Winchester, kung-fu et karaté

I saw this movie back in the summer of 91, back when my friend and I decided to rent every movie in the kung fu section. Back then rentals were .99 and because it was VHS, there were a lot of exotic titles.

I love watching old campy kung fu movies because they try a lot of innovations, and you can really imagine what its like to make this movie.

The film itself I remember having something to do with some Chinese guys in the old west. I remember there were 2 or 3 heros, and one of them had the talent of throwing coins with deadly accuracy. Also there is some weird love scene in the movie which looks like a rape but isn't one.

One of the innovations in this film is the closeup reaction shot. A person has a perfectly straight face, and then acts surprised, but only changes face expression. Its hard to explain, but its a laugh to watch.

Another innovation is the warping of locations. During the fight sequences a guy will often kick the other guy, and they will end up in a completely different location, I think one fight went from a field into a town, and then into a river.

I've seen so many movies since 91, but this movie which I've only seen once left such a lasting impression on me, i'd really recommend it for people who enjoy campy movies. Movies like this are campy but still fun to watch.

I'd pick this movie over anything with crazy jet li style wire fighting any time.

From the same people who made the trash cult Stranger from Canton (Guai ke, US title Karate killer) and executively coproducted by Riccardo billi (also executive for the Roman part in The way of the Dragon, where he played the banker), this terribile Kung fu spaghetti western was made in the Summer 1973 at Elios studios, a western set seen in many macaroni western, in the countryside of Rome. The plot Is confused, the direction Is even worse, so this mess was totally transformed into a silly comedy by reworking the lines in postproduction phase (italian edition courtesy by the italian Z movie king Bruno Mattei). Adding nonsense dialogues citing politic, soccer players, Nixon and the watergate, they released this in Italy 1974 with a title in Bud Spencer style, cuz it was impossible keep it serious considering all the shortcomings (at one point the camera wrongly catch a modern car parked between two buildings in the western village behind cowboy William berger). Outside Italy it was released in his 'serious' way but the result Is the same garage. Sadly two good performers were involved in this: the leading man Jason Pai Piao and the chinese badguy Thompson kao Kang, who died tragically 4 August 1980 killed by a Policeman in Hong Kong. Western vets William berger and Donal O'Brian are the bandits, and the former is clumsy forgotten in the final showdown, when he simply dismiss as the camera moves on the duel between Chinamen. Sadly the assistant director died before leaving Rome because he ate average fish. Not a memorable movie to die for. Co-starred by Joey Chen, a martial artist screen-tested by Bruce Lee for Enter the Dragon (but Sammo Hung took the role instead).

Incredible mess co produced between Italy and Hong Kong (where the story looked a lot more serious). Two Chinese brothers and the wife of one of them run from China to USA to avoid the vengeful wrath of their gram pa. There, instead, they have to fight a sordid band of outlaws, leaded by another Chinese and a blond white man (a truly boiled Berger, who looks ready to get into the Jess Franco's movies he'll be in). Because of their superior kung fu skills the 3 con defeat any adversary and finally find the peace they've been looking for. Filled with abysmal gags and definitively sunk by the inappropriate financial budget, neither the rigidity of an inexpressive cast, nor an invisible direction can save this from the disaster. The music stolen from other movies and thrown in, more or less, casually it's the definitive gravestone for this unguessable "trash" picture that even Troma would have been careful to distribute.