"Godfather of the kung-fu film" Chang Cheh, is famous for introducing the revolutionary concept of "yanggang" (macho) martial arts movies – paving the way for Bruce Lee, among many others. Until then, female stars (often in male swordsmen roles) ruled the screens. So collaboration between writer/director Chang and swordswoman supreme Cheng Pei-pei (now famous for CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON) is exceptional indeed. Here she plays a righteous woman warrior who incurs the wrath of a "flying knife" master after she kills his rapist son. Lucky for her that an honorable dagger master played by Lo Lieh (the star of Shaw Brothers' first international kung-fu hit KING BOXER) is on her side. Although extremely attractive when she only played heroes, Cheng could hold her own with any man, freeing Chang to create the best of all possible martial arts worlds.
Stephen Chow's special brand of very modern, very Hong Kong screwball comedy entered a new phase with JUSTICE, MY FOOT!, a costume farce set in imperial China. Chow is a shyster with an equally eccentric kung-fu ace of a wife, hilariously played by Anita Mui Yim-fong. Accompanied by Chow's number one screen sidekick, Ng Man-tat, he manages to bring justice to the court and laughter to the viewer. A resounding success, JUSTICE, MY FOOT! broke box office records to become the number hit of 1992. And it's no wonder, what with skillful direction by Johnnie To and a visual sheen provided by Peter Pao, who a few years later would become the first Chinese to win a Best Cinematography Oscar for CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON.
Stephen Chow, Anita Mui, Zhu MiMi, Ng Man-tat, Carrie Ng
Tou Kuan (Chang Chan-peng) is a wealthy Kwangtung brat with a good kung fu background, he has only one ambition: to pit his wits against three shady masters of the North. The first, conman Che Tsai (Alexander Fu Sheng). The second, a professional romantic dubbed The Terrific (Nat Chen Pai-chiang). Terrific introduces Tou Kuan to his third rival, Thief Shih San-shou (Wang Yu).
Renowned director Yueh Fung (Lay General Hua Mu-lan, Silent Love) directs this sensitively toned melodrama focused on the rarely touched upon subject of single motherhood. In a time when single parenthood was a less acceptable in Hong Kong, attractive Wen-lan (Fang) finds herself the target of the desires of 3 men. But as a single mother, if Wen Lan wants to be loved, she has to give up her beloved son. In an era when female chastity and purity are valued over all else, how can a single parent woman to find emotional contentment and fulfillment? Watch out for a rare dramatic turn for action superstar Jimmy Wang Yu (One Armed Swordsman).
Lo Lieh plays a dedicated chief constable named Wu-ching for Tsang Chou village, who falls in love with the blind daughter Kuei Ku (Li Ching) of a bandit who is wreaking havoc. Joining him in all the action and emotion are such exceptional stars as award-winning actor Ku Feng, future superstar David Chiang, and powerful real-life martial artist Chen Hsing.
The retelling of China's most popular romance story became the fourth highest box-office in 1969. Superstar Ivy Ling Po plays a Don Juan scholar who tries to seduce a sprite-like servant, played by "Baby Movie Queen" Li Ching, known as the youngest star ever to be crowned Best Actress.
The "godfather of the kung-fu film," Chang Cheh, started a winning streak by making the internationally renowned THE FIVE VENOMS. He followed that hit with many more high-flying "bloody good" entertainments featuring the same cast in new roles. But of all the "Venom" movies, this one stands out as perhaps the most chilling. Masked killers are wreaking havoc and instilling terror with their vicious weapons of choice: razor-sharp, gut-shattering tridents. Only three fearless fighters dare investigate, leading to mass murder and magnificent martial arts. Chien Hsiao-hou, future co-star of Yuen Woo-ping's THE TAI-CHI MASTER joins the trio to get tri-pierced. The core "Venoms" themselves handle the intricate, always impressive, sometimes awe-inspiring, choreography in this unforgettable exercise in "grand guignol gung-fu."
Chiang Sheng, Chu Ko, Chin Siu-ho, Lu Feng, Kuo Chui, Wang Li
Fatherless as a child, Hsiang (David Chiang) supports his mother, but gangsters kill his mother, so he starts killing in revenge. Unlike his swordplay heroes, Hsiang admits guilt, expresses sorrow and is imprisoned. Directed and played by Ti Lung, the film features great fights by Yuan Hsio-tieng (The Matrix's fight choreographer Yuen Woo-ping's father).
Yen Tzu-fei (Ling Yun) is a college and martial arts student. A letter from his father tells him that Japanese financier, Nomura (Ching Miao) plans to seize the family mine and forest lands, and that Ichimura (Chan Shen) has been instructed by Nomura to use force against him. Yen's father asks him to return home and help resist the threats. Once home, Yen introduces Kuan Yueh-hua (Ching Li), who he met during the journey home, to his family, and the attraction he previously felt for her, grows. Later, Kuan Yueh-hua discovers that her father is plotting with the Japanese to get Yen Chien-kuang's property. Nomura and Ichimura hire professional killers to murder Yen Tzu-fei.
Award-winning drama featuring a passionate performance by Lisa Lu, enhanced by sumptuous costumes and sets, produces a powerful, fascinating story. In five thousand years of Chinese history, there was never a more fascinating woman than the dragon lady of the Ching Dynasty, also the Empress Dowager, who was the power behind the throne for the last half of the 19th century. The vast tapestry of palace intrigues is vividly brought to the screen.
The collaboration between auteur Chang Cheh and action star Chen Kuan-tai proved to be the most prominent showcase of the martial arts genre. Riding on their landmark successes Boxer From Shantung and Man Of Iron came this powerful, exciting tale of a hot-headed patriot (Chen) entwined in the collapse of the Qing Dynasty and the rise of the new China republic. Filled with non-stop action when our hero enters the lion's den alone to rescue his revolutionary friends.
Director Yueh Fung presents this tragic love story about two star-crossed lovers; Ivy Ling Po is a housewife who is constantly abused by her husband both physically and mentally, and Chin Feng, Ling's adopted brother-in-law, is a mute. When he secretly falls in love with her, and risks everything he has to rescue her, things begin to take a downturn. Chin won the Outstanding Performance Award at the Golden Horse Awards in 1971 for this role.
In the arsenal of classic martial arts secret weapons, there is none more lethal than the Buddha's Palm, a technique by which an ordinary hand is transformed into a formidable force. Ku, a blind recluse living in a cave, knows its secret, which proves to be as much a blessing as a curse as it attracts all manner of mayhem...
Respected veteran Yueh Feng made this "Martial Arts World" saga of a masked master of the "Black Sand Hand Technique", while Lily Ho, the star of Princess Iron Fan and Angel With The Iron Fists, excels in a delightful dual role as a swordswoman who steals for the poor, as well as Chiang I-ming - a man she disguises herself as to find the real robber of priceless Hua Shan martial arts manuals. When she teams up with Shu Pei-pei as a fellow swordswoman. Whether as herself or disguised as a man, she shows the 8 Schools of Swordsmen, who suspect her, what a real hero is…!
