That year Hwang Jang-Lee would cement his villainous image in "The Secret Rivals," in which he played the evil Silver Fox, earning him his nickname. Hwang Jang-Lee's trademark fast, hard-kicking style has also garnered him the nickname "King of the Leg Fighters." It is said that while in the Korean Army, Hwang once unintentionally killed a man with one of his lethal kicks. Apparently, the man challenged Jang-Lee with a knife. Hwang refused to fight, but the man lunged at him with the knife. Attempting to only subdue the man, Hwang Jang-Lee underestimated the strength of his own kick, and instantly killed the man in self defense with a shot to the temple. Definitely not a man to be messed with!

Hwang Jang-Lee made many great films from the mid-70's through the early 90's. He left acting in 1991 and returned to South Korea to concentrate on personal business ventures, most notably running a hotel, a bodyguard agency, and manufacturing golf tees. In 2003, Hwang Jang-Lee earned his 9th degree black belt in Taekwondo, achieving the title of Grandmaster.

Although no longer acting, Hwang Jang-Lee's legacy remains in some of the greatest kung fu films of the late 70's and early 80's. If you're ever in the mood to see some classic ass-kicking (literally!) kung fu bad guy action, just pop in a Hwang Jang-Lee flick, and you're sure to get your fix!

RECOMMENDED VIEWING

The Secret Rivals 1 & 2 (1976/1977)
The Invincible Armor (1977)
The Snuff Bottle Connection (1977)
Drunken Master (1978)
The Hell's Windstaff (1979)

A scene from "The Invincible Armor"

"Buddha bless you..."

Review: Kung Fu vs. Yoga (1979)

2009-03-16T01:23:00.053-04:00

Kung Fu vs. Yoga is a fun flick full of fights and foolishness. The movie follows the adventures of "kung fu brothers" Tiger (Chin Yuet-Sang) and Wu Shing (Alan Hsu). It starts out with a great fight sequence between Tiger & Wu Shing practicing their kung fu, using various weapons including spear, dual swords, and bola (a rope with weights at each end, swung and released to ensnare the opponent). Just as it seems like Wu Shing will defeat Tiger using his "Hen's Claw" technique, we see that Tiger is actually dreaming all this, as he jumps up out of bed, smashing his head through the top bunk, waking his father up in the process. Tiger, dumbfounded after being beaten by the inferior Wu Shing in his dream, gets up to look for his kung fu manual. Meanwhile, his father groggily climbs down from the bunk to see what the commotion is all about. Tiger finds the manual stashed away in a pot, hastily pulls it out, and smacks his father in the head knocking him unconscious. Tiger, in an attempt to revive his fallen father, cannot find any water, so he dumps a piss pot on his father's face to wake him up. You can already see what kind of humor this one will be filled with! Anyway, his father, pissed off after being pissed on, has had enough of Tiger's shenanigans, and sends him off to live in the city with his Uncle Pang. Tiger packs up his things and leaves, running into Wu Shing outside. Wu Shing challenges Tiger and Tiger easily outduels him. Wu Shing then begs Tiger to let him accompany him to the city to learn kung fu, and off they go...

After they arrive at Uncle Pangs, we'll jump ahead about 15 minutes (during which they have a comical fight against a blind monk). Wu Shing runs into the Uncle's shop and grabs Tiger, and they run off. It seems that Wu Shing has entered a kung fu contest against the town's three best martial artists at the town square. Well, having lackluster skills, he gets taken out rather easily. Tiger decides to jump into the contest on behalf of Wu Shing, and with his impressive kung fu, he takes them all out in three short but sweet fights involving some nice weapon play. A fourth, masked female opponent jumps onto the stage and challenges Tiger. He defeats and unmasks her, revealing a beautiful woman. Her father, who apparently arranged the contest, stands up and reveals that for winning, Tiger has won her (Lady Ting) hand in marriage! Needless to say, Tiger is surprised, and Ting is appalled at having to marry such a poor fellow like Tiger, but the father says they must go through with it, and they do. Cut to wedding night, and Tiger is anxious to consummate the marriage! Lady Ting says before that will happen, Tiger has to complete three tasks, and she doesn't want to see him until they are. Naturally, she believes them to be impossible. Well let's find out, shall we?

