The Master (1980) User Reviews

Another great Shaw Bros. production!

[wandering-star · 8/10 · 11 January 2008]

"The Master" begins like an old Western. A gang (gunslingers) of three known as The 3 Devils enter a tea house (saloon), looking for a man dressed all in white named Jin Tianyun. The film opens with a great fight, where The 3 Devils come at Jin Tianyun with fists & feet, throwing darts, tonfa, and knives.

Meanwhile Gao Jian, a kung fu wanna-be, is practicing at a nearby martial arts school. His skills are pitiful and he's always being bullied by classmates. Jin Tianyun shows up injured at Gao Jian's door, and Gao takes him in and helps nurse him to health. Jin Tianyun takes a liking to the hapless Gao Jian and agrees to teach him kung fu behind his master's back.

All the while, The 3 Devils continue to hunt for Jin Tianyun. The three finally catch up with "Brother Jin" at the school, and by this time Gao Jian's skills are honed like a razor's edge. He must rise to the challenge to defend his school and avenge his new "Master".

"The Master" is well paced, has lots of the cheesy slapstick of this genre & era, and has some great fights, especially the final one where Gao Jian battles the best of The 3 Devils. I very much recommend this movie to fans of the genre.

An interesting note: the actor who plays Jin Tianyun was in the recent Donnie Yen film "Dragon Tiger Gate".

One of the more entertaining productions from a time when kung-fu films were becoming overly stylized

[InjunNose · 7/10 · 8 February 2016]

By 1980, the entire genre of Chinese martial arts movies--which, in my estimation, had always benefited from its rough-edged quality--was being formalized into something comparable to American soap operas or even Italian Mannerist painting. Better production values are fine, but not when the end result is a film so slick and shiny that it's painful to look at. In technical terms, "The Master" (which aired on cable TV in the mid-1980s as "Three Evil Masters") is a product of its time, but has enough heart to work. Yuen Tak convincingly portrays a bullied, low-ranking student at an unethical kung-fu school who gives refuge to an injured martial arts master (Chen Kuan-tai, who's always worth watching). Chen was wounded in a fight with three bandits who have been terrorizing the countryside, and in exchange for food and shelter he teaches Yuen some valuable moves. Gradually, Yuen becomes a better fighter and must singlehandedly confront the bandits--led by fearsome, white-haired Wang Lung-wei--when they decide to take over the kung-fu school. Terrific fight choreography by Hsu Hsia, and a maddeningly catchy opening theme (which plays beautifully over Chen Kuan-tai's first brawl with the villains) by Eddie Wang. Seven and a half stars.

Shaw Brother's bottomless pit of martial arts talent puts another man on display

[ckormos1 · 8/10 · 9 January 2021]

Chen Kuan-Tai is challenged at the tea house by Wang Lung-Wei and two other thugs. The waiter deceives him with a knife in his side so he must flee. Cut to the kung fu school. Yuen Tak is bullied by the others including the jerk of a master. That night, Chen Kuan-Tai arrives at his home, wounded. Our guy heals him up and learns real martial arts from him.

The three evil masters are Wang Lung-Wei and company. They take over our guy's school. After failing in his waiter career and much more training on his own he returns to the school. It was taken over by the bad guys. One by one he outwits and fights the bad guys to their death.

Yuen Tak is the true star of this movie. The martial arts he demonstrates are comparable to the greatest of this era. This is another example of the bottomless pit of incredible talent at Shaw Brothers. I believe this is his only starring role. He continued in the movie business for about another twenty years in supporting roles but mostly off camera as action choreographer, designer, or director.

I rate this movie as one of the best of 1980 based totally on the fighting scenes with Yuen Tak.

THE MASTER - Enjoyable old-school kung fu with good performance by Yuen Tak

[BrianDanaCamp · 25 May 2008]

THE MASTER (1980) was made at Shaw Bros., but displays a look and feel much closer to the indie kung fu films of 1980 than it does to other Shaw martial arts films of the time such as Chang Cheh's Five Venoms spectacles. It has a few Shaw trademarks, including some large sets and several dependable Shaw character actors, but its story is simpler and less wide-ranging, with an emphasis on training, and the main cast is much smaller, with only five major characters participating in the important fight scenes. It packs a lot of fighting (staged by Hsu Hsia) into a concise structure that serves as a showcase for the considerable talents of young Yuen Tak (billed as Yuan Te), one of Jackie Chan's classmates at the Peking Opera school in Hong Kong that spawned so many kung fu movie greats.

Yuen plays Gao Jian, a hapless student being taught at a school run by a vain, not-so-skilled teacher (Lin Ho Nien). One night he encounters a wounded kung fu master, Jin Tianyun (Chen Kuan Tai), a legendary warrior fleeing from a fight in which he was stabbed in a sneak attack and now has to hide from his pursuers, the Three Devils. Gao tends to Master Jin and hides him in his shack and, in return, Master Jin teaches Gao some essential kung fu. After a tragic turn of events, Gao goes off for a year to practice and then comes back to find his teacher's school taken over by the Three Devils, who are seeking to create a haven for other outlaws. This leads to a series of exciting final bouts between Gao and each of the Devils, the leader of whom is played by the great Wang Lung Wei.

