Cai li fa xiao zi (1976)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Directors:

Cheh Chang
Ma Wu

Writers:

Cheh Chang (writer)
Kuang Ni (writer)

Release Date:

3 September 1976 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Teacher Student Relationship | Suitcase | Martial Arts | Martyr | Republican Era China

Cast

Sheng Fu	...	Chung Chien (as Alexander Fu Sheng)
Jenny Tseng	...	Huang Mei-fang
Hsia Hui Wu	...	Hsiao-li
Lung Wei Wang	...	Feng Tien-shan
Kar Yan Leung	...	Wang Chen-chai
Mao Shan	...	Teacher Chou San-kuei
Ti Lu	...	Chung Po-man
Stephan Yip	...	Li Ting
Ying Lee	...	Tseng Pao-fu
Hui Lou Chen	...	Instructor Chu Tzu
Yen Wu	...	Wu Pan
Fei Wang	...	Li Hui-li
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tien-chi Cheng
Sheng Chiang
Philip Kwok		(as Kuo Chui)
Hui Huang Lin
Feng Lu
Jamie Luk	...	Fung's assistant
Shu Pei Sun
Robert Tai
Te Hsiang Teng
Chang Chi Wang
Li Wang
Chi Sang Wong

Also Known As:

Choi lei fut siu ji (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)
Demon Fists of Kung Fu
Grand Master of Death (USA) (dubbed version)
Grand Master of Kung Fu
New Shaolin Boxers (Hong Kong: English title)

Runtime:

West Germany:78 min

Country:

Taiwan | Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:18 (nf)

Company:

Chang's Film Company

Kung Fu showcase for the great Fu Sheng

GRAND MASTER OF DEATH (aka DEMON FIST OF KUNG FU, 1976) was directed by Chang Cheh, the pioneering Hong Kong. kung fu filmmaker. With a simpler story and a lower budget than most of Cheh's Shaw Bros. epics, this film nonetheless boasts three top kung fu performers and a steady stream of well-staged fights.

Alexander Fu Sheng stars as an eager kung fu student who insists on intervening when townspeople are bullied by the town bosses and their hired thugs. For his own good, he is sent away by his teacher to a mountain temple where he learns new techniques from a venerated kung fu master. When Fu Sheng returns to town, his original teacher has been killed and the gang is trying to force a female friend of his into prostitution. He then goes into action against the town bosses, played by kung fu greats Wang Lung Wei and Leung Kar Yan (who worked together as villains in numerous Shaw Bros. films).

While not a masterwork of the genre, it is still well above average and a worthy showcase for the considerable skills of its dynamic star. Fu Sheng's actress wife, Jenny Tseng, also appears in the film.