The first task is to head to the temple and steal a kung fu manual from an ornery monk. They get to the temple, and find the monk sleeping (with his eyes open) on a big stack of small pots. They figure the manual is in one of the pots under him, so they begin poking and prodding him to get him to move off certain pots so they can open them. They wake him up before finding the manual and he beats on them a little demanding to know what they are doing. They give him a B.S. story and leave to formulate a new plan of attack. They come back later and this time he's lying in wait. The monk jumps up with the kung fu manual in hand saying "Is this what you're looking for?!" and begins to attack them. This movie has terrible dubbing, and during this fight we hear the following:

Tiger: "Why don't you quit while we're still feeling kind?
You never know, you might drop... down dead!"
Monk: "Balls... BALLS! I shall beat you both!"

Eventually, after a long dragged out fight, Wu Shing grabs the manual out of the monk's robe while Tiger has him distracted. They then beg for mercy, and the monk lets them go. After they are gone he realizes the manual is gone, and jumps into the air in rage. This is the perfect opportunity for a classic KFC¹: The Freeze Frame. Wu Shing delivers the monk's manual to Ting, and comes back exhausted (hmmm...) and falls asleep...

Next they set off for the second task. This task requires them to go to a brothel and retrieve the pieces of jade that a certain prostitute wears. They get to the whorehouse, and tell the madame they are looking for the girl named "Di." "Ah, I know the one!" she says, and has them take a number. Tiger's number is called, and he makes the least expensive incense purchase. Apparently, the length of time his incense burns is the amount of time he gets to spend with the girl. He gets to her room, and lights the incense. Of course it burns out quicker than a firecracker fuse, and he's out of there before he can get his shirt off. Next it's Wu Shing's turn. Tiger has him buy the biggest incense, and up the stairs he goes. Well he rock's Di's world, but finds no jade. Downstairs, Tiger finds out there's another "Di" and they go upstairs to find her. Wu Shing follows her into a room for round two, and finds out that she is actually a HE! This leads to the fight for HIS jade. They fight for a while, and Tiger & Wu Shing end up tearing off Di's clothes to get the jade pieces (ending in The Freeze Frame, of course!). After they leave, they have the following conversation...

Wu Shing: "Hey Tiger, how will he get home without his clothes?"
Tiger: "Damn, I don't care! Couldn't give a fish's tit!"

...and Wu Shing this time

delivers the jade to Ting, since she won't see Tiger until the tasks are completed. Once again, Wu Shing comes back exhausted (HMMMM...) and falls asleep!

On to the last task. This time they have to steal the ruby from a yoga master's turban. Finally, here comes the Kung Fu vs. Yoga that the title refers to! And boy is it worth the wait. It takes Tiger & Wu Shing three attempts before they can finally outsmart to yoga master, but they finally get the ruby. These fights are amazing! The yoga master's flexibility and extreme contortionism make this the most innovative fight sequence I've ever seen. I'm not even going to try to explain the fights because words can't do them justice. I will post a YouTube video of the fight since it is a MUST SEE. So, mission accomplished! Off to tell wifey!

They get back, and walk up some stairs to Ting's house. Tiger is all sorts of excited to finally see her again! He calls for her as they walk to the house, and what... she comes out holding the hand of a young child, and also pregnant! Apparently the timeline of the story was over a couple years even though it seemed like a few days! Ting tells the child to say hello to father. Tiger, finally realizing that the children are Wu Shing's (hence his exhaustion after delivering the monk's manual and the prostitutes jade!), delivers a strong punch to Wu Shing, leading to.... you guessed it... The Freeze Frame! THE END.

