tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post2314513168713920743..comments2024-02-18T08:45:16.295-08:00Comments on The Film Connoisseur: Kant Miss Kung Fu Klassics: Master of the Flying Guillotine (1975)Franco Macabrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-76237053676850615382010-10-01T05:42:41.963-07:002010-10-01T05:42:41.963-07:00Glad you liked the movie and the conversation, kee...Glad you liked the movie and the conversation, keep coming back, we got a good group of people here who love talking movies! Hit follow and become a regular reader!Franco Macabrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-14965721440345540212010-09-30T22:43:22.134-07:002010-09-30T22:43:22.134-07:00Amazing ! I saw it last night. I liked reading of ...Amazing ! I saw it last night. I liked reading of whole conversation . Thank to all ! IT sounds like you all love watching movies. Watching movies is also my favorite time pass.Free Moviehttp://moviesplanet.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-490416858918972922010-09-30T05:08:07.366-07:002010-09-30T05:08:07.366-07:00Thanks Nebular! Totally agree, I'll be posting...Thanks Nebular! Totally agree, I'll be posting up a little something on a couple more I saw that are also excellent so be on the look out for that later today.Franco Macabrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-67477006034235475992010-09-30T00:13:05.899-07:002010-09-30T00:13:05.899-07:00"Master of the Flying Guillotine" is a t..."Master of the Flying Guillotine" is a timeless old school kung fu classic, and probably one of the most memorable 70's martial arts flicks. Excellent review.George Beremov [Nebular]https://www.blogger.com/profile/15136154142341512854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-8724433287691179962010-09-29T14:01:45.995-07:002010-09-29T14:01:45.995-07:00Thanks for the links Brian!
Ahh, the Venoms! I f...Thanks for the links Brian! <br /><br />Ahh, the Venoms! I finally got around to watching The Return of the Five Deadly Venoms, awesome movie! But I liked the Five Elements a bit more! Review up tomorrow for the Five Element Ninjas!Franco Macabrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-89187754665155838502010-09-29T13:43:54.564-07:002010-09-29T13:43:54.564-07:00FLYING GUILLOTINE (1974) and FLYING GUILLOTINE 2 (...FLYING GUILLOTINE (1974) and FLYING GUILLOTINE 2 (1977) are the two Shaw Brothers movies. The HK DVD's are both OOP now, but occasionally they show up on ebay. The legit Taiwanese DVD is here...<br /><br />http://cgi.ebay.com/Ku-Feng-The-Flying-Guillotine-Martial-Arts-SB-NEW-DVD-/360304552209?pt=US_DVD_HD_DVD_Blu_ray&hash=item53e3d32911<br /><br />Incidentally, famous Shaw choreographer/director, Liu Chia Liang did the choreography here. At the time, Liu had a falling out with Chang Cheh in Taiwan shooting MARCO POLO (1975), so Liu left Chang's camp to direct solo. In the interim I assume he had a little time on his hands to help out on this indy movie. Some of the venoms are in this, too, prior to signing with Shaw's.venoms5https://www.blogger.com/profile/13655919099947763891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-50026714503450352482010-09-29T13:31:52.377-07:002010-09-29T13:31:52.377-07:00What are the two official Shaw Brothers Guillotine...What are the two official Shaw Brothers Guillotine movies names?<br />And yeah, I do hope they get a dvd release sometime soon, Im very curious to check those out. <br /><br />I have seen some of the cheaper Kung Fu flicks (one that comes to mind is The Crippled Masters) and I know what you mean about the sameness of the exterior backgrounds. <br /><br />But on Master of the Flying Guillotine, I think they went out of their way to choose special locations, like that mountain where The Monk lives in, so isolated, rocky, and filled with myst. <br /><br />I also liked that they filmed the whole tournament on exteriors, with all those stormy looking clouds, gave it a realistic feel. <br /><br />But I agree, the exterior feel didnt always work, specially in the cheaper films. <br /><br />That horror feeling was one of the things I enjoyed the most about Master of the Flying Guillotine, you kind of feel like the Monk is Jason or Michael Myers searching for his pray or something.<br /><br />Hey, but campy sets and all, I love those Shaw Brother's movies! Dont get me wrong there!Franco Macabrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-59289493736153104992010-09-29T12:12:47.433-07:002010-09-29T12:12:47.433-07:00I'll be posting some promo materials for DRAGO...I'll be posting some promo materials for DRAGON MISSILE and maybe FG 2 in an upcoming Shaw post so I think you may find those of interest.venoms5https://www.blogger.com/profile/13655919099947763891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-40398544041938751202010-09-29T12:10:37.120-07:002010-09-29T12:10:37.120-07:00I'm different in that respect, Fran. I much pr...I'm different in that respect, Fran. I much prefer the look of the sets. I love it. The set design is so meticulous and it's amazing with so many movies being at made at once (the studio was so big, over a dozen movies could be shot simultaneously without interruption) the level of quality achieved, even in the worst Shaw pictures. A lot of indy features tried to emulate the Shaw sets, but it just isn't the same.