The Vengeful Beauty

1978

Director: Ho Meng Hua

Starring: Chen Ping, Lo Lieh, Tsui Siu Keung, Yueh, Hua, Wang Lung Wei, Shaw Yin Yin

Three years after directing the popular and influential, but ultimately spotty kung fu suspense pic, "The Flying Guillotine", prolific auteur Ho Meng Hua returns with a far more lively and entertaining sequel. This time around though, the famed weapons of mass decapitations  make only a cursory appearance.

Emperor Yung Cheng has been secretly using a band of assassins armed with the dreaded flying guillotines to dispatch a number of writers and scholars who have dared speak out against him (he's known to be a benevolent ruler and doesn't want his fake reputation tarnished; what a great guy). With word spreading that he himself is behind the murders, Yung finds a scapegoat in his chief officer, Han Tian Di. Working quickly, the emperor sends his most trusted guard, Jin Gang Feng (Lo Lieh) to slaughter his entire family. However  Han's wife, Rong Qui Yan (Chen Ping) survives. Doubling as a masked avenging angel, Rong initially attempts to avenge for her husband's murder but as she's two months pregnant, she decides to go into hiding instead. Knowing he is done for if the emperor discovers the survivor, Jin quietly sends his three children out one at a time to locate and silence Rong once and for all. Fortunately for Rong, she meets up with a remorseful ex-guillotine assassin, Ma Sen (Tsui Siu Keung) and former classmate, Wang Jun (Yueh Hua) and the three plot to bring an end to Jin.

Running a mere 78 minutes in length, "The Vengeful Beauty" moves furiously from one episode to the next while bearing all the hallmarks of a rushed production. Characters and plot points which are introduced or merely hinted at, quickly disappear from the proceedings. The emperor himself appears only at the beginning and is soon forgotten about, allowing Lo Lieh's Jin to assume boss baddie status. Rong's masked avenger disguise seemed at the beginning like it was going to be the main thrust of her character's story, only for the concept to get tossed away almost instantly. The Ma Sen character is hinted to be the same one as that played by Chen Kwan Tai in the original Flying Guillotine film (he even carries the same steel umbrella as in the previous pic), but it's never made clear. Most telling of all are the flying guillotines themselves. After being shown through flashbacks in the narrated opening sequence, the launched hatbox executioners make an appearance just shy of the thirty minute mark... and are never seen again! While it all sounds crippling to a movie like this, these moves not only do no harm, but the film bizarrely flourishes in part because of it. There is nary a dead moment to be found and not once as a viewer did I find myself wishing for the pacing to slow down so I could catch my breath. As a result, this is one of the most purely entertaining Shaw films that I have yet seen. The top notch action highlights are many and varied; we have the aforementioned lone guillotine battle, a strikingly visual ambush in a bamboo forest (perhaps the most impressive sequence in the film), a short, but welcome femme fight between Rong and Jin's topless daughter (Shaw Yin Yin), uncomfortable moments of Rong being beaten (remember, she's pregnant!) and a fairly wild finale featuring a half dozen or so Lo Lieh lookalikes.

The cast put forth some very strong work, belying the film's obvious 'B' movie status. Star Chen Ping has always been convincing in both the semi nude seductress and fighting warrior roles. She does much of her own fighting here and is only doubles for the more difficult flips and stunts. Lo Lieh is at his menacing best (then again, when isn't he?), yet somehow manages to bring a (very) small bit of sympathy to his role as he does what he does out of fear for his own family's safety. Yueh Hua is simply one of The Shaw studio's finest pure actors and certainly brings an air of realism despite his character being somewhat underwritten (don't want to give away too much about this character for those who have yet to see the film). It was interesting to see Tsui Siu Keung get such a large part as this point in his career. He was mostly relegated to small supporting roles and was hardly a known commodity. His screen presence is strong and proves that he can tackle a lead role if given the opportunity. He would get many more in the not too distant future.

Released the same year as the troubled, yet equally deliriously entertaining "Flying Guillotine 2" (which Ho did not direct as he was knee deep at that juncture in the King Kong clone, Might Peking Man, a troubled production in it's own right), "The Vengeful Beauty" may be short on decapitating hatbox attacks and a sensible narrative, but it easily makes up for it with it's lightning fast pace, strong performances from it's cast and wonderful action set pieces (some of the best that the Shaw studios put forth up to this point. Great trashy entertainment and highly recommended. 

Rating: 8/10

Jumping Ash

1976

Director: Josephine Siao Fong Fong/Leung Po Chi

Starring: Ga Lun, Josephine Siao Fong Fong, Chen Sing, Michael Chan Wai Man, Nick Lam Wei Kei

This incredible little film is a perfect example of how not to judge a book by it's cover. Jumping Ash was one of several dozen Hong Kong vhs rentals courtesy of Ocean Shores that resided in my local video store back in the late 80s. It was also one of the few that I never bothered to rent. The cover seemed bland, the title didn't stand out for me and the modern day setting told me that this film was probably not going to be Fu friendly (which at that juncture was pretty much all that mattered to me). So I ignored it and forgot about it. Then about five years ago, the title was brought up in a very favorable way. I had only a vague memory of it at that point and made it my business to hunt it down (no easy task as it never received a dvd release). Finally getting my hands on a dupe (good luck finding the original vhs at this point), I decided to give it a watch and was so engrossed with it that I watched it again later that same evening. 

Marking the directorial debut of Leung Po Chi with assistance from actress turned part time filmmaker, Josephine Siao (who also doubles here as our main hero's put upon special lady friend), Jumping Ash stars an excellent and charasmatic  Ga Lun as small time detective, Callan Leong ( a cross between Popeye Doyle and Frank Serpico) who's out to bust big time drug kingpin, Tung (an effectively smarmy Nick Lam). Both cop and crimelord find their paths alternately dogged by a pair of killers from Amsterdam (the ever welcome pairing of old school martial art heavies Michael Chan and Chen Sing), the former hired to protect Tung while the latter looking to relieve him of his goods. When Callan ultimately oversteps his bounds and finds himself relieved of his duties, an unexpected alliance is formed...

