“World of Desire” Theatrical Poster

Director: Chao Chen-Kuo
Cast: Robert Mak, William Ho, Blackie Ko, Shou-Liang, Norman Tsui Siu-Keung, Chiang Ta-Chuan, Suen Man, Chen Kuan-Tai, Ng Naam-Yiu, Xie Jian-Wen
Running Time: 74 min.

By Paul Taggart

In these days of boutique labels releasing Asian cinema hits and relative obscurities, there are still those who swim in murky waters where even Godfrey Ho fans wouldn’t swim. It’s a strange place, full of bottomless pits of crappiness, tonal whiplash, fountains of sleaze, geysers of violence and the detritus of cinema. It is the land of the Taiwan exploitation film. Usually rougher round the edges than even the similar Hong Kong movies, but just as worth checking out. Perhaps the best known Taiwan 90s entries into this type would be the gangster squib sleaze sagas of Hunting List or Requital. But they are the peak, and something like World of Desire is far from those lofty heights and lies broken and twisted at the bottom, mumbling to itself incoherently.

You would think World of Desire is a cheapie 74-minute soft-score film from its poster and title, but it’s actually a cheapie gangster film with nudie bits. The plot is pretty basic, concerning three night club hostesses and a hoodlum who end up on the run from a gang after an incident at a hotel involving an old man, one of the women and a pistol. Various shenanigans ensure for the rest of the run-time mostly set around a night club the quartet end up running whilst trying to evade the local mobsters gunning for them.

But what’s so bizarre about World of Desire is it’s cast – William Ho you’d expect in something like this, it was his bread and butter – but not cameos from Blackie Ko, Chen Kuan Tai and Norman Tsui. Norman looks rather dishevelled whenever he appears on screen and it’s rather off-putting to see him squeeze some poor woman’s arse for 40 seconds, but kind of funny at the same time. Thankfully the viewer is spared any extended sex scene with Norman, but he sure makes the most of his bottom fondling opportunity and there’s a shot of him lying on a bed where he seems rather too excited under a towel he is wearing. The rest of the guys mostly escape with their dignity intact.

The lead is Robert Mak who is rather bland but appears in a lot of gangster orientated Taiwan films of this era and in more than one he always seems to end up wearing a black vest for some reason. World of Desire spends a lot of time trying to convince that Bob is Mr. Sex, but he’s more Barnaby Jones than Tom Jones. The actresses aren’t memorable at all, and sadly due to their lack of any characterisation. I had time telling them apart as they mostly appear on screen all together, like a female three stooges but lacking any comedic timing.

World of Desire’s lack of budget is evident, near enough the whole film takes place in garish nightclubs, musty pubs or messy living rooms with far too many shots of mahjong players. At one point William Ho and his gang have a meeting in what looks to be a cramped karaoke booth, diminishing any menace the scene is supposed to portray. The soundtrack seems comprised by wonky keyboard demos, one of which is an annoying machine gun funk synth tune. It’s still kind of fun though, the action is shoddy but there’s plenty of it scattered throughout and the exploitation content is pretty high, heavy on the nasty repetitive lady slapping and one of the women is randomly forced to drink wine out of a shoe at gunpoint. Nudity is ample but kept to brief moments, despite the lurid title, the focus is indeed as a low-rent gangster film, one that wishes to make you believe a household metal bin can be used to deflect machine gun fire.

It’s entertaining crap but William Ho exits too early and leaves a large hole in the film’s collective charisma which it stumbles on past due to it’s relative shortness. Not really one for anyone except lovers of trash, World of Desire is a scuzzy curiosity.

Paul Taggart’s Rating: 4/10

The post World of Desire (1992) Review first appeared on cityonfire.com.

“The Holy Virgin Versus the Evil Dead” Theatrical Poster

Director: Tony Lou Chun-Ku
Cast: Donnie Yen, Pauline Yeung, Ben Lam Kwok-Bun, Chui Hei-Man, Kathy Chow, Ken Lo, Robert Mak Tak-Law, Hsu Hsia, Sibelle Hu Hui-Chung, Lee Ho-Kwan
Running Time: 92 min. 

