Ten Tigers of Kwangtung

This is one of those rare times when almost all of the great martial arts actors from the 70s are in the same flick. Great action sequences and a more than passable plot (by Kung Fu standards) make this one of the better kick flicks of all time.

Here in 10 TIGERS you will find almost all of the major Chang Cheh stars, Venoms, Fu Sheng, and the incredible Ti Lung, whom I believe is one of the best actors to ever come out of the East. But all the Shaw Bros great are on display in 10, and director Cheh is able to immediately establish a bizarre juxtaposition within the usual hero-villain conflict. The usual dynamic of the five Venoms is flip-flopped; here, you get to see Philip Kwok and Lo Meng, popular good guys, act like vicious thugs (accidentally), and my personal favorite Lu Feng, always a henchman usually, as a strong hero (all too brief).

The plot is broodingly dark, as a group of young Kung Fu students is stalked and murdered by two Ching assassins. The five students, trying to figure out why, relate the story of their fathers' adventure to save a famous Chinese revoluntionary, years before. Known by legend as "10 Tigers," the students' fathers risked their lives and homes to save the political figure. The two assassins have come to gain revenge for the murder of Wei Pei's government hunter, who attempted to capture the revolutionary.

The final confrontation between the surviving "sons" of this political intrigue is a supremely violent, bloody affair culminating in a gruesome final image. A well-made film, with much humor from Kwok, Sheng and Meng. Though not Shaws' best, well worth seeing.

"Ten Tigers from Kwangtung," released in 1980 and directed by kung-fu movie legend Chang Cheh, is a movie that I partially caught during a martial arts movie marathon on The El Rey Network over the 2015 Thanksgiving holiday weekend; the event itself was meant to celebrate what would have been the 75th birthday of legendary martial arts master Bruce Lee, who died in 1973. (I also learned that dialogue from this movie was partially sampled in the song "Bring Da Ruckus" by the hip-hop super-group, the Wu-Tang Clan.)

What "Ten Tigers from Kwangtung" suffers from the most are simply too many characters; the film was meant to be a celebration of sorts that brought together the top martial arts movie talents of the Shaw Brothers studio at the time. In theory, it's a good idea that should work; the only problem with that, however, is the fact that the film is only 90 minutes long, which is way too short for what I'm sure was the type of epic kung-fu grandeur that Chang Cheh was going for. If it had been a half-hour longer, perhaps, the film and story wouldn't seem so crammed and you can better keep track of the characters.

The plot details two stories, one set in the present, the other regarding events of the past.

The first story, the one set in the present and is what sets the film in motion, concerns two Ching Dynasty mercenaries who are hunting down the Ten Tigers and their disciples, the group of famous martial arts masters who years earlier had hid and protected a notorious anti-Ching revolutionary. The two Ching mercenaries are now seeking revenge for the Ten Tigers having killed one of their own years before.

Of course, you don't go to a film like "Ten Tigers from Kwangtung" for a thought-provoking plot or deep characterizations. You go to a film like this for the fights, and this movie does serve up many, many fights. Because the film features an all-star cast of Shaw Brothers studio regulars, it can be extremely difficult to keep track of everybody (I know I certainly did).

That's really the only thing that hampers an otherwise fun but typical kung-fu picture.

7/10

Forget the previous comment by the inknowleagible reviewer, this film is a classic on many levels. Ti Lung,Alex Fusheng,Chiang Sheng,Lo Meng, Lu Feng, Sun Chien,Wang Li, Wei Pai,Dick Wei(!),Wang Lungwei,Chin Siuho (!),Tien Shenglung, Ku Feng. This is one hell of a stellar cast, 1979, hong Kong! You even got the five venom's in there for Christs sake!

The story is a basic one, with Wang Li hiding a government wanted man, for trying to bring down the Ching, Wang Li believes that he alone cannont protect and deliver this man to mainland China and so enlists the help of many kung fu masters to execute his plan. there is a sub plot also, that which is of revenge, a nice new thing for kung fu films! The fight scenes are bar none, with kicks aplenty and somersaults in every scene, highly recommended!

Ti Lung. Alexander Fu Sheng. Chiang Sheng. Kuo Chui aka Phillip Kwok. Lu Feng. Wei Pai. Sun Chien. Lo Meng. Li Wang. Dick Wei. They make up ten of the most popular stars of 1970's Martial Arts Films. Add villain favorite Wang Lung Wei, and you got a blockbuster movie. With a cast so hot, who needs David Chiang, Chi Kwan Chun or Gordon Liu Chia Hui?

The Ten Tigers of Kwangtung was a spectacular showcase of kung fu. The brilliant styles of natural talent these stars had were spectacular. Each and every one of these guys can do anything, by golly. The story is kinda cool; two Ching Dynasty mercenaries are out to kill the students of the Legendary Ten Tigers as payback for Wang's demise at the hands of Ti...which was explained in a flashback.

Ti, Alex, Wei, Lu and Sun gather together to protect a hero of the Rebellion against the Manchus while Phil, Chiang and Lo goof off and stir a hornet's nest in their squabbles with Alex.

These heroes are great. Wang is in rare form as a villain who thinks he's the hero. The action is vicious and no nonsense. No villain gets charted off to jail saying, "I would have gotten away with nabbing that rebel if it hadn't been for those meddling Tigers!" here. The dubbing and FX are lame and jive. The perfect SHAW Brothers film.

I'm gonna miss Alex and Chiang. They were funny, talented and great heroes. They're up there in the pearly gates driving Bruce and Brandon up the clouds!