5 comments about Xia ri fu xing.

1. After seeing them all, I can safely recommend that you avoid any Chan film with the word "Stars" anywhere in the title. One has a good fight scene in a Coke (Pepsi?) factory, but other than that they are pointless and irritating. Long, grueling scenes of them all wanting to get into bed with a girl get old VERY fast.



2. This movie was ok. It is like the rest of the series (Winners and Sinners my lucky stars, and this one) they always want a girl, but the ending fight scene with sammo, jackie and Biao was cool. The pepsi fight was cool too, you have to see Sammo with the tennis rackets, but this movie is mostly talking not action. This movie is not worth 34.95, I got it for 9.99, lucky for me.



3. The fight scenes in this are incredible. Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, Andy Lau, Sammo Hung, and Richard Norton all have some of the best fight scenes. The routine with Sammo and his freind trying to get into bed with a girl is pretty cheesy, but hey! You watch Jackie Chan movies for action not for Oscar caliber performances! Come on! I rank this one up there with his other fine martial arts movies.



4. If you want UNCUT ORIGINAL version, ALWAYS look for ORIGINAL LICENSED Production. NOT US Release. Its a foreign film, it should not be US version to begin with~! HELLO!!!?? Why settle for LESS with US Version where they edit and cut so many excellent scenes especially with Jackie's Fighting Scenes. And US Release ruins the speed and sound as well. I have been collecting Jackie Chan's movies both HK and US Release Version for quite some time now. I found HK Version to be MUCH MORE in enjoyable, and HIGHER in Quality. American Market always like to "Americanize" and "Control". Regional Code Regulation thing is one of the example to CONTROL the Market. Why not let everyone enjoy the same HK Original Release move the same way ENTIRE WORLD enjoys it ?? No one makes Hollywood American movies to "French version" or "Chinese Version" ~! This what Americans are doing~! Well, enjoy the cheap "American version" then~! LOL



5. In 1985 Sammo had become so huge he could get anybody he wanted to star in his movies, and I doubt that budget ever came up in coversations. If you are familiar with the Lucky Stars series, then you know what to expect. Nonstop comedy and spectacular fight scenes.
   
   Sammo and his friends are once again asked by the policewoman played by Sibelle Hu to aid her in solving a case. They have to protect John Sham and Rosamund Kwan from 3 assassins played by Chung Fa, Yasuaki Kurata and Richard Norton. But who cares about the story in a movie like this? Sammo certainly didn't. This movie is all about the long drawn out comedic sequences and the hard hitting, stunt filled fight scenes. And there are so many people fighting, it doesn't even matter that Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao and Andy Lau have such small roles. The comedy is very good, as expected from comedic geniuses like Richard Ng and Eric Tsang, but they really go all out with the fights. My only problem with the previous Lucky Stars movies, and the ones made after this, was that there aren't enough fights. The movies always end with a bang, but you have to wait around the whole movie for the action to happen. In Twinkle Twinkle, there is no waiting around for anything. They fill up every second of the movie with funny gags and fights. It is actually a bit overwhelming.
   
   Like I already said, the fights are truly amazing. You may think I am making this up, but here are all the fight scenes you will see- Yuen Biao vs Phillip Ko, Andy Lau vs Lau Kar Wing, Sammo vs a bunch of men in drag, Jackie Chan vs Richard Norton, and Jackie vs Yasuaki Kurata. All of those fights are good, but there are 4 others that stand out above the rest. When Sammo faces Richard Norton, he does probably the best acrobatic move I have ever seen him do. In case people don't know, Sammo is a fat guy, but he can pull off moves that most skinny people can only dream of. Sammo also fights Yasuaki Kurata and uses tennis rackets against his sais. You have to see it to believe it. Only Sammo could pull this kind of thing off. Then when Yuen Biao faces Chung Fa, it turns into a dream matchup that I never thought could have ended up as good as it did. And as good as all of those fights are, the highlight for me is a short match between Dick Wei and Jackie Chan. These guys really should have done more fights together. Jackie was in his physical prime in 1985 and Dick Wei never holds back. One of the best fights I have ever seen. The action directors for this movie include Sammo, Jackie, Blacky Ko, Chin Kar Lok, Yuen Wah and Lam Ching Ying, so I expected some REALLY good action. Like usual, Sammo delivers.
   
