Challenge of the Masters (1976)
"Liu A-Cai yu Huang Fei-Hong" (original title)

Teenager Wong Fei-hung is sent to train in the art of hung gar kung fu from his father's teacher, Luk Ah-choy. With training complete, Wong must fight an assassin and regain the honor of his school.

Director:

Chia-Liang Liu

Writer:

Kuang Ni (screenplay)

Stars:

Kuan Tai Chen, Chia Hui Liu, Yue Wong

Cast

Credited cast:
Kuan Tai Chen	...	Luk Ah Choy
Chia Hui Liu	...	Huang Fei Hung
Yue Wong	...	Lin Tu-chiang
Lily Li	...	Ho Hsiu-lien
Tao Chiang	...	Kuo Jen-liang
Yang Chiang	...	Huang Chi-ying
Chia Yung Liu	...	Yuen Ching
Kang-Yeh Cheng	...	Tseng Hsing
Hark-On Fung	...	Yang Chung (as Ko-An Fung)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Billy Chan
Lung Chan
John Cheung
Yuet Sang Chin
Kam Kong Chow
Kara Hui

Storyline

Slow moving kung fu flick that focuses more on plot than martial arts what a novelty! Basic story of the village kung fu chump who leaves his village and does the horse stance for two years under the supervision of a grand master. Having conditioned his legs and fought endlessly with a wooden coat rack, our hero is ready to return to his village and take on the bad guys.

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Plot Keywords:

kung fu | martial arts | kicked to death | revenge | stick fight | 

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Taglines:

Street fighters duel in a blast of death!

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Genres:

Action | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin Cantonese

Release Date:

7 May 1976 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Challenge of the Masters

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shaw Brothers

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Night Patrol (1984)

User Reviews

Correction!

Just need to point out that one of the other reviewers here has made a mistake. He's clearly thinking of "Challenge of the Ninja" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080172/ ) not "Challenge of the Masters".

"Ninja" is the one with Gordon Liu (Liu Chia- Hui) marrying the Japanese girl and having to fight her relatives to prove whether Chinese or Japanese Martial Arts are best. It's especially memorable for the superb Chinese Sword vs Katana battle, still one of the great duels of Hong Kong movies, 25 years on.

Not as polished as later films by Chia-Liang Liu, "Challenge of the Masters" is still a pretty slick accomplishment when gauged against other contemporary Hong Kong films. Though shot in 1976, the movie looks as though it were made 5-10 years later. There's no doubt that the young Chia Hui Liu (Gordon Liu) is a star in the making. As always, his physical presence is arresting, his technical skills second-to-none and, heck, he's just plain likable.

His mentor Chia-Liang Liu does a reasonable job with the direction, but it's the fight choreography that shines here. His one-on-one fight with his protégé Chia Hui Liu in the bamboo forest at the three-quarter point is just excellent, and the interesting theme of martial arts binding its exponents together in brotherhood, is a refreshing change from all the revenge dramas that were coming out of Hong Kong (mostly from Chang Cheh, it would seem) at the time.