Five Deadly Venoms (1978)

The final student of a dying martial arts master is instructed to locate the previous five students and defeat any evil ones among them.

Director:

Cheh Chang

Writers:

Cheh Chang, Kuang Ni (as I Kuang)

Stars:

Sheng Chiang, Chien Sun, Phillip Chung-Fung Kwok

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sheng Chiang	...	Yang Tieh
Chien Sun	...	Ma Chou / Kao Chin, Scorpion
Phillip Chung-Fung Kwok	...	Ho Yuan-Hsin / Meng Tien-Hsia, Lizard (as Chui Kuo)
Meng Lo	...	Liang Shen, Toad (as Mang Lo)
Pai Wei	...	Chi Tung, Snake
Feng Lu	...	Chang Hsiao-Tien, Centipede
Lung Wei Wang	...	Judge Wang
Feng Ku	...	Old Master Yuan (Guest star)
Dick Wei	...	Master (as Lung Tu)
Shu-Pei Sun	...	Constable Lin Kuang
Huang-Hsi Liu	...	Men Hua
Hui Huang Lin	...	Prison Gaoler
Ching Ho Wang	...	Constable
Lao Shen	...	Fruit vendor
Han Chen Wang	...	Prison Coroner

Storyline

A dying teacher instructs his final student to check on the activities of five former pupils, each of whom he taught a unique and special style of kung-fu: Centipede, Snake, Scorpion, Lizard, and Toad (hence the title). His final student, who knows a little of each style, must team up with one of the other good students to destroy the evil ones, if there are any. Greed and treachery ensue as the student discovers that some of the students are indeed evil, but which one can he trust enough to team up with?

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Plot Keywords:

martial arts | kung fu classic | kung fu | martial arts master | mask | 

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Taglines:

Five Complete Strangers, The Perfect Inheirtence Treasure, What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ranked #11 in Entertainment Weekly's "Top 50 Cult Films of All-Time."

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Goofs

Near the end where Lizard, Scorpion, Snake, Centipede and the last pupil confront one another at Snake's home, Lizard addresses Centipede as "Number 5." The Centipede was actually "Number 1" and was referred to as such throughout the rest of the movie. The Toad was "Number 5" and was referred to as such throughout the rest of the movie. This is undoubtedly an error in the English dubbing, not in the original Chinese dialogue.

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Quotes

Chi Tung, Snake: [looking intently at Ma Chow] I didn't expect three.

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Connections

Referenced in Sparrow of Shaolin (2017)

User Reviews

One of the best kung fu films ever made

This is definitely one of the best kung fu movies ever, and may be one of the best movies ever... It's got a great plot that functions like a puzzle, with lots of intrigue and suspense. This film is full of cat and mouse games and deceptions, with people hiding their identities and their natures. The characters in this film live and breath much more than your average kung fu movie characters. They are all interesting and compelling and the movie does a good job at giving them scenes to show their personality's and desires.

The fight scenes play out like little stories and many of them are very original and exciting. It has cool training sequences and martial arts skills that are so awesome they enter the realm of fantasy. There are 5 members of the poison clan each one with his own style that mimics the special skill of a venomous animal. The styles of each of these characters are fun to watch and you can see the techniques they use in training applied during the film... When this happens, The director uses quick cutting back to the training scene to draw a parallel. These cuts are accompanied by music changes and sound effects and the whole thing really works nicely.

One thing about this movie that is very original is the way it treats death. The director Chang Cheh was obviously very concerned that the film not trivialize death. This makes some of the scenes in the movie much more effective. We actually care when people are killed in this film. This is because the camera lingers on the horror of death even when the bad guys are killed. Some of the sequences in this movie are truly gut wrenching. When characters go in search of vengeance you really feel their anger and pain.

At the same time, this is also a fun movie. It has all the typical things you expect from a traditional kung fu film. There is bad dubbing, The characters are willing to fight at the drop of a hat. Some of the sound effects are hilarious and at times the behavior of the characters is incredibly unrealistic... all this just adds to the greatness of the film.

And lets not forget that this director was a visual stylist much more gifted than most of his contemporaries. If you watch this movie closely you will notice that the technical prowess on display is virtuostic. Everything goes by so fast (because of the quick cutting style and the rapid camera movements of the genre) that it is easy to overlook how beautiful the movie really is. The lighting and composition are spectacular at times. The camera work and movement is extremely sophisticated along with very interesting fast paced editing... In the scenes that portray suspense and intrigue for example, imagine Hitchcock moving at about twice the speed. Chang Cheh was truly a master craftsman and artist who knew his genre and was able to produce important material while working within it's confines. He doesn't rattle the boat of the kung fu genre film, but in a subtle way his skills permeate every scene and every shot and they add greatly to the quality of the work. He is an important filmmaker who continues to influence many people.

This is the real package A kung fu movie that delivers on every level. It's art, it's trash, it's emotionally moving, and it's fun, it has a true sense of morality, but doesn't allow that morality to get in the way of delivering good action. I recommend it to everybody whether you are a fan of this genre or not.

Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin

Release Date:

12 August 1978 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Five Deadly Venoms

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shaw Brothers

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min (Blu-ray)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1