   Whether you are familiar with the Lucky Stars series or not, I highly recommend this movie. And be sure to look for cameos by Wu Ma, Kara Hui, Jason Pai Paio, James Tien, Melvin Wong, and Michelle Yeoh has a hilarious scene playing a judo instructor.
   
   4/5

No comments about Osaka Wrestling Restaurant.

5 comments about Jackie Chan: My Story.

1. A hartwarming DVD about Jackie's background, life, interests and passions in life. A wonderful companion to his book "I am Jackie Chan" which I think all of his fans should read, too.



2. While I did enjoy watching the film, being an avid Jackie Chan fan I found that the information that I recieved in the film was not anything I did not know before. I was also quite disapointed by the cheaply created opening and cut scenes. The voice over for some of the injury videos was also quite appaling.
   If you dont know much about Jackie Chan though it has some very interesting parts about his injuries and most dangerous stunts.
   I would have liked him to go more indepth about his family life and history in the Chinese Opera School though.
   
   Bela



3. While I did enjoy watching the film, being an avid Jackie Chan fan I found that the information that I recieved in the film was not anything I did not know before. I was also quite disapointed by the cheaply created opening and cut scenes. The voice over for some of the injury videos was also quite appaling.
   If you dont know much about Jackie Chan though it has some very interesting parts about his injuries and most dangerous stunts.
   I would have liked him to go more indepth about his family life and history in the Chinese Opera School though.
   
   Bela



4. If you've even heard of Jackie Chan, you must see this video. No documentary before this has ever given you such a real story on the life of this living legend.



5. This is one of the best documentaries I have ever seen. I thought I knew everything about Jackie Chan, but man was I wrong! This documentary is overloaded with info. Jackie's path at becoming the world's top action star wasn't an easy one. If you are a Jackie fan then you have to see this documentary. One thing I found interesting is that Jackie and his stunt team are blacklisted from every insurance company in Asia. There is no way I could go over all the stuff he talks about. There is nothing better than hearing Jackie's stories from Jackie's own mouth.
   
   And in case you don't know about Jackie Chan, then I will just tell you that he put his life on the line for almost every movie he made. And he has made a ton of movies! He is one of the world's top actors, but he always did his own stunts. Included in this documentary are some of his most famous stunts, and also some outtakes, including the one where he gets hit by a helicopter!
   
   Rating-5/5. I would give this a 100/100 if I could.

1 comments about Where's Officer Tuba.

1. Sammo's character is not much of a fighter in this movie. He plays a cowardly police officer who plays the tuba for the police force's marching band. David Chiang plays the tough cop and needs someone who doesn't look or act like a cop to go undercover for him. Jacky Cheung plays Sammo's friend and recommends him for the job. It is a money exchange and David Chiang ends up dying at the hands of the villains. Sammo promises to avenge his death, but then decides against it since he is a weakling. So Chiang's ghost starts to haunt Sammo and forces him to take revenge.
   
   A lot of the comedy is good, but I found the comedy with Chiang's ghost very lame. The story is decent, and like most Sammo movies, there are a couple of moments that will have you laughing really hard.
   
   There is not too much action to speak of. Some cool stunts here and there, but you have to wait until the end for the 2 main fight scenes. Hwang Jang Lee shows up and gives Sammo a serious beat down. His kicks have never looked better. Unfortunately, the way he gets beat is not very satisfying. I don't want to give it away, but prepare to be disappointed.
   
   This is not a bad movie, but it could have been so much better.
   
   3/5
   
   The Universe DVD has very good picture quality and the subtitles are written wll enough.

5 comments about Hand of Death.

1. This is a pre 1986 John Woo film. He wrote it and directed it it is a good movie. It has a good plot. It is a realy slow moving film action wise. The charactors are very well thought out and planned and the story is realy good but it is a kong fu movie with a lot of acton sceens. It's not meant to be a film just on the basis of plot and story. The action sceens are a staple of what this film is as a period martial arts film. Believe me I love movies with that are period films that aren't martal arts films in hong kong but they don't need to be based on the sole idea of reveange. They are sopposed to be a certan way. I finaly got used to this film and I do like it. But there is no reason why the action sceens should be this slow paced Samo Hung is tha acton director after all. I think that John Woo must have wanted the acton sceens this slow paced but for what reason I do not know. Even the stars of the movie in "count down in kung fu" also called head of death by golden harvest in the original english dub. Tao-liang Tan was the lead and I have seen him do crazy insane stunts but in this movie it was very slow and tame. See it for youself! To you it may be good it may not!



