Tang shan wu hu

In the world of kung-fu films there were the top budgeted ones (usually from the Shaw studios) with big sets and well rehearsed stars who looked good, could act and do some remarkable fight scenes. Then there were the films from the smaller studios that might have some good martial artists/actors (who sometimes lacked movie star looks) but didn't have the sets and ended up doing a lot of fight scenes in a field somewhere. And the fights were not so well rehearsed. These films sometimes made up for their short comings by having really exaggerated characters and lots of action. Well low and behold, here's one from the Shaw studios! Directed by third tier director Lo Mar and cast with minor actors from the Shaw stable.

A strange black garbed kung fu master wanders around beating up kung fu teachers, "correcting" their bad kung fu. He beats up a master and his three students who he adopted as orphans. The students go their separate ways to find a kung fu teacher who can teach them a style that will defeat the crazy master. Their master hides in an abandoned temple drinking.

That's the plot. The rest of the movie is fight scenes and training scenes. Since that seems to be the bulk of the film that's what I'll comment on. This is another film featuring Tony Leung Siu Hung, here as the beaten master. It's interesting to see him on camera before he became one of the biggest fight choreographers of the past ten years. The fights in this film start out weak but get much better as the film progresses. The choreography is unusual at times but that doesn't mean it always works. Unfortunately, Lo Mar is at the director's helm and that means that the camera angles are not very good. The three students don't come off with any individual personality.

However this is a great example of a classic kung fu film since it has all of the elements of the cheap budgeted film. Fighting in a field, overacted characters, mistimed fight scenes and lots of young men dressed as old men. There's something about this sort of film that is just appealing.

I am a huge fan of older movies and have dedicated an entire IMDb list to them -- see below. However this genre is an exception to the rule. Yes, we all know that Five Fingers of Death changed the relationship between western audiences and asian martial arts films forever. But the advent of Bruce Lee, an individual who could actually practice these skills at double or triple the speed of the old Shaw Bros films, changed the genre forever. You would literally have to speed up playback of these older films to make them at all interesting. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

An arrogant kung fu specialist roams China challenging one and all--"correcting" their kung fu, as he puts it. He "corrects" an old kung fu master and his three students to the point where the master turns to drink and stops teaching. The three students each go their separate ways in search of different skills needed to defeat their foe. When they reunite in 6 months time, get ready for an epic 20-minute battle the likes of which you've never seen.

A really enjoyable blend of slapstick, honour, training styles and non-stop fighting. It is a little unusual, regarding a stranger in black "correcting" bad Kung fu and three students going on the revenge rampage by learning from three different people and promising to meet on a certain day to fight the stranger in black. The fighting is quite astounding, especially the weapon work at the end - the villain in particular is quite a nifty mover, and even after their training bringing him down isn't so easy.

Five Superfighters does have its action going for it and Choreography is often spectacular, and a few moments show a creative spark, including first-person, over-the-shoulder views during a clash. That cinematography style is utilized sparingly though, the rest rudimentary and relying on this b-stock of Shaw's performers. Five Superfighters has all the high quality that we are used to seeing from Shawbrothers. This movie sets on the legendary studio.

After three young martial arts students are beaten up by a person who claims to correct people who practise bad kung fu, they go their separate ways to find kung fu masters willing to teach them.

This movie doesn't really feature any famous names and I remember watching it on VHS in the 80s and watching it again now and its better than I remembered. If your a fan of late 70s Shawbrothers movies then you will love this movie.