...In other words, a typical Hong Kong film of the early-to-mid-'70s. "The Bloody Fists" is yet another entry in the Chinese-versus-Japanese subgenre of martial arts movies, so if you're looking for a novel storyline you'd better look elsewhere. Cackling, mean-spirited 'Japanese' villains (led by Shaw Brothers stalwart Chen Kuan-tai) heap unbelievable abuse on the residents of a small Chinese village until stocky, mustachioed Chen Sing, a kung-fu expert and a fugitive from the law, finally snaps and gives them a taste of their own brutality. The central conflict of the film involves a secret stash of 'dragon herb'--which cures the plague--and the attempts of the evil Japanese to get their hands on it. If you've seen hundreds of these movies already, there's no need for you to go out of your way to see "The Bloody Fists". The fight scenes are competent but unremarkable and the film doesn't really hit its stride until the end, when Chen Sing and Chen Kuan-tai literally rip into one another on a beach--the former wielding a sai, the latter a nunchaku. The true charm of this film resides in the little things: the soundtrack (listen for the theme from "The Young and the Restless" and even a few seconds of the early Black Sabbath standard 'The Wizard'!), the very unprofessional-looking credit sequence, the crude sets and costumes, and just the atmosphere of the whole damned thing. No one made movies like the Hong Kong independent studios of this period, and if you grew up watching "Kung Fu Theater" on Sunday afternoons as I did, you know precisely what I'm talking about :) One more thing that makes "The Bloody Fists" entertaining: Chen Kuan-tai's character appears early in the film, but Kuan-tai himself doesn't show up until about a quarter of the way through. He actually has a masked stand-in! For no good reason, because we already know his name and intentions, the character walks around with a black cloth on the lower half of his face. Finally, enraged by the presence of Chen Sing's character, he removes the mask...and one of his henchmen whispers to another, "He's taking it off. That means he'll do it (kill Chen Sing) himself!" Shades of Bela Lugosi and Ed Wood's chiropractor in "Plan 9 From Outer Space"? Yes, that's the kind of silly, tacky film this is! Now you have a pretty good idea of whether or not you'll enjoy it.
6 Reviews
Fans of the genre will really like it
ckormos122 July 2012
Only a fan of this genre would watch this movie nowadays and likewise only a fan would ever read my review. Consider this review in that context and time frame.
For a martial arts film fan having a festival of 1972 movies this ranks a solid 7 out of 10 by year and genre. Such fans know it's all about the fights. Fans know the fights get better as the movie progresses because they were usually filmed in script order and the actors and stunt men got better at working together. In case you don't know that then just disregard the first few fights and enjoy the rest.
I particularly liked the way the Japanese fought "dirty" and the Chinese countered those attacks effectively and only responded with lethal force when unjustly provoked.
Kudos to Chan Sing for another of his great villain roles. I bought the DVD to see Kuan Tai Chen actually and this film was before he became a star at Shaw Brothers.
For a martial arts film fan having a festival of 1972 movies this ranks a solid 7 out of 10 by year and genre. Such fans know it's all about the fights. Fans know the fights get better as the movie progresses because they were usually filmed in script order and the actors and stunt men got better at working together. In case you don't know that then just disregard the first few fights and enjoy the rest.
I particularly liked the way the Japanese fought "dirty" and the Chinese countered those attacks effectively and only responded with lethal force when unjustly provoked.
Kudos to Chan Sing for another of his great villain roles. I bought the DVD to see Kuan Tai Chen actually and this film was before he became a star at Shaw Brothers.
Low-budget kung fu tale with 2 top stars and well-staged fights
BrianDanaCamp20 October 2002
THE BLOODY FISTS (1972) is of interest to kung fu fans because of several noted participants: it's an early example of the fight choreography of Yuen Wo Ping (best known these days for IRON MONKEY, THE MATRIX and CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON); it's got good early performances by Chen Sing and Chen Kuan Tai, reversing their usual roles by playing hero and villain, respectively; and it's an early work by Ng See Yuen who went on to direct a number of exemplary Taiwan-shot kung fu films (e.g. SECRET RIVALS, INVINCIBLE ARMOUR). It's not particularly well-written, photographed or edited, but it is consistently watchable and does offer a steady stream of fight scenes.
