Zen Master 6

1987

Director: Lo Lieh

Starring: Suen Gin Ming, Meng Chuan Sheng, Lok Yun, Fang Hua, Diang Wing,

I have always been a great admirer of Lo Lieh. One of the best and most dependable screen villains in the history of Hong Kong cinema (he was afterall among many other things, the original white haired villain, Pai Mei), it is extremely ironic that most viewers here in the West were first introduced the intense Indonesia native in the classic King Boxer (5 Fingers of Death) where he played the righteous and chaste hero. His list of screen credits is astonishingly long and varied, nearly encapsulating the whole of the genre itself. Not nearly so impressive is his scant list of directing credts. Starting with 1973's 'Devil and Angel', Lo has a mere nine titles in a twenty year span. This includes the cult favorite, 'Clan of the White Lotus for the Shaw Bros. and the curious brain horror flick, 'The Black Magic With Buddha. In 1987 he delivered his best effort, 'Zen Master 6'; a Hong Kong/Mainland co-production that melds the best of both territories.

In the film, the Abbott of Shaolin is dying and must name a successor among his young disciples. The short-tempered San Sau (Meng Chuan Sheng) seems the favorite, but the Abbott chooses the  more thoughtful Wai Nam (Suen Gin Ming) and sends his prized pupil out to find enlightenment. The furious San Sau recklessly sends his brothers out to track him down. Meranwhile on his travels, Wai meets a potential love interest (Lok Yun) and helps a small costal village fend off invading pirates.

I had very limited info on this rarity (what little I had heard was positive) so I approached it with cautious optimism. What I came away with was one of the best Shaolin films I'd ever had the pleasure of watching.  While hardly original (it's basic story right down to the outcome of it's proposed love story was lifted wholesale from 'The Shaolin Temple' starring Jet Lee), never have all the familiar elements come together quite so sharply as here. From the strong, understated performances to the swift and assured pacing (particularly in the oddly placed, yet totally agreeable pirate segment) to the excellent, creative, state of the art fight choreography, there is nary a false note struck through any of it's economic 93 min running time. The finale in particular where Wai Nam and San Sau settle their differences once and for all, is one of the best and most satisfying one on one duels in all of kung fu cinema.

'Zen Master 6' was obviously a labor of love for Lo Lieh (he also produced the epic) and it payed off with a derivitaive, yet thunderously satisfying  martial arts epic that has thus far gone criminally underseen.

Rating: 8/10

 

Ac Kartallar (Starving Eagles)

1984

Director: Cetin Inanc

Starring: Nihat Yigit, Mecit Yavuz, Nilgun, Sarayli

 Another of director Cetin Inanc's no-budget whacky wonders, this one designed specifically to showcase the talents of Bruce Lee lookalike (yes, a Turkish Lee-alike) Nihat Yigit. From what I know about him, Yigit was a Bruce Lee fan and took up martial arts in 1973 (the year Lee died). He apparently studied all manner of fighting arts including Kung Fu, Karate and Tae Kwan Do. After competing in various tournaments throughout Europe, he drew the attention of Inanc who saw strong possibilities in him as a screen fighter. His uncanny physical resemblence to Bruce at the time also could not be ignored (all the more remarkable as Yigit isn't Asian; perhaps Lee's few German genes made more of a difference than initially thought?). After featuring him as the main villain opposite Cuneyt Arkin in Olumsuz and Son Savascisi (he was shown a fair amount of respect in both as he was the only opponent to have ever even remotely given Arkin a tough time of it), Inanc decided it was time to star him in his very own Lee-clone epic (never mind the fact that the subgenre had died many years before).

The story; while visiting Turkey from Japan, a noted martial arts master is murdered by a rival clan that also happens to heroin smugglers. The slain master's top three students get to the bottom of things and take revenge. That's a about it.

Inanc does his best to meld the typical kung fu revenge story with his own patented sense of sheer insanity and it ultimately makes for a mixed bag of entertainment. On one level, you have bad nartial arts moviemaking at it's finest and funniest what with exaggerated closeups, swiped music from Enter the Dragon (and in the finale, Raiders of the Lost Ark) bewildering edits, overracting villains and some hilariously awkward fight choreography (one moment in particular had me on the floor as Yigit attempts to swing two men around ala Lee in Fist of Fury, but doesn't quite pull it off). Yet as entertaining as it all is, there is also a slight feeling of frustration since genuine martial artists were used and several fight scenes tend to be unnecessarily sped up (and i'm not talking slightly as in Sammo Hung's preferred method, I'm talking about full blown Benny Hill-like shenanigans). In the typical Inanc/Cuneyt Arkin epic, this is fine, but here it and the poor choreography tend to take away from the combatants considerable talents. Fortunately, this "technique" is for the most part eliminated in the second half, as if Inanc realized halfway through that severely undercranking his fighters wasn't necessary here.