Yuen Tak was the ever-patient fiancé in the delightful AMBITIOUS KUNG FU GIRL (also reviewed on this site), the first film in which he fully registered with me. I found his performance here quite a revelation. He incorporates a lot of acrobatics into his moves and certainly compares well with all the other young stars playing eager, put-upon kung fu students at the same time in non-Shaw films (e.g. Meng Fei, Lee Yi Min, Meng Yuan Man, Cliff Lok, etc.). Yuen went on to become a prominent fight choreographer in Hong Kong and even in Hollywood, where he worked on "Martial Law" and Jet Li's THE ONE.

Kung fu great Chen Kuan Tai (THE BOXER FROM SHANTUNG) has a relatively small part. He's got a great fight scene at the beginning, but its impact is diminished by the decision to keep freezing the frame all through it in order to show the credits. Candy Wen Hsueh-erh, the only female in the film, plays the daughter of Gao's teacher, but she doesn't get much to do.

Overall, it was a pleasant surprise to find a Shaw Bros. kung fu film I hadn't seen before that was so direct, straightforward and free of the studio's usual frills.

A weak script and bad comedy are overcome by top martial arts action.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 20 November 2010]

The DVD for this film is exceptional. Not only is the print absolutely pristine (except for a couple scenes which are a tad blurry), but it fortunately has a choice of either subtitles or a dubbed version. While I feel like a heretic for saying this because it flies in the face of my usual advice, I recommend you try the English dub (oddly, the second option--the first did not work on my machine), as it's simply better. To find out which was superior, I actually watched it with BOTH subtitles and dubbing at the same time--and repeatedly the captions seemed awkward and incorrect (or at least poorly worded).

The film starts off rather badly, as like a bad martial arts film, there is a strong emphasis on VERY broad and obnoxious comedy. It is NOT funny and actually pretty stupid. I was very happy wen the film became more serious, as instead of 3rd rate comedy, the film switched to 1st-rate martial arts action. This didn't surprise me very much, as Shaw Brothers films usually have excellent martial arts. While the comedy continued here and there, at least the two complete morons from the first 20 minutes are not in much of the rest of the film...thank goodness! A martial arts master is stabbed and left for dead. While he's amazing at kung fu, he was (naturally) betrayed. He is found by idiot students of a martial arts school that sucks. All the students greatly overrate their own barely adequate skills and their master is second-rate. One of the stupid students is taught by the injured man--who, even injured, can beat this idiot without even breaking a sweat! Oddly, however, aside from just giving the guy a few hints, the jerk goes from barely adequate to a super-human fighting machine--a big plot problem with this film. So, when this injured master is later murdered by three baddies, you know that despite almost no additional training, the student will somehow kill them all to avenge his new master.

The story is a bit derivative (with the standard revenge motive) and silly. BUT, fortunately, if you ignore all this, the action is top-notch. The fighting looks real, the actors are very skilled and it is head and shoulders better than the average martial arts film in this department. So, it's a good case of poor story with poor humor being saved by great action. Not among the Shaw Brothers' best, but still quite good.

By the way, when the idiot goes off in search of the men responsible for the stabbing, he actually has a reasonably funny scene when he poses as a prostitute in a brothel. Seeing him in makeup trying to act seductive is kind of cute. But, naturally, he mucks things up, as he IS an idiot...a well-meaning one, but still an idiot! So I guess not all the comedy in this film was bad.

Real Chinese Martial Arts

[applepeels · 7/10 · 9 July 2009]

ALL TIME KUNG FU CULT CLASSIC

shaw brothers -a young kungfu student helps save the life of a stranger who he later finds out is a great kungfu and sword master. in return for his good deed the man agrees to teach him. unfortunately his current master doesn't like the competition and kicks him out of the school. the master gets a small group of men to slay the 3 evil masters but they don't have much luck and the only person left alive is the master. the 3 evil masters also take over the school as there new headquarters. the student which got kicked out of the school hears about the situation and goes to reclaim the school.

Another Shaw Brothers kung fu classic. Nice story, good acting, and the most impressive, the wushu skills of the actors. I really recommend this movie for thoses of you who enjoy real traditional kung fu.

The principal actor in this movie is stunning !!

If you practice traditional martial arts you will see and understand some moves, it is really nice !!

Once again, very good movie, worth watching.

Entertaining!

[newtonattraction · 8/10 · 19 June 2002]

This film is like all of the other Kung-Fu movies, high tempo, good fight scenes and good plot. Nice Kung-Fu styles and it was very entertaining for me, hope it is for you too. I just expected a little better ending. Enjoy the movie.