The plot is quite simple and involves attempts by a band of Japanese karate fighters to get their hands on supplies of the powerful plague cure, the Dragon Herb, from a remote Chinese town in the early 20th century. The Japanese are brought to the town by an exiled villager and are opposed by the Yuens, a group of kung fu fighting brothers. Chen Sing plays a fugitive outlaw and kung fu expert who is so outraged by the behavior of the Japanese that he decides to stay in town and fight. Chen Kuan Tai, adorned with a long-haired light brown wig, plays the top Japanese fighter.
It's not clear when the film is set. The police who chase Chen Sing drive a 1930s sedan and carry pistols from that era. Yet the village setting looks like that of any number of kung fu films set hundreds of years ago and the Japanese look like they stepped out of an old samurai movie (with the exception of one curious costume detail-the plaid pants worn by the karate fighters). By the 1930s, the Japanese invading China were a lot more sophisticated and better armed (and garbed) than the characters here.
The fights are generally well-staged, always in outdoor settings, some of them quite dramatic. Chen Kuan Tai and Chen Sing are the only name actors and neither gets to fight enough. The rest of the cast is unfamiliar and unmemorable as actors, although quite good as fighters. (Yuen Wo Ping makes a cameo fighting appearance.) The fights are frequent and build up the necessary tensions leading to the final showdown between Chen Sing and Chen Kuan Tai on a sprawling beach. Since Chen Sing was short and Chen Kuan Tai was long-limbed, the two fighters wouldn't seem particularly well-matched, but the final bout is quite intense and well worth the wait.
Because of his dark looks and menacing smile, Chen Sing was cast as a villain in film after film (e.g. THE NEW ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN, THE LEGENDARY STRIKE, THE MAGNIFICENT, all reviewed on this site). However, he also made a more interesting hero than the usual kung fu star but was rarely cast in such roles. This may be the only heroic role of his yet seen by this reviewer. Chen Kuan Tai was a great hero in films like THE BOXER FROM SHANTUNG and EXECUTIONERS FROM SHAOLIN, but could also be a memorable villain (see CRIPPLED AVENGERS/aka RETURN OF THE FIVE DEADLY VENOMS).
The music track for this film consists of large helpings of James Bond musical cues and bits lifted from other Hollywood soundtracks. The tape/DVD edition of THE BLOODY FISTS (with "The" omitted from the video box title) currently available in the U.S. offers a very good letter-boxed transfer of a widescreen print.
The plot is quite simple and involves attempts by a band of Japanese karate fighters to get their hands on supplies of the powerful plague cure, the Dragon Herb, from a remote Chinese town in the early 20th century. The Japanese are brought to the town by an exiled villager and are opposed by the Yuens, a group of kung fu fighting brothers. Chen Sing plays a fugitive outlaw and kung fu expert who is so outraged by the behavior of the Japanese that he decides to stay in town and fight. Chen Kuan Tai, adorned with a long-haired light brown wig, plays the top Japanese fighter.
It's not clear when the film is set. The police who chase Chen Sing drive a 1930s sedan and carry pistols from that era. Yet the village setting looks like that of any number of kung fu films set hundreds of years ago and the Japanese look like they stepped out of an old samurai movie (with the exception of one curious costume detail-the plaid pants worn by the karate fighters). By the 1930s, the Japanese invading China were a lot more sophisticated and better armed (and garbed) than the characters here.
The fights are generally well-staged, always in outdoor settings, some of them quite dramatic. Chen Kuan Tai and Chen Sing are the only name actors and neither gets to fight enough. The rest of the cast is unfamiliar and unmemorable as actors, although quite good as fighters. (Yuen Wo Ping makes a cameo fighting appearance.) The fights are frequent and build up the necessary tensions leading to the final showdown between Chen Sing and Chen Kuan Tai on a sprawling beach. Since Chen Sing was short and Chen Kuan Tai was long-limbed, the two fighters wouldn't seem particularly well-matched, but the final bout is quite intense and well worth the wait.
Because of his dark looks and menacing smile, Chen Sing was cast as a villain in film after film (e.g. THE NEW ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN, THE LEGENDARY STRIKE, THE MAGNIFICENT, all reviewed on this site). However, he also made a more interesting hero than the usual kung fu star but was rarely cast in such roles. This may be the only heroic role of his yet seen by this reviewer. Chen Kuan Tai was a great hero in films like THE BOXER FROM SHANTUNG and EXECUTIONERS FROM SHAOLIN, but could also be a memorable villain (see CRIPPLED AVENGERS/aka RETURN OF THE FIVE DEADLY VENOMS).