At the center of it is a very entertaining performance from Yigit. His Lee impression is spot-on, more so than many of his Chinese counterparts and his excellent martial arts skills are placed on full view here. Watching Yigit do his thing, one wishes that he were given more opportunities, perhaps in a Hong Kong lensed production with top flight fight choreographers. 

Overall, Ac Kartallar is a fun time and will appeal to both Turkish Cult fans and Bruceploitation enthusiasts alike.

Rating: 5/10

The Magnificent 3

1979

Director: Men Yu Ting

Starring: Yasuaki Kurata, Tony Poon, Tadashi Yamashita, Luk Chuen

After getting into a brawl in a Discotech in Dominica, three strangers; a Japanese tourist (Yasuaki Kurata), a Chinese resteraunt worker (Tony Poon) and an American (!) painter (Tadashi Yamashita)  find themselves thrown in jail together and left to rot there. Just when things seem their grimmest, the three are released, their bonds posted by an ex Army General. His intention is to put their supreme fighting skills to use against his famaly's black sheep, a powerful mafioso who employs top fighters from all over the world as protection.

This extremely quirky and mostly lighthearted curiosity is credited to one Men Yu Ting, a name I'm personally unfamiliar with and have found no info on whatsoever. This appears to be his lone directorial work, though he may well be an alias for longtime action choreographer Luk Chen. Either way, this is one fun and funky little martial arts flick. Though ultimately the storyline is revealed to be simplistic, I was really taken aback by the film's successful attempts at breaking from tradition. Of the three main leads, two are Japanese which is unheard of for a Chinese action movie of this vintage. It was a real blast to see Yasuaki Kurata and Tadashi Yamashita (here billed under his alter ego, Bronson Lee) in such unusual surroundings (Dominica?!) and able to yuck it up when called upon (the sequence where they go undercover dressed as cleaning ladies is a howler). Tony Poon lives up to his billing as "Kung Fu's hidden treasure". He fights not unlike Bruce Liang (a regular Kurata co-star) and this is a good thing as his spinning kicks and acrobatic antics are a lot of fun and nicely counterbalance the other two's karate style moves.

Other than the discotech (?!) brawl, most of the fighting is saved for the second half. After the henchmen are systematically taken care of (including a pair on roller skates!), we get to the tournament style battles, all against American opponents. After defeating in one-on-one bouts the likes of "Full Contact Karate Fighter from California, Alan Colavito" (Poon defeats him), "U.S. Full Contact Karate Champion, Howard Jackson" (Yamashita dispatches him) and the decidely goofy antics of "Full Combat Karate and Tae Kwan Do Fighter from Los Angelas, "Richard Kenton" (Kurata defeats him... after figuring out just what the hell kind of fighting style he's using), our three heroes must face the ultimate challenge, the Hercules-like "Mr. America, Nathan Le Blanc III" in an announced battle to the death. In each instance, the choreography is excellent, some of the best and most exciting (and again, most unusual) I've seen from this time period.

Another thing I really enjoyed was the surprisingly straight forward approach used in relation to the heroes' employer. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. I fully expected some sort of evil doings on his part that would cause the three to turn against him or perhaps the General would attempt to dispose of them once the job is finished, but no such hackneyed plot device was forthcoming. He grew to genuinely care for their well being and even goes as far as to ask them not to accept the final challenge for fear of one or more of them getting killed on his behalf! After watching so many cynical and downbeat martial arts films, I found this approach refreshing.

'The Magnificent 3' turned out to be one of the most pleasant surprises I've had in a while. Though it's  low budget is sometimes a hindrance, it's unique setting combined with it's most unusual combat (and combatants) make for extremely agreeable viewing. It's quickly become a favorite and one that I'm sure I'll be revisiting often.