Released in 1976, Jumping Ash has the look and feel of it's time period and yet it conversely features a frantic, off the cuff filming style that would not be found in Hong Kong cinema until the following decade. Despite it's low budget and depressing natural scenery, this film jumps right out at you from the get-go. It's quite obvious that what we're watching here is a group of young and talented  filmmakers who were truly looking to make something special and different. To that end, they succeeded admirably and then some. There is barely a slow or wasted moment during it's ninety-odd minutes and you truly feel as though you are privy to an actual police procedure. This is in part, due to the fact that the story itself is largely ripped right off the Hong Kong headlines lending the pic a welcomed unhealthy and downright dangerous atmosphere throughout. Even when the film bravely ventures into comedic episodes (the scene with the hooker is a riot and wait until you see where Callan decides to stash his new found Amsterdam ally), it somehow rings utterly true in spite of itself. Inspired work by all involved.

Complete with a quirky music score (one which led to a hit album, no less), Jumping Ash became a sensation in it's native land where it went on to become the highest grossing action film of the year. This is a film designed to appeal to the locals but it is such a pitch perfect and sure handed vehicle that it could be appreciated by anyone who's a fan of superior action movie making. A must-see.

Rating: 10/10

                                                       

Dragon and Tiger Joint Hands

1973

 Director: Yueng Jing Chan

Starring: Anthony Chan Keung, Shut Chung Tin, Cheung Kam, Hsieh Hsing, Jack Long Sai Ga

After being rescued from the hangman's noose for a crime unbefitting the punishment, Chinh Hsiang (Anthony Chan Keung) returns to his village home after a three year absence. There he discovers local bully turned tyrant, Tien Pioa in league with the Japanese and bleeding the poor farmers for all they possess. At first Chihn refuses to help fearing it would merely cause more problems. However, the killing of his school's teacher (Jack Long) ultimately causes him to rethink his stance. 

This is a solid Basher containing characters and plot points that are brought into sharper and more detailed focus than one is accustomed to seeing in these films. Director Yeung Jing Chan (who doubled as producer here and whose few credits span the entire spectrum of the Hong Kong action biz, ending with 1992's Gambling Ghosts Are Ready) does well to keep the material feeling fresh. This type of story has been told countless times before, but rarely was I as caught up in the characters' plights as I was here. Unfortunately, it couldn't quite sustain it's tension and by the final reels, it felt like a bit of a stretch (Chinh ultimately takes what feels like an exorbitant amount of time before deciding to go into action). But that is forgiven when faced with some of the best fight action of this period. All of the many battles are quite exciting and unpredictable (always a plus with these things) and build well up until the finale which is particularly vicious. 

All in all, Dragon and Tiger Joint Hands is a well done little spitfire of a film with good work put in by all involved. Old School Fu fans in particular will enjoy watching a young Jack Long in pre-Seven Grandmasters style punch and kick action.

Rating: 7/10

Two Toothless Tigers

1980

Director: Sammo Hung

Starring: Sammo Hung, Yuen Shun Yee, Wang Lung Wei,  Chung Fat, Lee Hoi San

I've always said that I can enjoy or at least bare with a bad Hong Kong movie as long as the action is good. Sammo Hung has done several that fit into this category (the Lucky Stars films immediately come to mind), but never has there been a more extreme example of this than the awkward and downright dull Two Toothless Tigers... which just happens to contain some of the finest fight footage ever filmed.

The plot of this surprisingly disinteresting caper centers around restaurant owner, Pao (Sammo) and his dimwitted nephew, Ah Chin (Yuen Shun Yee).Chin it seems, is not in tune with the ways of the world and through his naivete (to put it politely) continuously gets himself in trouble with the local thugs. Attempting to impress a gang with his cooking talents, he instead unwittingly insults one of the lower ranks. Trying to make peace, Chin is tricked into trashing an antiques shop and finds himself owing much financial compensation and facing jail time as a result. As a solution to this little problem, he gets himself involved with a scheme to procure a treasure map from a vicious criminal...

While the basic plot is a flimsy shaggy dog-type deal, it is certainly workable enough to create some magic considering the amount of talent involved. That the end result is as uninspiring as it is, is surprising to say the least. I've watched this film twice all the way through (the second time in preparation for this review) and I'll be damned if I can remember some of the tired shenanigans that go on in the first half. This is flat filmmmaking, plain and simple. Luckily, the picture is somewhat rescued (by my account, anyway) by several insanely great martial arts bouts. After being lulled to a near comatose state throughout the first fifty-odd minutes, these fights are a truly jolting shot of adrenaline. I can't emphasize enough how amzing these bouts are, even by Sammo's normally sky high standards. The highlight here may be the prelim bout between bad guys Wang Lung Wei and Chung Fat. This brief, but explosive bout ranks as one of the finest and most breathtaking ever (yes EVER) and the others rank close behind. To say it's a shame that there weren't a few more of these populating the pic would be a tremendous understatment.

Ultimately, Two Toothless Tigers tried very hard to get me to dislike it, but the mind blowing battles that populate it's second half prevented me from doing so... if only just barely.

Rating: 5/10

                           

Vengeance Is Mine

 

1997

Director: Lam Chin Wai

Starring: Yukari Oshima, Ben Ng Ngai Cheung, Lung Fong, Pai Ying

Here's a fairly slow paced and incredibly cheaply made production that was shot on videotape (ugh!) and intended as either a direct to video release or possibly made for t.v. (the HKMDB lists it as the latter). Sounds pretty lousy, I know. So, why would anyone be interested in watching it? The answer, because it stars Yukari Oshima. Yes STARS Yukari Oshima as in The Osh finally gets the lead role all to herself after years of taking secondary (or even lesser) roles in so very many films. And this little cheapie flick proves what we die hard Yukari fans had long suspected, that our heroine could not only carry an entire production all by her lonesome, but would be as compelling as any screen actor or actress around in doing so. 