2. The movie starts out with a really cool scene showing the destruction of the Shaolin Temple. Look for a quick cameo by Wilson Tong. Sammo is in a cool role as like a general. His buckteeth look a bit stupid but his fighting doesn't. THIS IS A DORIAN TAN MOVE but Jackie Chan is great in his small role as a man looking to help out Tan take care of the villian played by james Tien. The story is not going to go down as one of the best ever told. A swordsman comes to help them out and they take down the evil guys. The thing that really stood out is Jackie playing a serious role. He does it very well and his fight with a spear was awesome. Sammo and Dorian Tan have a good fight. Really good fighting all around. The final fight is not spectacular but James Tien puts on a good performance.
   
   The DVD is great. Widecreened, great picture quality, and dual language tracks. Just about all that you could ask for.



3. I really like this movie co-staring a very young Jackie Chan. This is not a Jackie Chan movie. He has a small role but when he starts to kick but it's worth the wait. I like the music, fighting and beautiful outdoor sets. I don't see how anyone could dislike this movie.



4. Early in John Woo's career as a director in Hong Kong, he had the auspiciousness to direct three of the seven fortunes in Yuen Biao, Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung in their first movie together Hand of Death (1976: Chinese Title literally means Shaolin Gate) though much was not made of this at the time because they were all struggling to make a career. They have yet to work together again in such a capacity though they have said nothing but kind words about each other since. An interesting point, in hindsight, is that the star of the film is none of the three (it is hard to spot Yuen Biao as his role is of a stunt double and bit actor) but Korean export and Tae Kwon Do expert Dorian Tan Tao-Liang.
   
   Dorian Tan Tao-Liang stars as Yun Fei a Shaolin trained fighter looking to find Zhang Yi (John Woo) and escort him through White Stone town and across the White River. Zhang holds a map of all Qing bases in the Guangdong and Guangxi provinces in southeast China. He can get a hold of Zhang by contacting pupil Chiu Guo. However, when he is found, he has already been arrested and ready to be beheaded by the Manchus led by a traitor of the Shaolin Shih Xiaofeng (ubiquitous bad guy James Tien: Fearless Hyena, Winners and Sinners) who has taught himself White Crane Soul Chaser Style (he is the titular Hand of Death). Even though his Kung Fu is superior, he has the additional help of Eight Bodyguards with different styles and two top ranking guards in Smiling Fox and Du Ching (Sammo Hung who also does the stunt coordination) whose overbite is quite preposterous and resembles a "hopping vampire" though he is trained in tiger and crane styles.
   
   Yun Fei gets the assistance of a woodcutter Tan, who helped him earlier to get past a roadblock and dispose of a body (a true friend helps you get rid of a corpse). Tan's elder brother was killed by Shih's men. Tan also obtains the help of "The Wanderer" (Yeung Wai) an expert swordsman who accidentally killed a prostitute he was in love with also because of Shih and would have given up his sword for good if it was not for Yun. These men will help Zhang Yi get across the river to get the plans to help once and for all defeat the Qing Empire and restore the Ming Dynasty (the plot of the Qing Dynasty as bad guys is one of the staples of Hong Kong martial art movies like Heroes Two, Royal Tramp and Iron Monkey).
   
   Many will have bought, borrowed or rented this movie because of the presence of Jackie Chan. He originally was only supposed to have a stunt man role (helped hired onto the film by his "big brother" Sammo Hung) but as John Woo found one of the Korean actors lacking in the physical department, he replaced his part with Jackie Chan and expanded his role according to an interview with Lee Server in "Asian Pop Cinema" he stated he "changed the whole script to focus more on him and show his great skill." though there might be some fraudulent hindsight with that statement. Jackie originally had been the stunt coordinator for Woo's first film Young Dragons (1975) that came out a year earlier. Jackie did get hurt on the film, getting knocked unconscious after being pulled by a cable while being kicked by Dorian Tan and landing and hitting his head on a rock (though this would not be as bad as his most famous accident in Operation Condor where he almost lost his life).
   
