Crippled Avengers (1978)

Three men, crippled by an evil warlord, become friends and learn kung fu with the help of an old teacher and his idiot pupil.

Director:

Cheh Chang

Writers:

Cheh Chang, Kuang Ni

Stars:

Kuan-Tai Chan, Feng Lu, Phillip Chung-Fung Kwok

Cast

Credited cast:
Kuan-Tai Chan	...	Tao Tien-tu
Feng Lu	...	Tao Sheng
Phillip Chung-Fung Kwok	...	Chen Shun (as Kuo Chui)
Meng Lo	...	Wei Da-ti
Chien Sun	...	Hu Ah-kuei
Sheng Chiang	...	Wang Yi
Lung Wei Wang	...	Lin Yung
Chen-Tu Tan	...	Master Law Bo
Tai-Ping Yu	...	(Guest star)
Miao Ching	...	Li Jing-ying
Helen Poon	...	(Guest star) (as Ping-Chang Pan)
Dick Wei	...	Tien Nan Tiger #1 of the Southern Sky (as Lung Tu)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hsi Chang
Shih-Ou Chang
Chih-Lu Chen

Storyline

A wealthy kung fu expert, who is turned bitter and evil by the slaying of his wife and the loss of his son's hands, bullies a town through terror and force. They find pleasure and satisfaction by crippling those who stumble in their way. Four of those who are crippled, a hawker who is blinded, a blacksmith made mute and deaf, a drifter who loses his legs, and a fighter who loses his sanity, band together to use their disabilities to the best of their advantage. The four are tested time and time again, and demonstrate their strengths and abilities.

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Plot Keywords:

kung fu | venom mob | grindhouse film | kung fu classic | cult film | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin

Release Date:

November 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mortal Combat

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shaw Brothers

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min 100 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was considered as a possible influence behind Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Blood Oath (1994) and it's plot.

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Alternate Versions

German version was cut by ca. 16 minutes to secure a "Not under 18" rating.

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Connections

Featured in The Cinema Snob: The Crippled Avengers (2015)

User Reviews

Crippled but Deadly

What makes this one of the best Venoms movies is the characters of the accidental heroes, who all happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, swearing vengeance against a rich and infamous kungfu grandmaster (played sinisterly by Shaw Bros veteran actor Chen Kuan Tai) and his merciless son (Lu Feng).

Kungfu flicks of this era rarely portray handicapped as heroes. So the decision to make them heroes was a breakthrough for kungfu movie lovers.

Four laymen: Kwo Chue, a toy hawker, as the blind; Lo Meng, an iron smith, as the deaf and mute; Sun Chien, as the legless; and Chiang Sen, a swordsman, as the retarded become comrades by chance after being brutally maimed by the evil kungfu grandmaster and his son.

Seeking for revenge, the four go on some very arduous martial arts training specializing in unique kungfu skills with the help of Chiang Sen's kungfu master. The four then join forces to settle the score with the evil kungfu grandmaster and his son in a hand-to-hand mortal combat that only the undaunted, not the strongest, survive.

This particular Venoms' vehicle is one that helped maintain their fame in the early 80s following their groundbreaking box office hit "THE FIVE VENOMS" (1978). For lovers of old school kungfu flicks, this is one they must not miss !