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Buddafucco wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 29, 2020 7:02 pm

James Y wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 27, 2020 8:22 pm

Shaolin Martial Arts (1974) *This is possibly my favorite kung fu movie.*


Jim

Now I'm excited... this one is in next Sundays line up!

Hi, Buddafucco.

I don’t have El Rey Network, but I checked their schedule for next Sunday. All the Shaw Brothers films listed that day are very good. I also highly recommend Five Element Ninjas and Five Superfighters.

Shaolin Martial Arts (1974) is probably my favorite because of its story, and also, I believe it was the first kung fu movie to feature extended training scenes. It was Gordon Liu’s first movie (in a supporting role), and also the first movie for Wang Lung-Wei and Leung Kar-Yan (who play the two arch-fighting villains). Leung Kar-Yan is clean-shaven in this movie, and has a facial resemblance to Bruce Lee. The fight scenes are not as “refined” or as flashy as many later 1970s/early ‘80s kung fu films, but few kung fu films left as strong an impression on me as Shaolin Martial Arts did the first time I saw it.

Co-leading man, the late Alexander Fu Sheng, was at his physical peak (for performing kung fu) between 1974 and 1976. Co-leading man, Chi Kuan-Chun is still alive and in amazingly great shape today. Fu Sheng was only 20 when this movie was made.

After you’ve seen it, I’ll be curious to hear what you think about it.

Jim

When Tae Kwon Do Strikes (1973, Hong Kong and South Korea). Director: Huang Feng. Action directors: Sammo Hung & Chan Chuen.

This movie was lead star Jhoon Rhee’s only time acting in a movie. He was good friends with Bruce Lee, and had asked Lee about wanting to star in a movie of his own. So Bruce Lee pulled some strings at Golden Harvest Studio (and even helped create the storyline) for When Tae Kwon Do Strikes, specifically as a vehicle for Jhoon Rhee.

For anyone familiar with Jhoon Rhee, he is considered “The Father of Tae Kwon Do in America.” He was the first Korean TKD teacher to open a school in the US in the late 1950s, originally in Texas, and later relocated to the Washington, DC/Virginia area, where his many students included congressmen. One of Rhee’s earliest students, Allen Steen, defeated both Chuck Norris and Joe Lewis to win the Long Beach Internationals in 1966. Jhoon Rhee was also the person who invented the “Saf-T equipment”; the ubiquitous foam-dipped sparring gear (gloves, foot pads, helmets, etc.) worn by competitors in point karate tournaments.

Appearing with Jhoon Rhee was Anne Winton, who was one of his black belt students. Anne Winton held the distinction of being the very first Caucasian female martial artist to be featured in a Hong Kong martial arts film. It’s very clear that neither she nor Jhoon Rhee were real actors; but at least Jhoon Rhee’s self-confidence allowed him to give a fairly decent (if somewhat stiff) acting performance. Tragically, Anne Winton was murdered in 1982 in her home state of Virginia.

Although this movie was specifically made to showcase Jhoon Rhee, it’s really Angela Mao who keeps it together, with her intense charisma and fluid physical skills. Also featuring Hapkido master Hwang In-Shik, Hong Kong cinema’s first Korean super-kicker, who was excellent as usual as the arch-villain. Sammo Hung (who played one of the Japanese henchmen) also choreographed the fights, and it’s clear that even in the early ‘70s, Sammo Hung (who was only 21 years old at the time) had already begun developing into one of Hong Kong’s premiere fight choreographers, with his trademark multi-tiered final fights. His choreography evolved by leaps and bounds in later years.

Note: Unfortunately, the single best clip on YouTube that shows the final fight in its entirety also includes the entire final 30 minutes of the film, which has a scene of brief semi-nudity and an “adult situation,” so I will not post it here. This first clip has English dubbing, which somebody (whoever posted it to YouTube) tried to re-dub over in another language (possibly Russian).

Final fight, Part 1: Carter Wong vs Hwang In-Shik; Anne Winton vs Kim Ki-Ju:

https://youtu.be/WsSyVDiaSkc

Note: The first two minutes of this second clip is the opening credits sequence. The rest of the final fight begins at 2:11. The person who posted this second video isn’t the same person who posted the first one.

