Director Chun-Ku Lu (Holy Flame of the Martial World) is here to tell us the story of Yun Fei Yang (Norman Chui), an orphan who is given the worst tasks at Wudang, a martial arts school. Every privileged student abuses him, but he remains there, studying and working on his kung fu when he isn’t being treated like trash. There’s a real problem, however, as the rival Wu Di school and their best fighter, Kung Suen Wang (Meng Lo), is coming back to duel the school’s master swordsman Qing Song (Jung Wang) after having already defeated him twice.

Yun Fei Yang also is in love with the daughter — Fang Er (Yeung Jing-Jing) — of the leader of the school, Chief Dugu (Alex Man Chi-Leung), who has left for two years. As Dugu rests as a tavern, he’s attacked by four killers — Wind (Yuen Tak), Thunder (Wong Lik), Rain (Yuen Qiu) and Lightning (Kwan Fung), in case you ever wondered if John Carpenter watched these movies — and is saved by Fu Yu Shu. Yet after he’s attacked a second time, Yun Fei Yang is blamed and the school starts to tear itself to pieces A new master shows up, Fu Yu Xue (Tony Liu), and he soon steals away the school.

Yun Fei Yang starts to train with a stranger — Shen Man Jiun (Chan Si-Gaai) — and begins to master the signature style of the school, the Silkworm, all while running for the law, who thinks that he is a murderer. Yet despite the odds being against this “bastard,” the only way the true Wudang style will live on is through him.

Don’t think that this movie is rooted in our world. After all, Yun Fei Yang soon learns how to spin himself into a cocoon and emerge as a silver armored superhero who can shoot webs and emit blasts of energy. By the end, the final battle takes place inside his cocoon and it ends with the bad guy turned into a skeleton.

Based on a TV series, Reincarnated or The Transformation of the Heavenly Silkworm, this would be followed by a sequel, Return of the Bastard Swordsman.

The Arrow Video Shaw Scope Volume Three box set has a brand new 2K restoration of The Bastard Swordsman as well as commentary by Frank Jeng and a trailer.

You can get this set from MVD.

“Flaming Cloud Devil” Ku Han-hun (Alex Man Chi-leung) has learned the Buddha’s Palm from his master and is challenged by four masters of the Evil Fire God power: “Unpredictable Dashing Ring” Sun Pi-ling (Shaw Yin-yin), “Heavenly Foot” Wai Chein Tien-chun, “Nine Roped Rings” Lui Piao-piao and “Thunderbolt Devil” Pi Li Shen-chun. He’s left for dead and twenty years later, his hiding place is found by Long Jian-fei (Tung Shing Yee), a cocky young fighter who has just been saved by Dameng, a giant flying bearded dragon. Having been trapped in a cave for two decades, Ku Han-hun is a bit insane, but he tells Long that he will teach him his secret art if he gets him the egg of a Golden Dragon. Our hero goes one further and also brings him a dagger that could just be a lightsaber. Pretty good for a guy who starts the movie thrown off a cliff by the new boyfriend of his former girlfriend.

Along the way, Long rescues sword sisters Chu Yu-hua (Yu An-an) and Chu Yu-chan (Hui Ying-hung), angering their master Sun- Pi-ling, who imprisons him. Wai Chein has also gone on to create an army including an acid spitting dwarf.

Based on Palm of a Thousand Buddhas, this is a shot in studio film that has — at times — simple special effects, such as an obvious costume for the dragon. But you know, who cares? It also has neon colors and near psychedelic flourishes as the martial arts skills go beyond punches and kicks and become energy radiating from the hands of the fighters, turning them into superheroes battling caves filled with monsters, looking for mysterious object after object. How can you not love a movie that announces its ripped-off Star Wars weapon with the sound of Vader’s labored breath?

Lieh Lo is awesome in this, a goofball hero who is smarter than he appears and who announces himself every time he shows up, saying “Bi Gu of East Island is here!” Have you ever seen a movie where a magic McGuffin heals the acne of an angry female martial arts master before? Nope. You never will again.

This was Taylor Wong’s second movie but man, he already had some magic.

