That's "crack," as in "good." THE DRUG ADDICTS begins with Kuan (Ti Lung) writhing in the throes of drug addiction. He's soaked with sweat and apparently experiencing painful withdrawal cramps. His "connection," Chien (Wang Chung), refuses to hand over the much-needed narcotic. Kuan begs and pleads, but all to no avail: Chien beats the daylights out of him (at one point, knocking him down a flight of stone steps- a fall which Ti Lung does himself, without any padding). To add to his misery, Chien locks him away in a small, one room building. Kuan goes apes***, throwing the meager furniture around (in a scene that could've been construed as chewing of the scenery except for the fact that Ti Lung manages to sell the notion that he's a hardcore addict) and even flagellating himself with a metal folding chair. It takes him a while, but he eventually comes to grips with the monkey on his back and returns to teaching kung fu. Unfortunately, Chien's boss has plans for Chien and, when Kuan begins to disrupt the flow of drugs and cash (he even manages to get a crack whore into rehab), the boss decides it's time Chien proved his loyalty to the gang by killing Kuan. There isn't a great deal of kung fu in THE DRUG ADDICTS, but what there is is decent. David Chiang does a great job of directing, but that might not come as a surprise when one learns that his "assistant director" on this one was Chang Cheh himself. As a drama, it's worth a look (Chiang and company manage to evoke the sordidness of drug addiction), but it's not really an action movie.
