|
Read More
|
Still in lockdown here… so I’ve been on a Shaw Brothers kick lately. As you know, I’m a huge Shaw Brothers fan, and for a time, I thought I’d seen most of the ones that were officially released through Celestial Pictures. Unfortunately, with the lack of interest in the USA, Shaw Brothers films just stopped being released here.
Fortunately, other countries, like the UK and Hong Kong, they’re releasing these classic films on Bluray. I recently ordered a few UK releases, paying a hefty import tax and shipping … but it’s worth it. Since they are Region 2 locked, I suggest you have a no-zone Bluray player or decrypt it on your computers. If that’s too much of a hassle, you can buy ($4) or rent ($1) these films on Google Play.
Here are some Shaw Brothers films I recently saw.
Fortunately, other countries, like the UK and Hong Kong, they’re releasing these classic films on Bluray. I recently ordered a few UK releases, paying a hefty import tax and shipping … but it’s worth it. Since they are Region 2 locked, I suggest you have a no-zone Bluray player or decrypt it on your computers. If that’s too much of a hassle, you can buy ($4) or rent ($1) these films on Google Play.
Here are some Shaw Brothers films I recently saw.
KILLER CONSTABLE (1980)
Having just seen this film, Killer Constable (萬人斬), I have to say that it’s one of my new favorite Shaw Brothers film. Unlike a lot of Kung Fu movies, this one has a really good story with a great twist.
The story starts with the robbery of the royal vault. The administrative appointed chief constable Ling Tien Ying to track down five robbers. Ying has a reputation as the “Killer Constable” as he doesn’t take prisoners. The constable brings along five loyal assistants to help return the gold and bring justice to the thieves.
One by one, the constable’s assistants dies on this long journey, and you find out the truth about the robbery. It’s masterfully shot (particularly all the night fight scenes), and the ending was very satisfying.
Having just seen this film, Killer Constable (萬人斬), I have to say that it’s one of my new favorite Shaw Brothers film. Unlike a lot of Kung Fu movies, this one has a really good story with a great twist.
The story starts with the robbery of the royal vault. The administrative appointed chief constable Ling Tien Ying to track down five robbers. Ying has a reputation as the “Killer Constable” as he doesn’t take prisoners. The constable brings along five loyal assistants to help return the gold and bring justice to the thieves.
One by one, the constable’s assistants dies on this long journey, and you find out the truth about the robbery. It’s masterfully shot (particularly all the night fight scenes), and the ending was very satisfying.
|
|
THE SAVAGE FIVE (1974)
The Savage Five (aka The Savage 5) pre-dated the Five Venoms, but it does have some elements and themes of later Venoms formula - such as five masters/strangers teaming up to fight a common enemy.
In this story, a group of bandits takes over a small town and demand them to open the safe they’ve stolen. When the local blacksmith refuses to open the safe, the bandits murders and rapes the inhabitants. A thief (David Chiang), a kung-fu fighter (Ti Lung), a woodcutter (Chen Kuan-tai), a blacksmith (Danny Lee) and a visiting acrobat (Wong Chung), teams up to defeat the gang of bandits.
In typical Chang Cheh style, there’s very little story here, but there’s plenty of blood and kung-fu action. It’s not one Cheh’s better films, but I’m not terribly fond of some of his early work.
The one thing I did like about the film is that the villains are very distinctive. One guy has a whip and knives, one guy has two guns, and one guy have a big gap in his teeth. They try to make the good guys interesting too, but they aren’t as fun as the bad guys.
I do not believe this film was released on Bluray or DVD, but you can stream it online if you have Amazon Prime. The English dub is pretty bad, like making the thief sounding Australian. The fighter sounds too old for his youthful looks, so it was hard to enjoy the film.
The Savage Five (aka The Savage 5) pre-dated the Five Venoms, but it does have some elements and themes of later Venoms formula - such as five masters/strangers teaming up to fight a common enemy.
In this story, a group of bandits takes over a small town and demand them to open the safe they’ve stolen. When the local blacksmith refuses to open the safe, the bandits murders and rapes the inhabitants. A thief (David Chiang), a kung-fu fighter (Ti Lung), a woodcutter (Chen Kuan-tai), a blacksmith (Danny Lee) and a visiting acrobat (Wong Chung), teams up to defeat the gang of bandits.
In typical Chang Cheh style, there’s very little story here, but there’s plenty of blood and kung-fu action. It’s not one Cheh’s better films, but I’m not terribly fond of some of his early work.
The one thing I did like about the film is that the villains are very distinctive. One guy has a whip and knives, one guy has two guns, and one guy have a big gap in his teeth. They try to make the good guys interesting too, but they aren’t as fun as the bad guys.
I do not believe this film was released on Bluray or DVD, but you can stream it online if you have Amazon Prime. The English dub is pretty bad, like making the thief sounding Australian. The fighter sounds too old for his youthful looks, so it was hard to enjoy the film.
|
|
BEWITCHED (1981)
I had a VHS bootleg copy of Bewitched, when I was little. The VHS copy was called “Black Magic”, so for many years, I had thought that was the title of the film… when, in fact, Black Magic is a different Shaw Brothers horror classic.
There’s actually a lot of similarities between Black Magic and Bewitched, but I feel the latter is a far superior and effective horror film.
The story of Bewitched is about a guy who visits Thailand and had a fling with a local girl. She puts a curse on him, that if he doesn’t return to her by a certain time, that he’ll die a gruesome death. Sure enough, the man undergoes a series of disgusting spells by an evil bat spirit. The rest of the story follows a police detective investigating the cursed man. He eventually sought help from a Buddhist monk to fight the evil.
Since the film took place in Hong Kong and Thailand, they did go a little over budget, and watching all the gross practical special effects (including condom skins blowing up!), it was all worth it.
If you’re a horror fan, you’ll really appreciate all the strange and disturbing gore effects. It’s so uniquely Asian horror, and it is still very scary and effective to this day. Imagine what it was like to view the film in its original theatric release. It was terrifying and nasty. Trust me, you’ll want to throw up when you see all the maggots!
Overall, a great little Asian horror film. The film is similar to other Asian horror films, such as Black Magic, Hex, and Seeding of a Ghost.
I had a VHS bootleg copy of Bewitched, when I was little. The VHS copy was called “Black Magic”, so for many years, I had thought that was the title of the film… when, in fact, Black Magic is a different Shaw Brothers horror classic.
There’s actually a lot of similarities between Black Magic and Bewitched, but I feel the latter is a far superior and effective horror film.
The story of Bewitched is about a guy who visits Thailand and had a fling with a local girl. She puts a curse on him, that if he doesn’t return to her by a certain time, that he’ll die a gruesome death. Sure enough, the man undergoes a series of disgusting spells by an evil bat spirit. The rest of the story follows a police detective investigating the cursed man. He eventually sought help from a Buddhist monk to fight the evil.
Since the film took place in Hong Kong and Thailand, they did go a little over budget, and watching all the gross practical special effects (including condom skins blowing up!), it was all worth it.
If you’re a horror fan, you’ll really appreciate all the strange and disturbing gore effects. It’s so uniquely Asian horror, and it is still very scary and effective to this day. Imagine what it was like to view the film in its original theatric release. It was terrifying and nasty. Trust me, you’ll want to throw up when you see all the maggots!
Overall, a great little Asian horror film. The film is similar to other Asian horror films, such as Black Magic, Hex, and Seeding of a Ghost.
| vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic |
Comments