The Arrow Video Shaw Scope Volume Three box set has a brand new 2K restoration of Buddha’s Palm as well as commentary by critic and translator Dylan Cheung, an alternate English title sequence for Buddha’s Palm as Raiders of the Magic Palm and a trailer.

You can get this set from MVD.

In this movie, director Chih-Hung Kwei is remaking his frequent collaborator Chang Cheh’s The Invincible Fist and telling the tale of “Killer Constable” Leng Tian-Yin (Chen Kuan-tai). He’s been ordered by security chief of the Forbidden City Liu Jing Tian (Cho Tat-wah) — who has been commanded by Manchurian Empress Dowager Cixi — to bring back the five thieves that stole 2 million taels from the Royal Treasury dead or alive. When you’re called the Killer Constable, you never bring them back alive.

Trying to assemble his five best men, Leng learns that not even his brother, Cun Yi (Gam Sai-Yuk) wants to join him. He is tired of the brutal justice that his brother delivers. We witness this as Leng follows the thieves to a watermill and tortures one of them in front of his family. Yet you’re left to wonder if his rough style is warranted when one of his men, Peng Lai (Ai Fei), is rewarded for feeding the starving villagers by being staked and must be killed by Leng to ease his suffering. The thieves also hire Fan Jin-Peng (Jason Pai Piao), a killing master who murders elder constable Ma Zhong (Gam Biu) and injures Leng before being defeated.

Finally, after a battle with the leader of these thieves, Fang Feng-Jia (Ku Feng), and are helped by the intervention of Cun Yu. Leng is almost killed but is nursed back to health by Fang’s blind daughter Xiao Lan (Yau Chui-Ling). When Fang enters his home, instead of fighting, the Constable and he pretend to be friends in front of his daughter. In truth, it was Liu Jing Tian who stole the gold and sent Leng after him, as he knew that no one would survive. Another group of killers attack and Fang sacrifices himself to allow Leng to live, making him promise to care for his daughter. However, the Constable is driven with rage after his brother is killed, so he attacks Liu Jing Tian, killing many of his guards before wiping out the corrupt man. However, a trap also kills Leng, leaving Xiao Lan waiting for a father and protector who never arrives.

Kuei said that, “I simply wanted to depict how insignificant commoners are and how, under totalitarian rule, they turn out to be the victims.” While showing off the violence and combat that one expects from a Shaw Brothers movie, this also goes beyond to show the very real suffering that comes from that same brutality. As the only good person in the film is a blind woman — a scene repeated in The Killer as Ah Jong and Li Ying pretend to be old buddies for the benefit of the sightless Jennie — the moral is simple. The only pureness in this bloody universe can’t witness it.

Kuei was also inspired by another classic film: “I love Dr. Zhivago. In Killer Constable, I want to create a character like Zhivago. Despite his position in the high court, the protagonist is a righteous man. Yet in the corruption and poverty-stricken era at the end of the Qing dynasty, there is not much good he can do on his own. Hence he is deluded by society and lives his life foolishly.”

And yet in America, the most violent country in the world, all of this complexity struggles to be understood, as this played under the exploitation title Karate Exterminators.

Killer Constable was Chih-Hung Kwei’s only period wuxia film. He’d make his mark on many other genres, including women-in-prison (The Bamboo Dolls), modern crime (The Teahouse and its sequel Big Brother Cheng), women in trouble (The Bod Squad), comedy (Rat Catcher) and of course, his many horror films such as The Killer Snakes, Hex and Corpse Mania. In the 1990s, he moved to the United States where he opened a pizza shop. Yes, at one point in our reality, you could order a pizza made by the visionary director of The Boxer’s Omen.

His son, Ming Beaver Kwei, a producer of movies like My Lucky Star and The Meg, said of his father: “He’d bitch about his work every day, never quite satisfied how his work had turned out, or how it was being distributed. He was only ever happy when he knew for a day that a film had worked at the box office, then he’d start worrying again. He’d be so happy to know that his films were getting a second look today.”

The Arrow Video Shaw Scope Volume Three box set has a brand new 2K restoration of Killer Constable as well as three commentary tracks one by film critic and historian Tony Rayns, one by Frank Djeng and another by martial arts cinema expert Brian Bankston; alternate scenes from the South Korean version; an alternate English title sequence and a trailer.

