Unarguably the greatest character in kung-fu film history is Huang Fei-hong. Arguably the greatest director of pure kung-fu films is Liu Chia-liang. Putting the two together was natural, since Liu started his career working on the classic Huang, and his family was trained by students of the real Huang Fei-hong! So after his first film as director, THE SPIRITUAL BOXER, was a huge hit, Liu decided to make the greatest tale of Huang and his "sifu" (teacher) ever filmed. He made a star of his adoptive brother, Gordon Liu Chia-hui, in the leading role, and filled the cast with family members, friends, students, and the best Shaw Brothers had to offer. He even played the villain himself. The result was more Liu magic, with an honorable message of righteousness that rings true through the decades.
Gordon Liu Chia-hui, Chen Kuan-tai, Wang Yu, Lily Li
Acknowledged as one of the greatest Hong Kong musicals, this lavish movie starring Linda Lin, who won Best Actress for her performance, infuses its wispy plot with style and wit, and the results are pure pleasure.
Esteemed director Ho Meng-hua attained cult status among kung-fu film fans in the West with his wild and wacky martial arts hit THE FLYING GUILLOTINE. His unique directing approach focused more on the devastating nature of the horrific weapon than the kung-fu fights. One of Shaw Brothers' biggest kung-fu stars at the time, Chen Kuan-tai plays the leader of the ‘Flying Guillotine Squad’ a group of hand picked killers, commissioned by the Ching Emperor Yung Cheng, that use a deadly, beheading weapon to carry out the emperor's assassination assignments. It's actually based on a true story. Interestingly, the weapon used in the film was a complete fabrication because in real life, no one ever survived to tell what the actual weapon really looked like.
On a continent which reveres its martial arts, the director's nickname is "Kung-fu Liang" - holder of a filmography unprecedented in its innovation of theme, ingeniousness of plot, and imagination of its astonishingly designed kung-fu. This production is clearly the culmination of his initial Shaw Brothers work - the film which he used as a showcase for his and his brothers' - Chia-yung and Gordon Lui - skills. In the premiere, groundbreaking book on the genre, Martial Arts Movies, author Ric Meyers called it "the quintessential martial arts movie" and perhaps the greatest kung-fu movie ever made. Showing prescience customary with this visionary, the plot revolved around early 20th century pugilists vainly attempting to find a kung-fu which could defeat the bullet... years before the same theme would be used in Once Upon A Time In China. It also features the rarely dramatized magician-spies of China, who would ultimately inspire the Japanese ninja. But most importantly, it is a beautifully made action comedy featuring international fan favorite Alexander Fu Sheng and supremely brilliant kung-fu.
Liu Chia-liang , Liu Chia-yung , Hui Ying-hung , Gordon Liu
One of Shaw Brothers’ most sweeping epics, comparable to Dr. Zhivago for the scope of its intensely personal love story. Set in war-torn China, it tells of a married couple who find the obstacles of the warfront are, in many ways, easier than those on the homefront.
It's a no-holds-barred battle to the death for possession of the invaluable Purple Sword. Assistant director Wang Po-yi also wrote this entertaining and exciting adventure which could have also been called "The Five Tigers" since there's no doubt that this quintet is the highlight of the action. Huang Tsung-shun is "Fierce Tiger," Hung Liu is "Drunk Tiger," Hsu Erh-niu is "Lame Tiger," award-winning actor Ku Feng is "One-eyed Tiger" and respected director/actor Wu Ma is "Sick Tiger" in a tangle of tussles and thrills.
Chang I, Chen Hung-lieh, Shu Pei-pei, Essie Lin Chia
Talented director Chen Gang wrote and co-directed this tale of a Chinese Zorro who wages a one-man war against the venal and tyrannical county authorities. Chi yau-tung (actor/director Ling Yun) is the "bandit with a thousand faces". After holding up a caravan taking money to the capital and escaping with a slash on his face, police officer Ma Tak (Tien Feng) is on Chi's tail. So Chi calls on his twin brother, Yau-lan (also Lin!) to help. Soon he needs rescuing too!
Although director Chu Yuan's collaboration with famed novelist Ku Lung is the stuff of legend, what is often missed was his titanic teaming with equally respected, equally inspired author Chin Yung – creator of this unforgettable saga. Set during the Yuan Dynasty, it tells the fascinating story of the "Sacred Fire" sect, the Wu Tang swordsmanship clan, the disciples of the O Mei group, The Book of Chu Yang (which can make the reader immortal), and the destruction of Shaolin. And that's just the start of the fascinating intrigues and ingratiating characters found here. Eminent martial arts instructor Tang Chia led a cast of screen idols, lovely starlets, and such veteran kung-fu artists as Lo Lieh on an incredible adventure that ranks as a favorite from Asia to America. And it's just the beginning. Someone is wiping out all of Shaolin and the seven sects. Can they be stopped? Only the sequel knows for sure...
Noted comedic actor Michael Hui Koon-man takes on the leading role in Scandal as Zhen Ming, a roguish scamp who dallies around with his best friend Chia Liang and (Wang Sheng) and getting into all sorts of misadventures along the way. Political corruption is rampant in Wan Ping County. Hopei Province, and when these two end up wandering into town one fateful day, all hell breaks loose as the men conspire their way to the top! Zheng Ming becomes the governor of Wan Ping County while his second in command Chia Liang ends up taking on the position of magistrate. Will these two punks turn the county into a decent place or are they far worse than the people they replaced?
Filmmaker Wong Jing produced Mercenaries From Hong Kong, his very first modern-day adventure drama. In the dramatic plot he wrote, he sends superstars Ti Lung, Chen Hui-min, Wang Lung-wei, Lo Lieh and Wang Yu on a deadly mission. The film's action sequences are all closely guided by three great kung fu choreographers, led by Tang Chia!
Young Chang Shun (Ti Lung) meets Wen Jou (Li Ching) when her sports car breaks down, drives her home and falls in love with her. Dancing with Wen Jou at a nightclub, Chang meets her brother Wen Chiang (Chen Hung-lieh) who dislikes him intensely. Wen Chiang's gang is after Chang and Wen Jou is forbidden to see him again. When Chang and his pals are beaten up by Wen Chiang's crowd, the humiliated Chang takes the pistol he's found and heads for Wen's home. He shoots him dead. Chang next dates Jou and the two go for a drive. Their car is tailed by the cops and soon surrounded. Chang reaches for his pistol and is gunned down, but his weapon is not loaded...
Ching Li stars as a World War II Chinese spy planted into the Japanese Headquarters at Changsha. This film emulates Bruce Lee's nationalistic fervor as tears flow in the name of pride.
Pan Lei, winner the China Literary Award for three consecutive years, wrote and directed this film about the lives and loves of a fishing village. It starred the glorious Cheng Pei-pei in her first film as a woman (she had debuted in a man’s role), and her much-lauded performance won her the prestigious Golden Accolade Award from the International Association Of Independent Producers a first for any Asian woman.
A mysterious serial killer on the loose in the martial arts world murders the friends and lover of the famous Chu Liu Hsiang (Adam Cheng). Distraught from the tragedy, he goes into seclusion until he meets a mysterious young woman (Brigitte Lin) in his riverside shack. But who is the stranger, and is there more to her that meets the eye?