 Once you get past the terrible look and casual pacing of the film, you will discover a tour de force Osh performance, one written to allow her to transform from innocent victim to murderous avenger. Yukari portrays Angel Lee, a newly married Asian American who finds her blissful honeymoon interrupted by five masked thieves. They murder her husband in front of her and then take turns raping her (the camera carefully concentrating on Osh's ever expressive eyes and clenched fists, allowing the viewer to experience the pain and horror along with her). Now all but dead inside, Angel sets about finding her assailants. Initially agreeing to help the police in their investigation, Angel grows increasingly bitter and desperate as the years go by without a single lead. All the time staying put eerily at her dead husband's residence, Angel finally decides enough is enough. Training herself in various forms of self defense, she slowly goes from rumpled and sad victim to ultimately striking looking avenging... well, angel. Tracking down her assailants, she discovers they are now all doing very well for themselves as rich businessmen through their ill gotten gains. Attaining assistance from her sister in law, an aspiring model and actress who's been lured into the seedy world of porn filmmaking coincidentally by one of Angel's attackers, our avenger goes into action. In ever increasing brutality, she gorily shoots and stabs her way through the ranks of each now well to do enemy. During this process, it is clear that Angel has "come back to life", her pained expressions giving way to the kind of cold, yet wildly determined stares that only Yukari can convey. The police chief feeling sorry for her plight, decides to briefly look the other way while gently trying to persuade her to hand over the evidence she gathered (and that they infuriatingly could not), but she refuses. By the time Angel shows up at the head baddie's estate, she is clad in black and looking like the baddest little lady on the face of the earth.

Again, it really is a shame that the choice was made to film this on videotape as it contains one of the awesome Osh's finest and most majestic roles. The action itself is only second rate (perhaps the biggest casualty of the absence of nitrate), but Yukari's amazing intensity here easily makes up for it. Appearing in nearly every scene, this film allows her the most screen time of her career (the only other film I can think of where she takes the loan lead is the 1991 drama, The Angels which annoyingly enough, was also shot on video!) and will have fans lamenting that she wasn't given more opportunities like this throughout her nearly seventy (!) film career.

Rating: 7/10

It's Now or Never

1992

Director" Chan Kwok Hei

Starring: Sharla Cheung Man,  Alfred Cheung, Cynthia Khan, Ng Man Tat

It's Now or Never is one of the hidden gems of Hong Kong cinema. Many outside it's country of origin have not heard of this wonderful oddity. I got my first and only exposure to this title via the fun genre book, "Sex and Zen and a Bullet in the Head". Penned in 1997 by Stefan Hammond and Mike Wilkins, it largely covered ground that most hard core buffs were already familiar with (if even just recently so in some cases). This movie however, was an exception and after finally viewing it, it's easy to understand why this bit of craziness was so championed by the authors.

The film opens with a bang, Over the driving beat of The Surfaris' Wipeout, we are introduced to a gang of early 1960s-style Teddy Girls led by Rose (Cheung Man) and her little sis, Tracy (Rain Lau). Always looking for trouble (of course), this lot frequently finds it. In this instance, they start a major brawl at a dance over boyfriend thievery.Hauled off to jail, they are quickly bailed out by Rose's father, Wong Tat (Ng Man Tat) who puts on a sob story for the ages that reduces many of the cops to tears. As we soon learn however, Wong is no martyr. On the contrary, he is quite the gigolo who often entertains his clients in his own bedroom... with his daughters in the next room no less. The girl gang draws the ire of a tough, vindictive policewoman (Chan Hui Ying) who has made it her business to shadow their every move. Rose in the meantime, has caught the eye of nerdy, lovesick cop, Shing (Alfred Cheung). The real trouble however comes in the form of Loan Shark Wong (Wong Chi Keung)  who on the behest of a jilted client, means to shake down gigalo papa Wong over mucho unpaid bills. In a bid to help Daddy Dearest, Rose enlists the smitten Shing while offering herself to the shy mama's boy as gratitiude.

It's Now or Never is that rarest of animals; a perfectly realized black comedy from Hong Kong. Director Chan Kwak Hei takes what would otherwise be thoroughly repellant material and manages to brilliantly weave a lightning fast satire that's as subtly hilarious as it is fun and exciting to watch.There is nary a false note to be found anywhere. Chan's nutty masterpiece has been compared to the works of John Waters (which appears to be the main influence here), but it manages to connect it's dark humor with it's strong entertainment value more effectively (and yes, subtly) than Waters has ever manged.

The cast as well, are all note-perfect. The gorgeous Cheung Man (Sharla Cheung) is an actress I'm familiar with, but have not been overly exposed to. This was due to her appearances in films that I wasn't too terribly interested in (early Stephen Chow comedies, various gangster melodramas). Seeing her in this movie is something of a revelation. Filmed in loving closeup, Cheung's Rose is one of the great ice queens; heartless and conniving, the character is ultimately softened (somewhat) by the selflessness of her would-be suitor. Ng Man Tat has appeared in so many comedies during this period (he was a regular sidekick in the aforementioned Stephen Chow pics), that he must have been one of the most in demand character actors in the industry. He is at his loathsome, scene stealing best here and it's to his credit and the film's that you feel some measure of sympathy toward this morally bankrupt character. Playing Little Bun, Rose's closest ally, Cynthia Khan gets to take a break from her action diva status and nearly steals the film. Playing against type as a wimpy, man hungry gang member, Khan is a riot as she attempts to get out of various fights by threatening to use her deadly Eagle Claw Kung Fu and getting her lovely rear end handed to her in each instance. It is no coincindence that she finally reveals her inner courage against a man as she applies her Eagle Claw to the groin (all that's missing is a shot of two eggs cracking as in the classic Fu feature, Invincible Armor).

