Blake and Paula's adventures with Kung Fu

[hman]

So my wife and I are trying a new thing: Every day we'll watch a fight scene together. I brought two tapes that are compilations of my favorite fight scenes from a myriad of Chinese movies. Anyways, I thought it interesting to post the fight scene each day and our reactions.

Day 1:

Film: Mahjong Dragon (1996)
Fight: Zhao Wen-Zhuo vs. Ken Lo
Choreography: Corey Yuen, Yuen Tak

My reaction: One of the best one-on-one's since 1994
Paula's reaction: She liked it

Day 2:

Film: Secret Rivals (1976)
Fight: John Liu and Wang Tao vs. Hwang Jang Lee
Choreography: Tommy Lee

My reaction: 100% pure bootage
Paula's reaction: They're really kicking each other in the head a lot

Day 3

Film: My Lucky Stars (1985)
Fight: Climax
Choreography: Yuen Biao, Lam Ching-Ying

My reaction: Proof that Sammo Hung's stuntman association were the best in the business
Paula's reaction: One of her favorites; Sammo is good.

Day 4

Film: Legend of the Wolf (1997)
Fight: Donnie vs. the Chain guy
Choreography: Donnie Yen

My reaction: A good "artsy" fight
Paula's reaction: I've seen better

Day 5

Film: New Legend of Shaolin (Legend of Red Dragon)(1994)
Fight: Jet Li is Xie Miao vs. Gai Chun Wa (climax)
Choreography: Corey Yuen

My reaction: Not Jet Li's best but creative use of spears
Paula's reaction: Good; funny looking wire move

Day 6

Film: Prodigal Son (1982)
Fight: Yuen Biao vs. Frankie Chan
Choreography: Yuen Biao, Lam Ching-Ying

My reaction: One of the best and fastest traditional fights
Paula's reaction: Good, but very violent

Tune in tomorrow!!

[Xenorama ™]

New Legend is the Hung Si Kwan movie Jet made? Hung didn't really use a spear (according to legend). i wanted to like the movie more, but ripping Lone Wolf kind of killed it for me.

you should put the dates the movies were made as well. looking forward to seeing more though!

[hman]

New Legend was the Hung Xiguan movie that Jet did. Xiguan was actually a master with the pole. Donnie Yen's TV series Kung Fu Master shows Xiguan specializing in the pole. I was disappointed at first, but then it grew on me, and then it grew apart as I started to appreciate the "real stuff", but now I can appreciate Corey Yuen's creativity with the spear and Jet's coordination.

[hman]

Day 7

Film: Once Upon a Time in China IV (1993)
Fight: Zhao Wen-Zhuo and Xiong Xin-Xin vs. Billy Chow and Chin Kar-Lok
Choreographer: Yuen Bun

My reaction: A rather mediocre fight with only a fraction of the combatants' skills being showcased, which is sad, considering the talent involved. Yuen Bun has since been recognized as a top-class choreographer, but he has nothing on the Yuen Clan or fellow Seven Fortunes Sammo Hung and Corey Yuen, who flourished during the New Wave.

Paula's reaction: I liked it.

[hman]

Day 8

Film: Hell's Wind Staff (1978)
Fight: Meng Hoi and Mang Yuen-Man vs. Hwang Jang Lee (finale)
Choreographer: Corey Yuen, Sunny Yuen, Tyrone Hsu

My reaction: Most people would say that this is "overchoreographed", but there are a lot of cool acrobatics and Hwang Jang Lee furnishes some of his classic bootwork as we fans expect.
Paula's reaction: It's good; interesting handwork.

[hman]

Day 9

Film: Heart of Dragon (1985)
Fight: Construction site finale
Choreographer: Sammo Hung's Stuntman Association

My Reaction: Certainly one of Jackie's most brutal brawls. Good choreography from Sammo and company as expected. Too bad the movie itself didn't have more.
Paula's Reaction: Good choreography; the machetes remind me of a horror movie.

[hman]

Day 10

Film: Iron Monkey 2 (1996)
Fight: Construction yard fight
Choreographer: Yuen Woo-Ping, Donnie Yen

My reaction: It's a pretty good mix of Donnie Yen's wing chun skills and your typical New Wave wire fighting. The camera work is frantic, but it's fun nonetheless.
Paula's reaction: I liked it, especially when they start fighting the ropes (it gives them a reason to be using cords).

[Xenorama ™]

i got several of those cheapie kung fu sets with ten movies- usually the are some weird titles, but none of have been great. some, like SHAOLIN: THE BLOOD MISSION are decent, but weirdly edited, and Hwang Jang Lee is under-utilized. SATYRE MONKS was just weird though.

[hman]

I checked out some clips of Shaolin: The Blood Mission from the Shaolin Chamber website. It definitely seems to be Hwang Jang-Lee's most sadistic-looking film. He also seems to destroy his three opponents in the film. That chess scene is crazy.