Seen any good Kung-Fu flicks of late?

[QualityChimp]

I'm trying to see if I can acquire it.

Could be fun to all feed back afterwards!

[prinnysquad]

It will blow your ring off. Best get battered beforehand, and be in the silliest mood possible. Try to get as giddy as a FammYdoDD with an easy 1000G Disney Special in his hands.

[prinnysquad]

5 Fighters from Shaolin

Mark Long, Jack Long, Chang Shan.

An evil master, Jack Long, a black magic kung fu expert, attempts to secure ancient scrolls from Shaolin Temple. A monk, Mark Long, assembles a rag tag bunch of 'specialists' to defend the scrolls. He trains them to master their own area of expertise before the final showdown.

What a bizarre film! The first section is strange and almost unclear as to what is going on. There just seems to be a load of random stuff happening, with some misfiring humour. Once the band are gathered together, there's some amusing, interesting training sequences. The final battle is just extraordinary.

There's so much to like about this film. Well, 'like' from my perspective, but I bet some people hate it. Everything is OTT.

For a start, a lot of the fighting is undercranked, meaning it's speeded up. However, the style and pace of the fighting is such that it doesn't look ridiculous, or out of place. Sometimes undercranked films look a bit Benny Hill, but the undercranking here is subtler and fits in well with the pace of the action.

Secondly, there's a lot of odd moments. The comedy I often found funny, especially the slapstick in the later part of the film. But if someone hates the comedy they'd get real pissed off watching this. But 'odd' can mean 'good' - there's a great sequence where the Shaolin temple won't let the monk enter with his ensemble, so they leave and built their own temple complex out of sticks, reeds and straw. It looks excellent, especially when there's a pan-back shot from the original to the new temple.

The fighting. Once again, odd. And brutal. And amusing! There's a lot of broken limbs, impalings, even decapitation and explosions. There's sticks, poles, gymnastic rings, a snake-staff, and knives. Mark Long is terrific, as usual, all seamless fluidity. Jack Long is full of menace. Chang Shan is great in a very assurred role. You were right, vanpeebles, he was in Shaolin Vs Lama! Kudos. Check out this fight:



All in all, there are some jaw-dropping sequences in this flick. There's some absurb wirework, ludicrous sequences, and hit/miss comedy. But it's an undeniably fast and assured, cocky film, that I enjoyed immensely.

[megatron]

Are you guys only after HKL's or any kung-fu related dvds?

[QualityChimp]

I'm only after HKL, but Prinny'll hoover up any old tat, it seems...
You got Dragons Forever or Wheels on Meals?

[prinnysquad]

Tat indeed! I watch high calibre indies and forgotten curios!

Interested in ALL dvds, megatron!

[megatron]

I'm only after HKL, but Prinny'll hoover up any old tat, it seems...
You got Dragons Forever or Wheels on Meals?

Yeh, I got all the good uns.

Will try and get a list up when I get some time.

[QualityChimp]

Nice one, Megatron!

Get the list up, but PM me how much you'd like for those two films.

I saw a little bit more of House of Fury, and there's a great fight scene where the dad stars emulating Bruce Lee and uses a skeleton's arm as nunchuks! I need to find time to finish it off.

I'm looking forward to seeing Bad Blood, which looks like and 80's style revenge flick.

Here are a few trailers of upcoming films worth checking out.

The Legend is Born - Ip Man



14 Blades



Bad Blood

[prinnysquad]

If you have Dreadnaught, I will bite your hand off.

Have you got any Shaw Bros stuff, or things like Secret Rivals?

[prinnysquad]

Massacre Survivor

I'm probably one of a handful of people, in the West at least, who has a copy of this. Apparently it hasn't been shown for almost 30 years. It's been described as a lost shapes classic, and that's probably a good description. I acquired it in quite an unorthodox manner, but all's well that ends well.

The story is quite well worn. A general and his lackeys hatch a plan to start a rebellion against the royal family. The Prince is away, and the general sees it as an ideal opportunity to rally support against the regime. He goes to the leader of a local school, who refuses to help. The general returns to thrash him and kill his family, as they are a security threat. The guy's daughter is the only one who manages to escape - she is literally, a massacre survivor. She travels to a temple to learn a crane style of kung fu. Meanwhile, the returning Prince is the target of assassination attempts on the road. The lass and the Prince cross paths as they head back home where the rebel general awaits.

So, the story is quite stock. The tone and delivery of it, though, is totally straight-laced. There is not one ounce of humour here, it's a very serious film. There are some touching scenes where the woman pours out her anger, pain and frustration as she tries to learn the skills to help her in her quest for revenge. The only other genre films I can compare it to in terms of tone, that I have seen, are Rebellious Reign and Eight Diagram Pole Fighter.

The scenery and sets are lovely. There's some very effective use of rain, temples and Tenchu-style gardens and buildings. I've never even heard of half the cast and crew, but this is quite a lavish production, in the mid-to-low range of Shaw efforts, even though it's an indie.

The cast are splendid. The main actress is convincing, and does a super job at the emotional stuff and the martial arts. She's also quite fit - bonus. The prince and his aide are very likeable. The evil bods have the requisite evil laughs all present and correct, but such is the tone of the film that they seem to carry more weight than normal. The monks are somewhat different to the usual - they rarely seem to give a toss about the woman and her plight. They're quite uninterested, and go about their job with detatched gusto. The training sequences are good - different and brief - but this keeps up the solid pace of the film.

The martial arts is of a very good quality. There's some great crane work in the shapes department, but most of the film consists of weapon work, with some original and effective nasties used to kick ass. There's a minimum of wire work involved - most effects seem to be reversed footage - and it's tastefully done.

I'm very glad I took the time to get involved in 'rescuing' this film. It's a real breath of fresh air, with its tone and pacing spot on.

[megatron]

Here's a list of mainly HKLs and a few others. LMK which ones you are interested in guys.

HKLs
A Better Tomorrow II
Once Upon a Time in China I
Once Upon a Time in China Trilogy
Police Story I
Hitman (Introduction to HKL version)
The Killer
Wheels On Meals
Story of Ricky
Tiger on the Beat
Zu Warriors
Bullet In the Head
The Prodigal Son
Encounters of the Spooky Kind
Heart of the Dragon
Iron Monkey (1st Edition)
Dragons Forever
Knockabout
The Odd Couple
Scorpion King (aka Operation Scorpio)

Shaw Bros (w/sleeves)
Mad Monkey Kung Fu
Martial Club
My Young Auntie
Eight Diagram Pole Fighter

HK Release
Dance of the Drunk Mantis
Snake In the Eagle's Shadow
Police Story Trilogy Boxset
So Close

[vanpeebles]

How much for Mad Monkey Kung Fu, Martial Club and My Young Auntie? Ta!

[prinnysquad]

Ohhh nice.

Dance of the Drunk Mantis
My Young Auntie
Encounters of the Spooky Kind
The Odd Couple
Once Upon A Time in China Trilogy
Zu Warriors

Which Shaw Bros releases are they? The IVL ones?

[megatron]

Yeah IVL.

I think I should list in the classifieds as it might get complicated. Do I need to state the price for each item listed? Not traded here for a while.

[prinnysquad]

Yeah. I wouldn't sell to vanpebbles, he's a ****horse.

The biggie for me is Dance of Drunken Mantis. Been after that for ages!