   Others might watch this because it belongs in the oeuvre of John Woo. It is still very early in his career (his fourth film in two years of being a director), but you can see traces of his talent. There are some nice handheld scenes, a little use of slow motion and hints of "heroic bloodshed" elements (though this would come to blossom in Last Hurrah for Chivalry (1979)) like an early scene when Jackie Chan and Dorian Tan first meet which seemed to hint a certain homoerotism (or else those were some of the most strange smiles I have ever seen), but then failed to capitalize on it later in the film.
   
   Overall, this is a decent, yet unspectacular film. The direction is solid, yet it does not feel like a John Woo directed movie. The scenery of the Korean hillsides is absolutely beautiful and helps makes this movie easier to watch. The story is mediocre, but not too many glaring holes in the story. The Kung Fu ability is give or take. The kicking of Dorian Tan is beautiful to behold, his punching ability and forms are good but not great. Jackie Chan is also awesome with his fighting and you get to see him use a spear the Little Eagle God Lance as it is called in the film (which that and the staff are the traditional weapons that Jackie is best with). The highlight fight scenes of the movie are when Jackie fights several of the Eight Bodyguards and later when Dorian fights Sammo. The latter is especially impressive because of Sammo's willingness to hurt his body to make Tan look good. James Tien is not much of a martial artist, though his acting if fine as he is the consummate Hong Kong bad guy, so his hand-to-hand combat scenes are a bit pedantic though he has one scene wielding a sword that was good.
   
   ***½/*****
   
   The Fox/Fortune Star R1 release is a very good barebones release. There are no dubtitles and the film is uncut. There is an English dub, a genuine Mandarin mono track and it is presented in a very nice looking widescreen transfer though there is some damage to the elements. Unfortunately, like most of the Fox/Fortune Star releases you only get trailers as extras. Here is another example where the best release is the R2 Hong Kong Legends version -- Ultra-Bit Edition.



5. Well I can say that this Jackie Chan's film is one of the classic and greatest I've seen coming from a youngster Chan. I expected more participation on Jackie, instead there were several unknown actors that I've never seen in my life as a Chan's fan. I got well impressed by the bad guy performance of Sammo Hung. The guy has great talent making bad boy's role. The only thing I disliked, was Jackie Chan's death. I have the habit of seen Jackie as a Hero and never encounter death but this time, It's the only movie that I found Jackie's character's death. It's worth the buying but in the other hand, if you are a fan that is always accustomed to see Jackie alive at the end of the movies, my advice is not to buy it.

5 comments about Filthy Guy.

1. nice sammo- flick....with him playing bum...who is said to become the new emperor......some nice fightscenes...but nothing you haven't seen before....I'd recommend it to fans of martial arts and sammo only...



2. Kung fu movies are known for having bad plots, bad acting, and terrible dubbing, but this one takes the cake. All the actors totally overact and the characters are are really dumb, and the dubbing is hilarious. The fight scenes are bad, they are definitely not the the best Sammo Hung and Carter Wong can do. The acting is also bad, and the plot is really bad, but you might like this movies if you like weird kung fu movies that are so bad they're funny.



3. Yes he is quite Filthy. If you read the synopsis on the sleeve for this DVD it must have been written by someone who hadn't seen the movie. Watch the movie first then read the synopsis. I liked this movie, it's pretty funny which makes up for its low budget. The local landowner tries to kill Filthy Guy because they believe a prophecy saying he will be the next emperor. The land owner wants the emperorship for himself so he must kill his own servant Filthy Guy who is about a durable as Curly from the Three Stooges. In the end the action come up as he frees a political prisoner, becomes famous, rebels join him and two hot babes fight along side him. If you like Sammo's comedy then this is one to get.



4. Sammo Hung in his 'funny' mode. Unfortunately, even he is not able to save this dog from dying.



5. Filthy Guy Don't buy this one its garbage I can't believe they're selling this DVD. I wouldn't recommend this DVD to no one.Sammo Hung kung fu isn't good in this one.It's not worth a rate.

