"Without a doubt," it was written in the seminal Study Of The Swordplay Film, "Hsu Cheng-hung is one of the key figures in the Mandarin new style." And this is both one of his key films and one of his last for Shaw Brothers. The lovely Ching Li and handsome Chang I star as star-and-sword-crossed comrades who take on the vicious Black Tigers gang in a quest for hidden wealth. There’s action galore, until the final, fiery fight in a temple of treasure.
Ching Li, Chang I, Shu Pei-pei, Lin Ching, Tien Feng
Wong Jing, who is now considered one of the leading lights in Hong Kong cinema, wrote, directed, and co-starred in this Asian-accented Cinderella story starring the glorious Maggie Cheung Man-yuk as a TV actress who inadvertently buys a shoe with a stolen diamond secreted in it. That makes her the target of the two bumbling thieves, as well as a bunch of greedy killers. After action, laughs, and romance, it, of course, turns out that she lives happily ever after…!
Wang Jing, Chan Pak-cheung, Maggie Cheung, Wang Yu
Long before "feminism" made it to Hong Kong, women proved themselves more than equal to men in this martial arts classic, a forerunner to CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. Set in ancient China, a matriarchal clan proves as adept with sword, fist, and gravity-defying leaps as anything conjured up by the Crouching Tiger ladies thirty years later. The cast is a veritable "who's who" of the golden age of Shaw Brothers swordplay adventures, and was not only a major box office hit (ranking fourth for 1972), but also a top prize winner, including Best Supporting Actress for Lisa Lu, a special citation for outstanding lead female performance for Lily Ho, Best Director for Cheng Kang, and an award for Honourable Mention For Drama.
Martial arts beauty Chung Kui (Cheng Pei Pei) nurses her wounds in defeat from her enemy, the evil Black Demon (Wang Hsieh). One day, in walks fiery young do-gooder, Tsui Ping (Shih) who bites off more than she can chew. Chung comes to her rescue, and decides it is time to face the Black Demon and his invincible “Shadowless Claw”.
Hsieh Choun, the Black Dragon, is in trouble with the police since Wang Sien Tien's gang is helping them; he is no longer free to conduct his drugs shipments out of the port freely as he used to. He buys more thugs and killers to dispose of the young upstart, and soon Wang is in dire straits, in the port of Hong Kong.
This witty romantic comedy features the wacky attempts of three bachelors trying to get girls without buying rings. The Hong Kong Playgirls have other results in mind. The fast-paced complications and gambits are made bittersweet by the performance of renowned kung-fu hero, Alexander Fu Sheng, who proved to be an utterly charming comedic star. Sadly he was soon killed in a tragic car accident, essentially making him the 'James Dean of Hong Kong'.
Fu Sheng, Shih Hsien, Chan Pak-cheung, Cherrie chung
David Chiang plays the all-new-one-armed hero - a man who chops off his right arm rather than live with dishonor. But when the love of his life is kidnapped and his best friend is murdered at a gang's stronghold on Tiger Mountain, it's time to battle.
In Lady With A Sword, Kao Pao-shu showed that women could successfully direct a "heroic swordsman" film using a swordswoman bent on revenge. Kao cast Shaw's darling Lily Ho as the embittered swordswoman searching for the man who murdered her sister. The man turns out to be her fiance' but her nihilistic fate stays true to lone swordswoman form, as to paraphrase Gary Cooper in High Noon, "A woman's got to do what a woman's got to do."
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.
Lo Lieh was famous as Shaw Studio's first international kung-fu film star. He was famous throughout Asia for dozens of superlative performances in everything from horror to modern thrillers to martial arts. But it was the rare saga Lo also directed, and this was one of those special events. Following his huge success starring as the infamous Shaolin Temple traitor in preeminent kung-fu filmmaker Liu Chia-liang's Executioners From Shaolin, he returned to the role in this, a combination sequel and remake. Liu stayed on as choreographer, while his famed adoptive brother, Gordon Liu Chia-hui, and his discovery, Hui Ying-hung, stepped into the starring roles. The result is a lighter-hearted entertainment, as our hero learns "Embroidery Fist" and acupuncture to counter the evil White Lotus leader's deadly "Weightless Boxing" and "Nerve Centre Shutdown" techniques. The permutations of their fights are delightful to behold.
Mr. Virgin is a romantic comedy about a twenty-nine year-old man Chao Yu-ting (Alfred Chang) who has seemingly been cursed. He becomes paranoid when a Feng Shui expert tells him it will be unlucky for him to marry before the age of thirty... so comical chaos line the days up to his next birthday!
Legendary director Chang Cheh was in a transitional period. The men he had made stars (Jimmy Wang Yu, Ti Lung, and David Chiang among them), had moved on to their own projects. Soon his new star, international idol Alexander Fu Sheng, would also look for other productions. So Chang used this opportunity to test the star power of some new talent, namely a Taiwanese Opera artist (Kuo Chue) and a powerful Chinese muscleman (Lo Meng) — who were soon to become the foundation for his internationally popular "Venom" series. Teaming the trio with the top supporting actors (Ku Feng and Wang Lung-wei) and the prettiest starlets (Lin Chen-chi, Shirley Yu, and Hui Ying-hung), he told an entertaining and exciting tale of a kung-fu blacksmith taking on four famous robbers while a villainous gambling boss plots to destroy them. The resulting thriller was another winner for the vaunted filmmaker.
