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Shaw Brothers in 1971
After a few quiet years atop the box office Shaw Brothers had a tumultuous time in 1971. The year overturned the studio and became one of the most important in the studio’s entire history, and maybe one of the most important years in Hong Kong film.
more...Latest Reviews
The Champion of Champions
It’s difficult to know exactly where to start with this one. First, probably, is that this film is currently only available in a 4:3 cropped VHS rip with subtitles that struggle to remain legible. It’s not the worst quality rip I’ve ever watched, but it definitely impacted the film’s comprehensibility. So take that into account.
more...The Yellow Muffler
Between 1967 and 1971 director Inoue Umetsugu made 17 movies for Shaw Brothers, usually releasing 3 or 4 movies each year. This is a lot for anyone, but is only part of Inoue’s output. During the same time frame he released 12 more movies in Japan. 29 movies in 5 years, an average of nearly 6 movies a year.
more...The Killer
1971 ended may have ended with wuxia, but 1972 kicked off fully in the kung fu era with Chor Yuen’s first start-to-finish project for Shaw Brothers.
more...The Long Chase
Veteran director Ho Meng-Hua makes another breezy, fun wuxia – a genre that he took to like a duck to water after wrapping up the Journey To The West films in 1968. His skills in special effects combined with over a decade of directorial experience made him the natural pick for movies like these.
more...The Deadly Duo
A fairly shameless copy & paste of The Rescue, with all of that film’s complicated plotting replaced by Chang Cheh-core speeches about how honorable it is to die for a cause and many, many shots of dudes putting those speeches into action by being impaled.
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