Chop Socky Cinema

It’s the return of the supernatural to Shaw Brothers!  Well, sort of, as this wuxia extravaganza turns relatively spooky really quick-like thanks to two ornamental figures - one ghoul in red robes (Yuen Wah) and another in white (Chan Man-Na) - haunting a young swordsman (Long Fei) and foretelling of his fiance's  ...

By 1980, it was time for Shaw Brothers to start experimenting with their subject matter.  The straight-up action movies seemed to be slightly out-of-step with what audiences wanted (or at least director Chang Cheh was running out of gas as one of the most overworked directors for the studio), so the  ...

There’s a wonderfully on-point scene in The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires, a co-production between Hammer Studios and Shaw Brothers, in which Hsi Ching (David Chiang) and his seven kung fu-trained siblings, including the only sister, Mei Kwei (Shih Szu), hop into the camera’s frame as they display their  ...

In which the killer kung fu acrobatics turn super silly! Directed by Chen Chi-Hwa (Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin) and starring a young Jackie Chan (who had complete creative control over the project), Half A Loaf Of Kung Fu is probably not going to be for every one out there.  Its comedy is Looney Tunes inspired and  ...

In which Alexander Fu Sheng fights against the exploitation of textile workers! Directed by the one and only Chang Cheh and featuring some stellar choreography from Lau Kar-leung, Disciples Of Shaolin is, ultimately, a very sad story.  Oh, it’s got some great scenes of ass-kicking audacity along ...

Dragons Forever, also known as Cyclone Z, is the final “three brothers” film but what a high note these three titans of Hong Kong Cinema - Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao - go out on!  They play against type - with Chan as the sleazeball lawyer, Hung as the Con Artist, and Biao as the accidental thief - and it  ...

Opening with an animated sequence of the main cast fighting each other, Two Champions of Shaolin takes its use of montage quite seriously as  the on-going feud between the Shaolin disciples and the Wu-Tang Clan expands to include flying razor-sharp boomerangs! Starring Venom Mob’s Lo Mang and ...

In which the five venoms return to save China from mass-starvation as ruthless thugs take over the land, leaving thousands of refugees in their wake! Directed by Chang Cheh and featuring explosive fight sequences throughout, The Rebel Intruders presents ...

In which fight choreographer (and soon-to-be director) Sammo Hung, making his last film with his mentor, director Huang Feng (Lady Whirlwind, Hapkido), gets a headlining part as a mad monk who wields two golden cymbals as flying guillotines.  How deliciously evil!!! The Shaolin Plot, while 15 minutes too long, is one hell of a  ...

There’s no return to normal cinema viewing after being exposed to ANY of director Yuen Woo-ping’s films.  This is an indisputable fact.  While most audiences know the director’s work 1977’s Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow and 1978’s The Drunken Master due to his collaborations with a young  ...