Mai Te Lo
Opium and the Kung Fu Master
Tang Chia is considered one of the greatest Kung fu choreographers ever, but he only directed three movies of his own. The first two were weird and wonderful Kung fu phantasmagoricals, but this, his last, is not only his greatest, but one of the greatest ever. Ti Lung, in one of his finest performances, plays Tieh Chiao-san, head of the Ten Kwangtung Tigers, who falls victim to opium, the title drug which crippled China. The tragedies and drama that ensue are as stunning as the Kung fu, created by a superlative team of six martial artists. It leads to a truly unforgettable climax, as a trembling Tieh, still weak from going cold turkey, must face the gangsters who have ruined his town while he was addicted. A legitimate masterpiece and one of the finest, most effecting martial arts movies Shaw Brothers ever produced.
Apple TV
Martial Club
Arguably, the greatest kung-fu film director of all time is Liu Chia-Liang. Unarguably the greatest kung-fu film character of all time is Huang Fei-Hung. So what do you think would happen when you put these two titanic talents together? You get one of the finest “pure” kung-fu films ever made, with nary a character getting killed, but the thrills coming a mile a minute as two pugilism schools tests each other for a full hundred minutes. Lau returns his dynamic adoptive brother, Gordon Liu, to the leading role, then gives the king of screen villains, Wang Lung-Wei, one of his few anti-heroic roles... just in time for a stunning climax unparalleled in its adeptness and invention.
Apple TV
Crippled Avengers
The “godfather of the kung-fu film”, Chang Cheh, hit upon a winning formula when he combined three Taiwanese Opera artists with a muscular Chinese and a Korean kicker. Their first “official” film as stars, "The Five Venoms" was a hit, so the director/co-writer decided to launch a series with the same actors in different roles. Supporting this beloved sequel was real-life kung-fu champion Chen Kuan-tai, who Chang Cheh had already made a star. He plays a martial arts master (driven insane by his wife’s death and his son’s dismemberment), who replaces his child’s missing hands with metal versions, then proceeds to blind, deafen, render retarded, and chop off the feet of anyone who even mildly annoys him. The abused bystanders band together and brilliantly train to take their revenge. The result is a totally unbelievable, but totally awesome, super heroic delight.
Apple TV
Opium and the Kung Fu Master
Tang Chia is considered one of the greatest Kung fu choreographers ever, but he only directed three movies of his own. The first two were weird and wonderful Kung fu phantasmagoricals, but this, his last, is not only his greatest, but one of the greatest ever. Ti Lung, in one of his finest performances, plays Tieh Chiao-san, head of the Ten Kwangtung Tigers, who falls victim to opium, the title drug which crippled China.
Apple TV
Apple iTunes