Yanyan Chen
Valley of the Fangs
The team of director Cheng Chang-ho and star Lo Lieh would become well known for King Boxer – the first internationally successful kung-fu film…even before Bruce Lee became a star. This stirring saga of the “Martial Arts World” helped them prepare for that breakthrough. As with King Boxer, Lo Lieh plays the righteous hero, trying to protect another hero’s wife and daughter from a corrupt minister’s murderous plans. Li Ching, who would later star in Sexy Playgirls and Sexy Girls Of Denmark, is the object of Lo Lieh’s protection, while Wang Hsia, from The Secret Of The Dirk, is the dastardly villain. Cheng Chang-ho films it all in his customary sumptuous style, making it a fascinating companion piece to his subsequent worldwide phenomenon.
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Cheng Chang Ho had already established his filmmaking fame in Korea when he was invited to join the Shaw Studio. He created new fame in Hong Kong by directing (and sometimes writing) such action epics as Valley Of The Fangs, The Swift Knight, and this tale of a decapitating swordswoman who will let nothing stand in her way when she falls in love with a bandit’s son. Chiao Chiao, made famous in One-Armed Swordsman, is the girl who won’t let such trifles as craniums keep her from freeing her man from jail. The one villain who manages to keep his head (in every definition of the phrase) is Fan Mei-sheng. The success of this film really helped the director get ahead in just two years he was to helm the very first internationally successful kung-fu film: King Boxer.
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One-Armed Swordsman
Even non-kung-fu lovers will be mesmerized by Jimmy Wang Yu in the role that made him a superstar. As the mysterious swordsman whose one arm is more powerful than his two-armed rivals, Wang and director Chang Cheh revolutionized the Hong Kong kung-fu genre and broke box office records across Asia. The female leads, Pan Yin-tse and Chiao Chiao, went on to become some of Shaw Brothers most important lady fighters, and Wang followed up his "One-Armed Swordsman" triumph with numerous sequels. A film that always makes the “top ten” list of martial arts masterpieces, this 1967 classic is as timeless today as upon its original release.
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