This was a fairly mediocre film leading up to the superb finale. It had a lot of fights, most of which were entertaining. Like I said before, the final fight is a must see. It is worth watching the whole movie just to see that fight alone. The humor was pretty off the mark, mainly due to the subpar dubbing, which took a bit away from the film for me. Also the ending was not a surprise at all, as it was quite obvious how things were going to pan out at the end when they dropped the first hint. Overall, I enjoyed the film, but if I ever pop the DVD in again it will most likely be to rewatch the final fight scene.

RATING:
2½ out of 5 Venoms

¹KUNG FU CLICHES: Horrible dubbing, the Freeze Frame, potty humor.

Yoga Master Battle (From French dub)

"Buddha bless you..."

Profile: Chiang Sheng

2009-03-13T05:19:00.017-04:00

Chiang Sheng, affectionately referred to as "Cutie Pie" by his fans, is primarily known for his work in the Shaw Brothers "Venoms" films. He was born into a large family in 1951, and due to the size of his family, they were unable to give him the proper care and attention he needed. Therefore, he was sent off to Fu Sheng Opera School in Taipei, Taiwan where he learned martial arts and acrobatics. Upon his departure from Opera School, Chiang Sheng worked as a stuntman in Taiwan.

In 1974, director Chang Cheh formed his own production company and went to Taiwan to scout for talent. There he met Chiang Sheng. Impressed by his abilities, he invited him to go to mainland China to work. In 1976, he joined Shaw Brothers and got his first big role in Chang Cheh's "Shaolin Temple." Two years later, he landed his first starring role in the classic "The Five Venoms." This led to the formation of the "Venom Mob" (Chiang Sheng, Lo Meng, Kuo Chui, Sun Chien, Lu Feng, and occasionally Wai Pak) who would go on to star in a string of majorly successful martial arts films for Shaw Brothers Studios. These films were action packed with excellent hand-to-hand fighting, weapons, acrobatics, blood and violence!

In the Venom films, Chiang Sheng primarily played a supporting hero role, usually acting as comic relief. Don't let the comedy fool you though, as his skills were top notch! Being smaller and lithe, his acrobatic skills were uncanny, and a major focal point of many of his characters. His weapons work was also amazing, especially working with dual weapons such as swords or blades. Kuo Chui once stated in an interview that he & Chiang Sheng could perform fighting routines that contained over 200 moves! That's a fitting testament to Chiang Sheng's skills & abilities. Not only was Chiang Sheng active in front of the camera, but he played a big role behind the scenes as well. Besides performing in the Venoms films, Chiang Sheng acted as Chang Cheh's Assistant Director AND Action Director in many of them as well!

After the Venom Mob disbanded in 1982, Chiang Sheng left Shaw Brothers and returned to Taiwan. After appearing in a few more films, he became disheartened as it became harder for him to find work. He drowned his sorrows with alcohol, which took a toll on his body and led to his divorce. Sadly, in 1991, Chiang Sheng died from a heart attack. His memory lives on to this day in his unforgetable films.

RECOMMENDED VIEWING

The Five Venoms (1978)
Invincible Shaolin (1978)
Crippled Avengers (1978)
Shaolin Rescuers (1979)
Ninja In the Deadly Trap (1985)

Chiang Sheng tribute

"Buddha bless you..."

Review: Shaolin Master & the Kid (1980)

2009-03-10T11:53:00.046-04:00

Here's my first review. It's a little long winded, since I've been pretty excited to get The Faces of Fu up and running! Enjoy! - KFM

Shaolin Master & the Kid (AKA One Man Army) is a Taiwanese production that borrows heavily from the Lone Wolf & Cub series. It starts out rather confusing with some quick cut scenes that make it hard to tell what's going on. From what I could gather, a criminal is raping and pillaging, with some flash scenes of a government official ordering his arrest, guys banging on drums, and some boobies thrown in for good measure. In jumps Nan Kung Sao, some type of government officer bad-ass, whom will be referred to from now on as "The Hero." The Hero kicks the crap out of the criminal, and hauls him in. The official orders the criminal to be executed, and off comes his head. This all happens in about two minutes or less.

