Martial Club (1981)
Wong Fei Hung and his friend are constantly having contests to see who has the better martial arts skill. After getting in trouble with their fathers, Wong Fei Hung settles down and starts to train seriously, while his friend still horses around. After his friend is hurt by a rival school, Wong goes to the school for retribution. Instead his skill is tested through a series of events which climax with him taking on a Northern martial artist. In an excellent battle of skill, he earns the respect of the rival school. Also stars Mai Te Lo and Hui Ying Hung.
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Wonderful Movie
Very Cool!!!
Touches You
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
This movie is why we have kung fu movie fans. It stands as an excellent example of genre. First we have the fights. Lui Chia Liang is such a master of fight direction I believe he could put my grandmother on stage and choreograph an entertaining fight with her beating up Bruce Lee and it would be believable. The fights here are masterpieces. Gordon against Lung Wei Wang in the alley was a classic. Gordon and Kara and Lung Wei Wang can all both act and demonstrate real skills. The spirit of martial arts is also respected. Chivalry and respect is emphasised. Lung Wei Wang does not portray his usual one dimensional bad guy but respects the rules. All the technicalities aside it's just a fun film to watch.
What starts out as a friendly lion dance soon turns ugly. Before you know it, kung fu experts Huang and Yinlin have decided to test their rspective skills- against someone OTHER than each other... Whoever scores the most punches the fastest, wins. Both men conspire with strangers to win, but the end result is a draw. Zhou then beats them both. The next day, after a brief interlude in a brothel, Yinlin is injured by a powerful fighter, Shan Xiong, who refuses to take a dive. Juying, Yinlin's sister, blames Huang. All of this leads to a close-quarters confrontation in the narrow confines of "Zig-zag Lane." Gordon Liu is as deft at comedy as he is drama or melodrama, and MARTIAL CLUB allows him to run the gamut. A solid seven.
Credit must certainly be given to Run Run Shaw, Chang Cheh et al for producing such a classic movie which thrills the viewer from start to finish, and without anyone being killed. The true story behind this film is an understanding of the way the martial artist should conduct himself.
The fight scenes between Liu (student) & Wang (instructor) are just plain beautiful, especially at the end. This is the only movie I know of where Wang Lung Wei could be considered a "good guy".