By Paul Bramhall

When people ask what it is about Donnie Yen that sets him apart from his peers, you’re likely to get a multitude of answers. Some may refer to the way he’s stayed relevant as an action actor for almost 4 decades. Others may mention his ever-evolving style of choreography, fusing the grappling techniques of MMA with the traditional Hong Kong action aesthetic. Some may even say it’s because he’s an arrogant jerk, but hey, you can’t please everyone. For me though, my answer would be – what other iconic kung fu star can say they starred in a Cat III flick full of gratuitous full-frontal nudity, bodily dismemberment, and moustached goddesses? The likes of Jet Li and Jackie Chan don’t even come close, but Donnie Yen, he embraced the opportunity with both hands, and because of that we’ll always have 1991’s The Holy Virgin Versus the Evil Dead.

 A protégé of Yuen Woo-Ping, Yen burst onto the scene in 1984’s Drunken Tai Chi, a production which many argue to be the last old school kung fu movie, before succumbing to the contemporary settings that would come to dominate the 80’s. Yen would continue to exclusively work with Woo-Ping throughout the decade, taking starring roles in Mismatched Couples, In the Line of Duty 4, and Tiger Cage II (notably he also had a small role in the first one). However in 1991 he began to explore working with other directors, first with Hsu Hsia on Crystal Hunt, and later in the year with Tony Lou Chun-Ku for The Holy Virgin Versus the Evil Dead.

Chun-Ku worked almost exclusively with Moon Lee in the Girls with Guns genre during the late 80’s and early 90’s, cranking out Killer Angels, Devil Hunters, Dreaming the Reality, Mission of Justice, The Big Deal, and Angel Terminators 2 together. Taking a detour into Cat III supernatural sexiness with a side of kung fu may seem like an odd one, but a look further back into Chun-Ku’s filmography creates a clearer picture. Active since the 70’s, during which time he directed such classic Hwang Jang Lee joints like Hell’s Windstaff and Tiger Over Wall, Chun-Ku really came into his own when he joined Shaw Brothers during their latter-day era in the early 80’s. The studio may have been winding down, but Chun-Ku helped them to crank out some of their craziest kung fu flicks, helming the likes of The Lady Assassin, Holy Flame of the Martial World, Secret Service of the Imperial Court, and Bastard Swordsman along with its sequel.

When the Cat III label was introduced in 1988, taking into consideration his previous dabbling in the wild and wacky, perhaps the biggest surprise should be that it took Chun-Ku 3 years to make a flick that got stamped with the infamous rating. In THVVtED (as I’ll refer to it from here on in) Yen plays a university teacher. As his acting wasn’t particularly hot in the early 90’s (some would argue it still isn’t), his intellectual abilities are indicated by him wearing glasses, a look he’d return to both in 1996’s Satan Returns and 1998’s Ballistic Kiss. When we first meet Yen for reasons never explained, he appears to be on some kind of overnight camping trip with his all-female class members, one which is abruptly interrupted by the arrival of the Moon Monster, prefaced by the moon turning red and everything being filmed through a red filter.

Rivalling the likes of Godzilla, the Moon Monster is in fact a long-haired Ken Lo (Fighting Fist, Drunken Master 2) looking like he just auditioned to be in a Pearl Jam tribute band. Decked out in a trench coat, ripped jeans, and black boots, Lo flies about manically laughing while ripping off the girl’s limbs and clothes in equally enthusiastic fashion. Unfortunately Yen misses Lo’s grand entrance thanks to a bathroom break, and only has the opportunity to interrupt when it’s too late, briefly confronting Lo amongst his students scattered naked bodies and limbs. As the only witness to what unfolded, when cops Ben Lam (Seven Warriors, Raging Fire) and Sibelle Hu (My Lucky Stars, Lethal Panther) arrive on the scene, Yen is the primary suspect, but is he able to convince them that the real killer was a denim adorned super kicker!?

