Starring: Lieh Lo, Ping Wang, Bolo Yeung
Producer: Run Run Shaw
Choreography: Chuan Chen, Chia Yung Liu
Director: Chang-Hwa Jeong
Two martial arts schools are preparing for an important tournament, but there are ulterior motives from one school.
The plot line is a little thin, hence the description above. Since this is an early movie for this genre, I wouldn’t expect a really elaborate story line. Dragon Dynasty (a company re-releasing classic martial arts films) claims this movie is the “first international martial arts sensation.”
The martial arts in the film are pretty good and realistic, with the only cable work being done in jumping. There is no fancy spinning in mid-air or leaping from roof to roof like what you might see in a Yuen Woo Ping film. This film includes classical Kung Fu, Aikido, and Iron Body techniques (i.e. Iron Head and Iron Fist).
Aside from the excellent choreography, the writing is very good and develops nicely. This film has also greatly inspired Quentin Tarantino for the Kill Bill movies. There are many soundtrack similarities, including the “revenge theme,” which is that high pitched “wee woo wee woo” (for lack of a better explanation [see trailer included]). Another example happens in a scene where one of the character’s eyes are plucked out much like a scene from Kill Bill where Elle Driver experiences the same.
In the final tournament scene and the training sequences, I could also see a parallel to the original Karate Kid movie. Karate Kid was actually inspired by The Five Fingers of Death.
I recommend giving this a chance. Go back to the roots, to the Shaw Brothers, who started a global sensation.
Shuriken: 4
Bruises:4