Next, The Hero returns home to find out that an evil warlord has had his mother and brother killed in retalliation for the execution of his criminal. Upon leaving the residence, The Hero finds his quite young nephew Sao Chu hiding in a well, scared and crying in a gratingly annoying female dubbed voice, and learns that the child's mother was kidnapped by the killers. He embraces the child, cries a solitary tear, and vows revenge. Cue sappy music. The next morning, The Hero sets a trap by leaving the child alone to mourn at the graves of his father & grandmother as he hides nearby. On cue, four assassins flip onto the scene, seemingly from out of nowhere, to finish their dirty work...

Killer - "Hmmm... Well it seems that the little fish escaped!"
Hero - "The big fish is over here!"

The assassins then run over to where our Hero is hiding, and proceed to get their asses handed to them like it's nobody's business. The whole while The Hero nonchalantly has a piece of grass hanging out of his mouth. He picks up one of the assassins in a Torture Rack (executed much better than Lex Luger I might add) and gets him to admit who sent them to do the killing of his family. And off we go...

The Hero, now decked out in a white outfit and coolie hat, drops off his nephew with "Uncle To" and asks him to watch the kid while he's off getting revenge. Uncle To agrees, and walks outside with The Hero to see him off. When he comes back in five seconds later, the kid has already run away! Our Hero continues on to the next town and stops at an inn for a rest. Meanwhile, outside, Sao Chu comes into town (damn that kid is fast!) and steals some buns from a street vendor. Some local brats see him and chase him into the inn and attempt to put the beat-down on him. Our Hero saves him, and takes him back to Uncle To's, where he instructs To to lock the kid in a closet for three days, which he does. The Hero continues on to the village to find the man that ordered the murder of his family. He finds his home, enters the courtyard, and proceeds to easily take out four unarmed thugs, two spearmen, and two swordsmen while the man he's looking for is watching. He then enters the home and finds the man in a room with his wife and baby. The man grabs a sword and attempts to attack The Hero to no avail. The Hero disarms the man and finds out he was just a middleman obeying orders to have the family murdered, and will not reveal the true mastermind of the plot. Meanwhile, his wife takes a pin from her hair and attempts to stab The Hero. He dodges the attack and she ends up killing her husband! In a fit of rage, she picks up her husband's sword and tries attacking The Hero. No dice. He takes control with the sword at her throat, but just as he's about to filet her larynx, the baby starts crying and our Hero flashes back to his embrace with Sao Chu at the well (Cue sappy music again). He spares her and sets off back to get his nephew. On the road again...

The Hero & Sau Cho set off together. Of course after 20 seconds of walking, the nephew starts whining about his hurting feet, so our Hero begins pulling him in a wagon. (Not nearly as cool as Lone Wolf's baby cart!) So night falls, and we cut to three assassins sitting around a fire waiting for The Hero to arrive. One assassin hears something in the woods, and the other two go to check it out. Well, they end up dead by an unseen assailant. This prompts the following conversation...

Assassin #3: "Who are you?..."
Assailant: "Heh heh heh... I'm the devil's envoy and I've come to take your life!"

...and take his life he does.

But it's not our Hero... so who is it? We'll find out soon enough. Well it turns out these three assassins were hired by a henchman of the previously mentioned evil warlord to take out The Hero. Word gets back to the henchman that someone has killed the assassins. He believes they were killed by our Hero, and immediately puts a bounty of 1,000 gold taels on his head. Needless to say, the news spreads quickly, and now EVERYONE is after The Hero...

Next we see The Hero and his nephew strolling into another town. A table of four thugs (one is in blackface, and another is in whiteface make up!) see them, and they're ready to throw down for the gold. Of course The Hero disposes of the attackers with no problem whatsoever. During this segment, we are introduced to two new characters. The first we'll call "Thunder Palm," a young fighter who has also just learned about the bounty. He just kind of sits back and watches what happens here. The other character, we'll call "The Man In Black," played by Phillip Ko Fei. He actually saves Sao Chu from one of the four thugs while our Hero is busy beating the crap out of the other three. He is ALSO the killer of the three assassins in the forest! Is he on the side of The Hero???