The short answer is – of course! Thankfully one of the victims is found still clutching strands of the Moon Monsters hair, and we’re treated to a pseudo gweilo scientist explain to us how there are 3 types of hair – black people have curly hair, Caucasian people have wavy hair, and Asian people have straight hair. But the hair here is “screwy” which – wait for it – indicates a sexual maniac. You can’t argue with science. After Yen consults his religion expert colleague, it turns out the Moon Monster is connected to a tribe in Cambodia, so naturally Yen, Ben Lam, Chui Hei-Man (we’ll get to her in a minute), and a private detective played by Robert Mak (My Young Auntie, Martial Club) jump on a plane to set things straight. It’s while there that they meet the ‘Holy Virgin’ – the princess of the tribe played by Pauline Yeung (Dragons Forever, Dream of Desire) – and together the 5 of them look to destroy the Moon Monster once and for all.

Frankly THVVtED is a delirious mess of a movie. Chui Hei-Man, who only has one other movie to her name, Temptation Summary from the previous year, is there seemingly only to show up nude in various scenes. To give some idea of the craziness, she plays Yen’s separated wife, who’s now dating Ben Lam! That means that Yen teams up both with his (presumably) soon to be ex-wife, and her new boyfriend. Perhaps it’s a credit to Yen’s performance that somehow the scenario doesn’t feel awkward at all. When we first meet Hei-Man she’s completely nude and about to jump into a swimming pool, an erotically lensed scene which is only somewhat spoilt by her ungraceful belly flop into the pool itself. Surprisingly though, when she’s called into action she moves convincingly, showing a talent for screen fighting that I would have liked to have seen more of (it certainly isn’t possible to see any more of her in any other way!).

It’s worth noting that there’s 2 versions of THVVtED, the Hong Kong version which contains a whole heap of full-frontal female nudity (and Ken Lo’s butt, if you’re so inclined), and the international version, which has exactly the same scenes, but re-filmed with the actresses wearing swimsuits or tastefully covered up. Needless to say you’ll quickly be able to figure out which one you’re watching. Sibelle Hu’s role is equally baffling, confined entirely to the interrogation room we see her in during so many of the Girls with Guns flicks she turned up in. It almost feels like she was wrapping up her scenes in Dreaming the Reality, and Chun-Ku just told her to stick around and film a few more minutes for this one, which may well explain why she also looks so grumpy in every scene she’s in.

Of course, with the martial arts talent onboard the fight action is just the icing on the cake. Choreographed by the trifecta of Chui Fat, Fan Chin-Hung, and Lung Sang, who all worked together on the previous years Fire Phoenix, everyone gets a chance to strut their stuff. The likes of Yen, Lam, and Lo are all at their physical peaks and get to show off their impressive bootwork, which includes a great 2 versus 1 encounter which pits Yen and Lam against Lo. Being shot in South East Asia, as an added bonus we naturally get a gratuitous amount of machine gun fire and hapless lackeys running into streams of bullets for good measure, which includes Lam letting rip with a mounted machine gun like Rambo, and even a flame thrower, all within the same scene!

While hardly high art, and far from being the Donnie Yen movie to recommend someone watch next if they’ve just been switched onto him in the likes of an Ip Man flick or Rogue One, THVVtED serves its purpose of being schlocky entertainment that unashamedly ticks all of the boxes. What other movie out there can claim to include scenes of Ken Lo disembowelling someone, lackeys being devoured by flesh eating fish, a tribe leader with a massive cartoon turd tattooed on his back, and a battle scene in which all of the female participants are stark naked!? The Holy Virgin Versus the Evil Dead is it, and even if it doesn’t contain any of the latter part of its title, when you have all of the above, who needs it!?

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 7/10

The post Holy Virgin Versus the Evil Dead, The (1991) Review first appeared on cityonfire.com.

