LOL! I’m just now getting around to responding to this. I don’t have much to add to the spaghetti topics that hasn’t pretty much already been said. I mainly just read over them here and there. Actually, I haven’t been on forums that much lately. I was putting so much into my site then personal issues caused me to lose interest in that for a long time and I’m still having to push myself to post things now. At any rate, I am more comfortable on this thread as I grew up watching these things (and horror flicks) at the age of five. I didn’t discover SW’s until I was around 12 and I didn’t like westerns then. I didn’t begin to SERIOUSLY get into the SW’s until I was around 16 or 17 so that would be around 1992 or '93. And by seriously, I mean the non Leone movies.
This one is fun:
That’s funny because he, like David Chang, are good looking dudes that don’t seem to have much martial arts experience. The Liu’s, on the other hand, can kick some serious ass.
A friend of mine has this but German language only. VIRGINS OF THE SEVEN SEAS is another name for it. A Shaw-Germany co-production. Directed by the great Kuei Chi Hung (KILLER CONSTABLE, KILLER SNAKES, THE DELINQUENT, etc)
Wang Yu was just a street fighter. He seemed to look for it. Chang Cheh talks about it in his memoirs. Then he became a gangster 
Chang Cheh? A gangster?
No, Wang Yu. Sorry I should have worded it better. ;D
Did David Chang have much Martial Arts training. I do like his persona but his fight scenes were often slow & lethargic.
Not prior to joining Shaw’s, no. He was much better in the swordsmen roles than the kung fu ones. HOwever, he did look amazing in SHAOLIN MANTIS and the indy’s, THE CHALLENGER and THE LOOT.
Liu Chia Liang really knew how to make non martial artists look like they were experts. You should definitely see SHAOLIN MANTIS aka THE DEADLY MANTIS (1978). It’s one of the more unusual SHaw movies in that the villain is the hero. Gordon Liu has a cameo at the opening as a fighting monk who battles David Chiang.
John (David) Chiang really shines in these, IMO…
HAVE SWORD WILL TRAVEL (1969)
THE DUEL (1971)
VENGEANCE! (1970)
HEROIC ONES (1970)
NEW ONE ARMED SWORDSMAN (1971)
THE WATER MARGIN (1972)
ALL MEN ARE BROTHERS (1973)
He also played a villain in THE WINGED TIGER (1969) and can be spotted as a thug in SECRET OF THE DIRK (1970). He also played a good supporting role in Chang Cheh’s THE INVINCIBLE FIST (1969) starring Lo Lieh. I talk about in part two of my Chang Cheh article. This film was later remade as KILLER CONSTABLE in a far more dark fashion. Chiang also directed a few times. One of his best is THE CONDEMNED (1976) wherein Chiang co-stars (in a non fighting role) alongside Tsai Hung who plays a good guy(!!!) in a rare lead role. Great film. Some of the venoms are here, too.
Preaching to the choir here. Deadly Mantis is a favorite of mine & that one came to mind, when I posted earlier, as being an exception. I still feel his fight scenes lacked the impact of say a Gordon Liu or Fu Sheng fight scene in 8 Diagram Pole Fighter. The emotion seen in that one over Fu Sheng’s untimely death, makes those scenes realistic.
@ LCL, his choreography, as were his own fight scenes, were incredible. The brother in Mantis who they make fun of for being single (as well as the guy from 36th Chamber who doesn’t believe Gordon Liu’s monk was the real deal) is an example of that. He usually is seen as a character actor but in SM he has a lot of fight scenes. A credit to LCL. All Men Are Brothers is awesome, as well as brutal. I don’t like Blood Brothers & feel it’s one of the more boring Shaw’s I’ve seen. I will give it another viewing.
[quote=“I…I…Idiot, post:212, topic:368”]Preaching to the choir here. Deadly Mantis is a favorite of mine & that one came to mind, when I posted earlier, as being an exception. I still feel his fight scenes lacked the impact of say a Gordon Liu or Fu Sheng fight scene in 8 Diagram Pole Fighter. The emotion seen in that one over Fu Sheng’s untimely death, makes those scenes realistic.
@ LCL, his choreography, as were his own fight scenes, were incredible. The brother in Mantis who they make fun of for being single (as well as the guy from 36th Chamber who doesn’t believe Gordon Liu’s monk was the real deal) is an example of that. He usually is seen as a character actor but in SM he has a lot of fight scenes. A credit to LCL. All Men Are Brothers is awesome, as well as brutal. I don’t like Blood Brothers & feel it’s one of the more boring Shaw’s I’ve seen. I will give it another viewing.[/quote]
I think you’re referring to Tsui Siu Keung. He was the lead in both BASTARD SWORDSMAN movies as well as the chivalrous fighter in Shaws classy LADY ASSASSIN (1982). He also co-stars with David Chiang in THE LOOT. He was also a support player in many Chu Yuan swordplays.
