Tiet Wo Chu
The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter
What started as masterful kung-fu filmmaker Liu Chia-liang’s homage to the heroic Sung Dynasty Yang family became an angry, even savage, rumination on heroic sacrifice when international idol Alexander Fu Sheng died in a car accident midway through production. Fu’s death was not only tragic because he was such a close friend, but because the role he was playing was one of only two survivors of an ignominious betrayal by a jealous General. Knowing that he had to immortalize Fu’s final, unfinished performance, Liu carried on, having co-star Hui Ying-hung step into the action. The finished film is unique in the director’s extraordinary filmography for the intensity and power of its emotions and kung-fu. There are heartbreaking references to the tragedy throughout, but the climax is truly unforgettable as the other family survivor, now a Shaolin-trained warrior faces his betrayers amid a pyramid of coffins. What he, and his Shaolin masters, do then has to be seen to be believed….
Amazon Prime Video
Apple TV
Apple iTunes
The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter
What started as masterful kung-fu filmmaker Liu Chia-liang’s homage to the heroic Sung Dynasty Yang family became an angry, even savage, rumination on heroic sacrifice when international idol Alexander Fu Sheng died in a car accident midway through production. Fu’s death was not only tragic because he was such a close friend, but because the role he was playing was one of only two survivors of an ignominious betrayal by a jealous General. Knowing that he had to immortalize Fu’s final, unfinished performance, Liu carried on, having co-star Hui Ying-hung step into the action. The finished film is unique in the director’s extraordinary filmography for the intensity and power of its emotions and kung-fu. There are heartbreaking references to the tragedy throughout, but the climax is truly unforgettable as the other family survivor, now a Shaolin-trained warrior faces his betrayers amid a pyramid of coffins. What he, and his Shaolin masters, do then has to be seen to be believed….
Apple TV
Legendary Weapons of China
On a continent which reveres its martial arts, the director’s nickname is “Kung-fu Liang” – holder of a filmography unprecedented in its innovation of theme, ingeniousness of plot, and imagination of its astonishingly designed kung-fu. This production is clearly the culmination of his initial Shaw Brothers work – the film which he used as a showcase for his and his brothers’ – Chia-yung and Gordon Lui – skills. In the premiere, groundbreaking book on the genre, Martial Arts Movies, author Ric Meyers called it “the quintessential martial arts movie” and perhaps the greatest kung-fu movie ever made. Showing prescience customary with this visionary, the plot revolved around early 20th century pugilists vainly attempting to find a kung-fu which could defeat the bullet … years before the same theme would be used in Once Upon A Time In China. It also features the rarely dramatized magician-spies of China, who would ultimately inspire the Japanese ninja. But most importantly, it is a beautifully made action comedy featuring international fan favorite Alexander Fu Sheng and supremely brilliant kung-fu.
Apple TV