“Opium and the Kung Fu Master” Chinese Theatrical Poster

AKA: Lightning Fists of Shaolin
Director: Tong Gai (Tang Chia)
Cast: Ti Lung, Chen Kuan Tai, Robert Mak, Philip Ko Fei, Lee Hoi San, Tang Chia, Lau Leanne, Ku Kuan Chung, Alan Chan, Ma Chao, Yuen Wah, Yuen Bun
Running Time: 86 min. 

By Chris Hatcher

Knowing one could be blacklisted in many kung fu cinema circles for making the following statement, here goes nothing: I have always been somewhat underwhelmed by the great Ti Lung.

Now before you reach for the torches and pitchforks, hear me out: I’m aware of Lung’s prowess for dramatic acting… he won the 1986 Golden Horse Best Actor Award for John Woo’s exceptional A Better Tomorrow and the 1999 Hong Kong Film Best Supporting Actor Award for The Kid; I know about his roles as a street-tough brawler in blood baths like Vengeance and The Duel, both of which have merit for fans of director Chang Cheh’s early hack-n-stab formula; and I know his leads in The Delightful Forest and The Blood Brothers exemplify his commanding on-screen presence. So what exactly is my issue with Ti Lung, you might ask?

Let me answer that question with a follow-up question: Where is Ti Lung’s signature film that showcases the best fight choreography of his career while also delivering on the other qualities that made Lung great in the eyes of his fans?

Whether it’s mundane action in an otherwise high-quality film like Avenging Eagle or all-around misfire like Cheh’s Ten Tigers of Kwangtung, many of Ti Lung’s films failed to hone in on his technical skill as a martial arts superstar. The Heroes (aka Story of Chivalry) had some decent action and highlighted Lung’s skill fairly well, but the fights fell a bit on the slow side; The Kung Fu Instructor practically put me to sleep with its humdrum stick fighting scenes; and Shaolin Prince, though outrageously entertaining, focused more on Lung pulling off wire work feats than impressing with his fighting style. In short, Lung has been involved in WAY too many generic battles for a star of his stature.

Well, I’m happy to say I finally found the answer to my question with a recent first-time viewing of Opium and the Kung Fu Master, an excellent film by Tang Chia that highlights all of Lung’s best traits – dramatic thespian, rugged fighter, good screen presence – and tops them off with a truck load of the technically-driven fight choreography I’ve always wanted for him. Opium gives us more of the brilliance of Lung’s brief but fantastic hand-to-hand fighting in Shaolin Temple (aka Death Chamber); more of the speed he demonstrated in the fierce weapons play of The Deadly Breaking Sword; and more of a reason to become a Ti Lung fan some 33 years after his heyday. Better late than never I always say.

My initial thought while viewing Opium was, “How did I miss this one after all these years?!” The likely reason spawns from once hearing it was a sequel to Ten Tigers of Kwangtung and immediately dismissing it without further research. That was my mistake because Opium is not a sequel to that snoozer, but merely a telling of how the leader of the Ten Tigers overcame an opium addiction to rescue the town he had sworn to protect. Lung portrays the Ten Tigers leader in both films (though differently named in each).

In this particular story, Lung’s Tieh Chiao San is a kung fu master and militia adviser who garners the utmost respect from his students and local townspeople. His presence strikes fear in the hearts of criminals as witnessed in an opening skirmish with Golden Cat (played by the excellent Philip Ko). The brief encounter puts Lung in a light I’ve rarely seen as every strike and block is delivered with a ferocity that signals greater things to come in the fight department. (Finally… signs of the Ti Lung the old school kung fu world needs AND deserves!)

Of course, Golden Cat escapes and reports the trouble with Tieh to his master, Yung Feng (Chen Kuan Tai). Cat wants to deal with Tieh, but Yung quickly reminds him why they’re here… for opium. More specially, to open a local opium den and earn bank while ruining the lives of people they hook on the drug. Throw in a couple of business partners played by Ku Kuan Chung and Lee Hoi San and the foursome make for a pretty damn good troop of villains.

