Tian wang

A very interesting entry for director Chang Keng (THE 14 AMAZONS) and the usual Kung-Fu squad from the heydays of Shaw Brothers. Almost no Kung-Fu in this story inspired by a real fact about a gang of unprofessionals kidnappers headed by Lo Lieh (FIVE FINGERS OF DEATH), surrounded by a rich ensemble of supporting actors like Fan Mei Sheng, Tung Lin, Hu Chin and many others. Crime and Horror specialist Kuei Chi Hung would have been a better director for a dark story like this, anyway Chen Kang (who also plays the prison priest) does a good job and his stars shows thay can act well. Beauty actress Liu Wu Chi met a real-life murder mystery when she suddenly disappeared from Hong Kong in 1978 during the filming of FLYING GUILLOTINE 2, and nobody saw her since.

Crime drama based on true incidents around a Kidnapping - and murder case ,also taking much time describing the psychological moments which propel the criminals. It's strictly focused on them, the law representatives are mostly faceless and out of the plot. Lo Lieh plays a moneyless guy working on a gas station, it's owner is a thorn in his flesh, because he completely knows the differences and painfully shows it: "I can find a new worker faster, than you can find a new job" Together with 3 friends, who are similarly struck, a plan to kidnap and blackmail this guy is made....

Film is working like a pulp novel, some bizarre situations, some clichés, some overstatements, but behind that you get straight descriptions of the main persons and the motives, while the violence starts and the kidnapping goes horribly wrong.

Acting by especially Lo Lieh and Fan Mei Shang is quite good, you feel with the criminals, and also get in touch with some suspense moments around them and the police. The last 20mins are a little too melodramatic and dragging, the few action sequences by the young Ching Siu Tung [ son of director ] are rather bumpy and mercurial, besides that the movie is very good - B movie like with A movie production values.

15 yrs later a remake was directed by Taylor Wong, named SENTENCED TO HANG, with Tony Leung Kar Fai and Kent Cheng.

I have the video CD release and watched it because I am a fan of martial arts movies and recognized many Shaw Brothers martial arts stars in the credits. Though not a martial arts movie I did hope to see some action. I saw none.

It starts with the narrator introducing the main characters and explaining everything. Lo Lieh fakes he is rich to seduce Woo Gam. His failure motivates the kidnapping. The master plan is based mostly on Chinese superstitions. This first kidnapping fails and leads to a second kidnapping. This time the details are complicated. Nothing about the second kidnapping is smart, intriguing, or suspenseful. It's just blundering toward certain failure. Plus, any sympathy toward the criminals goes lost.

The current rating here of 7.2 must be on a scale of one to one hundred, not one to ten. I rate this movie as a do not watch warning. Nothing to see here.