It's a crime that a film as striking and original as It's Now or Never has yet to receive a dvd release (laserdisc and vcd only). It truly is a lost gem of a film that deserves rediscovering.

Rating: 8/10

and the trailer is pretty amazing, too...

Bloody Mafia (aka Red Mafia)

1994

Director: Ca Sa Fa (Casanova Wong)

Starring: Ca Sa Fa

  

Ca Sa Fa (birth name, Kim Yong-Ho but better known around these parts as Casanova Wong as I'll be referring to him from this point on) has always been one of my favorite screen kickers. Many consider him second only to Hwang Jang Lee and I'd certaintly concur with that. There are times where I think he's even Hwang's equal. The Korean super kicker (and ex Marine) was featured in many a Hong Kong martial arts pic of the late 70s and early 80s where his amazing skills were put to good use (see The Master Strikes elsewhere in this blog). I was aware that he worked onscreen in his native South Korea as well, but was completely unaware of this nasty little number, Bloody Mafia until recently. It was to be his last screen appearance (to the best of my knowledge) and on top of that, he sat in the director's chair for this one as well.

Normally here is where I'd give you a brief rundown of the plot. Unfortunately, this is one of those films that came sans any kind of english friendly translation; no subs, no dub, nothin'; just raw Korean and unfortunately I don't speak the language. Your fearful er, fearless author here was going to press on regardless as it seemed a straightforward enough story UNTIL I came across an actual plot description from the website "Rare Kung Fu Movies" which I'll share here assuming (hoping) they don't mind;

"Kang-ho is a man who believes loyalty is the highest human virtue. He befriends Geo-ryong who takes him into the mob led by Chung Dong-nam. Kang-ho becomes an underworld celebrity when he infiltrates and destroys a powerful international drug cartel. Geo-ryong falls for Kang-ho's younger sister Hye-rim. Meanwhile, Kang-ho and Geo-ryong try to mentor Oh-bong who tries to leave the organization but the organization attacks him before they can take him under their wings. He narrowly escapes death and is moved by their friendship. When the two friends realize that Dong-nam has been using his men for his own gain, they are angered beyond words and decide to attack him on Geo-ryong and Hye-rim's engagement day. But tragedy befalls them when Geo-ryong is killed. The sight of Geo-ryong's body devastates everyone at the party. During the final confrontation between Kang-ho and Dong-nam, Oh-bong sacrifices his life to save Kang-ho. Kang-ho deals the final deadly blow to Dong-nam for Oh-bong and Geo-ryong."

Drawing inspiration from several gangster genres (the horse's head gag from The Godfather is recreated here using a pig's head... with intestines added for good measure), Wong's direction is ambitious. Perhaps too ambitious for the film's obvious miniscule budget.This tends to give off a level of cheesiness that seems to be at odds with the dead serious and sometimes melodramatic tone of the film. Adding to this are several long soft core sex scenes. I get it, it comes with the territory. But it felt like there was at least one too many and they each went on for several minutes. Even Wong himself has a randy sex scene with a nightclub singer and soon to be girlfriend... and eventual ex-girlfriend. True, he finally lives up to his Casanova moniker, but this isn't exactly the kind of "action" I want to see our director/star involved in. I want to see Casanova Wong, the boot master, not the booty master. Fortunately, there's plenty of the more traditional action as well as there are a half a dozen or so fights scenes (possibly more, I lost count) on display and they are nothing less than spectacular! These are probably the best fight scenes I have ever seen in a Korean production and that alone makes this film a must-see. Wong may be a bit older, but he shows no signs of aging as he and his co-stars (including one who fights with crutches!) all show amazing form and lightning fast speed combined with choreography that matches the best of that in Hong Kong movies of this vintage. Only some choppy editing takes away from it just a tad. There's also a fair amount of gore on display, particularly the gruesome moment where Wong chomps part of a rival's nose off!

I need to mention one particular moment that may have been the single cheesiest thing I have ever seen in a movie (let that set in for a second); Wong's introduction to his would be squeeze takes place in (appropriately) a nightclub. In the background, you can hear Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You playing and I at first assumed it was being used for mood music. But nooo, as the camera drew closer it became obvious that the nightclub singer herself was supposed to be singing this to Wong! Never mind that the song sounds like it's coming from another room rather than from her vocal chords and never mind that it was obvious she didn't know the english lyrics (I have no idea what she was actually singing)... The final effect was truly an out of body experience that nearly had me on the floor laughing. My goodness...

Did I mention that the plentiful fights are spectacular?

Rating: 5/10

Lethal Hunter (aka American Hunter)

1988

Director: Arizal

Starring: Chris Mtichum, Bill Wallace, Ida Iasha, Mike Abbott

When it comes to heaping helpings of mindless action fun, few director's aim to please like Indonesia's own Arizal. One of that country's most noted and productive filmmakers, Arizal (gotta love that single name moniker) directed over fifty films and countless t.v. episodes dating back to 1974. Among his most noted pictures here in the West are the wonderfully goofy and full throttled cheese fest, The Stabilizer (which incredibly recieved an official U.S. dvd release via Troma) and the gory, freaky action/horror pic, Special Silencers (starring Barry Prima). Seeking more international appeal, the director was able to lure B-action film fave Chris (second son of Bob) Mitchum. The pairing seemed to have brought out the best in both. They first merged their talents in the 1986 nasty, downbeat, yet outrageously over the top revenge epic, Final Score. Two years later, they re-teamed for Lethal Hunter (re-titled American Hunter outside of Asia). This time, Arizal mostly ditched the dark atmosophere for a more devil may care approach and added heaping helpings of martial arts mayhem.

Mitchum plays Jake Carver; lethal hunter of badguys... and all 'round cool-cat. Jake finds himself at odds with a nasty gang who are trying to get their hands on a microfilm which contains sensitive information that can wreak havoc on Wall Street and could concievably bring a total collapse to the western world.