Screenwriter Ying Wong could have kept his story as simple as local hero takes on drug gang, but instead throws in the interesting twist of depicting Tieh as one of the town’s opium addicts. Tieh tries to convince his blind instructor (played by choreographer/director Chia) and head student (Robert Mak) that he only hits the pipe every now and then, but it eventually becomes clear that his skills are eroding. A brief pole fighting sequence with Master Yi (Chia) and a lesson with Gua Su (Mak) lead to questions of whether Tieh’s habit is slowing him down (which is somewhat amusing considering Lung looks fantastic in both encounters!).

The big reveal, however, comes when Yung challenges Tieh to a public showdown after Su sets fire to the opium den in an act of retribution. Yung’s dual spears versus Tieh’s Tie Sin Fist is lightning fast and extraordinary to watch. But as the fight wears on, with Yung goading Tieh as his skills begin to wane, we see the full effects of opium abuse in a weak man who’s unable to steady his sword due to the shakes. And those shakes bring tragic consequences, delivering one of Opium’s best all-around scenes and giving the film a quasi-Rocky complex in the sense of portraying a fallen hero who must find a way to climb back to the mountain top (because we all know redemption is coming).

All in all, Opium and the Kung Fu Master is a powerhouse of action with strong contributions from everyone starting with Lung. I can’t stress enough how exceptional he looks, especially in the frenetic rice house scene where he swoops in to take on Philip Ko and a band of thugs. It’s one of my favorite bits of action complete with Robert Mak challenging Ko’s cool tiger claw in an acrobatically rousing clash. From speed to timing to power, Lung’s every move looks sharp and deliberate and I couldn’t have been more pleased. The legendary Chen Kuan Tai is also very much on point each time he takes up his spears.

Speaking of Mak, he really gets to show off his talents in this one via some great encounters with Ko and Lee Hoi San. And, he demos another nifty lion dance to boot (just like in Martial Club). I liked Mak in Martial Club, but I really loved his overall performance in Opium.

Hands down, Lung’s weapons and hand-to-hand technique are faster and more dynamic in Opium than in any other film of his career. But as powerful as his fight scenes are to the action, it’s Lung’s immensely intense portrayal of a man coming to grips with his addiction that proves equally powerful. From sacrificial deaths to woeful suicides, characters die unexpectedly at every turn with opium the root cause, and Lung takes these occurrences to heart in wonderfully dramatic fashion. You can see the conviction in his eyes each time a cautionary warning about Tieh’s opium habit leads to tragedy; it’s truly heartbreaking.

By the time Tieh begins the long journey to kicking his habit, regaining his superior kung fu (there’s an excellent pole training sequence with Master Yi), and restoring his stature, Lung is in full-on drama mode. There are some familiar episodes of melodrama that come with the old school territory, but most of the dramatic moments are genuine and effective. And though Lung has played high-stature characters many times over, I would go as far as to say none come close to resonating as strongly as Tieh Chiao San due to the levels of tragedy and high drama taking place throughout the story. It’s part of what admirably separates Opium from other kung fu tales.

I suppose the man to thank for the wonderful balance of action and drama is Chia, whose credits as a director include the aforementioned Shaolin Prince and the magnificent Shaolin Intruders. Opium was his third and final film in the director’s seat, and it was fitting (though unexpected) for Chia to choose a historical subject like opium abuse in China as his directorial swan song. Watch all three of his films back-to-back-to-back and you’ll quickly understand why Opium is considered the tame one; the action scenes in his other two films are insanely death-defying! It’s truly a shame Chia didn’t helm more projects over the course of his long choreography career.

My only real complaint about Opium and the Kung Fu Master (and it’s somewhat of a big one considering I was ready to give this film a 9.5 rating out of 10) is that the film’s finale felt rushed and serves as little more than an exercise in proficiency. And that’s really all I can say about it; it’s proficient.

