mj970128-1 Reviews

The Singing Killer (1970)

No comparison to Seijun Suzuki's Tokyo Drifter

[5/10 · 25 February 2005]

The successful night club singer Johnny [ David Chiang ] is blackmailed by his former criminal friends into working with them again. They want rob a jewellery store and need him for disguise. Starting the robbery Johnny see's his lost love Lily [ Wang Ping ] working there, then fights against the gang and gets shot by the security. Now he's wanted by the police and his former colleagues....

Apart from 5 songs performed by David Chiang a completely "common" thriller, not a musical or pistol opera, as worried before. The background music also takes places at the very beginning or end of the movie, and is only held at concerts of Johnny, not during the movie, he didn't start singing in the middle of action. The OK mandopop songs written by Chang Cheh are rather funny also, not only because of the silly lyrics, but also the choreographed gig, the costumes of the dancers and especially the petrified David Chiang and the cameo of Ti Lung as guitarist and drummer.

The story begins well, Johnny [ his artist name is the "Narcissus" and hell, he looks like one ] gets a fictitious letter , leading him to the old accommodation , where the criminals try to get control over him. Their plan is well thought and the ways before the robbery - which is in the middle of movie - are quite suspenseful and clever. Then it's slowing down, not only because of Johnny's injuries. Speed is lacking, the big love story doesn't work, the played emotions are too played, they simply overegg the pudding.

In contrast to that the determination work of the police is boring, the audience knows the truth already. The chase of the gang is little boring also, because there really isn't any, except 2 thugs "visiting" once. Anyway the film is quite good, if there's speed, but there are simply too less moments of it. The armed robbery is adrenaline pumping, the later foot chase in the underground also, sporting some good action sequences. The showdown is also dealing with guns, next to few fight choreographies of Lau Kar Leung and Tang Chia, film is also mildly bloody.

I wouldn't recommend the movie, it's quite interesting the first half, then it gets worse and little boring. No comparison to Seijun Suzuki's TOKYO DRIFTER.

The Boxer from Shantung (1972)

prologue 6 epilogue are quite fine, between them is a good film, but not an outstanding one

[2 February 2005]

Occasionally too gluey Eastern about the rising of Ma Yongzhen [ Chen Kuan Tai, in the German title he's giving a pirate, not a boxer ] , who hast to recognize later, the air up there is quite thin. The formal data's of the movie are quite impressing: John Woo as assistant director, Chen Kuan Tai became one the Top Actors thru it, it's with KING BOXER and FIST OF FURY one of THE influential movies of the time, followed by a somehow sequel [ IRON MAN ] and a remake [ Corey Yuen Kwai's HERO, with Takeshi Kaneshiro and the then-comeback of Yuen Biao ].

An epic is aimed, the premise is well, but due to the missing pace and the lacking dramatic and elaboration it isn't reached. The action scenes are either rigid or way too exaggerated, and some sequences could have been cut; a running time of 2hrs is too much for that. For example the Wrestling episode, which is terribly long, but also some sections with Ching Li as eye-catcher and secret love interest of Ma Yongzhen, which adds nothing at all to the film. So there's only struggle to the next, the opponents are always increasing, Ma himself is little impressed by that. At the end he runs around a tea house, collapsing it and beating the sh*t out of estimated 200 thugs, and already has an Axe cut in his belly. Thats too silly.

Movie has sure his strengths, production values is as high as the body count, Chen Kuan Tai does very well in his first leading role, there's an expanded cameo of David Chiang and the gangster story is something new, compared to the usual revenge - plot. The prologue and epilogue are quite fine, between them is a good film, but not an outstanding one.

Death Duel (1977)

Really entertaining 90mins.

[7/10 · 28 January 2005]

Pleasing purposeful and taut Swordsplay - movie based on stories by Gu Long, about the supremacy of the Jiang Hu. Third master [ Derek Yee ] is the #1 at the moment , considered as the best sword fighter, but he's tired of his way of life, pretends his death and begins a simple life. Too early for Yen Shi kwan [ Ling Yun ], who aimed the whole life for fame and the answer if he could be the real #1.

Death Duel is a little different from other Gu Long movies directed also by Chu Yuan, no obscure jumble of plot and persons here, it's strictly concentrated oh Third Master and his tries to survive the power struggle, where he's attacked again and again. The then 20yrs old Derek Yee [ now director of movies like ONE NITE IN MONGKOK, VIVA EROTICA, FULL THROTTLE ] does a strong impression, mainly optically and particularly with his mimic, and performs the action sequences well. These are well choreographed, unbloody swordplay with martial arts and jumps varied, there's also good use of the environment Optically the film is rather lyric - magical, many red and blue contrasts, much fog, added a calm, but appropriate score. Really entertaining 90mins.

Movie has some relation to the other Gu Long picturizations like KILLER CLANS and MAGIC BLADE, Ti Lung has a cameo as his Swordsman Fu and Lo Lieh as the killer Han Tang.

Police Force (1973)

Slightly above average

[6/10 · 28 January 2005]

Liang Kuan [ Alexander Fu Sheng ] is killed during a robbery; his girlfriend Shen Yan [ Lily Li ] and best buddy Huang Gao-tung [ Wang Chung ] are seeking for revenge. 5 yrs later Huang is a promoted cop, he fought hundreds of criminals, but the very special guy isn't found yet. Till now....

