Duell der Giganten

This is a sequel to director Yu Wang's 1971 film One-Armed Boxer (Dop bey kuan wan). Fung Sheng Wu Chi (Kang Kam), as the master of the flying guillotine, is a blind Ching Dynasty assassin, with a directive to quell potential rebels. After his two disciples were killed by Tien Lung (Yu Wang), the one-armed boxer (in the prequel), Fung has sworn revenge.

Although many rightfully consider this film a masterpiece, if you're not much of a fan of martial arts fight sequences in films, you probably shouldn't bother with Master of the Flying Guillotine. That's because there isn't much screen time taken up by anything else. Beside the fights, there is very little action or dialogue. Every fight in Master of the Flying Guillotine is engaging, but the last two are probably the best. These are two of the best fight scenes I've seen in any film.

We know right out of the gate that Master of the Flying Guillotine is going to be something special. The opening cinematography is beautiful, the introduction to Fung captivating, and we're quickly introduced to an ingeniously odd and sinister "growling/grinding" musical leitmotif for Fung, which is achieved by slowing down a musical recording (it's actually a song by the German band Neu!) As a leitmotif, the music reappears whenever Fung reappears, with all the impact and then some of Darth Vader's leitmotif music in the Star Wars films.

There are two factors that make this film so remarkable overall. The first is the fantastic and brutal nature of the martial arts. In a lesser film, the fantasy aspects could easily be unintentionally funny. Here, they're just enthralling. Every fighter has some unique style and/or skill, and the extended "kung fu gladiator" tournament focuses on these, to our benefit. The second, less obvious factor, is the depth of characterization and implied, complex plot and backstory achieved by Yu Wang solely through the fight sequences. Even though 90-something percent of the film is just fight sequences, nothing is lacking.

A 10 out of 10 from me.

This film brought a rush of half-forgotten memories...I was seven years old, living in suburban Ventura Country, California, munching on Count Chocula, and glued to the screen for Channel 7's Black Belt Theater. And that was the last time I witnessed the adventures of the One Armed Boxer and his arch-nemesis, the blind Master of the Flying Guillotine for a long, long time...

Fast forward twenty years. I stumbled across a pirated copy of this old school chop sockey classic. I couldn't believe my eyes. I had always reminisced to my friends about this flick...with its weapon that could decapitate from 40 yards, a stretchy armed Indian fakir, and perhaps the first fight between the arch-rivals Eagle Claw and Monkey Style.

I am convinced that this is the Movie that Launched a Thousand Video Games. The resemblance to Streetfighter is obvious, but this movie's whole-setup must have inspired countless button-pushin' fisticuffs that would dominate our leisure time in the following decades.

But if you go beyond the nostalgia factor and the video game inspirations, you'll find a finely-crafted, well-acted, and genuinely exciting film. Jimmy Wang Yu reprises his role as the One Armed Boxer, a thinking man's kung-fu hero. (I believe this film was third in a series of One Armed Boxer flicks). The hated Qing regime has sent the notorious (and blind) Master of the Flying Guillotine to snuff out all those pesky Ming sympathizers, and the One Armed Boxer is on top of the hitlist. (Yeah, yeah, I know I've just described the premise of five million other kung fu flicks, but stay with me). Not only that, but the Boxer had the gall to kill two other assassins who happened to be the blind man's disciples!

The Master of the Flying Guillotine is sheer evil itself. He launches into a killing spree, murdering every poor slob in the province who happens to sport only one arm. (Along with anybody foolish enough to get in his way). After being informed that he didn't kill the One Armed Boxer in his lastest decapitation, the blind assassin utters what is perhaps the coldest line in cinematic history--"I don't care who he was." Yikes.

Of course, the Boxer and the Blind Killer have the Final Throw Down Show Down...in perhaps one of the most beautifully shot fight scenes I've ever witnessed. True to form, Jimmy uses his brain as much as his fists when it comes to taking down his enemies...but I don't want to give anymore of this wonderful lost classic away.

Also of note is the music for the film...the opening titles is a veritable punk/thrash classic, and the the Flying Guillotine's theme music lets you know Evil is Afoot. I love it.

So..if you can find it, check this flick out...and then you'll see where Namco and Jet Li got it all from. It's time to go back to Old School.

"As you may have gathered, a rational plot summary is pretty pointless - but rest assured there are epic martial arts battles and ludicrously inspired moments galore" - IMDb plot summary.