The basic plot setup serves as an excuse for what is really just one long chase and fight sequence. The film hits the ground running a mere two minutes in as a flabby local crashes his motorcycle through an office (guns a blazing) in order to steal the all-important microfilm. From there, the chase is on. There is scarcely a moment that goes by when there isn't some form of exciting and/or humorous mayhem occuring on screen. Awkward, yet energetic bouts that often give way to some painful looking stunts (the influence of 80s style of Hong Kong action on full display) as well as some really dangerous car stunts and even an unbelieveable mid film helecopter chase and bout (though admittedly, this sequence was a bit more exciting in concept than in execution). Arizal for the most part paces the proceedings well, never allowing it to become tedious and dull. Just when you think the chases may start to become repetitive, a major martial art bought or two is inserted.

As for Chris Mitchum; like his older brother Jim, Chris acclimated himself well to the B-movie action scene of the late 70s and 80s. He's not the iconic actor that dear old dad was, but he really gave it his all in each of his many films and this must have sat well with Arizal as he had young Mitch perform several of his own dangerous stunts like hanging on to the top of a speeding car and shattering through a window bare chested. The exception being when it came to the stunts he simply couldn't physically do (no more hilarious an example than in his first scene where his double had to do a back flip to avoid a bullet). He obviously is not an accomplished martial arts fighter (on screen, anyway), but the various local extras certaintly did their best to make him look convincing. For a ringer, Arizal brought in mega-kicker, Bill "Superfoot" Wallace. A dependable bad guy (one exaggerated sneer from him is all it takes), Wallace was given a lot of respect here by not only out dueling Carver's sifu, but for the most part, Carver as well (their penulimate bout on a train serves as a highlight). Mike Abbott (star of many Joseph Lai/Godfrey Ho films of this period) is effective as the beefy muscle headed co-conspirator. Peter O'Brien is known for playing the lead in Arizal's The Stabilizer as well as Rambu (yes, as in Rambo) in the infamous, The Intruder. Here he is playing of all things, a whimpy bad guy whom Carver eliminates early on. Ida Iasha plays Carver's love interest (she's the one whom the bad guys are after for the all important micro film) and proves to be a good sport as she is kidnapped not once, not twice, but thrice by the baddies! Repeatedly roughed up (including a torture by shaving cream sequence that was alo used in the Hong Kong hit, Tiger on Beat released the same year) and under almost constant threat of violence of some sort, she is perhaps the ultimate damsel in distress character. It reads horribly, but like the rest of the film, is so over the top that it becomes more comical than anything else.

If you're a fan of cheesy over the top 80s style action, then Lethal Hunter is all you could ask for and then some. Highly recommended!

Rating: 8/10

A special thanks to Jack J. and his wonderful blog, Backyard Asia for uploading this trailer:

 

Monster Snowman (aka Half Human)

1955

Director: Ishiro Honda

Starring: Momoko Kochi, Akira Takarada, Akemi Negishi, Sachio Sakai, Nobuo Nakamura

Toho's second ever Kaiju film and until fairly recently, one of the hardest to view in it's original incarnation. As had been reported ad nauseum, the film was part of a self imposed ban on Toho's part as it allegedly equated the films native populance with the Burakumin; lowly outcasts who have been linked to among other things, inbreeding. Though it was never made explicit, it was felt that it was close enough to be considered offensive and thus the ban hammer was lowered on the proceedings. Fortunately in recent years, a dupe started floating around the grey markets with a fan subbing following suit so we hard core collectors can finally see it as initially intended.

The story is told via flashback to a reporter by five members of a mountain expedition that came upon a primitive tribe who worship a a Yeti-like creature and his offspring. When a circus hears of the legend, they capture the passive and peace loving creature. When it's son attempts to free his father, it is shot dead causing the benevolent beast to become understandably enraged and quite vengeful.

Though not quite on par with the best of Toho's 50s output, Monster Snowman is well made and at times quite gripping. Honda does well to continually shift our sympathies; first towards our innocent snow beast who loses everything through the greed and callousness of man and then towards our adventureres who find themselves on the wrong end of the monster's blind rage. There are some really nice atmospheric sets on display and the design of the snowman and his son are excellent, by far the best ape design effects man Eiji Tsuburaya ever created (causing me to wonder just what the hell he was thinking with his various Kong designs some years later). Unfortunately because of the scale of the creature (roughly nine or ten feet tall), there were some issues when it came to scale. Most of the time it worked well but there was at least one instance that displayed a terrible traveling matte in order to make the suitmation appear larger than it actually was (traveling mattes were never among Tsuburaya's fortes). Fortunately, the effect was used sparingly. It was nice to see the stars of Godzilla reunited here. Akira Takarada was was in fine understated form though he got better in later years when his characters were allowed to loosen up a bit (particularly in Monster Zero and Godzilla vs the Sea Monster). Momoko Kochi allegedly was not happy working in the Kaiju genre and later would pursue and excell in a stage career. An intense actress, she brought a level of class to each of her too few film roles. 

As with the original Godzilla and later Varan, American distributors got hold of Monster Snowman and eliminated much of the Japanese actors, opting instead to insert a home grown lead. In this case, it was John Carradine playing a scientist who also becomes our new version's narrator. He and his cohorts never leave the single tiny lab room in which they discuss and discuss... and discuss things we see in the film. Retitled Half Human, it is an exercise in deadly dulldrom that even the original footage can't fully enliven.

Regardless in it's original form, Monster Snowman is if nothing else arguably the best of the surprisingly numerous Yeti films of the 50s (ranking just ahead of Hammer's The Abomidable Snowman of the Himalayas). In it's US form as Half Himan, it's not completely without interest, but it's definately the worst of the Toho American re-edits (and those who have seen what was done to Varan will know just how weighty those words are).