5 comments about Strike of Death.

1. This is a pre 1986 John Woo film. He wrote it and directed it it is a good movie. It has a good plot. It is a realy slow moving film action wise. The charactors are very well thought out and planned and the story is realy good but it is a kong fu movie with a lot of acton sceens. It's not meant to be a film just on the basis of plot and story. The action sceens are a staple of what this film is as a period martial arts film. Believe me I love movies with that are period films that aren't martal arts films in hong kong but they don't need to be based on the sole idea of reveange. They are sopposed to be a certan way. I finaly got used to this film and I do like it. But there is no reason why the action sceens should be this slow paced Samo Hung is tha acton director after all. I think that John Woo must have wanted the acton sceens this slow paced but for what reason I do not know. Even the stars of the movie in "count down in kung fu" also called head of death by golden harvest in the original english dub. Tao-liang Tan was the lead and I have seen him do crazy insane stunts but in this movie it was very slow and tame. See it for youself! To you it may be good it may not!



2. The movie starts out with a really cool scene showing the destruction of the Shaolin Temple. Look for a quick cameo by Wilson Tong. Sammo is in a cool role as like a general. His buckteeth look a bit stupid but his fighting doesn't. THIS IS A DORIAN TAN MOVE but Jackie Chan is great in his small role as a man looking to help out Tan take care of the villian played by james Tien. The story is not going to go down as one of the best ever told. A swordsman comes to help them out and they take down the evil guys. The thing that really stood out is Jackie playing a serious role. He does it very well and his fight with a spear was awesome. Sammo and Dorian Tan have a good fight. Really good fighting all around. The final fight is not spectacular but James Tien puts on a good performance.
   
   The DVD is great. Widecreened, great picture quality, and dual language tracks. Just about all that you could ask for.



3. I really like this movie co-staring a very young Jackie Chan. This is not a Jackie Chan movie. He has a small role but when he starts to kick but it's worth the wait. I like the music, fighting and beautiful outdoor sets. I don't see how anyone could dislike this movie.



4. Early in John Woo's career as a director in Hong Kong, he had the auspiciousness to direct three of the seven fortunes in Yuen Biao, Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung in their first movie together Hand of Death (1976: Chinese Title literally means Shaolin Gate) though much was not made of this at the time because they were all struggling to make a career. They have yet to work together again in such a capacity though they have said nothing but kind words about each other since. An interesting point, in hindsight, is that the star of the film is none of the three (it is hard to spot Yuen Biao as his role is of a stunt double and bit actor) but Korean export and Tae Kwon Do expert Dorian Tan Tao-Liang.
   
   Dorian Tan Tao-Liang stars as Yun Fei a Shaolin trained fighter looking to find Zhang Yi (John Woo) and escort him through White Stone town and across the White River. Zhang holds a map of all Qing bases in the Guangdong and Guangxi provinces in southeast China. He can get a hold of Zhang by contacting pupil Chiu Guo. However, when he is found, he has already been arrested and ready to be beheaded by the Manchus led by a traitor of the Shaolin Shih Xiaofeng (ubiquitous bad guy James Tien: Fearless Hyena, Winners and Sinners) who has taught himself White Crane Soul Chaser Style (he is the titular Hand of Death). Even though his Kung Fu is superior, he has the additional help of Eight Bodyguards with different styles and two top ranking guards in Smiling Fox and Du Ching (Sammo Hung who also does the stunt coordination) whose overbite is quite preposterous and resembles a "hopping vampire" though he is trained in tiger and crane styles.
   
   Yun Fei gets the assistance of a woodcutter Tan, who helped him earlier to get past a roadblock and dispose of a body (a true friend helps you get rid of a corpse). Tan's elder brother was killed by Shih's men. Tan also obtains the help of "The Wanderer" (Yeung Wai) an expert swordsman who accidentally killed a prostitute he was in love with also because of Shih and would have given up his sword for good if it was not for Yun. These men will help Zhang Yi get across the river to get the plans to help once and for all defeat the Qing Empire and restore the Ming Dynasty (the plot of the Qing Dynasty as bad guys is one of the staples of Hong Kong martial art movies like Heroes Two, Royal Tramp and Iron Monkey).
   