After The Hero & kid leave town, we learn a little bit more about Thunder Palm. He is in love with his girlfriend, whom we will refer to from now on as "Girlfriend," and wants to claim the 1,000 taels of gold to give to her mother for Girlfriend's hand in marriage. (Which is stupid since the mother only wants 20 taels of silver!) He makes a promise to the mother, and then excitedly runs to his cabin in the woods (all the while doing flips and jumping in & out of 25 foot trees) and digs up his chest of Thunder Palm grenades (hence his name!). In comes Girlfriend, swinging in tarzan style (I kid you not...). Apparently Thunder Palm had burried his grenades after promising Girlfriend he would leave his old lifestyle of killing behind. Here comes the drama, and the sappy music, this time the theme from The Young & the Restless! And it pops up like five more times throughout the rest of the movie! Girlfriend once again begs Thunder Palm to never fight again, and he says he will not... She then takes his grenades down to the river and throws them in the water, unaware of the fact that Thunder Palm is spying on her so he can retrieve them later! This scene then cuts to Sao Chu and a bunch of other naked kids playing in the river, shown in slow motion I might add, while The Hero lays on the hill watching them with a big smile on his face. Talk about creepy...

All of a sudden arrows start flying from all sides towards our Hero! Some killers with crossbows try to collect the bounty, but once again, The Hero smears them. This scene has some hilariously bad wire work, and very entertaining use of dummies! After TCB'in, our Hero has his first actual face to face with The Man In Black. Great music plays whenever TMIB shows up, sounds like spacey Alan Parsons Project or some shit. They have a minor confrontation, which REALLY looks like Spy vs. Spy from MAD Magazine. TMIB is basically trying to find out how tough our Hero is. The fight ends with our Hero sustaining a minor injury, and this snippet of dialog...

TMIB: "You're the very first man.... who could withstand me."
Hero: "You're the only one... til now... who could hurt me."

...and TMIB walks off into the sunset.

So, to make an already too long story short, TMIB meets with the warlord's henchman and says he will kill The Hero, but such a difficult task will cost 10,000 gold taels. The henchman agrees, but only if TMIB kills the nephew also. TMIB agrees, and goes to take care of his only real threat to the bounty, Thunder Palm. They have a confrontation, and Thunder Palm drives him away with some grenades. The next day we see our Hero & Sao Chu continuing on in the woods, and out jumps Thunder Palm looking to collect the gold. The Hero overpowers Thunder Palm, and is about to slay him, but Girlfriend and Sao Chu beg for him to be spared. Cue Young & the Restless Theme again. The Hero spares Thunder Palm's life, but not before cutting off two of his fingers, leading to this unintentionally funny line:

Hero: "You've lost two fingers, but you can still use a hoe."

The Hero and his nephew continue on the journey and we cut to Thunder Palm & Girlfriend. Thunder Palm has once again promised to never fight again and they decide it's time to get married. After the Young & the Restless theme AGAIN, in comes TMIB to poop on their plans, and thinking that Thunder Palm is still a threat to the gold, carves him open like a turkey. He then rapes Girlfriend as Thunder Palm dies watching. Now Girlfriend vows to avenge her man's death. Next we see our Hero out on the trail, carrying Sao Chu in a basket on his back. TMIB catches up to them ready to fight. The Hero throws Sao Chu about 50 feet up into a tree for safety, and the fight is on. After a great Spy vs Spy fight, they come to an even lock up, TMIB confident he will emerge victorious. TMIB tells The Hero the mastermind behind the whole plot and then says...

TMIB: "I promise you that you will soon have a fine quality coffin!"

