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:

Pick Your Poison!

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Genres:

Action

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin

Release Date:

12 August 1978 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Five Deadly Venoms

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shaw Brothers

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min (Blu-ray)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

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: I came from a wealthy family. I joined the clan because I wanted to learn a special kung-fu, be a real expert, but in fact I just became a killer. Killing, that's all I know; death - every day another; but when Liang Shen died, for the first time I felt it prick my conscience - then to hide that one, we've killed again, first Men Hua and then Lin Kuang.
Scorpion: You've just asked me "When will it end?"
Scorpion: [laughs] Let me tell you: Once an evil deed is done, then it never ends. it goes on, and it will go on ...

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Connections

Referenced in Sparrow of Shaolin (2017)

User Reviews

A Real Man's Kung-Fu Movie

There's no romance or other side plot to this movie, it's action and intrigue all the way, making it a real man's kung-fu movie.

An aging master dispatches his last disciple Yan Tieh to stop his five former pupils who's styles represents five venomous animals centipede,snake, scorpion, lizard and the toad. Despite the word "Venom" in the title, none of these pupil uses venoms to kill their opponents. Yan Tieh told by his teacher that he's no match for the five former pupil, must find one he can form an alliance with to defeat the other four. How Yan Tieh and the others find each other is the intrigue to the story, with good kung-fu action spread out throughout the story.

Recognized as a cult classic, this movie has already established itself in the annals of kung- fu action movies. It's known well enough that other movies make reference to the five styles depicted in this story.

It's no artistic masterpiece, with the usual bad dubbing, and corny acting, but the movie is one of the best of its kind, because its so focused on the all the ingredients of kung-fu action movie of its time, and gives an extra concentrated dose of them.

One movie you must watch if you are a kung-fu movie fan.