It's back to the Shaolin Monastery for one of the most unusual action-packed tales to invade its hallowed halls. Lo Lieh is the ringleader of the Snake Sect, intent on reviving a particularly deadly faction known as the "Five Poison Web" (which is also THE WEB OF DEATH's Chinese title). To achieve his ends, he has an affair with the sexy ringleader of the Scorpion Sect, Angela Yu Chien. But there is also the Centipede Sect to contend with, as well as other assorted martial artists, among them such top Shaw Brothers talents as Yueh Hua, Ching Li, and Lily Li. Under the fluid direction of Chu Yuan and action choreographers Tang Chia and Yuen Cheung-yan (member of the martial arts world's esteemed Yuen Family and brother of Matrix master Yuen Woo-ping), THE WEB OF DEATH goes places where no other Shaolin kung-fu movie has gone before or since.
This is a film that has won the Best Colour Film Art Direction at the 1977 Golden Horse Awards. Liu Yung (one of Bruce Lee's favorite co-stars) takes center stage as the Ching Dynasty main character, who seeks out court corruption with the help of a streetwise youth played by Wang Yu (Dirty Ho). They use wit and style to teach the corrupt officials a lesson, and when those officials learn that Liu Yung is the emperor, they beg for his forgiveness. This production proved so popular that director Li Han-hsiang took over to helm two successful sequels.
Shaw Brothers fans have known and loved Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon villain Cheng Pei-pei for decades as one of the sweetest, most attractive, most heroic stars ever in Asian cinema. She was only 20 years-old, and just three years into her remarkable career, when she took the lead in this fascinating martial arts murder mystery which combines battles with bullets. This kung-fu Nancy Drew must face a secret serial killer with too much blood on his hands to let her live…!
Director Lo Wei himself plays a bully in a fishing village, whose son lusts after a local beauty in this action-filled thriller full of passion and violence.
The incredible talents of Ivy Ling Po have no better showcase than this melodramatic musical. Huangmei Opera's number one queen plays a young scholar who is manipulated into marrying a nobleman's reluctant daughter. After marrying, he soon discovers the reason for her hesitation. She is stricken with a contagious disease. But, true love prevails as it always does. Skillfully helming this poetic romance is Lo Wei, a protegee of kung-fu master Chang Cheh
Malay Chinatown's Yu Yi restaurant was helding Mr. Shek's wedding banquet, Chinese Mr. Lui attended with wealthy merchant Mr. Hung. With the banquet begins, Mr. Lui begins a special religious ceremony, like the gods appeasement ceremonies in ancient China. In the midst of the cereomny, assassin Wa only has three and a half minutes to aim at the groom Mr. Shek. Gunshots ring out, but the person shot is actually Mr. Hung. As Wah is shocked by this occurrence, he notices another assassin leaving nearby, the two begin to go head to head. Later, Wah suddenly becomes the assassin who killed Mr. Hung and a fugitive from the Malay police...
Cheng Pei-pei plays Hsiao-yun, a young singer forced to choose between love and her ultimate career. After filling in for another singer at the eleventh hour, Hsiao-yun becomes an overnight sensation. However, with success comes a heavy price and her relationship with a pianist Li Yen-nan (Peter Chen Ho) suffers. As if that is not enough, she must also deal with the unwanted affections from an influential backer Tu Pang-chieh (Chiang Kwong-chao) of her show...
Although King Cat was one of Chang I’s earliest films, the young actor already showed promise that made him the star of countless Shaw Brothers' martial arts movies till today. Chang plays Chan Chao, a knight of justice, who thwarts the plans of Minister Peng to assassinate the revered Judge Pao Cheng over and over again. Lo Lieh gives Chang a good run for his money as the evil and sinister henchman of Minister Peng.
Pat Ting Hung, Chiao Chuang, Ching Li, Chin Feng, Chang Yi
One of Shaw's darlings of the screen, Lily Ho (Casino, The Water Margin) gives a heart-warming performance as Chef-chi, in this Cinderella comedy and romance. At a party, Chef falls in love with the son (Lin Feng) of a rich man that her father (Cheng Chun-mien, Hong Kong's answer to Elvis Presley) works as a chauffeur for. Being from such a poor family, Chef can't reveal who she is or what her father does for a living. Her father is furious that she has fallen for the boss' boy; does she have no class conscience? Mayhem, drama and a run of hilarious circumstances ensue. This asks us, can love truly cross class boundaries?
The "Venoms" are back in action in this thriller of Shaolin versus corrupt Ching soldiers... with the help of the Lama, Black Tiger, and Mantis clans... headquartered at a pugilism school, a dyeing mill, and a beancurd shop. The five men director Chang Cheh made famous in more than a dozen similar high-flying, blood-splattered adventures (starting with The Five Venoms) are all here. There’s the Taiwanese Opera artist Kuo Chue, his fellow light-skill acrobat Chiang Sheng, the evil Lu Feng, the Chinese muscleman Lo Meng, and Korean kicker Sun Chien, whose skills are specially spotlighted in this production. Together they create another wonderfully fun kung-fu showcase, filled with show-stopping sequences of martial arts expertise.
“Let’s Make Laugh” is an award-winning 1980’s comedy starring Kenny Bee, Cecilia Yip, Chan Friend and Anita Mui. When a young housewife’s (Cecilia Yip) debt-ridden, philandering husband leaves her with a mountain of debt, a security guard (Kenny Bee) is hired by the government to guard the assets, but begins falling for her instead.
Master martial arts moviemaker Liu Chia-liang wanted to make a movie about Chinese royalty’s relation to the common people. He accomplished it with one of the greatest kung-fu adventures ever made, incorporating at least three of the most brilliantly conceived and executed fight sequences ever caught on film. Wang Yu is the streetwise title character while the director’s adopted brother, Gordon Liu Chia-hui, plays an incognito prince who uses Ho as a dupe to try avoiding court intrigue. But any description of the plot cannot communicate the beauty and ingeniousness of Liu's invention and vision. Combining laughs and thrills, the monumental director adds to his legend with a film that only gets more impressive with each successive viewing.
A disguised and mysterious female thief has been committing crimes across the city and a police woman is determined to track her down. The temptress' impersonation skills fool even the officer's loving boyfriend. The surprise ending will blow you away!
It is little wonder why Chang Cheh is considered legendary. Not only did he usher in a whole new kind of "yanggang" (macho) cinema, but he was also one of the most prolific and consistent directors in the world. He made more than 70 films in the period between 1960 and 1975, but this was considered one of the most notable. A nominal sequel to the equally acclaimed SHAOLIN MARTIAL ARTS, this powerful production came a year later and cemented Alexander Fu Sheng's superstardom with a performance many proclaimed the best of the young lead's career. It is also one of the last Chang Cheh films choreographed by Liu Chia-liang, who was becoming a legendary director in his own right. Together, they made this tale of the Shaolin vs. Manchu conflict -- played out at a textile mill -- one of the highlights in kung-fu film history.
