#Cheh Chang

[weirdlookindog]

Peter Cushing in The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974)

[moviecinepelis]

[movie-titlecards]

The Magnificent Ruffians (1979)

My rating: 4/10

Yeah, these "glorified stunt show" type wuxias just ain't for me. My attention didn't just wander on this one, it went on a nice long hike in the country, befriended several woodland critters, and brought back souvenirs.

[ozdeg]

[madamshogunassassin]

Rebel Intruders (1980 Chang Cheh)

[maggiecheungs]

sword beneath the flowers • 花下劍

Five Elements Ninjas (五遁忍術) dir. Chang Cheh, 1982

[chernobog13]

The masks of the Five Deadly Venoms: Centipede, Snake, Scorpion, Lizard and Toad.

[romanceyourdemons]

obsessed with this sweet little bangs-having dude. his beloved shifu is dying of Death Disease and says my boy it is time i told you: you have five evil shixiong. the reason why you have five evil shixiong is because our sect is evil and the whole jianghu hates our guts, and yes your martial arts suck absolute ass but i do need you to defeat all of them for me. i don’t know what names they’re going by or where they’re at, but for a starting place you can go talk to my cringefail shidi. i also don’t know what name he’s going by or where he’s at. good luck my boy

[baddawg94]

[omercifulheaves]

Shaolin Temple (1976) a.k.a. Five Shaolin Masters

[silveremulsion]

The Five Venoms (1978)

[weirdlookindog]

The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974)

[moviecinepelis]

[venomous-five]

The Kid with the Golden Arm 金臂童 (1979) dir. Chang Cheh 張徹

[deathwalksatmidnight]

New article alert, this time exploring the queer undertones of one of my favourite wuxia films, The New One-Armed Swordsman

[watching-pictures-move]

Movie Review | Five Deadly Venoms (Chang, 1978)

This is considered one of the most iconic Shaw Brothers movies I saw, and was certainly one of the first I ever saw, and upon revisiting this, I find it a little odd that it’s as beloved as it is. I am not knocking the movie’s quality, but instead noting the oddness of its narrative. I think when I first saw it, I didn’t really have a frame of reference for these things, so I kind of assumed this was pretty standard in such respects. The fact that it takes a mystery structure and withholds genre thrills didn’t stick out to me as unusual as it does now.

And when I first saw it, I assumed all classic Kung Fu movies were as dramatically rigid as this one, characters spouting exposition and declaring their current or changing allegiances either stoically or mischievously, depending on his sympathetic we’re supposed to find them. But having seen some of Chang Cheh’s earlier movies, which are more heartfelt and have blood running through their veins, this quality in his later films comes into focus as a more deliberate choice. These are less like stories you’re supposed to be swept up in and more like medieval tapestries that take on new meaning when viewed from different angles, not unlike the way the narrative shifts with different reveals.

The emphasis is on medieval. After a low key start, at around the midpoint we’re hit with a bunch of medieval instruments of torture and death as characters are tried in a kangaroo court. A coat of nails that resembles an iron maiden. Throat hooks and “brain pins” for discreet killing. If you were getting antsy early on about a lack of blood and guts, this stuff makes up for it.

And obviously we get the amazing fights with the titular Venoms, each of whom have distinct fighting styles (and cool masks to boot, although they sadly don’t wear them all that much). But the movie doesn’t overwhelm us with them, but instead metes out their abilities at key moments. As a result, the legendary final scene, which pulls out some last minute plot twists and throws in some off kilter editing to complement some of the styles, pops all the more.

I do not think this is the best Venom Mob film. Crippled Avengers and Five Elements Ninjas offer more bang for your buck, and the former might be my pick for the best choreographed martial arts movie I’ve ever seen. But as a transitional work towards the purer Kung Fu storytelling of those movies, I find it even more fascinating with my latest viewing.