Zhong hua zhang fu

I read somewhere that the producers tried hard to come up with a story that viewers outside Hong Kong would enjoy because Gordon Liu had fans in China and Japan thanks to his Shaolin monk movies. "Heroes of the East" was the result. Gordon Liu was in Montreal for the Fantasia Film Festival so local organizers and sponsors got him to come to Toronto to say hello after the show.

I noticed something watching the Chinese version that slipped by me when I watched the English dub years ago - only the Ninja Master and Ah To's wife could speak Chinese! I guess that was necessary for the sake of the story so our hero couldn't tell the other Japanese masters that everything was a big misunderstanding and there was no reason for them to fight.

I have good feelings about this movie because the story held together so well. Nobody was portrayed as a villain and everything was resolved happily with our hero accepting the friendship of the Kendo Master.

If you've ever enjoyed the classic Kung-fu films of the 70's, I'm sure you remember The 5 Deadly Venoms, Master Killer, 10 Dragons from Canton, etc, etc... But this classic is almost always overlooked for the simple reason that it wasn't aired too many times in the states. And this title is impossible to find on VHS, DVD, LD or any other medium. But if you ever have the chance, see this movie!!! This movie is as good as it gets when it comes to showing off the difference between Chinese Kung-fu and various Japanese techniques. And this movie is very humorous at the same time.

You see, as the Japanese challenger comes one by one to duel, the wife of our star tells him of the exact style of fighting that the challenger will use (i.e. sword, spear, throwing stars, Ninjitsu etc...) . It is upto our hero (Gordon Liu of Master Killer) to counter each particular Japanese style with a similar Chinese technique. Chinese sword vs Japanese sword, Chinese spear vs Japanese spear. You get the idea. Now bearing in mind that this movie is Chinese made, of course the Chinese techniques prove to be superior. But really the best part of the movie is seeing how each weapon and techniques match up against each other.

And look at the ratings the people who have seen this movie gave. Check it out.

Gordon Liu... what else should be said?

This movie is great... from Liu slapping around his servant to his servant eying up Liu's wife's open top to the excellent fight scenes, this is without a doubt excellent entertainment. Quite fun, and quite funny!

Note: the ninja at the end is the same actor that appears as the master in Jet Li's Fist of Legend (the guy who cuts paper (or leaves? can't remember) with his swipes).

If you can find this one, it's a gem. Don't miss it, esp. if you're a Liu fan.

Heroes Of The East aka Shaolin Challenges Ninja is one of many collaborations between actor Gordon Liu and director Lau Kar Leung brought to us by the legendary Shaw Bros. Studios. Gordon Liu has an arranged marriage with a woman from Japan. His wife is an expert of various Japanese fighting styles and each party is of the viewpoint that their style is better than the other. Their various sparring matches cause serious tension in their marriage as well as destroy much of the house. Gordon Liu is, of course an awesome exponent of Chinese kung fu. His wife takes off to Japan and in an effort to get his wife back, slams the Japanese martial arts and challenges her to a competition. His wife's martial arts instructor/love interest grabs the letter from her and does not appreciate the letter's content. Next thing you know Yasuaki Karata and a bunch of Japanese dudes show up at Gordon Liu's pad and challenge him to a tournament. Gordon Liu accepts and fights each representative of various Japanese fighting styles. What separates Heroes Of The East from various other Chinese vs Japanese productions is that it respects both cultures and their fighting styles as well. There are lots of great fights to be had here and both Gordon Liu and Yasuaki Kurata are in top form. Heroes Of The East is indeed a solid martial arts film but it is nowhere near as essential as Lau Kar Leung/Gordon Liu's kung fu masterwork The 36 Chambers Of Shaolin aka Master Killer. Heroes Of The East still resonates and is an enjoyable, fast paced and cohesive martial arts film that is memorable and far above average.

Most Shaw-Brothers films are pretty lacking kung-fu-wise, the fight scenes are usually pretty low quality simply not fun to watch. There is one exception however, and that exception is Shaolin Challenges Ninja. This film isn't a classic because of its plot or acting (both are merely "ok"), but because of the high quality of its _many_ kung-fu fights. Right from the start all the way to the bizarre final fight the film offers great "my style is better than yours" -type fight scenes one after another. If you like old-school kung-fu don't miss this one!