...and of course The Hero parries TMIB's secret weapon and defeats him. But what's this? Somehow, fifty feet up in the tree, the henchman appears and kidnaps Sao Chu. Also, Girlfriend once again swings in on a vine like Tarzan, and sees TMIB has been killed and she now owes our Hero a debt. He continues after the mastermind warlord and arrives at his humble abode. After getting attacked by an eagle (and plucking it clean in mid-air with his sword), he finds a note from the warlord telling him where to save Sao Chu. Off he goes. Along the way he paddles a boat half way across an exploding river (yes), and jumps the rest of the way across (about 100 feet) jumping off the surface of the water not once, but twice as a springboard. At the top of a hill, he finds Sao Chu, guarded by none other than Beardy! Oh, and about 20 archers. While busy with Beardy, two things happen. The evil warlord (Chan Sing) shows up and carries off Sao Chu, and a group of soldiers show up and take out the archers. Who the hell were they and where did they come from??? Anyway, our Hero kills Beardy, and makes his way to the hilltop where he gets blindfolded, his hands tied behind his back, and strung up from a tree. Out comes the warlord and we find out the criminal that was executed at the beginning of the film was his only relative, so now there is no one left to carry on the legacy of nasty evil warlord type stuff. He's got The Hero right where he wants him, and says...

Warlord: "How I hate you! I'll kill you! I'll drink your blood,
and eat your flesh! Every drop, every morsel!"

...and begins to slice & dice him.

Well guess who shows up when things look grim for our Hero? It's Girlfriend, and she's back to repay her debt. She throws a couple Thunder Palm Grenades, releases The Hero from warlord's kinky bondage, and promptly gets skewered. After a nice fight, our Hero defeats the warlord's Eagle Claw by hanging him. I mean come on, he wouldn't have been "The Hero" if he didn't live, right? He then rescues Sao Chu, they bury Girlfriend, and head off into the sunset, this time little Sao Chu pulling The Hero in the wagon! THE END. (What became of Sao Chu's mother!?)

This was a good movie. It had lots of classic KFC's¹ and the story was entertaining. The fights were good, The Hero was a very likable character, TMIB was a great villain, and also a there's cameo by Beardy! It would make excellent Saturday afternoon viewing, and I recommend it!

RATING:
3 ½ out of 5 Venoms

¹KUNG FU CLICHES: Classic dubbing, superhuman feats, hokey wire-work, insane dialog, stolen soundtrack, dummy abuse, plot left hanging, and more.

"Buddha bless you..."

Profile: Leung Kar-Yan

2009-03-08T18:31:00.026-04:00

For my first featured Face of Fu (how's THAT for alliteration!), I have chosen my favorite kung fu actor, Leung Kar-Yan. Leung Kar Yan (or Beardy, his nickname) started his acting career in the early/mid 70's. He had been a fan of director Chang Cheh's films, as well as Bruce Lee's movies. As his interest in kung fu movies progressed, he decided to visit a movie set to see how films were made. At the time, Chang Cheh was looking for talent, and Leung Kar-Yan decided to try his luck. Even though he had no prior acting experience, Leung Kar-Yan had his first acting job just a few days after his interview! His first film was Chang Cheh's "Shaolin Martial Arts" in 1974, and the rest is history!

While he started his career doing films for Chang Cheh that were distributed by Shaw Brothers, it wasn't until a few years later when he broke out and earned some bigger roles. In 1978 he hooked up with Sammo Hung for the film "Warriors Two" at Golden Harvest Studios. Some other excellent films he did around this time under the helm of Sammo Hung were "Enter the Fat Dragon," "Knockabout," and "The Victim." While displaying wonderful fighting in these films, Leung Kar-Yan also showed a flair for slapstick comedy, especially in the latter two. Some of his other popular movies during the end of the 70's and beginning of the 80's were "Sleeping Fist," "Thundering Mantis," and "Postman Strikes Back" co-starring a young Chow Yun-Fat. "Thundering Mantis" has one of my favorite ending scenes of all time. The normally happy-go-lucky Leung Kar-Yan gets pushed to his wits end.... and it just has to be seen to be believed!