Rating: 7/10

Farewell "Pops"

 

The martial arts movie world just lost one of it's greatest and purest filmmakers with the sad passing of Liu Chia Liang aka Lau Kar Leung (July 28, 1936 – June 25, 2013). Far and away my favorite of all Shaw Bros. film directors, Lau was responsible for some of the greatest that the studio has ever produced such as The Spiritual Boxer, Executioners From Shaolin, 36th Chamber of Shaolin, Heroes of the East, Dirty Ho, My Young Auntie and my personal favorite, Legendary Weapons of China. Of the hundreds of kung fu movies that I taped off T.V. broadcasts during the 1980s, his were by far the most watched. For me, Lau WAS Kung Fu. He embodied it's essence more completely than any other screen actor/fighter that has ever lived. A master of Hung Gar, Lau learned the style under Lam Sai Wing who in turn was a student of the legendary Wong Fei Hung who has been portrayed in countless films including two of Lau's, Challenge of the Masters and Martial Club. Along with his younger brother, Liu Chia Yung aka Lau Kar Wing and his pupil and adopted Godson to his father, Gordon Liu Chia Hui aka Lau Kar Fai, Liu's importance to the genre cannot be overestimated.

 

 

 

Men From The Gutter

1983

Director: Lam Nai Choi

Satrring: Jason Pai Piao, Wong Yung, Lo Mang, Michael Miu Kiu Wai, Chen Pei Hsi

This is an early effort from noted director Lam Nai Choi (he who lensed many Hong Kong cult favorites such as The Seventh Curse, Killer's Nocturne and the now legendary Story of Ricky) and while it may not feature the sheer outrageousness that dominated his later work, it is still quite an eye opening piece of late period Shaw Brothers action.

Racing ahead at full throttle, 'Men From The Gutter' features no less than three seperate and somewhat disparate storylines. We are first introduced to a trio of down on their luck ex-cons (one with a pregnant girlfriend in tow) who are planning an armored truck heist. Our second group of protagonists are an on-edge police unit and their attempts to take down a druglord. Our third participant is an assassin (Jason Pai Piao) who is returning to settle a score with an old rival.

Director Lam even at this early stage in his career (this I believe was only his third film) displayed his fearlessness at trying something different. That we have intertwinding stories is not unusual, but how little they are actually intertwined certaintly is (one of our three scenarios ends early on and is barely reated upon). That we never once feel as though we are watching separate films (ala Godfrey Ho cut and paste epics) is a real tribute to Lam's skills. Everything feels organic, assured and correct. Lam also shows here that he was already a master of brutal carnage. As with his later entries (particularly Killer's Nocturne) you really feel it when the action comes. The early squash match between Pai Piao and the ever dangerous looking Lee Hoi Sang is positively wince inducing.

Among the cast, Jason Pai Piao gives one of the most subtle yet intense oerformances of his lengthy career. 'Venom' fave Lo Mang is always entertaining and his perf as a hot headed cop siuts him well. As the pregnant girlfriend, I barely recognized Chen Pei Hsi. So memorable as the mata hari-like female ninja in the previous year's 'Five Element Ninja' (aka Super Ninjas), she has sadly little to do here. It seems her career never took off after such a promising start.

As with 'Hong Kong Godfather' (reviewed earlier in this blog), 'Men From the Gutter' proves that the mighty Shaw Brothers were both willing and able to keep up with their contemporaries who were leading the way in the modern action uprising in the '80s. That such a strong an entry as this was virtually ignored upon release was a greater crime than any committed within it's reels.

Rating: 8/10

Fantasy Mission Force

1982

Director: Chu Yen Ping

Starring: Jimmy Wang Yu, Jackie Chan, Bridgette Lin, Chang Ling, Adam Cheng

Yes, I am a fan of 'Fantasy Mission Force' and I'm not afraid to admit it. I wasn't always quite so enamored with it, though. I first rented this on vhs way back in 1987. With no point of reference whatsoever, I was unprepared for the unprecedented whackiness that I was about to experience and I immediately rejected what I was watching. It wasn't until years later when I familiarized myself with the cockeyed visions of director Chu Yen Ping that I revisited this film. Seeing it again through more educated orbs, I was able to appreciate the extreme fun that this and the director's other films brought

Near as I can tell, the film is set somewhere between the late 1930s to early 40s; Japan is attempting to take over the world and the united forces are... well, trying to stop them. When four top Chinese generals are taken hostage, a small ragtag group of mercenary soldiers are gathered as a commando squad under the leadership of Captain Don Wen (Wang Yu) and sent on a suicide rescue mission. Wen is gunned down, but the rest decide to continue the mission with the aid of ex-wrestler, Sammy (Jackie Chan) and his former manager, Emily (Chang Ling) who basically tail the group and intervene when necessary. However as things unwind, all is definately not as it seems...