<br /><br />I guess it's because I've seen hundreds of these movies and so many of them, as in the indy films, look so bland to me. They all have interchangeable locations--a mountain plain, a valley, a grassy field and that's pretty much it, or the occasional squalid village. <br /><br />The Weinstein's own the two official Shaw GUILLOTINE movies. I assume they will making their way to DVD before long. The original scared me as a kid and it still has a creepy feel to it. Ho Meng Hua was very successful in creating a sense of dread regarding the weapon that it could get you pretty much anywhere and nothing could counter it, at least not very successfully.<br /><br />The Shaw's ripped off their own movie with the exploitation actioner DRAGON MISSILE, a film that even began production under the title 'The Guillotine'.<br /><br />Director Ho also ripped off his original movie with another exploitation action flick, THE VENGEFUL BEAUTY (1978) aka THE BLOODY HIBISCUS. It's got Flying Guillotine's, naked female assassins, gore and an army of Lo Lieh lookalikes!venoms5https://www.blogger.com/profile/13655919099947763891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-84094713462673827342010-09-29T12:00:27.000-07:002010-09-29T12:00:27.000-07:00I saw a DVD that has like five different Guillotin...I saw a DVD that has like five different Guillotine related movies in it, but I was afraid they wouldnt look too good so I didnt buy it. Thought I would ask you first before purchasing it! <br /><br />Yeah, that 'Wizard of Oz' effect as you call it, I've grown to accept it as part of a Kung Fu film, but I prefer it when they shoot on location, makes everything look more realistic. I liked how they achieved it on Master of the Flying GUillotine. Those scenes that take place on the Monks home on top of these cool looking mountains, in a little hut in the middle of nowhere is more convincing to me. <br /><br />BUt I see where that would come in handy when you are filming so many films at the same time! Also, as you mentioned Shaw Bros. used exteriors a lot, they used them in Return of the One Armed Swordsman, during the final confrontation in that castle! <br /><br />Im extremely curious to see that original Flying Guillotine movie, even more so when you mention that it has more of a horror vibe, which I kind of also picked up on MASTER OF, there's a lot of scenes that take place during the night, and the Monk is kind of like a Horror character, hell bent on killing everyone in his way. <br /><br />Thanks for the info, as always!Franco Macabrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-50467034221397081602010-09-29T11:26:07.338-07:002010-09-29T11:26:07.338-07:00The operatic look of most of the Shaw productions ...The operatic look of most of the Shaw productions follows the old Hollywood style of filmmaking. I call it the 'WIZARD OF OZ' effect. It's both intentional and economical as there's no worries about weather conditions and such things as that getting in the way of filming. There are a lot of Shaw pictures that utilize both exteriors and interiors and even some that were shot totally outside. They were releasing 40 to 50 movies a year and had directors shooting films for them in Taiwan as well.<br /><br />I haven't seen it in a while, but the original FLYING GUILLOTINE (1974) was shot mostly outside save for scenes that take place in the assassins lair and the Emperor's chambers. The original film took a year to complete and was a huge hit around the world especially on the grindhouse circuit. <br /><br />The original film came out in February of '75 and Wang Yu's flick hit middle of the following year. The original isn't even a kung fu movie. It's mostly a dramatic/horror feature about a group of trained assassins who kill rebels for the emperor. When the group begin betraying one another, the best assassin in the group decides he wants out and is framed as a traitor against the emperor. He ends up going on the run while his sworn brothers go after him to take his head. <br /><br />There's very little fighting and mostly heads coming off. Even a (fake) dog gets his head taken off. Some 25 decapitations are in the film. Must be a record. The seriously troubled sequel that started production in 1976 was the martial arts film the first film wasn't.<br /><br />The Shaw's were the only company at the time that could afford to construct sets of that caliber. During that time, they had the largest privately owned film studio in the world.<br /><br />Wang Yu left Shaw's on bad terms and he tried to capitalize on there product at every turn with quick knock offs like FURIOUS SLAUGHTER (1972) and POINT THE FINGER OF DEATH (1976). The reason so many indy films shot outside is because they couldn't afford to build anything. According to some of the actors, they didn't even get paid with money, but with food or clothing.<br /><br />Very few indy companies survived past one or two movies. In fact, a ton of indy features were picked up and distributed by Shaw Brothers since some of the talent pool would be allowed to star in movies for other companies under certain guidelines. <br /><br />First Films, Goldig and Seasonal are three of the biggest indy companies that come to mind. Hong Hwa, too, I'd say.venoms5https://www.blogger.com/profile/13655919099947763891noreply@blogger.com