Final fight, Part 2 (from 2:11): Angela Mao vs Sammo Hung, Kim Ki-Ju & Hwang In-Shik; Jhoon Rhee vs Kenji Kazama; Jhoon Rhee vs Hwang In-Shik:

https://youtu.be/ysqiV6AiL48

Jim

By The Sword (1991, USA). Director: Jeremy Paul Kagan.

I had almost forgotten about this movie (for inclusion in this thread). Which is odd, because a classmate of mine at court reporting school (from 1993 to ‘98), Heidi Runyan, who was a fencing champion, had been an extra in the movie. She ended up quitting court reporting and became a successful fencing coach.

Final fight: F. Murray Abraham vs Eric Roberts:

https://youtu.be/-xH0maykLsk

Jim

James Y wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 29, 2020 8:40 pm

Buddafucco wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 29, 2020 7:02 pm

James Y wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 27, 2020 8:22 pm

Shaolin Martial Arts (1974) *This is possibly my favorite kung fu movie.*


Jim

Now I'm excited... this one is in next Sundays line up!

Hi, Buddafucco.

I don’t have El Rey Network, but I checked their schedule for next Sunday. All the Shaw Brothers films listed that day are very good. I also highly recommend Five Element Ninjas and Five Superfighters.

Shaolin Martial Arts (1974) is probably my favorite because of its story, and also, I believe it was the first kung fu movie to feature extended training scenes. It was Gordon Liu’s first movie (in a supporting role), and also the first movie for Wang Lung-Wei and Leung Kar-Yan (who play the two arch-fighting villains). Leung Kar-Yan is clean-shaven in this movie, and has a facial resemblance to Bruce Lee. The fight scenes are not as “refined” or as flashy as many later 1970s/early ‘80s kung fu films, but few kung fu films left as strong an impression on me as Shaolin Martial Arts did the first time I saw it.

Co-leading man, the late Alexander Fu Sheng, was at his physical peak (for performing kung fu) between 1974 and 1976. Co-leading man, Chi Kuan-Chun is still alive and in amazingly great shape today. Fu Sheng was only 20 when this movie was made.

After you’ve seen it, I’ll be curious to hear what you think about it.

Jim

So, i had seen Shaolin Martial Arts before. For some reason I'm horrible with remembering which Kung Fu movie is which. Actually, I'm starting to watch most of them and realizing I've already seen them before. They're still entertaining the 2nd time though. Maybe the title threw me off... I get it that the masters were former students of Shaolin but to have a Shaolin movie with no monks is odd.
I love the style vs style aspect of the main fight scenes. It makes each fight feel unique instead of the same thing over and over. Throw in some quirky but likeable masters and some secret weapon techniques and i can see why this is among your favorites. The stork technique fatality was good but that 1" punch at the end... Awesome!

Buddafucco wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 09, 2020 6:58 pm

So, i had seen Shaolin Martial Arts before. For some reason I'm horrible with remembering which Kung Fu movie is which. Actually, I'm starting to watch most of them and realizing I've already seen them before. They're still entertaining the 2nd time though. Maybe the title threw me off... I get it that the masters were former students of Shaolin but to have a Shaolin movie with no monks is odd.
I love the style vs style aspect of the main fight scenes. It makes each fight feel unique instead of the same thing over and over. Throw in some quirky but likeable masters and some secret weapon techniques and i can see why this is among your favorites. The stork technique fatality was good but that 1" punch at the end... Awesome!

Hi! Glad you liked it. I saw so many kung fu films back in the day, I’m amazed that I can even remember most of them. Shaolin Martial Arts was one that really stood out for me.

The ‘Shaolin’ in the title refers to the arts themselves, not to the temple. Actually, there were two Shaolin temples, one in the north and one in the south. In the movies about anti-Manchu rebels who practice southern kung fu styles, like Hung Gar/Hung Kuen and Choy Lee Fut (which contain the Tiger, Crane, Snake, Leopard and Dragon shapes), as well as Wing Chun, and rebels escaping from the burning of the temple by the Manchus, we are talking about the Southern Shaolin Temple.

