One-Armed Boxer (1972)
"Du bei chuan wang" (original title)

After his schoolmate and master is killed and he loses an arm, student Tien Lung has to learn the art of one-arm boxing.

Director:

Yu Wang

Writer:

Yu Wang (screenplay)

Stars:

Yu Wang, Yeh Tien, Hsin Tang

Cast

Credited cast:
Yu Wang	...	Yu Tien Lung
Yeh Tien
Hsin Tang	...	Hsiao Yu
Fei Lung	...	Okinawan karate
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chung-kuei Chang
Shao Chun Chang
Yi Kuei Chang	...	Tibetan Zen boxer
Hsin Yi Chen
Jen Chen
Shih Wei Chen
Chun Chou
Ming-ching Chou
Bo Lin Chu
Wai Hung Ho
You Min Ho

Storyline

After a fight, the school of master Hang Tui has to face the opium dealer Chao and his thugs. After a first defeat, the treacherous Chao hires a bunch of ruthless mercenaries. Tien Lung, Hang Tui's best student, is the only survivor, but without one of his arm. He has to undergo very painful training to exact revenge on evil Chao and his deadly henchmen.

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Plot Keywords:

yoga | mixed martial arts | republican era china | battle royal | boxing training | 

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Taglines:

Make Way For The Chinese Professionals! The Kung Fu Beast! The Karate Killer! The Siamese Devils! The Tibetan Tiger Men! The Bloody Kwon-Do Master! The Judo King! The Invincible Yuga Khan! The Fantastic One-Armed Boxer!

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Genres:

Action | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Taiwan Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin

Release Date:

1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

One-Armed Boxer

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golden Harvest Company

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Followed by Master of the Flying Guillotine (1976)

User Reviews

This one is almost non-stop action.

This review is for DU BEI CHUAN WANG/ONE ARMED BOXER from Red Sun. The print is pretty good for a 1970s martial arts film and amazingly the film has subtitles--not those stupid dubbed voices--a major plus. As far as the quality of the subtitles go, they are fair. There are a reasonably high number of misspellings but compared to many films of the genre, this one ain't bad--it's not good, either, but at least you can understand what they are trying to say.

The plot is a very, very familiar one in many ways. First, it's the standard fight between two schools of martial arts and the bad guys cheat...a lot. Second, it's probably the fourth film I've seen involving a one-armed martial artist, so it's a bit of a cliché. However, oddly, none of the films are sequels--it just seems that getting your arm torn off in a fight is an everyday occurrence. And, when this happens you eventually train and return to whip the entire gang--a relatively common event in China if these films can be taken seriously. However, despite having so many familiar plot elements, it is a very good film. I liked seeing all the different styles of martial arts that were supposedly brought from all over Asia. But, more importantly, despite a very simple plot, the film is all about the action--non-stop and insane action, actually. While the fighting isn't among the top echelon of martial arts films (you won't mistake this for a Bruce Lee or Sonny Chiba flick), it is far better than average and so much is going on, it's eye-popping and occasionally brutal action from start to finish.

If you like martial arts films, then this one is a must. If you don't, well it's worth a look--maybe you'll see something you like.