"Master of the Flying Guillotine" is one for the ages, no doubt. Those above words just about sum up everything there is to discover in this film. The plot is absolutely ridiculous and only lasts about five minutes total in the whole film. The rest of the movie is devoted to ludicrous yet well-staged action scenes that are sure to live long in memory after it's gone. "Master of the Flying Guillotine" is the most popular martial arts flick from the post-Bruce Lee age, and it's lingered for years on the late-night grindhouse circuit.

I sat through the first five minutes and I fell out laughing. Mind you, I wasn't laughing because I couldn't believe it all (I couldn't) but because when you realize it, it's the most over-the-top kick to the head you'll ever experience. It's virtually impossible to take anything in the film seriously, but there's no way that should let you not walk away from it without getting something. The plot, as I mentioned before, is non-existent and any attempts in trying to rationalize the action are pretty pointless.

The plot can be summed up like this, in one sentence: After the beginning of the Ching Dynasty, the blind assassin, Fung Sheng Wu Chi (Kam Kang), goes on a murderous rampage, becoming a serial killer who starts offing one-armed fighters left and right, after receiving news (via carrier pigeon) that his two disciples have been murdered by the One-Armed Boxer (lead actor, writer, and director Jimmy Wang Yu) from the first film, and tracks his quarry to a martial arts tournament a la a plot device used in "Enter the Dragon" (1973).

That's about all there is to the plot. The Blind Assassin and his weapon of choice - the Flying Guillotine - a tethered device that looks like a hat is swung in any direction he chooses and hooks itself to a victim's head with the aid of razor-sharp blades on the inside and with one good jerk, he rips their head clean off. I don't think I mentioned that other than the fact he's blind, he is able to throw the flying guillotine with pin-point accuracy.

Other unbelievable instances occur, including an Indian Fakir whose arms can stretch to twice his own body length, and in one sequence, the One-Armed Boxer battles a Muay Thai fighter (Tsim Po Sham) in a hut while his men light fires under it, essentially turning into a frying pan that literally gives both men hot feet. Then there's the equally unbelievable final confrontation between Wang and the Blind Assassin. The action is pretty bloody and intense, and the punching sounds are so exaggerated I honestly couldn't help laughing uncontrollably.

It's wildly insane stuff and it's no wonder Quentin Tarantino idolizes it so much and was able to pay some homage to it with his "Kill Bill" movies.

10/10

once again another awesome movie from a genre that can do no wrong. The chpo socky samurai and ninja movie of the late 60's to the early 80's where a genre of movies that never were big on substance but they more than made up for it with an overabundence of style. Here we have a colorful cast of token good and bad guys each with some unique charecter aspect that allows them to stand out. I'm sure that in the early nineties when the Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter games where coming out the makers had had some of this movie's charecters in mind. Most notably the future street fighter charecter who is Indian and can stretch his limbs way out of proportion. The movie moves along through some really wonderful fight sequences with the usual array of weird weapons and fighting techniques. Thank god Quentin Tarantino has done enough name dropping to single handedly bring this genre back to life. For most of the eighties and early nineties finding these movies was next to impossible. Now their occasionaly even on cable. Way to go.

A justly famous martial arts epic from the post-Bruce Lee, pre-Jackie Chan period, "Master of the Flying Guillotine" knows how to satisfy its audience. Writer / director / star Jimmy Wang Yu delivers tons of violent action at a breakneck pace; once his film has reached its fever pitch, he simply does not allow you to catch your breath.

The story takes place against a historical backdrop. Set in 1730, it tells us that Han revolutionaries are rebelling against the tyranny of their Manchurian oppressors. One such revolutionary is "The Teacher", or "The One-Armed Boxer", played by our star / director. Presiding over a martial arts school, he incurs the wrath of a demented, aged "monk" (Kang Chin) who seeks revenge for The Teachers' killing of his disciples.

However, not all that much time is devoted to story. Instead, Jimmy concentrates on his set pieces, and they truly are invigorating. One major sequence of the film focuses on a tournament that is observed by The Teacher, who declines to participate himself. Meanwhile the blind monk goes around killing *anybody* he runs into that has only one arm, creating some priceless black comedy. He is truly psychotic, and an extremely formidable opponent. His killing device of the title is quite an inventive touch, and it's a hoot to watch this thing decapitate its victims. One of the handful of villains giving our hero trouble is an Indian with extendable arms (I kid you not). This is a VERY amusing sight gag.

"Master of the Flying Guillotine" begins on a very atmospheric note, features a highly enjoyable music score, parcels out its gore carefully, and also has a disarming sense of humour to let you know that it's never taking itself too, too seriously. The performances are right on the money and effective, with Chin stealing the show as the main villain. This is a true tour de force for Jimmy as a filmmaker and fighter.

Eight out of 10.