During the mid-80's, Leung Kar-Yan decided to try his hand at directing films. In 1984, he directed his first movie, "Profile In Anger." Between 1990 and 2003 Leung Kar-Yan directed a few other movies. He had some success with his own films, but not as much as he saw earlier in his acting career. In 1997, Beardy once again teamed up with Sammo Hung, this time as his Assistant Director, on the set of Mr. Nice Guy, starring Jackie Chan. That film grossed over $45M in Hong Kong alone! Leung Kar-Yan continues to act in various action and comedy movies to this day.

Many attributes have cemented his position at the top of my list. Firstly, his seemingly effortless command of the martial arts is amazing. His forms are very fluid and graceful, whether it be his Mantis style in "Thundering Mantis" or his Wing Chun in "Warriors Two." I was amazed when I found out that he actually had NO formal martial arts or Peking Opera training! He basically just learned by mimicking the moves shown to him by his co-stars and action directors. ...And he learned from some of the best martial arts action directors in history, including Liu Chia-Liang, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Wo-Ping! Secondly, I find his acting to be great, especially considering he jumped right into the industry with no experience what-so-ever. Serious, slapstick, he can do it all. Be it a no nonsense villain, a bumbling two-timing crook, or an out of control fighter seeking revenge, he knew exactly what the role needed to make it entertaining. Finally, his trademark beard... Normally the beard signified a kung fu villain, but Beardy could sport it as a hero and still make it work. It makes him instantly recognizable, and even casual kung fu fans will usually remember Beardy!

RECOMMENDED VIEWING

Shaolin Martial Arts (1974)
Warriors Two (1978)
Knockabout (1979)
The Victim (1980)
Thundering Mantis (1980)

Here's the ending battle from "Thundering Mantis."

"Buddha bless you..."

Welcome

2009-03-06T04:51:00.012-05:00

Hey all you Fu Fanatics, and everyone else dropping by! Thanks for stopping in. Welcome to The Faces of Fu, a blog dedicated to old school Asian kung fu cinema from the 70's through the 80's, and beyond. Do you remember Saturday afternoons back in the day? After cartoons like Scooby-Doo, the Smurfs, and the Superfriends finished, you'd go to the kitchen and grab a PB&J and stir up some Nestle's Quik, come back out to the couch and change the channel to Black Belt Theatre for some serious ass-kicking, sword-swinging, skull cracking action! Those classic flicks with the crazy dubbing ("Why does that Chinese guy talk like John Wayne?" "How come that Shaolin Monk has an Australian accent?") and high speed fights were certainly a memorable part of my younger years, and I still love those movies to this day! This blog will cover many of those movies, as well as some of the familiar faces that seemed to pop up in a lot of the films, with profiles, bios, reviews, and lots of other related information.

In the 1970's and 1980's, these films were a staple of the grimy grindhouse cinemas like Cine 42 and The Empire on 42nd Street in New York City and others like them across the country. Up and down both sides of the street, the marquees would be filled with numerous kung fu, horror, sci-fi, exploitation, and porn titles. What I wouldn't give to be able to take a trip back in time to go see a triple feature like Shaolin vs. Manchu/Snuff Bottle Connection/5 Pattern Dragon which actually played at the Rialto Theatre on 42nd Street! Luckily, many of these movies have made it to DVD in all their scratched and faded glory so they can live on as more than just a memory of what once was...

So how did these films end up on your television set on Saturday? Well... while I'm deciding on a Face of Fu to feature in my next post, take a trip over to dvddrive-in.com and check out this article by Chris Poggiali. It's a great in depth article that covers how these movies and other drive-in type fare made it to your TV for your afternoon and late night viewing pleasure. And after that, be sure to check out Chris' blog Temple Of Schlock which features a great piece called "This Week on 42nd Street" which gives 'this day in history' theatre line-ups and lots of other movie goodness!

"Buddha bless you..."