Le furie umane del kung fu

Be careful with this one. Once you get yer mitts on it, it'll change the way you look at kung-fu flicks. You will be yearning a plot from all of the kung-fu films now, you will be wanting character depth and development, you will be craving mystery and unpredictability, you will demand dynamic camera work and incredible backdrops. Sadly, you won't find all of these aspects together in one kung-fu movie, EXCEPT for Five Deadly Venoms!

Easily the best kung-fu movie of all-time, Venoms blends a rich plot, full of twists and turns, with colourful (and developed) characters, along with some of the best camerawork to come out of the 70s. The success of someone liking the film depends on the viewers ability to decipher which character is which, and who specializes in what venom. One is the Centipede, two is the Snake, three is the Scorpion, four is the Lizard, and five is the Toad. Each character has different traits, characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses. Therein lies the hook, we learn along with the student character, finding out who these different men turn out to be. We are in his shoes (so to speak), and we have to pick who we trust, and who we don't, just like he does. We learn along with him.

Not only is the plot, the characters, and the camerawork great, it's also fun to watch, which in my book makes it more valuable than almost any other movie of it's kind. It's worth quite a few watches to pick up on everything that's going on. Venoms is a lesson on what kung-fu can really do...just don't expect many other kung-fu films to live up to it's gauntlet.

Five Deadly Venoms is the first film in the unofficial Venoms series of martial arts films, starring a large group of martial artists and performers working mostly in Shaw Brothers pictures. This first film was hugely influential in Kung Fu film history, and is certainly an enjoyable ride. The film opens with an old man training by sitting in a pot full of boiling water. He tells his pupil, a man trained in the five venoms schools - centipede (Fast strikes), snake (powerful, targeted strikes), scorpion (hidden and sudden strikes), toad (immense physical immunity), and lizard (ability to climb walls), to track down the five experts - one in each of these styles. The teacher knows some have turned to evil, but his pupil must team up with the good ones to defeat the others. Also they wear masks that comically impede their ability to be understood. This is to hide each masters identity from the other. In the capital, the venoms are scheming against each other using secret codes, executions, and torture.

This film has some very fun and campy sequences, with excellent martial arts choreography. It's style is certainly a bit Wu Xia in nature - with the styles giving each master incredible powers. The Toad is a particularly interesting character for his ability to withstand great physical pain. This was a very memorable martial arts film, with the story, martial arts action, costumes and acting, setting and feeling fitting well together. This film certainly suffers from the Shaw Brothers "charm" - the same sets used again and again, similar styles to many of their hundreds of other films, and so on. Even so, this film stands above the pack for its quality, charm and enjoyability. Good watch and a classic of its genre, it is certainly worthy of a watch for fans of this genre of films, or those looking for a good martial arts flick to watch.

There's no romance or other side plot to this movie, it's action and intrigue all the way, making it a real man's kung-fu movie.

An aging master dispatches his last disciple Yan Tieh to stop his five former pupils who's styles represents five venomous animals centipede,snake, scorpion, lizard and the toad. Despite the word "Venom" in the title, none of these pupil uses venoms to kill their opponents. Yan Tieh told by his teacher that he's no match for the five former pupil, must find one he can form an alliance with to defeat the other four. How Yan Tieh and the others find each other is the intrigue to the story, with good kung-fu action spread out throughout the story.

Recognized as a cult classic, this movie has already established itself in the annals of kung- fu action movies. It's known well enough that other movies make reference to the five styles depicted in this story.

It's no artistic masterpiece, with the usual bad dubbing, and corny acting, but the movie is one of the best of its kind, because its so focused on the all the ingredients of kung-fu action movie of its time, and gives an extra concentrated dose of them.

One movie you must watch if you are a kung-fu movie fan.

The Five Deadly Venoms is a great kung-fu action movie wrapped in a whodunnit mystery. There are all the usual telltale signs of a kung-fu flick: great choreography, awful dubbing, different "styles" of fighting, and a wide range of greatly exaggerated, often cheesey human emotions. However the plot certainly is better than average. It's interesting and holds your attention throughout the non-fight scenes. Occasionally it's even able to fire up the audience, such as when X character receives horrible injustice.

Another thing I love about the Five Deadly Venoms is the beautiful simplicity of the movie's morals and themes. Just about everyone gets what's coming to them. The cowardly, greedy, and corrupt lose out. The bad guys, consumed by selfish greed are ultimately destroyed by their own treachery and backstabbing. The good guys use teamwork, planning, and integrity to overcome the odds and come out on top.

Poison Clan rocks!

I love movies just like everyone else, but if you don't watch kung fu flix your missing something special, 5 deadly venoms was one of the first kung fu movie i seen as a kid. The fight scene were so amazing plus the storylines are too good!! wink.wink. THIS IS A MUST WATCH FOR ALL MOVIE LOVERS!