‘Shaolin Martial Arts‘ is less about Shaolin-trained rebels organizing against the Manchus, and is more of a classic school vs school, style vs style kung fu movie. The protagonists and antagonists just happen to be Hans and Manchus. The training sequences involving Alexander Fu Sheng and Chi Kuan-Chun were Tarantino’s inspiration for Uma Thurman’s training scenes in Kill Bill Vol. 2.

I also love the finishing moves at the end. Some of my favorite kung fu movies involve villains who have mastered “Iron Shirt”/“Golden Bell” kung fu; internal and external training that renders the practitioner almost “invulnerable”, so the heroes have to train a special method to counteract it by exploiting their one hidden weakness. “Iron Shirt” (Tie Bu Shan) and “Golden Bell” (Jin Zhong Zhao) are real abilities that some martial artists develop through long, strict, meticulous training that must be carefully guided; but of course, these abilities are highly exaggerated in the movies.

Jim

This continues to be one of my favorite all time threads. Thanks Jim for taking the time to impart your knowledge here.

Five Element Ninjas is one of my favorites. Top 10 list for me.

Joe

The Mastiff wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 10, 2020 10:50 am

This continues to be one of my favorite all time threads. Thanks Jim for taking the time to impart your knowledge here.

Five Element Ninjas is one of my favorites. Top 10 list for me.

Joe

Thank YOU, Joe. Glad you’re enjoying it!

Jim

Lau Kar-Leung (Mandarin pronunciation: Liu Chia-Liang) Tribute.

Lau Kar-Leung (1936 - 2013) is considered the greatest kung fu movie action choreographer and director in history; IMO, he was also the greatest onscreen kung fu performer. A real-life master of Hung Gar kung fu and a renowned perfectionist, his forte was period kung fu films. He fully understood the difference between real kung fu and kung fu for the movies. Lau was also the originator of the kung fu comedy genre. In terms of his own onscreen performances, Lau Kar-Leung was that rare talent whose skills you never got enough of, and always wanted to see more of. His career in the movie industry spanned from 1953 to 2013.

The snippets in this tribute video were taken from the following movies, in no particular order:

Mad Monkey Kung Fu (1979)
Pedicab Driver (1989)
Challenge of the Masters (1976)
Drunken Monkey (2003)
My Young Auntie (1981)
Legendary Weapons of China (1982)
Heroes of the East (1978)
New Kids in Town (1990)
Operation Scorpio (1991)
The Lady is the Boss (1983)
Drunken Master 2 (AKA Legend of the Drunken Master; 1994)
The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter (1984)

https://youtu.be/babDrd26og4

Jim

Not a fight scene or even a movie clip; but a few posts ago, I mentioned Tie Bu Shan (Iron Shirt) and Jin Zhong Zhao (Golden Bell Cover) as it related to the movie Shaolin Martial Arts, as well as many other kung fu films featuring mostly villains depicted with skills that make them near-invincible and immune to blows. I also mentioned that these are real skills that some martial artists develop, but that they are exaggerated for the movies. I considered posting this in my Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread, but had already mentioned this stuff in earlier posts in this thread, so I’m posting it here. Also, it might help clear up some confusion some may have when seeing movie fight scenes that were posted with mostly villains who seem impervious to being struck (and in some cases, cut or stabbed; cinematic exaggerations, you know).

These abilities are known not only in some Chinese kung fu systems, but also in some traditional Okinawan karate systems. In fact, the best demonstration examples I could find on YouTube were of Okinawan-style karate practitioners. BTW, Okinawan karate styles were originally developed from older southern kung fu systems from Fujian, China.

This video was taken from a Japanese show, featuring American karate teacher Rod Sacharnoski, who teaches what he calls ‘Combat Ki’. If legit (and it looks real to me), it would be a karate version of Jin Zhong Zhao (Golden Bell Cover), often considered a higher development over Tie Bu Shan (Iron Shirt). The guest Japanese martial artist is the well-known former K1 kickboxer and MMA fighter Genki Sudo. So he isn’t one of Sacharnoski’s students, and therefore not likely to be influenced. I think it’s legit. They are taking full-force shots to the throat, groin, ribs, back of head/neck, etc.

