Tong shan meng hu

ej's kung-fu capsule review for films of the chop-socky old-school -

1. basic plot - Drug smuggling gang infiltrates a crew of dock workers; when one worker finds out they kill him. A murder investigation follows; with the help of an addicted young woman trying to go straight, all the dirt is revealed - then it's time for the Chinese tiger to clean up!

2. plot construction - Very strong, really pulls us along; still allows for more complex characters than is typical for this genre in this era, but provides plenty of time for fighting.

3. dramatic - Surprisingly effective.

4. funny - Thanks to a comic sidekick who knows his job.

5. dialog - Strong and pretty realistic.

6. cast performance - Excellent all the way around.

7. crew performance - Solidly professional craftsmanship.

8. amount of fighting - Plenty.

9. quality of fighting - Excellent.

10. special any cast or crew notes - Star Chin-kun Li had an odd career, phasing in an out of popularity, which I think unfortunate; he is both a good actor and an excellent fighter. This is definitely his magnum opus performance. This film, so little noted, happens to be a real classic of the genre from this era - surprisingly realistic, well-written, well-directed; well-performed, and just overall well-made.

11. big positive - Just a solid well-rounded action thriller.

12. big negative - Existing English print available done in the usual annoying pan-and-scan.

bottom-line - who should see this movie - Action film fans; kung fu fans; fans of early-1970s mystery-thrillers.

Far removed from the Shaw Bros, big budget kung fu epics, this lower budget, but 'powerhouse' of a film will not fail to impress even the most dedicated fan of this genre. Li Chin Kun plays the lead, a good and honest laborer who sets out to find the men responsible for his brothers murder. It seems that drug smugglers have infiltrated their warehouse where grain is packaged and sent out to merchants, and have hidden large amounts of heroin in the sacks. The story is very effectively told, character development is surprisingly good, and this features some fantastic 1970's music as well. Li Chin Kun is called 'The Chinese tiger' for a reason; his martial arts skills are truly amazing. The last half hour of this one is simply jaw dropping; fast, furious and super violent fight sequences, seriously some of the angriest kung fu brawling i have ever seen. And the Tiger has a little, slightly "off" sidekick who displays some awesome 'monkey fist' style kung fu, a technique rarely seen. I would give a lot to find this great movie in a remastered widescreen edition with original Cantonese audio. But the best edition of this title comes from 'Saturn' DVD; it is a full screen transfer, not the best quality however they did find a print with bright and vivid colors and strong sound. You won't believe just how good 'Chinese Tiger' is; a sadly overlooked and forgotten gem of the 70's. This is pure, gritty adrenaline pumping entertainment

It starts on the dock of the rice factory. Drugs are placed among the bags of rice. The owner's son was killed for wrong place wrong time. The other son is arrested. Larry Lee sets off with his side kick Hon Kwok-Choi to find the truth.

There is a definite attempt at character and plot in this movie which is rare for the year and genre. The weak point is the villains. It's hard to believe they ever rose to the top when they spend the whole movie self-destructing. Even the drug addict slut outsmarted them. Larry basically just needed to stand by and watch and then show up for the final fight.

This is Larry Lee's first movie. He had the martial arts skills, certainly made some good movies then vanished into obscurity. I blame it all on his terrible haircut.

I highly recommend this movie for fans of the genre and rate it above average.