Shaw Bros meets kung fu comedy

[hellrick2001 · 8/10 · 3 August 2006]

THE MASTER is a very entertaining kung fu comedy from the last days of the Shaw Brothers. After the success of Drunken Master and Snake in the eagle shadow, the studio release this one, showing the great capacities of Chen Kuan Tai as "the master". The humor is a bit irritating but there are some good gags and the action is fast-paced. Kung fu choregraphies are good, like in the Jackie Chan movies of this era. This movies is not a masterpiece but it's really fun to watch: the plot is simple, there is a slightly erotic sequence, some violence and plenty of fights. If you like shaw brothers movies that go straight in your face like Monkey Kung Fu or Crippled Avenger, you will surly like this one! Worth catching for all kung fu fan, like the other Tony Liu movies, especially the crazy Holy Flame of the Martial World.

Masterful...

[poe426 · 10/10 · 1 February 2012]

THE MASTER gets off to a great start, with Jin Tianyun (Chen Kuan Tai) being attacked in a tea house. The fight scene is great, with a little twist of its own: Jin thinks he's up against three opponents- The Three Devils-, but he's nearly fatally wounded by a fourth attacker- the owner of the tea house himself. Jin escapes by diving through a window- with the treacherous owner's knife still in him. Meanwhile, Gao (Yuen) is being mercilessly bullied at "The Decent School of Martial Arts." Gao gets reprimanded when he fights back and his suffering is compounded. When he returns home that night, Jin arrives, nearly dead, and Gao takes him in. As Jin secretly recovers (Gao would be in even deeper **** if Jin's presence were known), Gao discovers that Jin had once beaten Gao's master, Shi. Jin muses that he'll live to be 90. "How can a blind man see the future?" Gao wonders. To get money to buy medicine to help Jin, Gao goes undercover in a brothel and steals it. He is "outed" and beats a hasty retreat. When Jin has recovered enough, he confronts the pretentious Shi, but is injured again. When he flees Shi's school, he's ambushed once again by The Three Devils and killed. The 3 then decimate Shi's school and take up permanent residence. Gao becomes a waiter in a tea house. There is plenty of solid action throughout THE MASTER and it's beautifully choreographed and shot. The one and only flaw is a single reverse-action shot that stands out in my mind because it's the ONLY real flaw in the entire film. That's why I rate it a solid ten.

Ridiculously great fighting and hilarious slapstick

[Rafacus · 8/10 · 10 May 2009]

Easily one of my favorite Kung Fu films, 3 Evil Masters delivers in both dynamic choreography and excellent quotes. The dubbing is phenomenal in this Shaw Brothers gem as you will finish the movie repeating the jokes or threats by the characters "'I despise your killing, and raping… your… despicable!" (quotes such as this). The only down part in the film is the incredibly poor quality of the movie itself, the beginning is plagued with blurriness and the end had a few glitches reminiscent of the old VHS tapes (the ones that have been watched hundreds of times). This does not take anything away from the story, action and legendary delivery of a Shaw Scope movie, however.

Chen Kuan Tai is a righteous kung-fu master and has grown tired of the 3 Evil Masters and their crimes. Taking it into his own hands to take them on, he ends up badly wounded and has to retreat to the Kung Fu school of an old rival. Within the school he meets a bullied orphan and reluctantly teaches him his invincible kung-fu and sword techniques. After eventual death, Chen Kuan Tai's orphan student masters the style on his own and takes revenge on the 3 Evil Masters.

Ridiculously great fighting and hilarious slapstick (reminiscent of most Kung Fu movies) are mere bonuses to the host of likable good guys, annoying side characters and badass bad guys. This is one of the best movies to start any newb fan on their journey of fine Kung Fu cinema. A must for the collector, if you haven't seen it, or barely remember it, then check out the 3 Evil Masters ASAP.

Superior Kung Fu Film

[kowalski37 · 8/10 · 10 August 2008]

Decent plot and good classical 80s Kung Fu make this a worth seeing film. Contains some quotes used in GZAs 1995 album Liquid Swords, and as a general rule of thumb, any film that the Wu Tang quote is worth seeing. I would put this on a par with 5 Deadly Venoms. Classic plot line of - young student with potential is studying under a poor Kung Fu master and is bullied by fellow students. He looks after a real master who is wounded by the 3 evil masters and who teaches him an old, powerful form of Kung Fu to eventually defeat the 3 evil masters. "The Sword. It's the best weapon of all. Two sharp edges and a long spine. The blade is very thin and it's easily damaged you'll remember that. The vital thing is the point. Pay special attention to it, your life could depend on it".

Nice Edition for the Shaw Bros.

[Masta_Ruthless · 8/10 · 4 June 2006]

The Shaw Bros. have more than proved that they where the king of kung fu film production. In comes 3 Evil Masters, it follows the same storyline as most old school kung fu flicks. Orphan kid taken in and the master treats him like garbage.

Chen Kuan Tai steps on the scene injured from a plot to kill him. The kicker is that he is also the same man that broke the cruel masters' ribs and agrees to teach the orphan kid kung fu. Chen Kuan Tai is then hurt again from a fight, he escapes only to run into the Evil 3 that has been trying to kill him.

Finally they succeed causing the orphan student to extract revenge to the fullest. An early Shaw Bros. title, and a good one indeed. Check this movie out, you can't go wrong.