75% (1) The Avenging Eagle 90 min, R, [Action, Adventure, Drama] [Chung Sun] [13 Sep 1978]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 75%, External Reviews
Awards: 1 win & 1 nomination.
Actors: Feng Ku, Lung Chan, Lung Ti, Sheng Fu
Writer: Hung Chin (story), Kuang Ni (screenplay)
External Links: IMDb Language: Mandarin, Cantonese Country: Hong Kong
Plot: Chi Ming-sing is a former disciple of a gang run by overlord Yoh Xi-hung. Yoh's disciples hunt Chi relentlessly as he travels on a soul-searching journey. He comes to the aid of a seemingly bumbling man who hardly takes even life-threatening scenes seriously. The man Chi saved starts following him on the road, explaining that he's looking for someone who committed a grievous, unforgivable wrong. As the two travel on the road, it starts to become clear that Chi's companion is more than he seems: he's actually a very skilled martial artist, and his boots contain short blades that he can attach to his sleeves. Chi finally tells his companion his story: he's seeking out a renowned swordsman named Cheuk Yi-fan... not to kill him, but to die at his hand. Chi is haunted of the last job he did with the gang, slaughtering many of Cheuk's family and friends... and Chi himself slew Cheuk's pregnant wife. Chi's companion agrees to help Chi with his mission. But when the two arrive at Yoh's stronghold intent on killing him, Yoh recognizes Chi's companion as none other than Cheuk Yi-fan himself. Will Chi and Cheuk be able to remain together against Yoh's formidable fighting style, or will Yoh succeed at dividing and conquering his foes?
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70% (1) Shaolin Temple 126 min, [Action] [Cheh Chang] [22 Dec 1976]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 70%, External Reviews
Actors: David Chiang, Kuan-Chun Chi, Lung Ti, Sheng Fu
Writer: Cheh Chang, Kuang Ni
External Links: Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: Mandarin Country: Hong Kong
Plot: The Shaolin Temple is the last place to resist defeat by the Manchu Dynasty, mostly because of their unique fighting style. Men from far and wide come to wait outside the temple, hoping that they will be admitted as pupils. As the Abbot becomes older, he realizes that the Manchus are determined to destroy the temple and eradicate the Shaolin fighting techniques. To this end, he decides that it is time at last to admit worthy men into the temple as students, to learn the way of Shaolin.
Rotten Tomatoes: This is the first Hong Kong kung-fu movie to be shot in mainland China, actually using the location where the Shaolin martial arts were born as the site for filming. A real Shaolin champion plays the lead (Jet Li), and perhaps because of his training in this form of kung-fu, he comes across as respectful and sincere. The story centers on a legend painted as a mural in one hall of the Shaolin Temple itself. During the Tang dynasty (618-906 A.D.), 13 monks from this temple saved the life of the emperor, and when the story begins, one man (Jet Li) has just escaped certain death at the hands of the emperor's cruel retainers and is looking for asylum in the temple. A kindly priest and his acolytes nurse the man back to health, and although his decision is not made lightly, he finally enters the monkhood and begins training in the martial arts. His motivation is not exactly saintly - he wants revenge for the murder of his father - and that desire leads him out into the world to subdue his enemies. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
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69% (1) Life Gamble 96 min, [Action, Drama] [Cheh Chang] [22 Feb 1979]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 69%, External Reviews
Actors: Chen Chi Lin, Meng Lo, Phillip Chung-Fung Kwok, Sheng Fu
Writer: Cheh Chang (story), Kuang Ni (screenplay)
External Links: Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: Mandarin Country: Hong Kong
Plot: LIFE GAMBLE is the tale of a simple blacksmith (Kuo Chue) with extraordinary martial arts skills who is entangled in a life and death struggle between swordsmen, thieves, con artists, a smooth dagger-slinger (Fu Sheng), a beautiful seductress (Lin Chen-chi) who can kill you with her smile, a servant with a deadly whip, an assassin with a golden hairpin, an iron-fisted villain on a murderous rampage, a ruthless gambler with seemingly unlimited funds, and many, many more.
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68% (1) Chinatown Kid 115 min, R, [Action, Drama] [Cheh Chang] [01 Jan 1977]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 68%, External Reviews
Actors: Phillip Chung-Fung Kwok, Sheng Fu, Shirley Yu, Susan Yam-Yam Shaw
Writer: Cheh Chang, Kuang Ni, James Wong (story)
External Links: Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: Cantonese, Mandarin, English Country: Hong Kong
Plot: After getting in trouble with local gangs, a young man (Fu Sheng) flees to San Francisco, where the same gangs are still causing problems. He becomes a part of one gang, and eventually decides to play them against each other in order to clean up the town.
Rotten Tomatoes: Fleeing from the murderous gang battles of Hong Kong, Tan Tung, a young martial arts street fighter escapes to San Francisco. There, he fights his way to the top of the city's most dreaded gang. But as a full-scale war for control of Chinatown breaks out, Tan Tung must decide whether he will use his skills for evil or for honor.
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66% (1) 7 Man Army 100 min, R, [Action, Drama, War] [Cheh Chang] [01 Aug 1976]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 66%, External Reviews
Awards: 1 nomination.
Actors: David Chiang, Kuan Tai Chen, Lung Ti, Sheng Fu
Writer: Kuang Ni
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: Mandarin, Japanese Country: Hong Kong, Taiwan
Plot: Another iconoclastic work from the action auteur Chang Cheh, and winner of Honourable Mention for Dramatic Feature at the 13th Golden Horse Awards, 7-Man Army retells the legend of seven patriots defending against 20,000 Japanese soldiers and 50 tanks for 5 days, at a strategic key point of the Great Wall known as Pa Tou Lou Tzu
Rotten Tomatoes: Stories are told about a group of Chinese who fought so valiantly against the Japanese during the 1933 Sino-Japanese war that the Japanese buried them with full military honors. This martial arts epic shows the filmmaker's imaginary re-creation of the final hours and days of these legendary heroes. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
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