Le bras armé de Wang Yu contre la guillotine volante

This one has to be seen to be believed! Jimmy Wang Yu, star of the Aussie cult classic 'The Man From Hong Kong', writes, directs and stars in this movie, which is one of the most entertaining martial arts movies ever made! The movie opens with wily old blind man Fung Shen Wu Chi (Kang Kam) receiving a message via carrier pigeon from his favourite nephews Tiger and Dragon telling him that they have been killed by the one armed boxer (Wang Yu). Now how they could write this message AFTER they had been killed is still a mystery to me, but this is the kinda movie where you just don't ask questions! So the old man goes off to avenge their deaths, armed with his secret weapon, a flying guillotine. This is a kinda hat box on a rope which he swings. It lands on people's heads and he decapitates them! He also likes to throw explosives at his enemies just to keep them on their toes. Anyway, he travels to a fighting tournament hoping that they one armed boxer will show. Of course he does and we eventually get an exciting climactic battle between the Master Of The Flying Guillotine and the One Armed Boxer. But before that we see a lot of the competitors having individual fights, the most memorable being the "swami master" from India. He's played by a Hong Kong actor in black face, and every time he comes on screen there's sitar music playing just so we know who he is I suppose. The swami has a special talent - he can make his arms extend. This makes for some supremely silly moments which are just hilarious. In fact the whole movie is hilarious. I loved every minute of it! If you like Kung Fu you MUST see this! Highly recommended fun!

After hearing that his two disciples have been killed by One-Armed Boxer Liu Ti Lung (Yu Wang), blind Ching master Fung Sheng Wu Chi (Kang Chin) vows to avenge their deaths. Travelling to a martial arts tournament where Liu Ti Lung is expected to attend, Fung Sheng Wu Chi proceeds to whip the head off anyone unfortunate enough to only have one arm (rather strangely, the town where the competition is being staged seems to have a surfeit of one-armed men!).

Ordinarily, a fight between a sighted one-armed man and a blind guy would be a pretty lame affair (and the outcome inevitable: in the land of the blind, the one-armed man is king!), but in the world of martial arts movies, such a battle proves less predictable and hugely entertaining, the One-Armed Boxer scooting up walls and delivering mighty blows, the blind fellow using his extra-sensory powers to fling his 'flying guillotine' with deadly accuracy.

But this isn't the only amazing duel on offer in Master of the Flying Guillotine: the tournament consists of several equally astounding one-on-one battles between a wide variety of foes, each with their own distinctive fighting style. Thai boxer Nai Men (Chien-Po Tsen) does a funny dance routine before each fight, kung fu babe Shao-Tieh (Chung-Erh Lung) uses her Eagle Claw to tear the clothes off her monkey style opponent, Daredevil Lee Sen pokes out the eyes of the resilient Iron Skin, Japanese fighter Win-Without-a-Knife Yakuma actually uses a knife to win, and Indian Yoga Tro La Seng extends his arms to incredible length. The fights are well choreographed and wonderfully vicious, with broken limbs, gougings, and impalements galore.

There are also some cool fights outside of the arena, the best being between Liu Ti Lung and Nai Men in a small hut with a searing hot floor, and Tro La Seng against Liu Ti Lung, who smashes his opponent's telescopic arms.

Eventually Fung Sheng Wu Chi tracks down Liu Ti Lung and the scene is set for the final battle, the One-Armed Boxer having laid a few traps for his bitter foe. As the pair duke it out in a coffin shop, spring loaded hatchets are activated by our one-armed hero, giving him an advantage over his head-snatching enemy. After lots of craziness, including a fun moment where Fung Sheng Wu Chi goes one better than Linda Blair by doing a 720 degree head turn, the blind man is hurled through a window to land dead in a coffin.

With so much inventive action and so many colourful characters, Master of the Flying Guillotine is a hugely entertaining old-school kung fu classic, essential viewing for any self-respecting fan of the genre.

Master of the Flying Guillotine aka One Armed Boxer 2 is one of the greatest old school kung fu movies ever made, it is an absolute classic of the genre. Jimmy Wang Yu's sequel to "The One Armed Boxer" aka "The Chineese Professionals" is perhaps better than the original and is a strong enough film to stand on its own.

A blind assassin, a one armed martial arts master and a Yoga instructor with stretching limbs are just a few of the elements that make this film one of the most creative and memorable martial arts films ever! One of the most interesting aspects of this movie is all of the many different martial arts styles that are displayed. There is a great tournament sequence were martial arts experts from all over the world compete in a fight to the death. You see various styles of Kung Fu, Muy Thi kick boxing, Karate and more. There are also many different weapons used in the film, from the three section staff to the outrageous flying guillotine.

The fights in the film are a bit slower and "looser" than some big studio movies (Shaw Bros, Golden Harvest) but they are still well choreographed and executed. The special effects and fight sequences still hold up well after 30+ years. This movie has been called Quentin Tarantino's favorite kung fu film, and when you see it you'll know why. You are no movie buff until you have seen this true cult masterpiece!

One Armed Boxer 2 aka "Master of the Flying Gullitine" is one of the most unique stories ever told on film. The characters and visuals are truly unbelievable. Jimmy Wang Yu's "One Armed Boxer 2" is perhaps his finest work and one of the greatest independently produced films in the martial arts genre. With great action and characters, Master of the Flying Gullitine is definitely a top 10 film of the kung fu genre and is a definite must see (or buy) for any martial arts junkie.

Martial Arts Genre Rating: 10/10 (classic)

Overall Movie Rating: 7/10

once again another awesome movie from a genre that can do no wrong. The chpo socky samurai and ninja movie of the late 60's to the early 80's where a genre of movies that never were big on substance but they more than made up for it with an overabundence of style. Here we have a colorful cast of token good and bad guys each with some unique charecter aspect that allows them to stand out. I'm sure that in the early nineties when the Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter games where coming out the makers had had some of this movie's charecters in mind. Most notably the future street fighter charecter who is Indian and can stretch his limbs way out of proportion. The movie moves along through some really wonderful fight sequences with the usual array of weird weapons and fighting techniques. Thank god Quentin Tarantino has done enough name dropping to single handedly bring this genre back to life. For most of the eighties and early nineties finding these movies was next to impossible. Now their occasionaly even on cable. Way to go.

First seen in a Shaw Bros. pic, the re-modeled flying guillotine returns in this superb fighting fantasy that is also titled MASTER OF THE FLYING GUILLOTINE VERSUS THE ONE-ARMED BOXER.

A non-Shaw, independently-produced production, this delivers everything a martial arts fan could want.

Director Jimmy Wang Wu, who also stars as the One-Armed Boxer, gives the fight sequences enormous energy and invention and layers in a little sadism when necessary.

The electronic, 70's-style score brings a surreal quality to the film.

Kang Kam as the bushy-browed "Master" is superb, making us believe that he is an old man with a lethal handicap.

Numerous other Shaw and Wang Yu regulars pop up, too.

The flying guillotine itself is more functional and exciting to watch than before. The head-ripping it performs is adroitly staged.

Although BEACH OF THE WAR GODS is my favorite pic of Jimmy's, this is, nevertheless, perfect.