You can get this set from MVD.

Eagle Chief Yoh Xi-Hung (Ku Feng) leads Iron Boat Clan, a gang made up of orphans that he has raised to be his personal army — Eagles — of killers. His toughest “son” is Chik Ming-sing (Ti Lung), who loves combat. After being injured by Golden Spear Tao De-biu, he nearly dies and is nursed back to health by the family of lawman Wang An. Now, Chik Ming-sing sees that the life he has known since he was a child is a lie. He deserves love and to have a family.

Of course, the Iron Boat Clan then kills Wang An and Chik Ming-sing is targeted by them. As he wanders, he meets wrist knife fighting master Cheuk Yi-fan (Alexander Fu), who wants to destroy the Iron Boat Clan for killing his wife and children. He suspects Chik Ming-sing, but they make a good team as they both starts to fight back against the gang. Things take a turn when Chik Ming-sing reveals that he killed a man’s wife years ago — guess who? — and wants to be killed by that man to atone for his crime.

Of course our heroes get their revenge, even if Yoh Xi-Hung attempts to turn them against one another. The end, however, is still surprising and poignant, as our heroes are honor bound and have a path that they must follow. The last fight is astounding and both lead characters are so worthy of a movie on their own. Together, this is perfect.

Directed by Chung Sun, this movie knocked me out. Everyone’s weapons, from Yoh Xi-Hung’s claws and Chik Ming-sing’s staff to Cheuk Yi-fan’s wrist blades are so unique to each character and perfectly used. I can’t wait to watch this again.

This was remade in 1993 as The 13 Cold-Blooded Eagles.

The Arrow Video Shaw Scope Volume Three box set has a brand new 2K restoration of The Avenging Eagle as well as commentary by Frank Djeng, an English title sequence and a trailer.

You can get this set from MVD.

Directed and written by Chor Yuen, this is the story of Little Flying Dagger Li (Ti Lung), who has such strong ideals that he has lost almost everyone in his life, including Lin Hsin-ehr (Li Cheng), the woman he loves, who he feels unworthy of after a rival sword fighter saves his life. Now he wanders the countryside, drunk all day, for ten years with his assistant Chuan Jia (Fan Mei-Sheng). He then learns that the Plum Blossom Bandit is endangering his homeland. When he comes home, he meets Ah Fei (Derek Yee), another warrior who is looking for a gold armor shirt that can protect its user from any strike. Seeing as how the Plum Blossom Bandit kills with darts, this vest is very important.

Based on Gu Long’s Sentimental Swordsman, Ruthless Sword, this finds its hero wine drunk and pining for someone he knows he should have fought for. Seeing as how he’s the third best fighter in the world, he has a lot to deal with and all he wants to do is look at nature and, yes, drink to numb the pain of losing the only perfect woman he’ll ever know. Even when the bad guys poison his wine, he drinks more wine to get over it.

Funny enough, Li doesn’t use a sword but a fan. The name works for him, I guess, because it sets up all those people coming to fight him up to think he has a blade and instead he whips around a metal fan, which is a pretty interesting weapon and one I figure not many people have prepared themselves for.

Chor Yuen made seven movies in 1977 and its amazing that this looks as good and works as well as it does. That’s hard working.

The Arrow Video Shaw Scope Volume Three box set has a brand new 2K restoration of The Avenging Eagle as well as commentary by David West, author of Chasing Dragons: An Introduction to the Martial Arts Film. There’s also a trailer.

You can get this set from MVD.

The Shaw Scope Volume 3 box set has several wuxia films by Chor Yuen that star Ti Lung. In this one, he plays Zhao Wuji, a swordsman who learns that his father has been killed. He’s so upset — and ready for revenge — that he cancels his wedding and gets pulled into a battle between two families, the Tang Family Sect led by Master Tang Ao (Yueh Hua) and his own family’s Zhao Clan who have no successor to his father, as he had hidden his will in a jade tiger that has been lost.

Chor Yuen made many of Gu Long’s books into movies, but this film has the author writing the screenplay which comes from his work The White Jade Tiger. 