For some, this might be good enough. But after Chia spends an hour and twenty minutes establishing Lung’s character as larger-than-life, breaking him down in dramatic fashion, building him up better than ever for the final showdown, and delivering some really excellent kung fu along the way, I expected a balls to the wall finale! I expected a drawn out confrontation considering Lung had to contend with Ko, San, and Chen! I even got giddy imagining what was to come as Lung made his walk to the center of town.

And then it was over in what felt like the blink of an eye. Proficiently executed and skillfully crafted, but short and workmanlike, nonetheless. All weapons, no hand-to-hand, and not everything I was hoping for in light of all the great fights leading up to this point. My minor issues with Mak and Lau Leanne’s throw-away love story and the continuous hints at Lung’s decline only manifesting in one fight scene were long forgotten. I found myself wishing I could turn back time, reshoot the finale, and set Opium back on its path to near-perfection.

Then I was snapped out of my fantasy stupor by my wife’s calls to take out the trash and quickly found myself back in the real world. After all, we’re talking about old school kung fu cinema here, not ending world hunger. And as far as finding the ultimate Ti Lung showcase was concerned… mission accomplished. So add Opium and the Kung Fu Master to your must-watch list and know you’ll be seeing Lung at his absolute finest!

Chris Hatcher’s Rating: 8.5/10

The post Opium and the Kung Fu Master (1984) Review first appeared on cityonfire.com.

“Martial Club” Chinese Theatrical Poster

Director: Lau Kar Leung
Producer: Mona Fong
Cast: Gordon Liu, Kara Hui, Robert Mak, Wang Lung Wei, Ku Feng, King Chu Lee, Chu Te Hu, Wilson Tong, Hsiao Ho
Running Time: 102 min.

By Chris Hatcher

Of the storied directors in old school kung fu cinema, none stand higher on the mountain top than the great Lau Kar Leung. His directorial run from 1975-1986 produced some of the Shaw Brother’s most celebrated classics including The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, 8 Diagram Pole Fighter, and Legendary Weapons of China. Known for creating realistic training and fight sequences influenced by the Chinese martial art of Hung Gar, Lau saturated his films with some of the most authentic choreography in the genre’s history. And no one added to his formula for success as frequently, or as spectacularly, as the Master Killer himself, Gordon Liu.

Lau cast Liu in 18 films and starred him in over half of those during a time of forging a new path in martial arts cinema. He ended his long-time work as an action choreographer for director Chang Cheh on the set of 1975’s Marco Polo out of need to focus more on the martial arts itself and less on Cheh’s affinity for blood-soaked violence. As one of the few directors to be an actual martial artist and the first choreographer to direct a feature film, Lau mentored actors like Liu in the ways of depicting spectacular kung fu on screen. And his approach paid off; Liu’s breakout role in 36th Chamber sealed their partnership and sky-rocketed both men to superstardom. In short, you can’t have a conversation about the best in martial arts cinema without mentioning Lau Kar Leung and Gordon Liu.

Whenever I read opinions on the duo’s best collaborations, it’s a given to see the films already mentioned sitting in the top spots. However, I’m always a bit surprised to find Martial Club towards the bottom of the list, or nowhere on the list at all. Granted, when you have so many great films under your belt it’s hard to find room at the top for everyone. But Martial Club seems… forgotten. Like it’s the one Lau/Liu film placed on the backburner simply for being a lesser known title in the filmography of these two greats, which is truly unfortunate. Here’s why:

Martial Club contains some of the best martial arts action to never kill a character on screen, which I greatly admire (a feat Lau/Liu pulled off three years earlier in the superbly bloodless Heroes of the East); it also displays an excellent blend of humor and action throughout; and, in what I consider the most compelling argument for its greatness, the finale features the single best Gordon Liu/Wang Lung Wei showdown of their many excellent encounters (which is truly saying something if you’ve ever seen these two go at it). Mix all of this together and you get a film that would likely rank top three on any other filmmaker’s “Best of” list. For a supreme director like Lau, however, it’s just another day at the office.

