King Boxer (1972)

When a young martial artist, Chao Chih Hao (Lo Lieh) is sent by his master to train at a prestigious martial arts school to improve his skill, he finds himself and the school at war with a local crime boss, Meng Tung-Shun. Looking to settle things at an upcoming martial arts tournament, Chih Hao’s new master decides to teach him the deadly art of Iron Fist. But with Meng gathering some new forces of his own (from Japan of course), will this be enough to prevail?

Find out in FIVE FINGERS OF DEATH. (It’s a better title. I don’t care what the DVD box says). When I went in to see the first kung fu film to take the North American box office by storm, I thought I had the whole thing figured out from the get-go. I thought I knew how every scene was going to play out. For example, When Chi Hao’s rival Han Lung is confronted outside the restaurant by Meng’s thugs, I thought for sure a fight would break out. Instead, he convinces the henchmen to take him to Meng and then an alliance is formed between the two. It was surprises like this that kept me enjoying this classic from opening Shawscope logo to ending title card.

I think it was due to the fact that director Chang-Hwa Jeong was from Korea that helped this film get selected by Warner Brothers as the first Kung fu film to grace silver screens this side of the pacific. Being essentially a foreigner, Chang brings a slightly international flavor to the film without having it become a globe-trotting adventure or being populated with a multi-cultural cast. The film makes a nods in the direction of Japanese samurai cinema as well as featuring a bar confrontation that is practically a beat-for-beat homage to the classic western “Shane”.

The film features a large cast, but they are all distinct enough that you won’t lose track of who’s who. The film is well paced, well shot, and well told with a satisfying conclusion. This being said, the film falls victim to a couple of odd directorial choices. Namely a groan inducing fantasy Chi Hao has mid-way through as well as some oddly-placed green make-up (you’ll see). Still the film is more than worth a viewing. Not only as a historically-important work, but also as a fine genre piece that deserves a place on every movie collector’s shelf.

This one is pretty much done with a straight face, although some may get a chuckle or two from the english dub.

Featuring choreography by a young Lau Kar Wing, the movie unfortunately suffers from the fact that many of the cast are clearly not trained martial artists, including star Lo Lieh. Now despite this, director Chang and Lau manage to keep the action fast, furious and interesting by using trampolines (almost no wires here), Fuller’s Earth (for strengthening the impact of blows), short lenses (for achieving a 3-D effect without the glasses, some well-paced quick cuts, and most importantly featuring lots and lots of fights.

While one has to give Lo Lieh credit for carrying the film the way he does. I have to give props to James Nam for his fine performance as Chi Hao’s rival Han Lung. Easily one of the more interesting characters in the piece, Nam’s Han Lung is a frustrated senior student at Shan Wu skill who feels upstaged by Chi-Hao not only in Kung fu ability, but also by the fact that his former girlfriend is now more interested in Chi Hao than him! This is more than enough to drive him to side with the enemy. Only later does he realize his mistake leading to a tragic turn of events for the character. James Nam gives a nuanced performance allowing us to not only loathe but to empathize with the character as well.

Oh, and look for a bald Bolo Yeung in a short cameo.

I say again, Five Fingers of Death is a wayyyyy better title than King Boxer.