Zhong tai quan tan sheng si zhan

This is one of the best movie that features Angela Mao's kung fu action.

Golden Harvest really had original style when they came into existence in the early '70s, and this movie is different in its looks and feel from other kung fu movies of its time. There's more details to the story, and each character gets more character development. In this movie Angela Mao's character gets cornered into fight in Thailand to redeem the honor of her father, and the Chinese kung fu.

The movie's English title is "The Tournament". As the title indicates, Angela and her brother played by Carter Wong fights in a Thai kick boxing tournament. Angela Mao shows her amazing skills in this movie, and she's in her top form. The movie is also beautifully shot, and its quality is a notch or two above similar movies of the era.

Treat yourself to the breath taking skills of Angela Mao in this movie. You won't be disappointed.

Two Kungfu fighters take part in a fight against Thai boxers and lose because they are not prepared well enough, one of them is killed. The injured survivor (Carter Wong) and his sister (Angela Mao) now take a lot of time to study the style of their opponents, because on the second trip from Hong Kong to Bangkok, they don't want to lose again.

Good fighting with a variety of styles, but also a good story about a master who lost his face and is shunned by the others, even all students are leaving his school. I remember Carter Wong for his stare - eyes wide open like he is paying total attention. Practice that trick, children, it will help with the teachers at school. Angela Mao however gets the best part, furious and restless until the last enemy is kicked out of her house. Classic 70s flick that shouldn't be forgotten.

A very difficult film to locate, I located one through a (ahem) bootleg company which shall stay anonymous. This really has to be Angela's best, better than Broken Oath or Hapkido. Sammo Hung's action is what makes the usual non martial artists look better than they ever have and that includes the often wooden Carter Wong! The plot line, as if anyone ever cares with these films revolves around a Chinese Kung Fu school who owe a great deal of dollars to a local mob. The Sifu gets desperate and takes his two best students which happen to be his sons to Thailand to compete, for money, full contact. Not a good idea as one is injured and one returns to kick up daisies back in Hong Kong. Instead of the Kung Fu elders throwing a massive wake for his loss they ridicule him, steal his students and forces him to hang himself! Enter Angela Mao! She decides that the only way to save face is to go to Thailand, learn Muay Thay and return with said face! The standout scene for me is when the association try to stop her and she goes through each student proving her worth. Look out for Sammo, Wilson Tong & Whang In Sik in this scene. Also, note the soundtrack used to introduce each student. It's a little snip-it taken, illegally no doubt, from the Electric Light Orchestra's B side & album track 'In Old England Town'. Am I sad or what???

THE TOURNAMENT (1974) is a Golden Harvest production that deserves inclusion with such better-known films as BROKEN OATH, WHEN TAEKWONDO STRIKES, HAPKIDO, and LADY WHIRLWIND as the finest work of Angela Mao, the reigning female kung fu star of the 1970s. She has a total of four major fight sequences here, one of which is a remarkable segment at the 41-minute mark that lasts for nine solid minutes as she fights five different guys in succession, starting with Korean hapkido expert Whang In Sik, playing a Japanese karate teacher, and continuing with Sammo Hung, Wilson Tong and two others I didn't recognize. Later, she fights a Thai kickboxer in the ring in Bangkok (where she's dressed as a man), fights Thai thugs at the famous Ayuthia temple ruins in Thailand, and finally, back home in Hong Kong, fights a new set of karate fighters who've taken over her martial arts school, including a big white guy named George V. Yirikian. So Angela keeps very busy in this film, much to the delight of her fans. Co-star Carter Wong (THE 18 BRONZEMEN) plays Angela's brother and has his share of fights as well, including three in the Thai kickboxing ring, but he's generally overshadowed by Angela.

The plot has to do with a kung fu school in contemporary Hong Kong that gets disgraced after two of its students (including Carter) lose in the kickboxing ring at a Bangkok tournament. (The second student, in fact, is killed in the bout.) The school's teacher, the father of Angela and Carter, is drummed out of the Hong Kong Martial Arts Association, which leaves him so devastated that he hangs himself. Angela, rising above the tragedy, takes it upon herself to study Thai boxing and figure out a way to incorporate it into Chinese kung fu and win back her school's honor in the kickboxing ring. This creates enemies among the members of the Martial Arts Association (including Sammo Hung), especially after she lectures them on the limitations inherent in the way they teach and practice Chinese kung fu. (Hence the nine-minute fight at her school.) Halfway through the film she heads to Bangkok, dressed as a man, accompanied by Carter and visits kickboxing schools and goes so far as to film training sessions and actual bouts in the ring (using a Super 8 movie camera with a telephoto lens) which she then studies with Carter, all in preparation for their own matches against Thai boxers. What's important here is that Angela takes a proactive approach to the problem and seeks creative solutions. As a result, she dominates the proceedings throughout, taking on the role of kung fu master in the wake of her father's death. She doesn't just fight, she leads.

Sammo Hung choreographed the many fights and they rank with the superb work he did on HAPKIDO (1972), which also starred Angela and Carter (and Sammo). The director is Huang Feng, who also directed HAPKIDO, LADY WHIRLWIND, and WHEN TAEKWONDO STRIKES and who knew how to get the best out of Angela, as both an actress and fighting star.

If I have any complaint about the film it's that the hodgepodge music score is all over the place and fills the soundtrack with wildly inappropriate cues at every opportunity. But at least the Fortune Star VCD I watched was widescreen and in Mandarin with English subtitles. (Special Note: The date I'm submitting this review, September 20, has special significance. Just check Angela's bio.)

After an unsanctioned match between a Chinese martial arts student and a Thai boxer results in disgrace for the Chinese, they determine to train and salvage their master's reputation.

Bruce Lee and his philosophy were obviously a huge influence on Mao's character here as she isn't arrogant and closed-minded in regards to other fighting styles. She goes to Thailand, studies Muay Thai fights, comparing it to other real-world fighting styles, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses, and coming up with strategies to defeat them.

This is a top-tier martial arts film with some superb fights; Angela Mao fights like a whirlwind, knocking down opponents like bowling pins. It's tightly-plotted, fast-paced, and the story is never drowned in endless fights - there's a great balance between action and narrative. Definitely on par with Hapkido - another Angela Mao classic.