Now, whether Sacharnoski’s method is safe and healthy to practice in the long-term, I have no idea. Nor do I know how it would work in the heat of actual combat or competitive fighting, which are dynamic situations, as opposed to demonstrations, which are controlled situations. But I remember reading something about him way back in the late ‘70s/early ‘80s. So he’s been doing his method and teaching it for a long time. And if anybody thinks the groin shots are a trick, and that all you need is an athletic cup to take a full-power groin shot like that, I dare them to try it. I’ve taken accidental semi-hard kicks to the groin during training with fully-contoured safety cups, and they still hurt. You certainly wouldn’t be smiling serenely afterwards.

Actual striking demos begin from 2:05, 3:48, and 9:20:

https://youtu.be/Bv6W_R2FSoE

Jim

I’m sure no one’s mention the fight scene from The Quiet Man, yet... classic Hollywood!

https://youtu.be/ZmvlcE3zHOg

ChrisinHove wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 12, 2020 6:26 am

I’m sure no one’s mention the fight scene from The Quiet Man, yet... classic Hollywood!

https://youtu.be/ZmvlcE3zHOg

Thanks for posting, ChrisinHove!

Jim

Legendary Weapons of China (1982, Hong Kong). Director: Lau Kar-Leung. Action directors: Lau Kar-Leung, Lee King-Chu & Hsiao Hou.

Note: I already posted the final weapons fight earlier in this thread.

Legendary Weapons of China was set circa 1900, around the time of the Boxer Rebellion. In this fight scene, Lau Kar-Leung’s character is trying to convince Gordon Liu’s ‘monk’ character that the clan/cult they belong to, which is dedicated to fighting against the invading foreigners and their guns with “magical powers,” that their tricks do NOT make them bullet proof, even if their bodies can resist blows from fists, as well as weapons such as spears; and that this belief will sacrifice the lives of their members. Both Lau Kar-Leung’s and Gordon Liu’s characters clearly possess a form of “Iron Shirt” or “Golden Bell Cover.”

In real life, Gordon Liu (birth name: Xian Jinxi) had studied Hung Gar kung fu at the school of Lau Cham, the father of Lau Kar-Leung. Because of the respect Gordon had for Lau Cham and his wife, he took on the name of Lau Kar-Fai (or in Mandarin: Liu Chia-Hui). He was NOT the adopted brother of Lau Kar-Leung and Lau Kar-Wing, as is often mistakenly believed. Unfortunately, in 2011, at age 56, Gordon Liu suffered a massive stroke, and has been living in a nursing home ever since.

Monk fight: Kara Hui, Hsiao Hou & Lau Kar-Leung vs Gordon Liu:

https://youtu.be/9kSbkbP7Afk

Jim

Last Hurrah For Chivalry (1979, Hong Kong). Director: John Woo. Action director: Fung Hak-On.

Note: I already posted another, later fight, along with the final fight, in an earlier post in this thread.

Hong Kong director John Woo is the same John Woo who directed several 1990s Hollywood action movies, including the 1997 movie Face/Off, which starred John Travolta and Nicholas Cage, among other films. IMO, John Woo was at his directorial peak circa 1979 to 1992. Most who are familiar with his work associate his films as “bullet ballets,” but others know that he began with kung fu and wuxia films. In the early ‘70s, he was a protege of legendary director Chang Cheh on the movie The Boxer From Shantung (1972; the final fight of which was posted earlier in this thread), which clearly had a heavy influence on Woo’s later works.

IMO, Last Hurrah For Chivalry is one of the finest wuxia films ever made. I personally like it more than the gangster films that John Woo later became famous for.

The swords used in this fight are not technically swords at all. Spyderco’s Bob Lum Darn Dao was based on and named after this weapon, which is referred to as Dao (Mandarin) or Do (Cantonese); when spoken with a neutral tone (no upward or downward inflection), it is the word for ‘knife,’ which is single-edged and curved. In Chinese, Jian (Mandarin) or Gim (Cantonese) is the word for ‘sword,’ which is usually straight and double-edged. ‘Darn Do (Cantonese), or Dan Dao (Mandarin) means ‘single knife’, as opposed to Shuang Dao (Mandarin) or Seung Do (Cantonese), meaning ‘double knives,’ or ‘double broadswords’, which are also seen in many movies. In English, this weapon is referred to as either saber/sabre or broadsword.

