Fans of Chinese martial arts films should be incredibly pleased lately. Many of the classics, especially those from the Shaw Brothers studios have been making their way to Blu-ray in recent months. Arrow Video put out their Shaw Brothers Collection Volume 1 to great acclaim. But closing in on them is 88 Films with their rapid releases of other classics including THE CHINESE BOXER.
THE CHINESE BOXER from 1970 was the first film to be directed by Jimmy Wang Yu who’d become a rising star in Chinese films by this time. Also known as HAMMER OF GOD the film used a somewhat familiar tale but gave it its own spin. Add to that the fact that Wu also starred in the film and you had a guaranteed hit.
Wu stars as Lei-ming, a dedicated martial arts student in 1940s China during the occupation by the Japanese. Living in Shanghai problems for those living their increase when the triads work hand in hand with the Japanese to keep the population down. Lei-min attempts to stand up to them and the results are deadly.
The triads hire a group of assassins to wipe out the martial arts school Lei-ming belongs to. Master Kitashima (Lo Lieh) and his group decimate the every member of the school and leave Lei-ming behind as well thinking him dead. But Lei-ming survives the attack and hides while he rebuilds his strength. Aided by Li Hsiao Ling (Wang Ping), the daughter of his master, Lei-ming heals.
Recovering is painstaking but he does so. Determined more than ever to seek revenge he practices his martial arts skills daily to achieve that goal. Remembering the words of his master he sets out to learn the “Iron Fist” technique, the only way to defeat his enemies. Along with this he must train himself to learn to leap in order to avoid the deadly karate strikes thrown his way. And when he finally reaches the point where he has the abilities he needs, he sets to exact that revenge.
The usual sights to be seen in martial arts films from China are on hand here. The high flying leaps, the bone crunching punches and the determined hero setting out to get revenge for a wrong doing done to him. Rather than being simple tropes in the films though the each film using this theme has always had its own flavor and this one proves that.
Wang Yu was one of the first mega-stars in the genre, even before Bruce Lee came along. Earlier films he made were filled with sword play but here the hand to hand combat sequences equal any of those previous films. His star power is evident throughout. Lo Lieh was another huge star in the genre and seeing the two of them together is a treat.
88 Films has done a fantastic job with their release of this film. Not only is this a restored HD master they’ve added a ton of extras as well. Those include an audio commentary track from film journalist Samm Deighan, "Open Hand Combat" an interview with journalist David West, "Wong Ching at Shaw" an interview with actor Wong Ching by Frédéric Ambroisine, the US 'Hammer of God' trailer, the Hong Kong trailer, the English trailer, the US TV spot and a reversible sleeve with brand-new artwork from R.P. “Kung Fu Bob” O’Brien & original Hong Kong poster artwork.
If
you love the genre or are simply a fan of action films by all means this one
needs to go into your collection.
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