Du bi quan wang da po xue di zi

This film brought a rush of half-forgotten memories...I was seven years old, living in suburban Ventura Country, California, munching on Count Chocula, and glued to the screen for Channel 7's Black Belt Theater. And that was the last time I witnessed the adventures of the One Armed Boxer and his arch-nemesis, the blind Master of the Flying Guillotine for a long, long time...

Fast forward twenty years. I stumbled across a pirated copy of this old school chop sockey classic. I couldn't believe my eyes. I had always reminisced to my friends about this flick...with its weapon that could decapitate from 40 yards, a stretchy armed Indian fakir, and perhaps the first fight between the arch-rivals Eagle Claw and Monkey Style.

I am convinced that this is the Movie that Launched a Thousand Video Games. The resemblance to Streetfighter is obvious, but this movie's whole-setup must have inspired countless button-pushin' fisticuffs that would dominate our leisure time in the following decades.

But if you go beyond the nostalgia factor and the video game inspirations, you'll find a finely-crafted, well-acted, and genuinely exciting film. Jimmy Wang Yu reprises his role as the One Armed Boxer, a thinking man's kung-fu hero. (I believe this film was third in a series of One Armed Boxer flicks). The hated Qing regime has sent the notorious (and blind) Master of the Flying Guillotine to snuff out all those pesky Ming sympathizers, and the One Armed Boxer is on top of the hitlist. (Yeah, yeah, I know I've just described the premise of five million other kung fu flicks, but stay with me). Not only that, but the Boxer had the gall to kill two other assassins who happened to be the blind man's disciples!

The Master of the Flying Guillotine is sheer evil itself. He launches into a killing spree, murdering every poor slob in the province who happens to sport only one arm. (Along with anybody foolish enough to get in his way). After being informed that he didn't kill the One Armed Boxer in his lastest decapitation, the blind assassin utters what is perhaps the coldest line in cinematic history--"I don't care who he was." Yikes.

Of course, the Boxer and the Blind Killer have the Final Throw Down Show Down...in perhaps one of the most beautifully shot fight scenes I've ever witnessed. True to form, Jimmy uses his brain as much as his fists when it comes to taking down his enemies...but I don't want to give anymore of this wonderful lost classic away.

Also of note is the music for the film...the opening titles is a veritable punk/thrash classic, and the the Flying Guillotine's theme music lets you know Evil is Afoot. I love it.

So..if you can find it, check this flick out...and then you'll see where Namco and Jet Li got it all from. It's time to go back to Old School.