This movie is fun for fans of the martial arts genre, especially if you are old enough to remember its heyday in the 1970's. If you are into writing computer games, it gives you a good idea of what people are looking for in such games more than any book on the subject ever could. The basic story behind the film is simple - Sent by the Ching Emperor to destroy Ching rebels, the vicious and blind assassin known as the Flying Guillotine interrupts a deadly martial arts competition in the hopes of killing the famous One Armed Boxer to avenge the death of his two students.
Nothing captures the imagination of genre fans like the notion of a mechanical device being hurled through the air to behead its victims, though the idea may have less effect today than it did back in 1974 when the famous character known as the One Armed Boxer first found himself dodging its razor-sharp teeth. However, this film remains a cult film classic that lives up to its eccentric name.
As the narrator explains, the Ching Emperor has trained numerous assassins in the use of the Flying Guillotine to kill off Ming rebels. This deadly and impractical weapon looks much like a hat with a saw blade brim and a long chain attached. The user throws the weapon with practiced precision onto his victim's head. A chain netting with blades at the bottom drops down and with one pull severs the head. Best of all, it collapses for easy carrying while traveling.
One of the emperor's assassins is Fung Cheh Wu Chi (Kam Kong), who has just discovered that his two students were killed by the One Armed Boxer. Although blind, Fung assumes the guise of a monk and goes in search of Yu who now runs a kung fu school. Yu is invited to a martial arts competition, but only agrees to watch so as not to draw attention to himself. This doesn't stop Fung from crashing the party and beheading a one-armed competitor he mistakes for Yu. With the aid of the contest's foreign competitors including a yoga master with arms that extend and retract, Fung begins his hunt for Yu. To gain an edge, Yu and his students prepare a series of clever traps to help them defeat these fierce killers, culminating in a memorable fight in a coffin-making shop.
Genre fans already know that Wang Yu's strength as a martial arts star did not lie in his martial arts abilities, which were limited to what performance training he learned from Shaw Brothers in the 1960's. Yet, he possessed a fair amount of charisma and became an accomplished filmmaker, often writing and directing his own films once he left Shaw Brothers. This film offers one of his most creative and enjoyable efforts before he slipped into irreversible decline later in the 1970's. A staple of his films were visual gimmicks which he uses to entertain and make up for a lack of fighting skill such as the flying guillotine. You can also expect to see Wang Yu walking up walls as he did in "Return of the Chinese Boxer" and some unusual fighting styles. A character named Nai Men from Thailand introduces the potent skills of Thai boxing to the story, as he allies himself with Fung. Less conceivable, but no less enjoyable are the arm-extending skills of the so-called yoga master who strangles his victims from a distance. Even Kam Kong's head does a 360 degree spin towards the end. The finale also incorporates coffins with spring-loaded hatchets and more of Wang Yu's gravity-defying wall-climbing.
Action director Lau Kar Leung's choreography keeps the fighting fierce and imaginative. The competition, which takes up a big chunk of the film's running time, features various styles such as monkey fist and Eagle's Claw, although you'll likely remember the yoga master's 6-foot long arms best. As writer, director, and star Wang Yu proved to be an extraordinary showman whose creativity, experimentation with genre conventions, and knack for surrounding himself with great talent is a recipe for a marvelously manic film. It's one of the few films of the martial arts genre still televised today.
Nothing captures the imagination of genre fans like the notion of a mechanical device being hurled through the air to behead its victims, though the idea may have less effect today than it did back in 1974 when the famous character known as the One Armed Boxer first found himself dodging its razor-sharp teeth. However, this film remains a cult film classic that lives up to its eccentric name.
As the narrator explains, the Ching Emperor has trained numerous assassins in the use of the Flying Guillotine to kill off Ming rebels. This deadly and impractical weapon looks much like a hat with a saw blade brim and a long chain attached. The user throws the weapon with practiced precision onto his victim's head. A chain netting with blades at the bottom drops down and with one pull severs the head. Best of all, it collapses for easy carrying while traveling.
One of the emperor's assassins is Fung Cheh Wu Chi (Kam Kong), who has just discovered that his two students were killed by the One Armed Boxer. Although blind, Fung assumes the guise of a monk and goes in search of Yu who now runs a kung fu school. Yu is invited to a martial arts competition, but only agrees to watch so as not to draw attention to himself. This doesn't stop Fung from crashing the party and beheading a one-armed competitor he mistakes for Yu. With the aid of the contest's foreign competitors including a yoga master with arms that extend and retract, Fung begins his hunt for Yu. To gain an edge, Yu and his students prepare a series of clever traps to help them defeat these fierce killers, culminating in a memorable fight in a coffin-making shop.
Genre fans already know that Wang Yu's strength as a martial arts star did not lie in his martial arts abilities, which were limited to what performance training he learned from Shaw Brothers in the 1960's. Yet, he possessed a fair amount of charisma and became an accomplished filmmaker, often writing and directing his own films once he left Shaw Brothers. This film offers one of his most creative and enjoyable efforts before he slipped into irreversible decline later in the 1970's. A staple of his films were visual gimmicks which he uses to entertain and make up for a lack of fighting skill such as the flying guillotine. You can also expect to see Wang Yu walking up walls as he did in "Return of the Chinese Boxer" and some unusual fighting styles. A character named Nai Men from Thailand introduces the potent skills of Thai boxing to the story, as he allies himself with Fung. Less conceivable, but no less enjoyable are the arm-extending skills of the so-called yoga master who strangles his victims from a distance. Even Kam Kong's head does a 360 degree spin towards the end. The finale also incorporates coffins with spring-loaded hatchets and more of Wang Yu's gravity-defying wall-climbing.
Action director Lau Kar Leung's choreography keeps the fighting fierce and imaginative. The competition, which takes up a big chunk of the film's running time, features various styles such as monkey fist and Eagle's Claw, although you'll likely remember the yoga master's 6-foot long arms best. As writer, director, and star Wang Yu proved to be an extraordinary showman whose creativity, experimentation with genre conventions, and knack for surrounding himself with great talent is a recipe for a marvelously manic film. It's one of the few films of the martial arts genre still televised today.