The Magnificent Ruffians (1979)
Reviewed by Arthur
January 1, 2011
MOVIE INFO
CAST
Lu Feng • Lo Meng • Johnny Wang Lung-Wei • Phillip Kwok • Annie Liu • Chiang Sheng • Sun Chien
Aka
The Destroyers • Destroyers of the 5 Deadly Venoms
DIRECTOR
Chang Cheh
CHOREGRAPHER(S)
Lu Feng
YEAR RELEASED
1979
LENGTH
101 Minutes
RELEASE INFO
VIDEO
Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
AUDIO
MANDARIN: Dolby Digital 2.0
SUBTITLES
English • Chinese (Traditional)
SPECIAL FEATURES
Trailers • Stills Gallery • Original Poster • Production Notes • Cast & Crew Info
DISTRIBUTOR
IVL
REGION
3 – NTSC
Purchase & Info
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PlOT
In a time where martial arts is becoming subsituted by fire arms and cannons, a son of a (rich and) famous martial artist try’s to fight his boredom by searching worthy martial artist to spar with. Yet home bound by his business, he can only lure them in through cunning ways. Bugged by a local security business who won’t sell the place, he finds a need for some poor martial artists besides sparring.
thoughts on the movie
Nice movie, good screenplay, simple story, and great actors. The music was at some times odd, but that could be my personal opinion ( I like more traditional and sometimes serious music during a battle). The poor martial artist didn’t seem to understand much about economics, so it’s not a miracle they where poor. Not too much fighting though, but enough to satisfy the old fu hunger.
was it funny?
No, in overall the movie was a serious one. Sometimes it gives a couple of funny shots, but that’s because the display seems a bit absurd for a serious toned movie.
How was the Action?
Fine and acrobatic. Not dominating the movie, but plays a part in it. The styles used are showy and acrobatic.
Standout performance(s)
The acrobatic abilities of the “Venoms”
Buy or Pass
6 Reasons Why You Should BUY or PASS On This Movie
1. BUY if you’re a Venoms fan.
2. BUY if you’re a Shaw Brothers fan.
3. PASS if you want a non stop fu-flick.
4. PASS if you like very traditional non flashy screen fighting.
5. BUY if you’re father owns a golden sword.
6. PASS if you try to learn economics from a movie.
FINAL NOTES
None.
RATING
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
The move could have used a bit more tempo, as nothing much was happening for most of the movie, but the end fight is one of the Venom Mob’s best. This was the start of them stepping it up from above average hand-based, rather sedative action scenes of previous movies (5 deadly Venoms, Kid with The Golden Arm, Crippled Avengers) to the weapon based, fast-paced acrobatic and simply superiour fight scenes of pretty much all their later movies.
Thanks for the review, I’m always looking for new Venoms films to watch. There just seems to be so many.
That was an enjoyable review and makes me want to see the film.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us about it.