Very solid, but too experienced [ or even - tempered ] 70ies action crime movie, a little frumpy , less violence for a Chang Cheh pic and less modern action scenes, more on pure martial arts. The most interesting and dramatic points in the script are hardly scratched; Huang is fallen in love with Shen Yan, but she's only for vengeance. You don't know, what happened the last 5 yrs to them and their friendship and what Huang is thinking. Instead the moral conflict between revenge and task of the police is shown, unusual for Chang Cheh, who's just out for revenge in his other movies.

Police Force was set as 1 of the first police crime movies in HK, and got full support of the police; the production really looks quite impressing because of that. Realism isn't the main thing, mostly in favor of the action: Huang alone rushes into danger to single-handedly tackle at least 20 thugs.and he isn't using his gun, so.... These sequences are well filmed, but nothing special, too static and slightly non-effective. And it's Karate, not Kung Fu.

Acting is quite good, especially by Wang Chung in a rare leading role; Fung Hak On is unfortunately underused. Fu Sheng has 1 of his first screen moments here, a short but important one.

Slightly above average, I expected a more gritty, more excessive movie.

Sing gei cha low (1974)

enough strong scenes

[7/10 · 28 January 2005]

Action drama, sometimes dissonant and at the end somehow unsatisfactory, but with enough strong scenes. It's about Wang Cheng [ Chen Kuan Tai ], the owner of the Tea House, and his trouble with the gangs around and also the rather bothering police.

The plot is too episodic, with the only connection that a customer or a coworker of the Tea House is involved in the individual stories, and the movie is also undetermined between drama and comedy, what leads to some strange and fizzle scenes. Example: An underage guy tries to convict the judge, to arrest him, but the judge is waffling about the bad social states and non-decent education by the parents. In the next scene a girl is driven to death, her brother goes berserk on the street, killing 2 guys. Next scene we get a comedy about cheating the social welfare office. Later the plot is about Cheng dealing also with criminals, of course his intentions are good, but at the end his actions are coming back, the gangster devaste his Tea House. This scene is shot in a long slow motion, the ravage is celebrated visually and also acoustic, it's one of the very awe-inspiring sequences, the movie has a lot of. Between them it's a little coasting, it never gets boring, but some points are really unnecessary. And the limitation on a major place like a Tea House is some kind of unrealistic, imagine a Scorsese Pic about Starbucks becoming Vigilante Force.

There isn't really Martial Arts in it by the way, and the end is quite unsatisfactory, but there's the sequel BIG BROTHER CHENG.

Da jun fa (1972)

the light and serious moments doesn't fit.

[5/10 · 28 January 2005]

Feature film debut of later comedy star Michael Hui, who already was quite famous at TV and worked with director and author Li Han Hsiang on 3 more films after this. Story is about Pang Ta-fu [ Hui ], who becomes warlord of Shantung at the beginning of 1900 and his strange view of law and governance and also his addiction for pomposity and extravagance. Till he goes too far....

Expecting a comedy is quite wrong, there are some funny moments, but mostly with a dark tone right after them, is rather a pure dramatic history pic. The movie is episodic, some of the episodes are quite useless for the plot, dragging down the whole pic.

It starts with a 20min lasting court hearing of a possible rape case, even with back-flashes; after the verdict you'll get the next episode, and the former ones has no relation to the rest of the story. That goes on and on, and is mostly simply uninteresting [ a BIG party, his 4th wife does it with another guy,.... ] , so you'll never get the feeling of a clearly arranged direction, or that Li Han Hsiang really knows, what to tell and why. On the other side the movie is really beautiful, full-plugged pictures with excellent setting and decors; and the womens are quite nice and revealing. Michael Hui play his Pang very demonstrative and fancy, a little bit like Jack Lemmon in THE GREAT RACE, so that the death serious moments simply doesn't fit the otherwise loose representation. The movie could have been very well, you see the possibilities everywhere, but a good script is missing and the light and serious moments doesn't fit.

Tian wang (1974)

B movie with A movie production values.

[8/10 · 28 January 2005]

Crime drama based on true incidents around a Kidnapping - and murder case ,also taking much time describing the psychological moments which propel the criminals. It's strictly focused on them, the law representatives are mostly faceless and out of the plot. Lo Lieh plays a moneyless guy working on a gas station, it's owner is a thorn in his flesh, because he completely knows the differences and painfully shows it: "I can find a new worker faster, than you can find a new job" Together with 3 friends, who are similarly struck, a plan to kidnap and blackmail this guy is made....

Film is working like a pulp novel, some bizarre situations, some clichés, some overstatements, but behind that you get straight descriptions of the main persons and the motives, while the violence starts and the kidnapping goes horribly wrong.

Acting by especially Lo Lieh and Fan Mei Shang is quite good, you feel with the criminals, and also get in touch with some suspense moments around them and the police. The last 20mins are a little too melodramatic and dragging, the few action sequences by the young Ching Siu Tung [ son of director ] are rather bumpy and mercurial, besides that the movie is very good - B movie like with A movie production values.

15 yrs later a remake was directed by Taylor Wong, named SENTENCED TO HANG, with Tony Leung Kar Fai and Kent Cheng.