 

Rating(s):

Monster Snowman - 7/10

Half Human - 3/10

Champion Operation

1986

Director: Lau Hing Chuen

Starring: Suen Kwok Ming,  Tang Ho Kwong, Norman Tsiu Siu Keung

 First saw this little spitfire of a film back in 1990 on an Ocean Shores vhs dupe (dubbed in English, no less) and I wasn't overly impressed with it. At that time, I was so enamored with the John Woo romantic slo-mo style of gun action that I just couldn't adjust to this type of thing which bore more of a resemblance to Johnny Mak's groundbreaking 1984 exercise in cold, gritty realism, Long Arm of the Law (a film I hadn't yet seen). It was a case of one-and-done. I stashed the thing away, forgot about it and eventually lost it (an unintentional casualty of my vhs purge of about ten years ago when I needed space just to walk around in my bedroom). Having gotten ahold of another copy recently, I now realize that sometimes when it comes to watching genre films, timing can be everything.

This tale of a running battle between cops, high profile gangsters and low profile Mainland immigrant criminals may be of slight budget (nowhere more apparent than in an early boat explosion that was quite obviously lifted from another film; reminding me of many a no-budget Turkish action epic from this period) and contains the absolute cheapest, cheesiest english credit sequence I have ever seen in a movie, but it has guts and energy to spare. Though the action comes fairly infrequently when it does come, it never ceases to shock and amaze. To wit; a mid-film police raid that feels almost hysterically out of control, a sudden and very nasty broken bottle shoved into a happless femme's face, several stunning chases including an extended car stunt which rivals anything done in the 80s (yes, Jackie Chan insanity included), solid 80s-style fight scenes (though not enough of these for my liking) and a properly explosive finale where no one is spared. In other words, when it's on, it's on.

It's interesting to see Suen Kwok Ming and Tang Ho Kwong together as they look so much alike that they could have switched characters mid-film and I may not have noticed right away. Both give energetic perfs and have just enough charisma to keep you interested in the proceedings when the action lets up. Norman Tsui however, is wasted in the role of the Godfather-like crime lord. I kept waiting for him to spring into action (something, anything), but his role is limited to essentially deep thoughts and heavy coughs. That's about it. His appearance alone is enough to give the character the proper amount of weight, but it really is opportunity lost, here.

Despite it's shortcomings which includes an extremely confusing final shot (did the events in the movie actually take place or was it being watched on T.V.? Huh???), Champion Operation shapes up as a grungy good time for the undemanding fan of Hong Kong action during it's peak period.

Rating: 7/10

Techno Warriors

1997

Director: Phillip Ko Fei

Starring: Darren Shahlavi, Kwang-su Lee, Monsour Del Rosario, Tamara Guo, Winston Ellis

I nearly didn't bother with this movie. About a year ago, I tracked down a 1999 sci fi/action film called Digital Warriors (aka Lethal Combat) soley because it featured Yukari Oshima (in case I haven't made it abundantly clear in this blog, absolutely anything that features The Osh is a must-see). Well that film turned out to be a turgid little mess as are most films directed by Phillip Ko. The best scenes (other than Yukari's) I later found, were actually lifted from an earlier film called Techno Warriors. Since that film was also directed by Ko and doesn't feature Yukari, I initially had zero interest in seeing it. Still, that swiped footage WAS entertaining and when a trailer finally popped up on Youtube, I decided to ignore my gut and check it out. As it turned out, that was a good move as Techno Warriors surprisingly wound up providing me with big time low budget fun. 

An inversion of Tron by way (visually) of those wonderfully cheesey low budget Italian Mad Max ripoffs of the previous decade, our story tells of a group of outlaw techno warriors (with names like Black Ninja and Dinosaur) fighting in the video game realm. They are anti technology (for whatever reason) and are hunted by high tech police. The techno warriors' goal ultimately is to kidnap a nerdy video game player and take him to their realm. Since he is able to consistently defeat them in the gaming world, they want to probe the secret of his gaming skills to control the gaming network... or something close to that.

The plot is about as irrelevant as it gets. Shot in the Phillipines, the purpose of this fun flick is to show off as many battles in as many exotic locales as could be found and to that end, it works quite wonderously. This film is exactly what the disappointing Mortal Kombat series should have been. In fact, it may be the best realized video game film ever made. The low budget (which includes minimalistic costumes and cheap laser effects) actually adds a level of wide eyed innocent charm that more expensive CGI enhanced epics can't begin to grasp. The group of fighter/acters (led by the talented Darren Shahlavi, going against type as the main hero) give it their all without a hint of self concious parody. They treat the material seriously and the film benefits greatly from it.

By far the best thing Ko has ever done as a director, Techno Warriors is pure untaxing entertainment and a joy to watch.

Rating: 8/10

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Okinawa Yakuza War

1976

Director: Sadao Nakajima

Starring: Hiroki Matsukada, Shizumi Shindo, Sonny Chiba, Tsunehiko Watase, Isao Odo

What's this? A 70s ultraviolent Japanese Yakuza pic that opens with an over the top Sonny Chiba karate smackdown? Cinema nirvana achieved? Well not quite, but damn close...

The premise; a grand yet unstable alliance is formed by various feuding Okinawa gangs in order to fend off a new and aggressive Mainland mob that is encroaching on their collective territories. This fragile allegiance finds itself shaken by volatile (to put it mildly) right hand man (Chiba) who along with having an apparent death wish, deeply resents the new civil ("cowardly") ways of his associates and seeks (with fist and foot) to destabilize all involved.

