Der Kung Fu-Fighter von Chinatown

Born out of director Chang Cheh's desire to make anything other than another period martial arts piece, Chinatown Kid doesn't quite live up to its status as a classic in the Shaw Brothers' library of works. Utilising the standard martial arts framework as a backdrop to an entertaining, though exceptionally lightweight, examination of the pitfalls often experienced by Chinese citizens abroad and the circumstances which can divide even the staunchest heart. Chang's direction is decent, Alexander Fu Sheng's performance is fabulous and the music gets the job done but the whole film doesn't quite come together as neatly as I'd like thanks to its barebones script and long-winded runtime, it doesn't exactly tread over new ground either. While Chinatown Kid includes a little bit of everything and then some; from comedy to gangsterism and kung fu to big shoot-outs, it ultimately fails to connect the dots and ends up as a relatively average affair with occasional strong points of contention.

No pun intended - I am not sure if anything was shot in America at all. It is quite obvious as with many if not all other Shaw Brothers movies, many shots especially those outside, were made without any permissions - i do not even have to look that up ... it is that obvious to me. Speaking of obvious, as you may know, cars have their steering wheel on the left side ... except for the UK and back in the day in Hong Kong too (a few other countries too, that are not important right now - most countries though and especially the US would have it on the left side) ... something that is obviously wrong in this movie .... well wrong location wise, but right from the standpoint from where the movie was shot.

Now if you don't mind smaller things like this ... you will have quite a lot of fun. Shaw Brothers movies may be more known for their classic Kung Fu movies, but "contemporary" Kung Fu movies (1970s in this case) like this one worked for them too. Really good cast, even if most may not be that well known for most western audiences ... still good choreography and tight story. Liked it a lot.

The Chinatown Kid (1977) is another masterpiece from Chang Cheh. Alexander Fu Sheng stars as Tang Dong, a bumpkin who illegally immigrates to Hong Kong (with the aid of his uncle) and works odd jobs whilst dreaming about becoming rich and successful. The film also tells the story of a young Taiwanese man who just did a stint in the military who works hard and aspires to become a success. His chance comes when he's offered a scholarship at U.C. Berkely. Two lives that parallel each other eventually cross paths in San Francisco's Chinatown. This film is somewhat similar to Chang Cheh's other films Boxer From Shan tung and The Delinquent. Both of them have the same theme and they're all equally excellent. Ni Kuang reworks the theme by not only modernizing it but by bringing it to "Chinatown". The future Five Deadly Venoms all have small parts in this movie. The movie is cheesy and preachy at times but it's all done in jest. Alexander Fu Sheng shows that he's a lead actor in this movie and it's sad that his life was cut short several years later. His future wife Jenny Tsang has a small part as his girlfriend (but strangely disappears after a couple of scenes) and Philip Kwok co-stars as Tan Dong benefactor. Overall Chinatown Kid is not as deep or heavy as Chang Cheh''s other films but it's good fun and nicely paced and edited.

Highly recommended.

There are a few things I found strange about this film. One, Chinatown in this movie is very dusty. Two, the car's driver side is on the right hand side.Three, someone forgot to convert Hong Kong Dollars into U.S. Dollars

(i.e. five dollars for a hot dog in 1977?). What's even funnier is the fact the sign outside the hot dog stand says 5.00 USD for "hot dogs" and sold canned beer. (Tan Dong called them "dog sausages"). The biggest laugh was the Orange Julius that sold noodles.

Again, the 5 Deadly Venoms (and Fu Sheng and Wang Lung Wei) prove why they're the best martial artists on screen! The action is first rate, but as usual the cameraman doesn't capture the whole scene in some parts. This, however is the only real flaw in this film. The story is much better than average and Philip Kwok finally plays one of the bad guys!

After watching the recently released and remastered version of Heaven And Hell, I started digging through my collection and found possibly Fu Sheng's greatest film, The Chinatown Kid. This kung fu gangster story sports some awesome fight scenes and is a perfect example of why Shaw Brothers was truly a dynasty back in the day. With fantastic fighting skills, matinée idol looks, and magnetic charisma, Fu Sheng was on his way to becoming one of the greatest stars ever in Hong Kong cinema. Unfortunately, an automobile accident took him away from us too soon. This classic, featuring Fu and the original 5 venoms really needs a legitimate release. Hopefully, it will happen in my lifetime.