Mang quan gui shou (1979)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Kam Bo

Release Date:

1979 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Plot Keywords:

Martial Arts | Axe | Bank Robbery | Revenge | Fighting

Cast

Bruce Li		(as Bruce Ho Chung Tao)
Siu Tien Yuen	...	The Blind Master (as Simon Yuen)
Tiger Yueng
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mei Lien Chang
Lau Chan
Tao Chiang		(as Kong Do)
Pak-Kwong Ho
Ying-Ying Hui
Meg Lam
Ke Ming Lin
Kei Mai
Ting Gou Meng
Sha-li Pai
Yan Tsan Tang		(as Yim Chan Tang)

Also Known As:

Blind Fist of Bruce
Blind Fists of Bruce
Maang kuen gwai sau (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)

Runtime:

Germany:92 min | USA:94 min (dvd release)

Country:

Hong Kong | USA

Language:

Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M

Martial arts mediocrity

I saw BLIND FIST OF BRUCE in Brentwood's fantastic 10-pack format, and it has set the standard for my viewing of these films. While not a terrible chop-socky movie, there isn't really much in BLIND FIST to set it apart from the rest.

BLIND FIST OF BRUCE stars Bruce Li (no, NOT Bruce Lee unfortunately) in what is labeled a "tribute to the formula that made Bruce Lee a star!" Li plays a banker whose town is set upon by a ruthless gang. Sound familiar? It should, as indeed this formula has been used for well over a hundred kung-fu movies. At times, BLIND FIST reminded me of Jackie Chan's MASTER WITH CRACKED FINGERS, but the two are incomparable in terms of action. While Li plays his part competently enough, his two "teachers" (who soon enough become gang members themselves) have that sort of chop-socky comic relief that doesn't hold well with American audiences.

There are enough characters to keep BLIND FIST interesting, including a blind man who has mastered the martial arts, a geisha and her kung-fu maid, and Li's aforementioned cat-fu and dog-fu mentors (they teach him such moves as "peeing dog" and "licking yourself"). Also, the film has enough of those beat-em-up moments for the audience to hate the bad guys and to side with Li and his blind teacher. Unfortunately, there is simply nothing too special about BLIND FIST OF BRUCE.

While not bad, I would recommend this movie only to die-hards like myself, rather than as an entry-level feature. Instead, watch MASTER WITH CRACKED FINGERS or, even better, FIVE DEADLY VENOMS. :)