Chung Wang
The New One-armed Swordsman
Skilful swordsman, Lei Li is wrongfully suspected of a treasury house theft. Lung Er Zi, another swordsman and gang boss, further incriminates Lei Li by giving false evidence. Lei Li challenges Lung Er Zi to a duel, saying that if he loses, he will cut off his right arm and retire from sword-fighting, Lung Er Zi, fighting with a special stick, overpowers Lei Li, who true to his word, cuts off his arm.
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The Water Margin
There are martial arts epics and "brotherhood hero" films but then there is nothing out there that comes even close to The Water Margin. Based on the classic novel and true legend, All Men Are Brothers about how 108 rebels bravely fought against the Sung Dynasty, just about every big Shaw Brothers’ star around at the time, David Chiang, Ti Lung and Chen Kuan-tai to name a few, were called in to do this film to make it one of the most dynamic films in the history of cinema.
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Flying Guillotine 2
In 1975, Ho Meng-hua, master of the “esoteric weapon” kung-fu thriller, started an international sensation with The Flying Guillotine. But while he went on to direct such further “crazy cutlery” hits as The Dragon Missile, popular demand insisted upon a sequel to the original decapitator-on-a-chain. So, first, they got a script by a trio of writers, featuring a new, improved “Ring-Chain Flying Guillotine” and the only weapon that can stop it, the “Toothed Wheel”. Next they matched Cheng Kang, the director of their popular true crime thriller The Criminals, with Hua Shan, the director of their superheroes Super Inframan, to double-team the project. Then they cast some of the best martial arts actors in their repertory – all ably choreographed by the often unsung, but universally respected Tang Chia. Finally they filmed Ti Lung as a fugitive from the emperor’s cruelty, against the whole F.G. gang in a blade-on-blade battle to the headless death!
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Four Riders 四騎士
Chang Cheh had established himself as the “godfather of kung-fu films” with such historical, costumed classics as "One-Armed Swordsman", "Golden Swallow", "The Deadly Duo", "Blood Brothers", and many others. But his fans also revered him for his superlative modern day martial arts thrillers, such as "Vengeance" and "Chinatown Kid". This prime example takes place in Seoul right after the Korean War, as a kung-fu master, combat instructor, explosives expert, and missile specialist must forgo the city’s pleasures to take on a venal, murderous drug smuggling gang. Representing the Book of Revelation’s four riders of war, famine, disease, and death as heroes against murder, corruption, jealousy, and greed, it’s a brutal battle where the one true winner is the audience. Featuring an international kung-fu cast guided by master choreographers Liu Chia-liang and Tang Chia, it remains a special production in Chang Cheh’s filmography.
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The Savage 5
Rarely has a title been more accurate, but considering the action which fills this film, it also could have been called "The Brutal Five" or "The Cruel Five" or The Vicious Five" … if the title referred to the villains, that is. In any case, the heroes are certainly outnumbered as gang after gang of robbing rapists invade this poor town. At first the fiends just want a village locksmith to help them open a stolen safe, but soon the entire community is being held hostage, threatened, and tortured. Although reminiscent of The Seven Samurai, the director and his revered action choreographers, Liu Chia-liang and Tang Chia, design each of the many struggles with gritty depravity and desperate power. The result is an especially realistic, even grueling, exercise in suspense.
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