How important was Zhao Wuji’s wedding anyways? After all, he was dueling with Dugu Sheng (Norman Chu) beforehand, a man who respected that he was about to be wed, while our hero claims that he would rather die a bachelor and not have a widow. He then takes on the name Shangguan Ren and becomes part of the Tang Family Sect, getting to know his father’s murderer and somehow not hating him as much as he would have suspected.

As much as this is a talky tale filled with twists and turns, it has Master Lu in it, a man so deadly that he uses his glass eyeballs as weapons. He has exploding eyeballs. Let that wash over you.

That said, this is probably not a good first time Shaw Brothers watch. You need to be a bit more into these films, know the actors and the reasons, and then you’ll enjoy this more than someone who hasn’t had a steady relationship with these movies.

The Arrow Video Shaw Scope Volume Three box set has a brand new 2K restoration of Jade Tiger as well as commentary by critic Ian Jane and a trailer.

You can get this set from MVD.

Clans of Intrigue is based on the book Fragrance in the Sea of Blood, which is part of Gu Long’s Chu Liuxiang novel series. The first of these stories to be adapted by Shaw Brothers, with Chor Yuen directing and Ti Lung as Chu Liuxiang. Legend of the Bat and Perils of the Sentimental Swordsman would follow this movie, as well as several other appearances of this character in other movies.

After three martial artists are poisoned using the Holy Water Palace’s Heaven’s One Holy Water has been stolen, it’s determined that only one man could be so deadly and so good of a thief to pull this off: Chu Liuxiang. At least that’s what Kung Nan-Yen (Nora Miao) believes, but she gives our hero one month to clear his name.

Chor Yuen made five movies in 1977: Jade Tiger, Death Duel, Pursuit of Vengeance, The Sentimental Swordsman and this movie. He’d repeat that the following year before taking it easy in 1979 and 1980, only making four movies in both of those years. Not only was he busy, he also made some great films.

This has the feel of a detective tale, as our hero must go through each suspect and attempt to discover who could have stolen the Magic Water and who was also skilled enough to kill three martial arts masters. Chu Liuxiang must also deal with all of the other fighters who believe that he’s the murderer and don’t want to wait for revenge.

You can read Jenn Upton’s review of this movie here.

The Arrow Video Shaw Scope Volume Three box set has a brand new 2K restoration of Clans of Intrigue as well as commentary by Jonathan Clements, author of A Brief History of China; interviews with stuntwoman Sharon Yeung, film historian Bede Chang and film critic Law Kar and a trailer.

You can get this set from MVD.

Fu Hung Hsue (Lung Ti) is one of the many heroes of writer Gu-long. In this film, directed by Chor Yuen, he learns of a weapon called the Peacock Dart. It’s so powerful that it could disrupt the entire martial world. Even though he has sworn off violence, our hero must come back to protect others from this armament, which is kind of like little bombs in the fan tail of a peacock. Yes, it is amazing.

There’s also the matter of another warrior, Yen Nan Fei (Lo Lieh), who has challenged Fu Hung Hsue to a duel. But as they’re both being targeted by a series of killers, they decide to work together until they get to the bottom of this mystery.

Master Yu has put a price on both of them so all manner of wild looking killers have come to collect. I mean, one of them is called Devil Granny and she hides in the shadows, laughing at you after she poisons you with incense. Oh yeah, she also eats people, has a giant chessboard and has turned a food cart into a weapon.

The other bad guys all have weird supernatural martial arts weapons, but come on. None of them are in their twilight years yet biting down on people and making the most elaborate death traps.

The creator of the McGuffin weapon also sends his daughter Yu-cheng (Ching Li) along with our heroes as they seek to destroy Master Yu. Will she fall in love with one of the heroes? Will Fu Hung Hsue do incredible things like move the acupuncture points of his body by one inch so that he can’t be paralyzed? Will the heroes finally have their duel?

Yes to all of this, as well as more blood and sleaze than you were expecting. That is to say, this is wonderful, a movie contained within the Shaw Brothers lot but feeling like it could go anywhere and do anything.