Into this volcanic situation, director Sadao Nakajima crafts a visceral and emotional roller coaster ride of comic book-like carnage. On display, we have a particularly agonizing castration scene (like there's any other kind), a rival gangster getting run over and backed over... and back and forth and back again... and forth again, blood squibs galore, double and triple crosses that cause one to rethink whom they should be rooting for (if anyone) and a terrific and emotionally satisfying speedboat shootout finale. At the center of it all is Chiba who despite not being the main character, steals every frame he's in while giving what may be the most animalistic perf of his career. Picture the Terry Surugi character if he were to willingly dive into the abyss and you have a fair idea of what to expect here. Always intimidating and willing to get into anyone and everyone's face (including doing karate forms in a nightclub in front of rivals, just DARING them to do something about it), he achieves a certain nobility despite his inherent despicableness. It is to Chiba's and Nakajima's credit that one feels just a slight bit of sympathy when this character is ultimately betrayed and ambushed. It is almost akin to watching King Kong get shot off the Empire State Building.

Okinawa Yakuza War is an eye-opener that will appeal to Chiba fans, Yakuza fans and general 70s style Japanese action enthusiasts alike.

Rating: 8/10

The Mummies of Guanajuato

1970

Director: Federico Curiel

Starring: Blue Demon, Mil Mascaras, El Santo, Elsa Cardenas, Patricia Ferrer, Jorje Pinguino

One of the best of the Lucha Libre films as well as the single most popular and profitable. It's not hard to understand why as it teams no less than the three most popular masked Mexican wrestlers of all time and pits them against an army of monsters (a creepy, real life tourist attraction come to life) that really hit home with the local population.

As most Lucha Libre fans know, 'The Mummies of Guanajuato' was originally planned and scripted as a two player co-starring Blue Demon and Mil Mascaras. Then just as filming was about to begin, El Santo was brought in and the script was changed to allow him to come in in the final reel and be the main hero. Mil didn't mind this at all as he saw more money being made with this move, but Blue was furious. The bitter rivalry that he and The Man in the Siver Mask shared in the ring finally poured out behind the Silver Screen (though fortunately not in front of it). For the duration of the movie, Blue and Mil were repeatedly defeated by the army of rampaging mummies (even going so far as to have one of them knock Blue out cold and steal his mask and costume so that Blue would mistakenly be blamed for it's crimes; oh, the indignity!) only to play final reel second bananas to Santo who not only fared better fighting the mummies, but is the one who figures out how to ultimately destroy them (always convenient to carry a trio of flame throwing pistols in your car!). It's easy to understand Blue's resentment.

That aside, the film is terrific fun. It may be a slow go in the early reels, but it gets cracking when it needs to. The mummies themselves are merely wrestlers with pull over fright masks, but director Federico Curiel utilizes them for maximum impact and they truly are an intimidating bunch. Said mummies are also helped by a welcomed unpredictable script that allows them to kill off characters that normally would survive in these genre outings which when combined with the fact that they are based on a real life exhibit, must have lead to a genuine feeling of insecurity for first time audiences. The finale in which our heroic trio makes a final stand against the seemingly invincible army of the undead, is perhaps the single most memorable Lucha Libre moment on film. It's a sequence that's aided by a matador-like theme that puncuates the action perfectly (though sadly, it can't take away from the absolutely awful organ theme that's inexplicable used for the opening and closing credits). Speaking of odd music, there is a particularly bizarre mid-film musical number in which Blue and Mil are serenaded by what can only be described as a group of Robin Hoods playing mandolins! Isolate this one sequence and you have a music vid clip that will leave you speechless. 

Despite being incinerated, the Mexican mummy army proved to have great staying power (especially when the box office warrants it) and they returned in several increasingly horrific (and decidedly more adult) sequels. This first entry however, remains the most memorable and the most fun. 

 Rating: 8/10

Big Land Flying Eagles

1978

Director: Ulysses Au Yeung

Starring: Wong Goon Hung (Champ Wang), Lin Yung, Paul Chang Chung, Shi Feng

 Here we have an interesting, well crafted and visually unique wuxia film.

The complicated plot centers on traveling swordsman supreme, Xiao Fong ( the awesomely labeled Champ Wang). Xiao killed the son of local warlord, Lee Sang. Lee was charged with the delivery of 3,000,000 in gold which has mysteriously vanished. Lee marks Xiao for death, but Xiao finds himself in an unlikely alliance with another reputable swordsman, Killer Eagle as well as a band of traveling Mongolian warrior/traders. Despite his target's new found comrades, Lee sends all manner of esoteric assassins out after him. Xiao for his part, gets involved with a mysterious woman who has manged to make many an enemy in her own right.

I'll admit that I've not seen as many classic wuxia movies as I have other types of Chinese martial arts/action films. Part of the reason is that many of the ones that I have seen tended to be overly complex and narratively confusing, at least to this Westerner.  'Big Land Flying Eagles' could easily have succomed to these same problems, but thanks to some sharp direction from Ulysses Au Yeung (a favorite independent 70s director responsible for several gems, most notably the previously reviewed 'Thou Shall Not Kill... But Once), I had little problem dissecting the complex story and characters. This is also one of the most visually striking martial arts films I've seen from this period. Shot entirely in the desert, the film creates an epic feel in spite of it's low budget. Almost a kind of 'Lawrence of Arabia'-lite (O.K. extremely lite). It's very pleasing to the eyes and creates a wonderful semi-surreal atmosphere throughout. It's quite a quirkily plotted film as well, including one of the most strikingly bizarre dramatic sequences to be found in any genre film; Xiao Fong and his mysterious squeeze are hiding out in a deserted shack when they find themselves surrounded by Lee Sang's gang. Xiao realizes that since he killed Lee's son, Lee wants the two young lovers to procriate (as in right there in the shack) and will wait one year for their child to be born and then have it killed in order to exact revenge. The shack is then ripped down by the unseen assassins so that they could see what they're doing! Xiao and the woman do not react to their sudden lack of shack. They continue to lie there in the night time forest and smile at the silliness of this failed plan. It plays just as outrageously matter-of-fact as it reads.

Featuring a terrific action sequence finale, 'Big Land Flying Eagles' is a wonderful min-epic of 70s martial arts cinema and comes highly recommended.