   Many will have bought, borrowed or rented this movie because of the presence of Jackie Chan. He originally was only supposed to have a stunt man role (helped hired onto the film by his "big brother" Sammo Hung) but as John Woo found one of the Korean actors lacking in the physical department, he replaced his part with Jackie Chan and expanded his role according to an interview with Lee Server in "Asian Pop Cinema" he stated he "changed the whole script to focus more on him and show his great skill." though there might be some fraudulent hindsight with that statement. Jackie originally had been the stunt coordinator for Woo's first film Young Dragons (1975) that came out a year earlier. Jackie did get hurt on the film, getting knocked unconscious after being pulled by a cable while being kicked by Dorian Tan and landing and hitting his head on a rock (though this would not be as bad as his most famous accident in Operation Condor where he almost lost his life).
   
   Others might watch this because it belongs in the oeuvre of John Woo. It is still very early in his career (his fourth film in two years of being a director), but you can see traces of his talent. There are some nice handheld scenes, a little use of slow motion and hints of "heroic bloodshed" elements (though this would come to blossom in Last Hurrah for Chivalry (1979)) like an early scene when Jackie Chan and Dorian Tan first meet which seemed to hint a certain homoerotism (or else those were some of the most strange smiles I have ever seen), but then failed to capitalize on it later in the film.
   
   Overall, this is a decent, yet unspectacular film. The direction is solid, yet it does not feel like a John Woo directed movie. The scenery of the Korean hillsides is absolutely beautiful and helps makes this movie easier to watch. The story is mediocre, but not too many glaring holes in the story. The Kung Fu ability is give or take. The kicking of Dorian Tan is beautiful to behold, his punching ability and forms are good but not great. Jackie Chan is also awesome with his fighting and you get to see him use a spear the Little Eagle God Lance as it is called in the film (which that and the staff are the traditional weapons that Jackie is best with). The highlight fight scenes of the movie are when Jackie fights several of the Eight Bodyguards and later when Dorian fights Sammo. The latter is especially impressive because of Sammo's willingness to hurt his body to make Tan look good. James Tien is not much of a martial artist, though his acting if fine as he is the consummate Hong Kong bad guy, so his hand-to-hand combat scenes are a bit pedantic though he has one scene wielding a sword that was good.
   
   ***½/*****
   
   The Fox/Fortune Star R1 release is a very good barebones release. There are no dubtitles and the film is uncut. There is an English dub, a genuine Mandarin mono track and it is presented in a very nice looking widescreen transfer though there is some damage to the elements. Unfortunately, like most of the Fox/Fortune Star releases you only get trailers as extras. Here is another example where the best release is the R2 Hong Kong Legends version -- Ultra-Bit Edition.



5. Well I can say that this Jackie Chan's film is one of the classic and greatest I've seen coming from a youngster Chan. I expected more participation on Jackie, instead there were several unknown actors that I've never seen in my life as a Chan's fan. I got well impressed by the bad guy performance of Sammo Hung. The guy has great talent making bad boy's role. The only thing I disliked, was Jackie Chan's death. I have the habit of seen Jackie as a Hero and never encounter death but this time, It's the only movie that I found Jackie's character's death. It's worth the buying but in the other hand, if you are a fan that is always accustomed to see Jackie alive at the end of the movies, my advice is not to buy it.

5 comments about Hand of Death.

1. This is a pre 1986 John Woo film. He wrote it and directed it it is a good movie. It has a good plot. It is a realy slow moving film action wise. The charactors are very well thought out and planned and the story is realy good but it is a kong fu movie with a lot of acton sceens. It's not meant to be a film just on the basis of plot and story. The action sceens are a staple of what this film is as a period martial arts film. Believe me I love movies with that are period films that aren't martal arts films in hong kong but they don't need to be based on the sole idea of reveange. They are sopposed to be a certan way. I finaly got used to this film and I do like it. But there is no reason why the action sceens should be this slow paced Samo Hung is tha acton director after all. I think that John Woo must have wanted the acton sceens this slow paced but for what reason I do not know. Even the stars of the movie in "count down in kung fu" also called head of death by golden harvest in the original english dub. Tao-liang Tan was the lead and I have seen him do crazy insane stunts but in this movie it was very slow and tame. See it for youself! To you it may be good it may not!



