Wang Lung-wei
Wits of the Brats
International favorite Alexander Fu Sheng both co-directs and co-stars with his brother Chang Chan-peng in an all-out, all-star, non-stop action comedy. It also features legendary director Liu Chia-liang’s brother, Liu Chia-yung (a famous director in his own right).
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The Lady is the Boss
The pre-eminent martial arts moviemaker Liu Chia-liang came up with the novel idea for this exciting and hilarious kung-fu clash between an old-fashioned kung-fu master and a hip and beautiful marketing wiz.
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Boxer Rebellion
The “godfather of the kung-fu film”, Cheh Chang, was given one of the highest budgets to date to tell this sweeping war story of disillusionment and revenge. Choreographed by Liu Chia-liang and starring international favourite Alexander Fu Sheng, it rates as a revelatory masterpiece.
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The Young Vagabond
It's a fact: the greatest martial arts movie character is Huang Fei-hung. But it's quite possible the second greatest character is "Beggar Su," one of the famous Ten Kwangtung Tigers, and a legendary Ching Dynasty figure. Little known director Liu Shih-yu decided to fill his telling of the character's life story with the best kung-fu actors Shaw Studios had to offer. He reunited the stars of Liu Chia-liang's landmark Dirty Ho - Gordon Liu Chia-hui, Wang Yu, and Wang Lung-wei - and added such other greats as multi-award-winning Ku Feng and Pai Piao, then gave workhorse Lo Chiang his shot as choreographer. Together they made a rare, colorful, action-packed adventure as Beggar Su and his brother train incessantly to defeat the brutally powerful thief called Centipede. Finally, after much death and destruction, Gordon Liu Chia-hui and Wang Lung-wei get a memorable rematch to follow their classic masterpieces in Dirty Ho and Martial Club. The result is not only reminiscent of preeminent director Liu Chia-liang's work, but essentially an homage to him as well!
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The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter
What started as masterful kung-fu filmmaker Liu Chia-liang’s homage to the heroic Sung Dynasty Yang family became an angry, even savage, rumination on heroic sacrifice when international idol Alexander Fu Sheng died in a car accident midway through production. Fu’s death was not only tragic because he was such a close friend, but because the role he was playing was one of only two survivors of an ignominious betrayal by a jealous General. Knowing that he had to immortalize Fu’s final, unfinished performance, Liu carried on, having co-star Hui Ying-hung step into the action. The finished film is unique in the director’s extraordinary filmography for the intensity and power of its emotions and kung-fu. There are heartbreaking references to the tragedy throughout, but the climax is truly unforgettable as the other family survivor, now a Shaolin-trained warrior faces his betrayers amid a pyramid of coffins. What he, and his Shaolin masters, do then has to be seen to be believed….
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My Rebellious Son
The venerated Sun Chung made many different kinds of films for Shaw Brothers, including popular and renowned satirical comedies, contemporary action dramas, and magnificent martial arts movies. This is one of his last of the latter for the studio, so he wanted to have fun and let the audience share it. Toward that end he cast international favorite Alexander Fu Sheng as the title character who keeps testing the patience (and kung-fu skills) of his father, a small town bonesetter and herbal healer played by award-winning character actor Ku Feng. But when a local dignitary not only smuggles drugs but plans to give a Chinese treasure away to evil outsiders, the father and son unite to take on foreign fighters and even Japanese ninja's in a non-stop display of comic action prowess.
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The Treasure Hunters
Fans of the international star Alexander Fu Sheng were aghast. Their idol had broken both his legs and was recuperating. Everyone wondered: would he be able to return to the action comedies for which he was so famous? This movie was the answer, and it left no doubt that he had made a full recovery. Liu Chia-yung, brother of preeminent martial arts moviemaker Liu Chia-liang, was famous in his own right for kung-fu comedies, and he out-did himself with this one. Imagine Bob Hope and Bing Crosby with the skills of Jet Li and Jackie Chan, and you’ve got an idea of the fun and fury inherent in this delightful tale of two con men vying for a horde of hidden gold. Add to the mix a Shaolin monk (played by “Master Killer” Gordon Liu Chia-hui), a powerfully brutal villain (Wang Lung-wei), and his equally dangerous mute sister (future director Yang Tsing-tsing), and you’ve got one of the most internationally loved kung-fu capers ever made.
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Lion vs. Lion
The traditional lion dance never looked so good as in Lion vs. Lion which captures the most impressive sequences of lion dancing on film. Besides being loaded with enjoyable martial arts chicanery, film historians can revel because it's also the first film that clearly demonstrates the intricacies and differences between the traditional Northern and Southern lion dancing techniques. In this film, "Five Venoms" star Lo Mang, who was discovered by Chang Cheh, teams up with Liu Chia-liang protege Wong Yu, as they inadvertently turn from vagabond kung-fu school operators into anti-Ching, patriotic fighters.
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Return to the 36th Chamber
This follow-up to the classic "The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin" shows kung-fu’s the illustrious Liu brothers at their lethal best. Director Liu Chia-liang has more than a few new kung-fu tricks up his monk’s sleeve as he transports brother Gordon Liu Chia-hui back to the Ching Dynasty and the Shaolin Monastery. And not just any part of the monastery, but the clandestine 36th chamber, where the most advanced methods of kung-fu are taught to the deserving few. Alas, Gordon is not one of the anointed elite and must find a way to covertly observe the secret training in order to obtain the skills necessary to battle the hated Manchus. Though the movie’s conclusion is never in much doubt, the Liu Brothers have a lot of fun getting from points A to Z with plenty of murder and mayhem in between.
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The Avenging Eagle
Avid international kung-fu films fans have a special place in their hearts for this outstanding martial arts drama, which marked the ascension of director Sun Chung and action choreographer Tang Chia to legendary status. Tang also appeared as the “Chief Security Officer” in this powerful tale of the Thirteen Eagles Assassination Sect of the infamous Iron Boat Clan. Ku Feng is excellent as the poisonously patriarchal leader of the killers, but conflicted “son” Ti Lung and vengeful victim Alexander Fu Sheng command the screen as consummate warriors united in tragedy. Everything is exceptional in this endlessly entertaining production: from the cinematography of Lan Nei-tsai, to the script by Shaw Brothers’ writing wizard Ni Kuang, to the editing of Chiang Hsing-loong and Yu Hsiao-feng, which deservedly won the Golden Horse Award.
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The Five Venoms
The most prolific kung-fu director in Hong Kong martial arts cinema, Chang Cheh, ushered in a new phase of his career and a new generation of action stars with The Five Venoms. The setting is ancient China’s School of Five Venoms, so named for its five types of kung-fu based on five venomous animals: centipede, scorpion, serpent, toad, and lizard. The school is notorious for the evil deeds of its disciples, leading to another classic battle between righteousness and depravity. This international hit, lauded in Ric Meyers' premiere, groundbreaking book martial arts movies as one of the greatest, spawned a series featuring the same actors in new roles which was also enjoyed from America to Asia.
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Shaolin Temple
There is no place more hallowed in the world of martial arts than China’s Shaolin Temple, birthplace of a special brand of kung-fu developed centuries ago by monks opposed to the Manchu rulers of the Ching Dynasty. A special place deserves a special epic, which is precisely what martial arts maestro Chang Cheh delivers in the aptly named, action-packed Shaolin Temple. It is a battle between a brave brand of Shaolin boxers and literally thousands of Ching troops, complete with betrayals, intrigues, and such novel fighting machines as 108 wooden robots. The human fighting machines prove just as lethal thanks to a cast that includes such legendary kung-fu stars as Ti Lung, David Chiang, and Alexander Fu Sheng.
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