Tian xia di yi quan (1972)

Director:

Chang-hwa Jeong

Writer:

Yang Chiang (screenplay)

Release Date:

21 March 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

The New Movie Sensation That's Storming the Entire World!

Plot:

Two martial arts schools prepare for an important tournament. |

Plot Keywords:

Martial Arts | Tournament | Chopstick | Hand | Juggling

Cast

Lieh Lo	...	Chao Chih-Hao
Ping Wang	...	Sung Ying Ying
Hsiung Chao	...	Okada
Chin-Feng Wang	...	Yen Chu Hung
Mien Fang	...	Sun Hsin-Pei
Feng Tien	...	Meng Tung-Shun
James Nam	...	Han Lung (as Nan Kung-Hsun)
Shen Chan	...	Wan Hung-chieh
Bolo Yeung	...	Pa Tu-er, Mongolian Fighter
Wen Chung Ku	...	Sung Wu-yang
Lung Yu	...	Tu Wei
Yukio Someno	...	Oshima Shotaro (as Ran Yeh)
Tse Lin Yang	...	Sun's pupil
Chi Chu Chin	...	Chen Lang
Bong-jin Jin	...	Lu Ta-ming (as Chen Feng Chen)

Also Known As:

5 Fingers of Death (USA) (poster title)
Five Fingers of Death (USA)
Hand of Death
Invincible Boxer
Iron Palm (Hong Kong: English title) (working title)
King Boxer (Hong Kong: English title) (original subtitled version)
King Boxer: Five Fingers of Death (USA) (DVD box title)
Tin ha dai yat kuen (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)

Runtime:

USA:104 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:18 (video rating) (1986) | UK:X (original rating) | Australia:R (2007) | South Korea:15 | New Zealand:R18 | UK:15 (re-rating) | UK:15 (re-rating) (2009) | Finland:(Banned) (1973) | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Company:

Shaw Brothers

Trivia:

The English dubbed version, released through Warner Brothers, was the film that launched the craze for "kung fu" movies in the United States.

Quotes:

Chen Lang: There's three Japanese guys. They're waiting for you in the woods. They'll kill you.
Chao Chi-Hao: Why are you telling me this?
Chen Lang: I suddenly realized... what mean guys these three Japanese fighters are... and I couldn't work with them anymore.
Chao Chi-Hao: So there is some decency left in you.
Chen Lang: From this day on, I'm through with Ming Dung-Shun's crowd. All of 'em.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)

Classic Kung Fu!

This is my favourite kung fu movie. It has a very authentic flavour, seasoned by an eerie music score (of tradition chinese instruments, I think), and some wonderfully over-acted melodramatic moments contrasted by heavily affected comedy. Indeed, while attempting to create their own "Western" (i.e. Cowboy film) genre, the Chinese concocted a whole new animal, marked by kung fu fighting and its associated sound effects.

The story of Five Fingers of death is simple, a story of revenge (for killing a loved one) and the pursuit of the main character to master the "iron-fist-technique" that will enable him to wreak holy vengeance on his enemies. There is even a love interest, though the awkward, polite kind (found in most Chinese films of the period). The end result however is great and much more authentic than any Bruce Lee movie.