2. The movie starts out with a really cool scene showing the destruction of the Shaolin Temple. Look for a quick cameo by Wilson Tong. Sammo is in a cool role as like a general. His buckteeth look a bit stupid but his fighting doesn't. THIS IS A DORIAN TAN MOVE but Jackie Chan is great in his small role as a man looking to help out Tan take care of the villian played by james Tien. The story is not going to go down as one of the best ever told. A swordsman comes to help them out and they take down the evil guys. The thing that really stood out is Jackie playing a serious role. He does it very well and his fight with a spear was awesome. Sammo and Dorian Tan have a good fight. Really good fighting all around. The final fight is not spectacular but James Tien puts on a good performance.
   
   The DVD is great. Widecreened, great picture quality, and dual language tracks. Just about all that you could ask for.



3. I really like this movie co-staring a very young Jackie Chan. This is not a Jackie Chan movie. He has a small role but when he starts to kick but it's worth the wait. I like the music, fighting and beautiful outdoor sets. I don't see how anyone could dislike this movie.



4. Early in John Woo's career as a director in Hong Kong, he had the auspiciousness to direct three of the seven fortunes in Yuen Biao, Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung in their first movie together Hand of Death (1976: Chinese Title literally means Shaolin Gate) though much was not made of this at the time because they were all struggling to make a career. They have yet to work together again in such a capacity though they have said nothing but kind words about each other since. An interesting point, in hindsight, is that the star of the film is none of the three (it is hard to spot Yuen Biao as his role is of a stunt double and bit actor) but Korean export and Tae Kwon Do expert Dorian Tan Tao-Liang.
   
   Dorian Tan Tao-Liang stars as Yun Fei a Shaolin trained fighter looking to find Zhang Yi (John Woo) and escort him through White Stone town and across the White River. Zhang holds a map of all Qing bases in the Guangdong and Guangxi provinces in southeast China. He can get a hold of Zhang by contacting pupil Chiu Guo. However, when he is found, he has already been arrested and ready to be beheaded by the Manchus led by a traitor of the Shaolin Shih Xiaofeng (ubiquitous bad guy James Tien: Fearless Hyena, Winners and Sinners) who has taught himself White Crane Soul Chaser Style (he is the titular Hand of Death). Even though his Kung Fu is superior, he has the additional help of Eight Bodyguards with different styles and two top ranking guards in Smiling Fox and Du Ching (Sammo Hung who also does the stunt coordination) whose overbite is quite preposterous and resembles a "hopping vampire" though he is trained in tiger and crane styles.
   
   Yun Fei gets the assistance of a woodcutter Tan, who helped him earlier to get past a roadblock and dispose of a body (a true friend helps you get rid of a corpse). Tan's elder brother was killed by Shih's men. Tan also obtains the help of "The Wanderer" (Yeung Wai) an expert swordsman who accidentally killed a prostitute he was in love with also because of Shih and would have given up his sword for good if it was not for Yun. These men will help Zhang Yi get across the river to get the plans to help once and for all defeat the Qing Empire and restore the Ming Dynasty (the plot of the Qing Dynasty as bad guys is one of the staples of Hong Kong martial art movies like Heroes Two, Royal Tramp and Iron Monkey).
   
   Many will have bought, borrowed or rented this movie because of the presence of Jackie Chan. He originally was only supposed to have a stunt man role (helped hired onto the film by his "big brother" Sammo Hung) but as John Woo found one of the Korean actors lacking in the physical department, he replaced his part with Jackie Chan and expanded his role according to an interview with Lee Server in "Asian Pop Cinema" he stated he "changed the whole script to focus more on him and show his great skill." though there might be some fraudulent hindsight with that statement. Jackie originally had been the stunt coordinator for Woo's first film Young Dragons (1975) that came out a year earlier. Jackie did get hurt on the film, getting knocked unconscious after being pulled by a cable while being kicked by Dorian Tan and landing and hitting his head on a rock (though this would not be as bad as his most famous accident in Operation Condor where he almost lost his life).
   