BLOOD BROTHERS is a classic, but it’s not a fave of mine, but taken as a dramatic feature, it plays much better. It was marketed here as a kung fu movie under the title DYNASTY OF BLOOD. If you like brutal, you will love the action equivalent to BLOOD BROTHERS, OATH OF DEATH. Some serious exploitation and gore thrills there. Seriously. That movie is unbelievable. Its so over the top, yet some parts of the film are wonderfully shot. Lo Lieh goes through hell in this one. Tien Feng is one of the most sadistic villains ever regardless of genre. He was super sadistic in THE SWORD OF SWORDS (1968), THE BLACK ENFORCER (1972), SECRET OF THE DIRK (1970), OATH OF DEATH (1971) and THE 14 AMAZONS. The latter film was one of Shaw’s biggest productions ever.
Tsui Siu Keung is here…
All the David Chiang films Angel Face listed are top class movies for him. If you watch a Chiang film you have to have Ti Lung as well. They were great on screen as the first top duo for Shaw (If I am wrong Angel Face will correct me). I love watching them together. My first movie with them was Deadly Duo. I really loved it too. They have a fight in one of my favorite movies Shaolin Temple (1976) versus the traitor Johnny Wang (when was he not a traitor or an out right baddie - everything he plays he’s evil - he does it perfectly too).
Ti Lung is awesome in his first solo film, DEAD END (1969). It’s a drama. Great movie with a lot of style. David Chiang is the supporting player here. However, audiences took more notice of him and that’s why after this, David Chiang was always the leader and Ti Lung was his second. Ti Lung also got a go as a solo swordsman in Cheh’s KING EAGLE (1971). He is also in a small role in RETURN OF THE ONE ARMED SWORDSMAN (1969).
Wang Lung Wei plays a good guy in LKL’s MARTIAL CLUB. I think that’s his only good guy role.
Mao Fu Yi the traitor!
Speaking of Ti Lung, Kung Fu Instructor is quickly rising up my top Shaw list. I had only seen a shady Time Square VHS boot (I used to drive to NYC from Boston just to buy movies…that & drink in public). After seeing a proper release recently recently it has been getting plenty of views & rave reviews form my girlfriend (devil bunny has a crush on Ti Lung)
[quote=“Angel Face, post:214, topic:368”]Tsui Siu Keung is here…
That’s him. Your knowledge again amazes me. back to Mantis. I love the ambiguity of Chiang’s (I knew there was an ‘i’ in it) character. He’s bad but depending on which side you view it from. Deadly Mantis is very SW now that I think of it, character wise, especially the ending. The training scene with the Mantis is wonderfully shot as are most of the Shaw’s set in their studios. I don’y like their outdoor shots as they remind me of any other Kung Fu flicks from that era. Their studios were huge & made for a great ‘on stage’ feel. It’s what makes their flicks unique.
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[quote=“I…I…Idiot, post:217, topic:368”]The training scene with the Mantis is wonderfully shot as are most of the Shaw’s set in their studios. I don’y like their outdoor shots as they remind me of any other Kung Fu flicks from that era. Their studios were huge & made for a great ‘on stage’ feel. It’s what makes their flicks unique.
Spe[/quote]
Yeah, me, too. They were enamored with the old Hollywood style of moviemaking. Whereas shooting on elaborate sets kept costs down from shooting outside, it also lent the films an operatic look and feel. Ti Lung really got better with age whereas David Chiang kind of fell by the wayside. For an awesome Ti Lung performance check out OPIUM & THE KUNG FU MASTER (1984) and the dramatically violent and gloomy THE MASTER STRIKES BACK (1984). The latter isn’t really a kung fu movie, it’s a drama with some action in it. Ti Lung is put through some serious hell in this one. The last fight between Ti and Chen Hui Min had me on my feet after what happens to him. Great film. A lot of fans say its a sequel to KUNG FU INSTRUCTOR because of the title but aside from the similar dress Ti Lung wears, he plays a totally different character. And the title refers to all the humiliation and violence perpetrated on Ti Lung and his son in the movie. The real name of it is HONG KONG 1841.
I have only recently viewed Opium & found the movie a little different kind of view. The ending fight sequences are awesome & it is weird seeing Ti smacked out. I found it strange that that title appeared on Blu Ray before some other classics. I’m waiting for 5 Deadly Venoms releasing on Dragon Dynasty next month.
I had previously owned a Korean tape of the film and then the HK disc. The US disc was even better quality but a friend wanted to see it but he would only watch it in English and it was a painful experience. That film is so dramatic it plays far better in its original language. The comical bits aside, it’s a powerful film. It never played theatrically in HK by the way. This is one of the few old movies some of my Chinese friends actually enjoyed.