Rating: 9/10

Marked for Murder

1994

Director: Lee Chiu, Tenky Tin Kai Man

Starring: David Lam Wai, Ben Lam Kwok Bun, Liang Chia Jen

This appears to be a peace offering from Hong Kong to the Mainland due to the up and coming change of ownership. Judging by the several unfamiliar faces and two directors, this may even be a Hong Kong/Mainland co-production. Whatever the case may be, it's a little seen pic that combines unfortunate and unnecessary comedic characters with some of the most blistering 80s style action to be had in the 90s.

A bank employee witnesses the murder of his boss at the hands of a powerful Yakuza gang and it's nearly invincible leader (Ben Lam). On the run, he is guarded by a male and female member of a Mainland Task Force who in turn, must cooperate with a bumbling Hong Kong detective (David Lam).

Assuming that this production is indeed Hong Kong's attempt to make nice with China, then it represents a fair amount of overkill in that department. The two Mainland operatives are portrayed as calm, smooth and highly efficient while their H.K. counterpart (the usually reliable David Lam who is miscast here) is in the words of his superior, kind of dumb. That he has also an annoying, shrewish wife certaintly doesn't help matters. In fact, when said wife is ultimately kidnapped by the Yakuza, I was hoping that would be the last we heard of the character (no such luck). The goofiness also extends to our hero's superior/ brother in-law (a thankless non-fighting role for "Beardy" Liang Chia Jen who perhaps tellingly, is clean shaven for the role). Is is a credit to both Lam and Liang that their characters still manage to retain their charm and likeability (if less so, their dignity) throughout. Always relaible Ben Lam is suitably menacing and imposing as the head Yakuza.

Despite the uneven treatment of it's characters, the film really comes alive when it counts in the spectacular and plentiful action scenes. After personally suffering several years worth of wire fu films, 1994 turned out to be quite a renaissance in the stay on the ground and fight department. So fantastic is the action here that I can forgive much (but not all) of what goes on in between. There are others who might be less forgiving.

Rating: 5/10

 

Pendekar Liar

1982

Director: Dasri Yacob

Starring: Willy Dozan (Billy Chong), Winnie Aditya Suherman, Sutrisno Widjaya

 Billy Chong, the kung fu superstar that almost was. I became an instant fan of the Indonesian born actor ever since my first T.V. exposure back in the mid 80s. One of the most accomplished fighters the martial arts film world has ever seen coupled with natural charisma and strong screen presence, I was always curious why his star never rose beyond the also-ran group. Depending on my mood, I might even go so far as to say he is my favorite fighter/actor not named Bruce Lee. Unfortunately until only a few years ago, I had zero knowledge of Billy's post HK work (to the point where I wasn't sure he even had any). That however, didn't disuade me from penning an embarsassingly incomplete article about him in an old issue of Asian Cult Cinema magazine, circa 1999. I have since discovered that the reason (the given reason, anyway) for his abrupt departure was the disappointing commercial failure of the big budgeted, Sun Chung directed epic, 'Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain' (aka A Fistful of Talons). He returned to his home country and did indeed resume a movie and T.V. career there under his birth name, Willy Dozan. 'Pendekar Liar' I believe was the first of them.

For the second time in a row, I'm attempting to critique a film that does not contain English subtitles. The previous blog entry, 'Jiu-Jitu' was relatively easy since the storyline was so simple and straightforward. 'Pendekar Liar' proved to be a tad more difficult. Fortunately, I just recently came upon a plot rundown that I was able to translate into very broken English. Hey, better than nothing...

In the film, Billy plays an orphan named Annga (which somehow translates to "CyberNet"!) who has been raised since birth by an old martial arts expert named Cokro and taught the the martial art, Silat (I think). Time and time again Annga attempts and fails to defeat Cokro (reminicent of the teacher pupil scenes in Drunken Master and Chong's own Crystal Fist). Nevertheless, Annga is sent away (with Cokro's loving daughter in tow) to seek out his mother (it has to do with the necklace he's wearing) and solve the mystery of who killed his father.After many adventures (which allow Chong as many chances to fight as possible, most notably taking on a karate school and their ringer, a nearly indestructible fat woman). Annga discovers that it was Cokro himself who caused his family's death... or so he thinks. Cokro as it turns out, has an identical twin...

I've seen my share of Indonesian action/martial arts films of this vintage and entertaining as they are, the actual fight scenes tend to be below the level of those found in Hong Kong. 'Pendekar Liar' for the most part, bucks that trend with some well above average choreography and this is almost certaintly due it's established star. I'm not certain if Chong's participation extended to choreography but judging the heightened level of combat here, I think it's safe to assume that it did. The fights may not quite be as lightening fast as they were in his Hong Kong pics like 'Super Power', 'Kung Fu From Beyond the Grave', 'A Hard Way to Die' and  the aforementioned 'Fistful of Talons', but they're close. Sure, Billy still appears here as a man amongst boys, but it's clear that his incredible martial abilities rubbed off on the production.

If there was a letdown to be felt, then it was in the finale. Though it does work on a dramatic level regarding the dual identity revelation (if anything, the drama and comedy are both handeled with more subtle flare here than in it's H.K. counterparts), it falls somewhat flat in the action department (the big deal being Billy's newly mastered technique which causes him to give off a strobe effect similar to Bruce Lee's famous arm movments vs Petrov in 'Fist of Fury' or Nemuri's Full Moon Sword stance in the later 'Son of the Black Mass' films). But it became clear that Billy had to ease off against his opponent (picture Jackie Chan having a final confrontation against Yuen Siu Tien's evil twin rather than Hwang Jang Lee for the climax of Drunken Master and you'll get the idea) making it feel less exciting than it might have.

That aside, 'Pendekar Liar' is a great find for we Billy Chong fans among who had precious few H.K. vehicles to choose from. Now I'm off to hunt down the rest of Billy's homegrown product...

Rating: 5/10