In this movie, the co-leading man, Wei Pai, was better known as one of the original “Five Venoms” in the Shaw Brothers classic The Five Deadly Venoms. But IMO, this movie was his best onscreen performance. In real life, Wei Pai was a practitioner of Hung Gar/Hung Kuen kung fu.

Saber duel (from 0:00 to 5:00): Wei Pai vs Fung Hak-On:

https://youtu.be/dPqwn2YlL6s

Jim

Legend (2015; UK, France). Director: Brian Helgeland.

IMO, Legend ranks among the best, and most underrated, gangster films of all time. The story of the Kray twins, Reggie and Ronnie, both played by Tom Hardy, one of the very best character actors. The way Hardy portrayed both twins, each with his own unique personality, mannerisms, appearance, voice, etc., is simply astonishing. You actually forget they were played by one man.

Warning: This clip contains strong language.

Bar fight: Tom Hardy (and Tom Hardy) vs Richard Riddell and other thugs:

https://youtu.be/X2bVAGMwi8M

Jim

The Young Avenger (1980, Hong Kong). Director: Wilson Tong. Action directors: Wilson Tong & Wong Siu-Yu.

Full movie.

Director Wilson Tong, who also plays the arch-villain, is probably familiar to casual fans who may recognize his face from a small role in Enter the Dragon, as one of Han’s men, who got kneed in the groin by Angela Mao. However, he had a long career in Hong Kong kung fu films. Some fans in the West refer to him as “The Foot Doctor,” for the unique kicking style that he demonstrated in The Victim (1979), and briefly in this movie, during the final fight.

Leading man Wong Yue (1955 - 2008) was best known for playing con man roles. Some kung fu movie buffs have considered his screen fighting to be weak, which was not the case, as this movie showed. In fact, The Young Avenger features possibly the best screen fighting performance of Wong Yue’s career; he fights much more aggressively here than in any of his more famous films at Shaw Brothers Studio. Perhaps Wilson Tong was able to give him more leeway here, considering this film was from an independent company. Whether fans loved Wong Yue or found his characters annoying, for the most part, the movies he was in were usually good, and some were even great. Funny enough, Wong Yue always reminded me of a cousin of mine, as they bore an uncanny facial resemblance to each other.

Some of the soundtracks from the spaghetti western, Duck, You Sucker! (AKA, A Fistful of Dynamite) by Ennio Morricone were used in the movie.

(From 1:01:15): Wong Yue vs Cecilia Wong & Norman Chu:

(From 106:53): Wong Yue vs Norman Chu:

(From 1:13:45): Wong Yue vs Chiang Tao:

(From 1:17:30): Final fight: Wong Yue vs Wilson Tong:


https://youtu.be/uv1VKvk4Zsk

Jim

Four Riders (1972, Hong Kong; filmed in South Korea). Director: Chang Cheh. Action directors: Tong Kai & Lau Kar-Leung.

The choreography and execution of the fight scenes in Four Riders were far better than the average early-‘70s “basher-style” martial arts/action film. Most “basher-style” films were kung fu films that usually did not feature any special ‘styles’, but the typical karate-type punch/kick/chop/flip style of fighting, often sloppily executed by actors with little actual martial arts training. If you can imagine any of Bruce Lee’s movies, think of everybody else in the movie except for Bruce and the main villains, and you get “basher-style.” This style of choreography was prominent in Hong Kong cinema from about 1970 to about 1975. My favorite “basher-style” movie is The Boxer From Shantung” (1972), also directed by Chang Cheh, which starred Chen Kuan-Tai, which I posted much earlier in this thread. But the choreography in Four Riders is another one of the better examples of “basher” choreography. It’s obvious that Ti Lung, Chen Kuan-Tai, and Yasuaki Kurata were experienced martial artists, and Wang Chung and David Chiang looked good, too. Except for the gunplay. It looks like the choreographers (Tong Kai and Lau Kar-Leung), great as they were at directing kung fu fights, didn’t really understand how guns and bullets worked.

