Reviewed by richard

I've had the pleasure of seeing this movie on the big screen in the early eighties. Back then it was known as "The Magnificent Ruffians", and cow played by Lu Feng handles the golden blade with such style you'll fear him killing everyone in the movie. The style he uses is called 'The Cloud Went up and The Cloud Comes Down" And down it comes crashing and taking lives.

This movie is really a classic and any true venom fan will certainly enjoy it. For those persons who are... Moren't, a fan of the venoms that is; you'll have a good time with this one as it features both hand to hand combat and weapons.

Personally, this film is one of my favourates and so I may be a bit bias, but what can I say, it's Shaw Brothers :-))
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Reviewed by ironfistedmonk2003

A new born baby is discovered next to the body of his dead mother on the steps outside of Shaolin Temple, it appears that fate has brought him there so the monks decide to raise him at the temple. 20 years later and the baby is now a young man living and working at the temple, as his mother was the local village lunatic they have named him Crazy Kid (played by Wu Yuan Chun) which suits him as he is a bit on the slow side. He is not well liked by the other monks and is prone to being bullied so... More the senior monk who took him into the temple decides to teach him the 18 Lohan fist. One day after being bullied and beaten he snaps and fights back, whilst giving a whooping to his assailant the senior monks just happen to walk in and catch him in the act. As it seems that he will never get along with the other monks they ask him to leave the temple and so Crazy Kid sets foot into the outside world for the first time.

He sets off wandering and happens upon a village which is being oppressed by the local gang who are in the act of beating a local (Lau Fong Sai) who is trying to stop them from robbing the villagers. Crazy Kid intervenes and when the village elders see his fighting skills they decide to take him in and persuade him to stay on and help them. They give him a restaurant to run (vegetarian obviously as he is a monk!) and he settles in nicely running the place until he crosses paths with the local gang again.

This time he helps a widow San Niang (Wong Mei Mei) escape from the brothel which really annoys the gang boss (Kuan Feng) who will stop at nothing to get her back. Repeated attempts are made from kidnapping her to trying to frame the Crazy Kid for salt smuggling but the monk keeps coming out on top, and to rub salt into the wound Crazy Kid marries San Niang. As our villain has a reputation to uphold and doesn't want to get his hands dirty he decides to hire a ruthless assassin (Lau Hok Nin) to take care of the situation which escalates matters and forces Crazy Kid to break his monks vow to not kill.

I have to admit to having a bit of a soft spot for this movie, it was one of the first Shaw Brothers films I ever saw and watching the celestial re-mastered version brings back memories of that first viewing when I didn't know the names of any of the actors, the indoor studio sets were something different and I was swept up into the Shaws world. It's not a bad movie, it has an indie vibe about it different to most Shaw Bros films and the cast are largely supporting actors who are given a chance to shine by director Lo Mar.

Wu Yuan Chun shows his stuff as the Crazy Kid with some great acrobatic moves and pulls some nice forms when demonstrating the Lohan fist, as in most kung fu comedies the lead is usually stupid, cheeky and playful and this cliche is continued here (at least Crazy Kid had an excuse that it runs in the family!), but Wu doesn't go over the top with it. There is a decent supporting role for mini venom Lau Fong Sai who usually shows up in a Chang Cheh film for 5 minutes before getting stabbed in the stomach but here he at last gets a decent role as the heroic yet foolhardy student of Crazy Kid, before he gets stabbed in the stomach haha! For me though kung fu films are all about the villains and this one has a couple of good uns, Lau Hok Nin plays the assassin who has no compassion whatsoever and will kill anyone for money, even his own mother! But for all time kung fu villain badness we turn to Kuan Feng, this was the first movie I saw him in and he does nothing at all until the final fight when he busts out his fan and starts pulling some sweet shapes, this first impression has stuck with me and he will always be one of my favourite kung fu villains, even with the dodgy stuck on beard and moustache he sports in this movie.

The action comes courtesy of Hsu Hsia, Yuen Tak and Chui Fat who turn in some decent fights, mostly on the acrobatic and comedic side to begin with but more hard hitting as the film progresses.

This is a solid film with a nice story, not too much comedy and a sweet end fight well worth checking out IMO.Less
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Reviewed by gfanikf1

Ten Tigers of Kwantung Review by Ian Friedman

What happens when you mix all the Venoms (even Wei Pai), Ti Lung, Fu Sheng, Ku Feng, Johnny Wang? Well, you get an amazing asskicking experience. Ten Tigers of Kwantung is as much a tribute to the career of Cheng Cheh as Shanghai 13 and perhaps even more because it was a Shaws film, whilst Shanghai 13 was an independent production. This film contains actors from the early period of Cheng Cheh’s Shaw career, the Venoms, and even the so-ca... Morelled Baby Venom’s. Ten Tigers of Kwantung is a portrait of Cheng Cheh’s work in a broad brush stroke.

The film is certainly uneven to an extent similar to Heaven and Hell and the fact that this project like Heaven and Hell was clearly two different pictures merged into one. The film has often been criticized for a use of flashbacks to help connect the two separate projects, but I feel that it is fairly easy to understand in the version I saw (which was the re-mastered Region 3 version put out by IVL) and if you go in knowing this its not really that bad. The films features some great fights, both in terms of how they are choreographed and the match of the combatants. Its very interesting getting to see Ti Lung fighting along with the Venoms. A wide variety of weapons are on display in this film including a giant mermaid statue (which is deadly as hell)! The plot deals with the attempts of the Qing (headed up by Johnny Wang) to catch a Ming rebel (played by the always great Ku Feng) and the consequences of their attempts. The film has one of the two most crazy lead villain deaths ever. They may not be the goriest or bloodiest, but they are ones that will make you jaw drop and really will catch you by surprise. The story is quite brisk and enjoyable and you won’t find yourself fast forward or bored. While there is a lack of character development, one should treat this as a pure action film as opposed to a more character based work by Cheng Cheh. Still that doesn’t mean either film type isn’t great! The final two ending images of the cast really are a testament to the legacy and greatness of what Cheng Cheh achieved at the Shaws. Ten Tigers of Kwantung is highly recommend for its star and action power.Less
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