You can also read what Jenn Upton had to say about this movie here.

The Arrow Video Shaw Scope Volume Three box set has a brand new 2K restoration of The Magic Blade as well as extras such as commentary by critic Samm Deighan and a trailer.

You can get this set from MVD.

Directed by Cheng Kang and Shao-Yung Tung, this starts with Commander Yang Tsung Pao (Chung Wa) near death and almost ready to concede defeat. He sends his most trusted generals, Chiao Ting Kuai (Fan Mei-Sheng) and Meng Huai Yuan (Wong Chung-Shun), back home to inform his family that he has died and to send more troops. There aren’t any, as all of the men of the family have been killed in battle. Matriarch She Tai Chun (Lisa Lu) gathers the titular fourteen women and heads off, along with her teenage grandson (played by Lily Ho, but it’s no surprise that he is a she) to win the war. As for why Lily plays a boy, everyone must follow this line of thinking, as she will be the male heir for the kingdom.

Each of the women is capable and a dangerous fighter, including Mu Kue Ying (Ivy Ling Po) and Yang Pei Feng (Shu Pei-pei), who is celebrated in stories beyond this. This also has one of the most outstanding sequences, as when the bridge across Death Valley is destroyed, She Tai Chun orders her troops to form a human bridge that everyone trust falls into action, as the army uses them to cross and continue their revenge.

Also: So much violence and the evil Mongols have Santa Claus-like outfits on, making this a perfect holiday movie of women sword-slashing evil St. Nicks and tossing them off cliffs. Sure, there are hundreds of characters to keep track of, but this movie was made to amaze you. I saw one Letterboxd review that said, “There are supposed to be whole armies and I only see fifty people.”

This is a film of blood and sacrifice, of strategy and resolve. So if you have nothing nice — or smart — to say, just watch something else and let us enjoy.

The Arrow Video Shaw Scope Volume Three box set has a brand new 2K restoration of The 14 Amazons as well as commentary by Jonathan Clements, author of A Brief History of China; interviews with stuntwoman Sharon Yeung, film historian Bede Chang and film critic Law Kar and a trailer.

You can get this set from MVD.

Ainu (Lily Ho) has been kidnapped and stolen into slavery by Madam Chun Yi (Betty Pei Ti) and her Four Seasons brothel. Madam Chun is rough — she’s already killed one of the kidnapper for taking the virginity of one of her girls.

Our heroine and her owner don’t get along at all — at first — as Ainu keeps getting locked away for her insolence and her back whipped into a bloody mess that — of course — Madam Chun licks.

The rich noblemen who gather to take Ainu’s virginity get her drunk and then abuse her, over and over again. After stopping her from hanging herself, the pain of this event awakens a memory in a mute servant boy. Remembering a love he once lost, he tries to help her escape, but is easily killed, and Madam Chun tells Ainu that “I could easily kill you now.” Instead, Ainu starts to comply and becomes her mistress’ lover.

One by one, Ainu starts to murder the men who abused her, using her job as a courtesan to get close to them. Madam Chun is so blinded by her lust for her that even when her most trusted men tell her that Ainu is a killer, she refuses to believe it. It gets to the point that she even helps Ainu free all of her women and destroy her brothel, killing all of her loyal henchmen. When she’s struck down, she confesses that she loved Ainu, but she tells Madam Chu that it was all a lie, that she used her to get revenge. Of course, she misjudged how evil the woman is, as she’d hidden a poison pill in her mouth in case she ever needed to use it. With their last kiss, she kills her enemy and lover.

Amazingly — well, maybe not, Shaw Brothers stole some wild music for their soundtracks — this has Pink Floyd’s “Come In Number 51, Your Time Is Up” and “Heart Beat, Pig Meat” in it.

If you’re looking for a female revenge movie, Shaw Brothers style, this is it. Of course, being that it came from this studio and director Chor Yuen, don’t expect it to end either clean or happily.

The Arrow Video Shaw Scope Volume Three box set has a brand new 2K restoration of Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan and extras like two commentaries — one by film critic and historian Tony Rayns and the other by critic Samm Deighan — as well as alternate English credits and a trailer.

You can get this set from MVD.