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| Your ass is about to be wiped out! |
Hello fellow connoisseurs, as you might by now, here at S.P.A.M. Alternative we like to pay homage to cult gems most of the time, and lately, it seems like all we've been doing is focusing on the hype caused by the latest entries in the world of cinema, so in order to bring balance to the force, today we'll return to our roots to share a selection of perhaps, the 5 most influential Chinese martial arts ever made (yep, all from the 70's under the careful hands of the Shaw Brothers, you know who they are) so, I give you Wu Du AKA, Five Venoms/The Five Deadly Venoms, the ultimate Kung-Fu fighting movie!
This is definitely one of the best kung-fu movies ever, and may be one of the best movies ever... It's got a great plot that functions like a puzzle, with lots of intrigue and suspense. This film is full of cat and mouse games and deceptions, with people hiding their identities and their natures. The characters in this film live and breath much more than your average kung-fu movie characters. They are all interesting and compelling and the movie does a good job at giving them scenes to show their personality's and desires.
The fight scenes play out like little stories and many of them are very
original and exciting. It has cool training sequences and martial arts
skills that are so awesome they enter the realm of fantasy. There are 5
members of the poison clan each one with his own style that mimics the
special skill of a venomous animal. The styles of each of these characters
are fun to watch and you can see the techniques they use in training
applied
during the film... When this happens, The director uses quick cutting back
to the training scene to draw a parallel. These cuts are accompanied by
music changes and sound effects and the whole thing really works
nicely.
One thing about this movie that is very original is the way it treats death. The director Chang Cheh was obviously very concerned that the film not trivialize death. This makes some of the scenes in the movie much more effective. We actually care when people are killed in this film. This is because the camera lingers on the horror of death even when the bad guys are killed. Some of the sequences in this movie are truly gut wrenching. When characters go in search of vengeance you really feel their anger and pain.
At the same time, this is also a fun movie. It has all the typical things
you expect from a traditional kung-fu film. There is bad dubbing, The
characters are willing to fight at the drop of a hat. Some of the sound
effects are hilarious and at times the behavior of the characters is
incredibly unrealistic... all this just adds to the greatness of the
film.
And lets not forget that this director was a visual stylist much more gifted than most of his contemporaries. If you watch this movie closely you will notice that the technical prowess on display is virtuoso. Everything goes by so fast (because of the quick cutting style and the rapid camera movements of the genre) that it is easy to overlook how beautiful the movie really is. The lighting and composition are spectacular at times. The camera work and movement is extremely sophisticated along with very interesting fast paced editing... In the scenes that portray suspense and intrigue for example, imagine Hitchcock moving at about twice the speed. Chang Cheh was truly a master craftsman and artist who knew his genre and was able to produce important material while working within it's confines. He doesn't rattle the boat of the kung fu genre film, but in a subtle way his skills permeate every scene and every shot and they add greatly to the quality of the work. He is an important filmmaker who continues to influence many people.
This is the real package A kung-fu movie that delivers on every level.
It's
art, it's trash, it's emotionally moving, and it's fun, it has a true
sense
of morality, but doesn't allow that morality to get in the way of
delivering
good action. I recommend it to everybody whether you are a fan of this
genre or not. Furthermore, if you are a fan of martial arts Animé or fighting games in the style of Street Fighter & Mortal Kombat you will find a lot of appealing similarities.
This film did so well, that another movie made in the same year (1978) was promoted in North America as the sequel of the Five Venoms, that movie was Crippled Avengers also known as The Return of the Five Venoms and Mortal Combat. As always, a review is on its way and until then, kick ass!
Here's the movie trailer:
This is definitely one of the best kung-fu movies ever, and may be one of the best movies ever... It's got a great plot that functions like a puzzle, with lots of intrigue and suspense. This film is full of cat and mouse games and deceptions, with people hiding their identities and their natures. The characters in this film live and breath much more than your average kung-fu movie characters. They are all interesting and compelling and the movie does a good job at giving them scenes to show their personality's and desires.
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| Five powerful masters, each with a unique fighting style. |
 |
| Epicness! |
One thing about this movie that is very original is the way it treats death. The director Chang Cheh was obviously very concerned that the film not trivialize death. This makes some of the scenes in the movie much more effective. We actually care when people are killed in this film. This is because the camera lingers on the horror of death even when the bad guys are killed. Some of the sequences in this movie are truly gut wrenching. When characters go in search of vengeance you really feel their anger and pain.
 |
| Fight! |
 |
| Awesome fight sequences! |
And lets not forget that this director was a visual stylist much more gifted than most of his contemporaries. If you watch this movie closely you will notice that the technical prowess on display is virtuoso. Everything goes by so fast (because of the quick cutting style and the rapid camera movements of the genre) that it is easy to overlook how beautiful the movie really is. The lighting and composition are spectacular at times. The camera work and movement is extremely sophisticated along with very interesting fast paced editing... In the scenes that portray suspense and intrigue for example, imagine Hitchcock moving at about twice the speed. Chang Cheh was truly a master craftsman and artist who knew his genre and was able to produce important material while working within it's confines. He doesn't rattle the boat of the kung fu genre film, but in a subtle way his skills permeate every scene and every shot and they add greatly to the quality of the work. He is an important filmmaker who continues to influence many people.
 |
| The brotherhood of the Venoms. |
 |
| 1000 fists VS Steel! |
This film did so well, that another movie made in the same year (1978) was promoted in North America as the sequel of the Five Venoms, that movie was Crippled Avengers also known as The Return of the Five Venoms and Mortal Combat. As always, a review is on its way and until then, kick ass!
Here's the movie trailer:
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