Just watched The Bells of Death (1968) and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Plot wise it’s just a run of the mill revenge for a slaughtered family (and kidnapped sister) story but visually it is far from routine for a Shaw Bros flick. In particular the lighting and use thereof to create mood is excellent and the rapid editing style and hand held camera work during the fight scenes looks decidedly modern without overdoing it and becoming uncomfortable to watch. The whole subdued atmosphere counterpointed with the often stormy weather reminded me of Margheriti at his Gothic western best and Chang Yi plays the anguished and driven hero avenger very well.
A first class Shaw for me this one. Even the English dub was better than most.
Lion vs Lion. The Shaw Brothers try their hand at comedy but the film works best during the action scenes. I’m a big fan of Lion dancing and this film has a good one. Lo Meng is good as always & his squeaky clean character seems out of place with the mugging that goes on during the bad comedy bits. The ending is a bit jarring and really comes from out of nowhere, even more so than most SB films. Its too bad that Lo Meng didn’t have more starring roles.
Watched THE GOLDEN LION, quite enjoyed this one, a simple story about getting an antidote but in the capable hands of Ho Meng-hua it turns out to be a winner, quite brutal in parts too.
Watched the Blu Ray of HEROES TWO, last night. Looks really crisp.
…and I still want that soundtrack!!!
The Casino, I took my time to get round to watching this one, mainly because I thought it was one of them “gambling films”. So glad I finally watched it, I really enjoyed it. Yueh Hua is a master of gambling and tricks but he uses it for good to expose the cheaters and corrupt officials. When they kill his wife (played by Lily Ho) he goes on the rampage taking out all and sundry, some with quite grisly methods.
CRAZY SEX - Two tales of sex and deceit, a great bit of Chinese sexploitation it reminded me of LOVE SWINDLER. I thought the fist of the two stories was the better one.
I like these kind of two or three part tales the Shaws produced so well, I wonder how many of them like this they made?
Watched THE FANTASTIC MAGIC BABY, not quite what I thought I was going to be watching but it was interesting enough viewing. It’s got some sort of charm to it I suppose and the choreography was quite good at times.
Not watched a Shaw for a while so put on MY SON, Quite an enjoyable drama from 1969 with Jimmy as a young delinquent with a good heart who always gets into mischief.
[B]Gambler’s Delight[/B] - Really enjoyed it, Danny Lee and his crew Vs Chen Ping and her crew in a battle of deceit and trickery, as well as the gambling scams there is also a good balance of violence and sleaze, recommended.
watched a couple of classic Shaws, the incredibly violent for it’s time [B]Vengeance[/B] and [B]The Fugitive[/B], possibly the film with the most Police slaughter in it I have ever seen. Love these two, watched them both a few times now.
Had a Shaw double bill of [B]Man Of Iron[/B] and [B]The Fugitive[/B] (yet again).
Watched The Convict Killer. Great Kung Fu with Ti Lung carrying a large chain and using it as his weapon of choice. Has to set the record for most broken wood in a film as someone is almost always crashing through boards, walls and furniture in this one 
[B]Little Dragon Maiden[/B] - I didn’t think this one was going to be up to much but was pleasantly surprised, not a great film by any means but it was enjoyable enough. A few good fights here and there and it is surprisingly violent at times. Lo Lieh is fantastic in his small role with his Toad style.
[B]Brothers Five[/B] - Revisited it again but this time watched the blu ray release, it looks absolutely fantastic. You wouldn’t think it was 42 years old.
Had a Shaw Brothers double bill and revisited [B]Web of Death[/B] and [B]Five Element Ninjas[/B], Web looks nice but not as crisp as most of the other Shaw blu’s I have seen. Just as good as I remember it being.
The print on Ninjas was absolutely stunning. I liked it the last time I saw it but absolutely loved it this time round. Near enough non stop row.
The Diary of a Lady Killer - A man who’s fiancee won’t have sex with him before they are married has random encounters with several women who all end up murdered after he has been with them and is falsely imprisoned. I quite enjoyed this one and it was quite sleazy in parts for a 60’s one.
These Thai posters arrived today.
Nice…so much colour in these Thai posters.
[B]Carry On Con Men[/B] - In this sequel to Two Con Men the tricksters are back doing what they do best. Quite sleazy for what it is and some of the humour is pretty juvenile, someone is tricked into eating a piece of Dog Shit covered in sesame seeds!
[B]The Proud Twins[/B] - Couldn’t remember it that well so decided to give it another watch. Good fun in a cheesy kind of way, I forgot how hectic it was!