The above plot synopsis does zero justice in revealing what an utterly bizarre experience 'Fantasy Mission Force' is. As with Chen's previous work (Island Warriors, Golden Queens Commando, Pink Force Commando), he presents material that seems to come out of someone's lucid dream. We have characters that don't seem to be acting in the same film, a bizarre musical number, ghosts and other such things that seem to be thrown in at the director's whim. And just when you think you have the extreme goofiness figured out, Chen pulls a major switcharoo by throwing in a dead serious and downbeat finale. That he makes the proceedings so entertaining is a tribute to his directorial clarity. As crazy as it all is, it is also quite clear that the man has a vision mapped out and sees it through to it's (il)logical conclusion.

Though top billed, Jackie Chan's role is really little more than a glorified cameo, amounting to about as much screen time as he had in Sammo Hung's 'Lucky Stars' features. Reportedly, he appeared in the film as a favor to Wang Yu who was instrumental in keeping the Triads away early in his career (he would do so again a decade later in Island of Fire). He and Chang Ling's characters' floating in and out of the film is no odder than anything else that goes on here. Wang Yu is typically tough in the role of the sqaud's leader. His final battle with Chan (at the risk of giving away the film's spoiler here), is gritty and intense, far more satisfying than their previous duel in 'Killer Meteors'. Bridgette Lin Ching Hsia is always a welcome addition, though she has far less to do here than in Chu's two '...Commando' films. Chang Ling is as always. spunky and endearing and does well as Chan's manager/partner.

'Fantasy Mission Force' may not be quite as endearing as 'Golden Queens Commando' or 'Pink Force Commando' and should not be seen as a Jackie Chan vehicle (lessen learned), But if viewed in the right frame of mind (and with prior knowledge of Chu Yen Ping being an essential tool), then you will find it's pleasures to be many and varied.

Rating: 6/10

  

Golgo 13

1973

Director: Junya Sato

Starring: Ken Takakura, Pouri Baneai, Mohsen Sohrabi

One of Japan's greatest and most popular mangas, Golgo 13 (the name meaning Golgatha plus the thirteen diciples depicted in Jesus' last supper - but you already knew that, right?) also would be one of the more difficult to translate to the screen, what with it's complex characters and twisty storylines, to say nothing of it's always exotic locales which in many cases would prove cost prohibitive for any proposed live action interpretation. Regardless, Japan gave it a try in 1977 with 'Golgo 13: Kowloon Assignment'. Starring a game Sonny Chiba, it was a middling affair at best (though one I've grown to appreciate slightly more after having seen a widescreen, subtitled version). For decades, I had assumed that this was the only live action treatment of the manga. I found out how wrong I was just last year when I started to hear murmurings of an earlier version starring non other than Ken Takakura. Now thanks to a fan subbed edition of the Japanese dvd, I finally had a chance to watch it.

This version of the film posits our sharp shooter assassin in Tehran, Iran (the location being made possible due to the recent oil agreement between Japan and Iran). Golgo's (real name: Duke Togo) mission; to hunt down and terminate international do badder, Max Boa, an untouchable weapons/ drug smuggler and flesh peddler (you know the type).

Considering it was made in 1973 which was the peak of Japan's wild anything goes period, 'Golgo 13' is a notably restrained production. This is probably due to Iran's restrictions. There is no nudity on display and little in the way of bloodshed. The whole production has a very straightforward, almost episodic feel as if everyone just wanted to be on their best behavior. The first half tends to suffer a little because of this as it seems director Sato was too content to merely introduce it's many characters and basic storyline. It could have used some spruicing up, to be honest. Yet despite that bit of negativity, there is much to like about the film. The Iranian locales are pleasingly exotic and well shot (though it was a minor distraction for me that all of the locals were dubbed in Japanese). The action (when it does arrive) is lively and suspensful with a truly nail biting climax. At the film's center is the towering presence of one Ken Takakura. His natural screen persona (he is afterall known as the man who never smiles) makes him a perfect Golgo.  The it ain't over 'till it's over finale was one of the more satisfying I have experienced, displaying a welcome sense of humor as no one and no thing is safe from our protagonist's wrath.

While certainly not on the level of other live action manga adaptations such as the 'Lone Wolf and Cub' and 'Female Prisoner Scorpion' series, 'Golgo 13' did at least prove that an effective live action version of the popular character could be done. For those who were disappointed with the Chiba vehicle, give this one a try.

Rating: 5/10