From around 1973/‘74, kung fu films featuring “shapes” (i.e., animal styles and other imitative forms, including “Drunken” style, etc.), started becoming more popular. Besides becoming more refined and sophisticated, later films featuring “shapes” paved the way for more and different storylines than previously.

Four Riders was set in 1953, right after the Korean War, but of course, some of the clothing styles make it appear otherwise, especially the late ‘60s/early ‘70s fashion worn by Tina Chin Fei.

Note: For many years, I assumed that the name of the ‘80s band Wang Chung was chosen on a lark after they saw a Shaw Brothers movie starring Wang Chung (who played the acrobat/protagonist in this movie), but it wasn’t. The band’s real inspiration was “huang zhong” (yellow bell), the first note in the Chinese classical music scale, and they just coincidentally decided to spell it ‘Wang Chung‘.

Final fight, part 1; Ti Lung, Chen Kuan-Tai & Wang Chung vs Yasuaki Kurata, Tina Chin Fei, and thugs:

https://youtu.be/iF2uFjiXe-w

Final fight, part 2; Ti Lung, Wang Chung, & David Chiang vs Yasuaki Kurata and thugs:

https://youtu.be/Gm5IcdqcmoQ

Jim

Unforgiven

https://youtu.be/KmhGYB4NdYc

"Well he should've armed himself if he's gonna decorate his saloon with my friend."

remnar wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 28, 2020 11:16 pm

Unforgiven

https://youtu.be/KmhGYB4NdYc

"Well he should've armed himself if he's gonna decorate his saloon with my friend."

Great scene from a great film. Thanks.

Jim

The Young Master (1980, Hong Kong). Director: Jackie Chan. Action directors: Jackie Chan & Fung Hak-On.

Note: I posted the final fight between Jackie Chan and Hwang In-Shik on page 1 of this thread. I’m surprised I hadn’t posted this scene along with it.

The arch-villain (played by Korean Hapkido master Hwang In-Shik) escaping from police captivity. His associates were played by Lee Hoi-Sang, Fung Hak-On & Wei Pai. This is a brief but very powerful scene allowing Hwang In-Shik’s character to unleash his full power on his captors, also showing what Jackie Chan’s character was going up against later in the final fight. This choreography allowed Hwang In-Shik to show he was far more than a punching/kicking bag for Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee (Way of the Dragon), Angela Mao (When Tae Kwon Do Strikes, Stoner, The Tournament, etc.) or Jhoon Rhee (When Tae Kwon Do Strikes), among others. This was also one of the early scenes in Hong Kong cinema where the stuntmen literally had to get the snot kicked out of them, with actual heavy body contact. And they are sent flying like debris in a hurricane. Although filming kung fu and action films in Hong Kong was always dangerous, compared to the 1960s and 1970s, the ‘80s was when heavier body contact became the norm rather than the exception, for both stuntmen and screen fighters in Hong Kong action films.

https://youtu.be/rXmbwXzf5Qo

Jim

Moon Lee Fight Compilations.

These are only two of the fight compilation videos featuring Moon Lee (AKA, Lee Choi-Fung). Don’t let her innocent ‘schoolgirl’ look fool you; Moon Lee was one of the finest and most ferocious screen fighters of the 1980s and ‘90s, male or female. IMO, she was head and shoulders above her more famous contemporary, Michelle Yeoh, in terms of her technique and ability to deliver intense action. Moon Lee, like Michelle Yeoh, came from a dance background. Moon Lee has admitted that she learned martial arts only for the screen, making her only appear like she could fight. Nevertheless, she looked better and more convincing than most real-life martial artists are able to come across onscreen. She was also physically and mentally tough, and suffered numerous injuries during filming; one of which, a stunt that involved an ill-timed explosion in 1989, put her and two of her co-stars into a hospital for months, and nearly ended her career. She recovered and went on to perform for many more years before she finally retired from acting.

https://youtu.be/cMldcRZg-54

My favorite in this one begins at 5:58:

https://youtu.be/ipxRhTzYPwc

Jim