Kung Fu For You

DUEL TO THE DEATH-1982-This wild retro-‘70’s Kung Fu period piece features a little of everything. Ninjas that explode, crazy swordplay, limbs being dismembered, characters flying through the air, and even a head that talks after being severed from it’s body! A short scene features a female ninja in the nude! The plot has something to do with a tournament between Chinese and Japanese fighters. It was the first film directed by Siu-Tung Ching who went on to make other entertaining films including THE HEROIC TRIO 2. Recommended for Martial Arts Fans everywhere!

THE YOUNG TAOISM FIGHTER-1986-This is a very imaginative martial arts feature with some good fighting and lots of intentional and unintentional laughs. Crazy goings on at a Taoist temple involves two students who like to play practical jokes and villain possessed by a demon…I think. The letter-boxed version I saw was in Cantonese with no sub-titles! Although the villain dismembers the hero in the finale his severed body parts keep going and win the day! Oh yeah, and don’t forget those talking turtles who dance in one scene!

THE RETURN OF THE CHINESE BOXER-1975-Director/Star Jimmy Wang Yu (Yu Wang) is the title character out to stop villainous Japanese fighters. The story is very confusing and the dubbing is bad too (what else is new?) but there are some good fights, a little slapstick and even some Kung Fu zombies are thrown in. Yu (who was arrested for murder in the early ‘80’s but released due to lack of evidence) also made the “One Armed Swordsman” series and other Martial Arts films in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The version I saw was washed out in spots but letterboxed. The same year as this Yu Wang also directed and starred in the incredible MASTER OF THE FLYING GUILLOTINE!

"Am I not destroying my enemies when I make them my friends?"-Abraham Lincoln

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