Martial Club’s plot keeps things light with Liu once again taking on the role of legendary troublemaker Wong Fei Hung (he previously played the part in Lau’s Challenge of the Masters). He and Robert Mak are students of neighboring kung fu schools, each always looking to one-up the other in friendly combat. An opening credits lion dance (featuring rules explanation by Lau) sets the stage for a third school’s head student (King Chu Lee) to break etiquette and challenge Mak’s Wang Yinlin to a lion dance-off. The aftermath finds the two schools’ masters, Zheng (Wilson Tong) and Lu (Chu Te Hu), seeking mediation from Fei Hung’s father (Ku Feng), a process that goes awry and leaves the two sides at odds.

When the hijinx of besting one another leads Fei Hung and Yinlin to ask their closest confidants (Hsiao Ho and Kara Hui) to rig a fight contest on their behalves, the result is a run-in with Master Shan (Wang Lung Wei), a northern kung fu expert who’s come southward to make friends and blend styles. Turns out he’s a guest of Master Lu’s, and an unsuspecting pawn in Lu’s shady plan to exploit the northerner’s talents and lead all rival schools. What ensues is a series of misunderstandings, double-crossings, and deceptions, each spawning a grander scale fight scene than the one before in route to the climactic showdown between Fei Hung and Shan.

Martial Club has been called one of the purest kung fu films ever made in some circles; another reason it demands to be more widely known by the fu fan masses. Lau is truly a master at highlighting kung fu intricacies and this one follows suit in multiple areas. For starters, I love his focus on strength of stance throughout the film with one particular scene showing Fei Hung goading a group of classmates to try and move him before his father secretly slips in to take a turn. The encounter is brief but exhilarating as Liu and Ku Feng demonstrate great footwork in a contest of focus and strength between father and son.

Another similar scene pits Gordon against Wang Lung Wei and Chu Te Hu as they attempt to break Fei Hung’s stance using long drapery-style material being offered as gifts. Each man winds cloth around his legs and attempts to hold his ground in the name of testing its quality when, in fact, the quality of the stance is the very thing being tested. Lau’s play on context is humorous and clever, not to mention pretty cool to watch.

Speaking of humor, Martial Club has plenty of it with Liu’s and Mak’s shenanigans taking center stage (Liu doesn’t play Fei Hung as zanily as Jackie Chan did in Drunken Master, but it works). Whether the two are posing as head coaches of their respective schools and being taught a lesson by a real master or Yinlin is impressing tricks in a brothel with his strength, the story is never bogged down by the silliness. In fact, it’s enriched by it due to Lau’s ability to flow effortlessly from the funny to the fighting and back again. Liu and Kara Hui demonstrate this when a misunderstanding leads Yinlin’s sister (played by Hui) to come after Fei Hung. The result is a school-on-school brawl featuring some great hand-to-hand and weapons combat between the two.

Which leads us to why we watch kung fu films in the first place… the fights. And no one stages great action like Lau with Liu, Hui, and Wang leading the way in a number of exciting clashes. I would go so far as to say Martial Club showcases some of Lau’s very best work and the final showdown between Gordon and Wang is the definitive proof. It’s one of the most breathtaking displays of technical skill I have ever seen in an old school film with the highlight being the alley it takes place in growing smaller in width as the fight progresses! Marvelous styles, stances, and flare throughout… oh, my!

But seriously, the fight is truly spectacular and I love the notion of their showdown being for nothing more than honor and the testing of skill. No revenge, no blood, no death… just honor and skill. It’s the epitomical scene for why Lau decided to sever his ties with Chang Cheh and blaze his own trail as a filmmaker… and the kung fu cinema world is a much better place for it.

Chris Hatcher’s Rating: 9/10

The post Martial Club | aka Instructors of Death (1981) Review first appeared on cityonfire.com.

