Happy Birthday Sun Chien!

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!"

Happy Birthday Sonny Chiba!

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!"

Profile: Carter Wong

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..."

Profile: Hwang Jang-Lee

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..."

Profile: Chiang Sheng

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..."

Profile: Leung Kar-Yan

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..."