The music track for this film consists of large helpings of James Bond musical cues and bits lifted from other Hollywood soundtracks. The tape/DVD edition of THE BLOODY FISTS (with "The" omitted from the video box title) currently available in the U.S. offers a very good letter-boxed transfer of a widescreen print.
A highly entertaining martial arts outing
Woodyanders3 December 2009
Warning: Spoilers
A band of evil Japanese martial artists lead by a nasty long-haired dude (a perfectly hateful Kuan Tai Chen) want to possess all the dragon herb in a small rural Chinese village. It's up to fugitive loner and ace karate fighter Jang Wu-dip (a solid and likable performance by Sing Chen) to stop the nefarious marauders. Writer/director See-Yuen Ng relates the simple, yet effective and engrossing plot at a constant brisk pace, maintains a serious tone throughout, and stages the copious and extensive wall-to-wall martial arts action with considerable flair and skill. Better still, there's no unnecessary sudsy romantic subplot or dumb obtrusive humor to get in the way of said action. The villains are suitably vile and brutal: They're prone to making deep wicked chortles, the main baddie wears a mask for the first third of the picture, they kill both a friendly mute and a kindly old man, gleefully torture folks, and these foul ruffians not only abduct a fair maiden, but also rape the fetching lass as well. Woo-ping Yuen's fight choreography is dynamic and exciting. Yung-chien Chiang's reasonably polished cinematography makes nice use of the widescreen format. Fu Liang Chou's rousing and spirited score likewise hits the stirring spot. But it's the snappy and straightforward execution of the admirably basic and unpretentious narrative which in turn makes this movie such a fun and satisfying chopsocky flick.
I'm pretty sure I own this movie..
U.X.5 July 1999
It sounds about right. I picked it up at a small music store for about 3 dollars, the copy I got was very crappy and had bad, bad tracking, but was watchable once. If you're looking for a thorough review, than.. no. Sorry. But, if you're into no effort reviews, then read on. Bloody Fists is one of those kung fu films set in that indeterminate kung fu era, the one that mixes old style costumes with things like soldiers and big guns.. you're never quite sure just when it's happening, but I guess it really doesn't matter. Looks like some guy who likes to comb his hair and grin wicked is on the run from some troops, he did something bad. I don't know. Then there's this other guy, his girlfriend is Norma Miao (I think?) from Fists of Fury, he's knocking around wooden dummies on the beach. Chen Seng shows that his Japanese martial arts is the best, to the dismay of the Chinese fighters. Always with the Japanese.. and somehow, a dragon herb gets thrown in there, it's apparently valuable like marijuana, but just how it's used is never clearly established. There's a tournament, some baddie with long hair and a black surgical mask is running the show, even though the big, big guy with the huge, sexy eyebrows really should have been running things. Some guys fight in these wooden rings that look pretty neat.. Chen Seng and long-hair bad guy kidnaps some guys and ties them to stakes on the beach. Chen has some of them decapitated, because they won't tell him where the dragon herb is. Then the guy from the beginning, the guy with the wooden dummies, he comes around and kills all the bad guys, I forget how. Maybe by breaking their necks. That's usually how it works. You know, maybe I should watch it again.
You've seen it all before (really!)
Wizard-816 March 2013
Have you ever watched a kung fu movie from Hong Kong that was made in the 1970s? Then you have seen this movie. "The Bloody Fists" contains one cliché associated with the genre and the time period after another. Do we have people wandering around a countryside where the plant life looks like it desperately needs water? Check! Do we have villains laughing out loud frequently? Check! Do we hear loud swooshes when limbs are moving quickly? Check! Do we get impossibly loud sounds when blows land on various body parts? Check! Does the camera several times zoom in (or out) very quickly when photographing various characters? Check! I could go on and on like this for a long time, not just with getting into the very familiar plot, but I won't. There is some excitement in the climatic action sequence, but it's too little, too late. I know there are some people who like these 1970s Hong Kong kung fu movies, but I'm not one of them. Me, I'll take a Hong Kong kung fu movie no older than the mid-1980s each and every time.
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