Lan Tou He (1979)

Chia-Liang Liu at her best.

The many non-fights are really great to watch. Gordon Liu's "bumbling" at the beginning of the film is very funny, and the fight where Liu fights for someone else is also super. And the fights with the art dealer and the wine tasting are impressive too. I do have a soft spot for these kinds of martial arts displays.

The final fight is also impressive, although somewhat different in nature. Very impressive choreography, with the five of them in one fight.

The humor is also fun, as evidenced by that "Seven Tigers". Quite weird styles and moments, but you can see they clearly had fun making this. That biter was especially funny.

Super slick movie that effortlessly amuses and provides great entertainment. Only the typical Shaw Bros style stands in the way of a higher rating. Cool sets, a nice shot now and then, but give me that '90s martial arts visual swing any day.

Highly recommended, especially for Shaw Bros fans.

3.5*

Edit: who came up with that alternative title

Translated from Dutch · View original

Revised on Blu-ray from the Shawscope Vol. 1 box set.

No, I couldn't really connect with this; the story and humor didn't grab me at all with all those weird characters. A quartet called Handicap Four, including a blind person who can read palms, one with a hunchback, and the last two missing an arm and a leg. Not my kind of humor. The fights were also a huge disappointment. I normally think Gordon Liu is awesome, but here he has a dull role with that fake mustache. Only the final fight against Lo Lieh was somewhat worth watching.

Along with Mighty Peking Man, the weakest of the box set.

Translated from Dutch · View original