Jie shi ying xiong (1979)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Cheh Chang

Release Date:

24 March 1979 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Action

Plot:

Two friends (Philip Kwok & Lo Meng) who long to be heroes join the fight against a Ching warlord (Lu Feng) and his students...

Plot Keywords:

Kung Fu | Shaolin

Cast

Shen Chan	...	Master Zhou Cheng
Nan Chiang	...	Huang
Sheng Chiang	...	Han Chi
Tat-wah Cho	...	Chun's Teacher
Kuan-chung Ku
Philip Kwok	...	Ying Cha-Po (as Kuo Chui)
Meng Lo	...	Chun Ah-Chin
Feng Lu	...	Kau Ching-Cheung
Jason Pai Piao	...	Hung Hsi-kuan
Chien Sun	...	Chu Tsai
Ying Tan
Li Wang
Chih-Ching Yang	...	Restaurant Owner

Also Known As:

Avenging Warriors
Avenging Warriors of Shaolin (USA)
Shaolin Rescuers (Hong Kong: English title)

Runtime:

Hong Kong:110 min | West Germany:83 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:18 (nf)

Company:

Shaw Brothers

The Venoms aid the Shaolin fugitives

AVENGING WARRIORS OF SHAOLIN (aka SHAOLIN RESCUERS, 1978) is an above-average entry in the series of kung fu films starring the group of actors known as the Five Venoms (KID WITH THE GOLDEN ARM, KILLER ARMY, DAREDEVILS OF KUNG FU, TWO CHAMPIONS OF SHAOLIN, etc.). Four of the Venoms operate as a team here while the fifth is the lead villain. Like several of director Chang Cheh's earlier films, this one follows the aftermath of the burning of the Shaolin temple and the travails of the fugitives and their Manchu pursuers. Although the most famous character-Fong Si Yu-is briefly glimpsed early on, the main focus here is on Hung Si Kwan (who was often paired with Fong Si Yu in earlier films).

Hung Si Kwan (played by Jason Pai Piao) hides out in a town where he is sheltered by the four good Venoms who all hold down regular jobs. Kuo Chui works as a waiter; Lo Mang makes bean curd; Sun Chien works in a dye factory; Chiang Sheng works for a traveling opera troupe. Each of the four practices their kung fu in the context of their daily work, e.g. Kuo Chui (aka Philip Kwok) uses rice bowl and chopsticks as weapons, a technique taught by his father (seen in flashbacks) who trained him to use anything at hand as weapons. The practice scenes are all quite clever and laced with humor. The entire film is shot inside the Shaw Bros. studio.

There's a big fight at the end in which Hung Si Kwan and the four Venoms take on fifth Venom Lu Feng and his four Manchurian henchmen in an all-out battle in which the combatants use a variety of weapons. The Venoms are always exciting to watch in action, especially when most of them work as a team. While this may not rank with their best films, it's nonetheless a worthy entry in the Venoms' large, but short-lived, body of work.