1978 ‘Wu du’ Directed by Chang Cheh
A kung-fu student is instructed by his dying teacher to track down five of the teacher's ex-students. Each of the five is equipped with a lethal martial arts skill, and the teacher fears this might be used for evil purposes. However, not only does the teacher not know the identity of the students (who all wore masks under his training), but some of the students also don't know each other!
I was hoping some time and kung fu training (ie binge watching) would give me a greater appreciation for this since last I saw it about a decade ago, but if anything it was even more disappointing given the talent involved. It's a bit mystifying to me how much of a pillar this is for some considering that about 75-85% of it is really dry, kind of dull Edgar Wallace/Agatha Christie style whodunnit surrounding a bunch of murders and an inheritance. In theory I should be into that, but it's shot pretty flat and contains scene after scene of characters vomiting exposition and making shifty eyes at each other as they try and suss out who the venoms even are…
Some of the Shaw Brother best fake beards showcased in this one. A Hitchcockian mystery masquerading as a trashy Kung Fu flick. When it comes to Kung Fu styles I understand Snake, Scorpion, Centipede, and MAYBE Toad style.
But tell me how Lizard style is going to do anything? You can stand on a wall? Great.
November 2016 - Scavenger Hunt 20 - #2
Task 30 - Any movie ever sampled in a Wu-Tang Clan song
Kung Fu + Ponytail = Badass. Who would have thunked it?
The Five Venoms is like one of those logic puzzles I used to do when I was a kid. A grey bearded old man in a steamy hot tub provides us with the following clues at the beginning of the film as he relays them to his final protege, Student No. 6.
Clue 1: Located within an ancient Chinese village is a super wealthy old dude who happens to be an ex-Kung Fu teacher.
Clue 2: The village is also occupied by five ex-Kung Fu students named The Five…
The packed screening with an enthusiastic audience, a perfect 35mm print and a Q&A with RZA afterward was probably the most ideal way to see my first Shaw Brothers movie, so perhaps I'm overrating it a little. But I was sufficiently drawn in by the characters and the fighting to forgive some of the slower or drier bits. It helps that all the characters delightful cartoons with fighting styles to match (Toad acts like he's invincible because, well, he is literally invincible) and the fights, while taking up less of the running time than I expected, are meaty and extremely fun. The most surprising element was the running theme of political corruption, but mostly I just enjoyed the colorful fights and fun, often shirtless characters.
A bit of a chore, to be honest. The film has the structure and form of a mystery, but makes the crucial mistake of not having a clear protagonist for a good chunk of the running time. I thought the student character was going to be the focal character, but the film kept sidelining him to cut between two factions: the Centipede guy and the Snake guy; and then Lizard guy and Toad guy. Neither faction were particularly compelling or heroic, especially Lizard guy, so it was kind of galling to see him magically emerge as the primary protagonist in the final 25 minutes.
Plus, the mystery of who the Scorpion guy was insulting to my intelligence, especially when he…
Fun, but the murder mystery element is a drag. Still love all the styles and watching them intersect -- the editing in particular does a great job of showing us the footage of each Venom from the opening once someone recognizes their style.
Paste magazine named The Five Venoms the greatest kung fu film ever made. I struggle to see how this could have been possible, it wasn't even the best martial arts film I've seen this week. The plot is incredibly dry and the buildup is too slow, there is no real reason to care about any of the characters.
Cool fighting styles & masks! The who's who plot gets in the way of the action.
#1's Centipede style falling dish smashing intro is what dreams are made of!
They fucking stole the music from the opening credits of MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL for the fight scenes.
I thought Toad was doing some breathing trick and was going to save the day at the end. Best sequence is the opening showing the venoms training.
The costumes are wild, the characters are insane, and the fight scenes deliver - but, the story falls flat far too often for this to feel like a "classic."
M'a te prendre un meurtre et mystère avec mon Shaw svp. Et un peu de legal drama avec ça. Pis un peu trop de torture... sans dénouement, j'suis allergique... Pour emporter svp.
It takes a little bit to get into but intriguing and action filled from the half hour mark and out. The reveal of the mystery felt a bit anticlimactic though, and "lizard style" seems to be the shittiest of all the martial arts so no idea why that guy was the defacto hero.
Fun Kung Fu flick, even if I'm more of a Golden Harvest than a Shaw Bros guy.
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