“My Young Auntie” Chinese Theatrical Poster

Director: Lau Kar-Leung
Cast: Lau Kar Leung, Kara Hui, Hsiao Hou, Wang Lung Wei, Gordon Liu, Wilson Tong Wai-Shing, Kwan Yung-Moon, Walter Cho Tat-Wah, Yuen Tak, Robert Mak Tak-Law, Wang Ching-Ho, Wang Sha, Ngai Tung-Gwa
Running Time: 119 min.

By JJ Hatfield

My Young Auntie is one of the best period pieces with Lau Kar Leung at the helm. His job was made a lot easier with a cast that included Hsiao Ho, Kara Hui and Dick Wei and the usual Shaw Brothers including Gordon Liu.

In order to keep a family fortune away from his evil younger brother, senior uncle marries a young woman who has worked for his household most of her life. He has always been very kind to her and as a favor she marries him to keep the inheritance safe until she can deliver the deeds to Jing – chuen, played to perfection by Lau Kar Leung. Even though Dai nan is quite young she warrants the title of “Senior” due to her position within the family.

Young Auntie is played wonderfully by Kara Hui Ying-Hung. Not only does she demonstrate why she was the first woman to win a Hong Kong Best Actress Award, she performs the fight scenes as skillfully and realistically, even better than anyone could have asked for! I have tremendous respect for Kara Hui. Lau took her under his wing and taught her how to showcase her amazing potential with too many different styles and weapons to count, but he also made certain she also had a chance to stretch a bit in her acting skills.

While Jing-cheun is out, his son (Hsiao Ho) returns home early and brings along several pals. He has been studying in Hong Kong and when he arrives he finds a strange woman in his father’s bed and she even claims to own the house! This turns into a great fight scene that damages and messes up the artifacts and calligraphy Jing – chuen has been lovingly collecting and protecting for decades. Although the fight is between Jing – chuen’s “Auntie” and Toa, Dai nan uses her position as a senior of the family to have Tao punished.

When Young Auntie has decided she needs some new clothes appropriate for her role as a senior, Jing – chuen sends a very reluctant Tao with her into town to buy new clothes. Though a family senior, she has never experienced anything like the wares and goods sold in town. She is positively mesmerized by all the colored lights, beautiful clothes and jewelry. Toa has no interest in shopping so he let’s Young Auntie shop while he waits elsewhere.

While spell bound by the wonders she sees in the stores, she is criticized as being a *bumpkin* with out-dated clothes and an old fashioned hair style. You must see this for yourself; so, let’s just say things don’t go as planned and before you know it Tao and Auntie are having an undeclared contest to show their kung fu abilities skills. Their competing with each other is a constant and amusing aspect of the film. When they arrive home Jing – chuen is near hysteria, and you really can’t blame him. He is very much grounded in the behaviors and actions of traditional Chinese and has great difficulty comprehending the changes around him. And the changes have just begun!

Third Uncle tricks his relatives and takes advantage by stealing the deeds belonging to Young Auntie. The only way they can make things right is by retrieving the documents that prove Auntie is the senior of the family, preventing third uncle from gaining all. Third uncle, his Godson and the rest of his gang are not about to allow that to happen so they form a trap. The resolution involves one of the largest fights involving individuals (as opposed to a war scene) and one of the best fight scenes in a Lar Kar Leung list of credits! Everyone involved in the constant changing enemy and weapon fighting play their part to perfection. The characters tend to fight along the lines of their personality and it works great! Lau does make sure there is some comedy however it works well enough to help provide material for the film and characters, good and bad.

The film’s third act is virtually non stop. “Auntie” puts the guys through a little fitness training and the rest of the film is well choreographed, intense multiple fights! The screen is filled with two or three of the main cast but you can almost always see other fights taking place around the actors. There is no shortage of action especially martial arts and martial arts with well over a dozen different weapons.

If it looks cool, it’s in the movie. Young Auntie is a film you will definitely enjoy and want to see again!

JJ Hatfield’s Rating: 9/10

The post My Young Auntie (1980) Review first appeared on cityonfire.com.