   Others might watch this because it belongs in the oeuvre of John Woo. It is still very early in his career (his fourth film in two years of being a director), but you can see traces of his talent. There are some nice handheld scenes, a little use of slow motion and hints of "heroic bloodshed" elements (though this would come to blossom in Last Hurrah for Chivalry (1979)) like an early scene when Jackie Chan and Dorian Tan first meet which seemed to hint a certain homoerotism (or else those were some of the most strange smiles I have ever seen), but then failed to capitalize on it later in the film.
   
   Overall, this is a decent, yet unspectacular film. The direction is solid, yet it does not feel like a John Woo directed movie. The scenery of the Korean hillsides is absolutely beautiful and helps makes this movie easier to watch. The story is mediocre, but not too many glaring holes in the story. The Kung Fu ability is give or take. The kicking of Dorian Tan is beautiful to behold, his punching ability and forms are good but not great. Jackie Chan is also awesome with his fighting and you get to see him use a spear the Little Eagle God Lance as it is called in the film (which that and the staff are the traditional weapons that Jackie is best with). The highlight fight scenes of the movie are when Jackie fights several of the Eight Bodyguards and later when Dorian fights Sammo. The latter is especially impressive because of Sammo's willingness to hurt his body to make Tan look good. James Tien is not much of a martial artist, though his acting if fine as he is the consummate Hong Kong bad guy, so his hand-to-hand combat scenes are a bit pedantic though he has one scene wielding a sword that was good.
   
   ***½/*****
   
   The Fox/Fortune Star R1 release is a very good barebones release. There are no dubtitles and the film is uncut. There is an English dub, a genuine Mandarin mono track and it is presented in a very nice looking widescreen transfer though there is some damage to the elements. Unfortunately, like most of the Fox/Fortune Star releases you only get trailers as extras. Here is another example where the best release is the R2 Hong Kong Legends version -- Ultra-Bit Edition.



5. Well I can say that this Jackie Chan's film is one of the classic and greatest I've seen coming from a youngster Chan. I expected more participation on Jackie, instead there were several unknown actors that I've never seen in my life as a Chan's fan. I got well impressed by the bad guy performance of Sammo Hung. The guy has great talent making bad boy's role. The only thing I disliked, was Jackie Chan's death. I have the habit of seen Jackie as a Hero and never encounter death but this time, It's the only movie that I found Jackie's character's death. It's worth the buying but in the other hand, if you are a fan that is always accustomed to see Jackie alive at the end of the movies, my advice is not to buy it.

1 comments about Skinny Tiger and Fatty Dragon.

1. This could be considered sort of a sequel to Enter the Fat Dragon. It doesn't feature the constant worship of Bruce Lee, but Sammo does fight and act the same way that he did in Enter the Fat Dragon. Sammo and Karl Maka star as cops who try to do their job well, but they are just a little too ready to fight with people. They end up getting in trouble and are fired. But they still want to bust a drug dealer. I don't know why I'm explaining the story, because it doesn't even matter. This movie is nonstop comedy and fighting. The comedy is good at times, though nothing great. The fights on the other hand are magnificent. Sammo must have been using some type of performance enhancement, because a fat man should not be able to move like that. All of the fights are good, and I mean really good. The only thing I was disappointed with was at the end where Mark Houghton and Sammo square off, and the fight seems to be cut way short. I've heard that there is a rare longer version of this movie that has the full fight scene, so I am going to have to track that down.
   
   4/5
   
   The Mei Eh DVD has pretty good picture quality and subtitles.

3 comments about The Prodigal Son.

1. good and theatrical wing chun fighting... but weak plot of course... worth seeing for the fluid wing chun...



2. This is an excellent film with excellent Wing Chun, quite easily the best kung fu film around. The film also has humour with funny characters. I've watched it loads of times and will watch it loads more.



3. A classic kung-fu masterpiece from director sammo hung. Yuen biao plays a rich and spoiled kid who wins his fights because his parents are always paying the losers. When he find the truth,
   he joins a opera team with lam ching-ying hoping to learn wing chun. After a while, his master teaches him and it all comes down to an amazing 5-minutes final fight against franckie chan who killed his master a bit earlier. IT's old school kung-fu at his best and the training sequences are impressive.