Master of the Flying Guillotine is a 1975 Taiwanese / Hong Kong martial arts film starring Jimmy Wang Yu, who also wrote and directed the film. ZORRO THE AVENGER, SHADOW OF ZORRO (both 1962).SANTO IN THE TREASURE OF DRACULA (1968).IRON MAN AND HULK: HEROES UNITED (2013).IRON MAN AND CAPTAIN AMERICA: HEROES UNITED (2014).HERCULES AGAINST THE MONGOLS (1963), HERCULES AGAI.MOLE MEN AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES (1961).HEAVEN'S LOST PROPERTY: THE ANGELOID OF CLOCKWORK.VOYAGE TO THE PLANET OF PREHISTORIC WOMEN (1968).UNMASKING THE IDOL (1986), ORDER OF THE BLACK EAGL.However, two of the assassins whom Tien slays are utilized to set off the action for the sequel- a rare example of strong continuity in any series of HK martial arts films. The quest for vengeance is the only real drama in the story, and despite some suggestions of romance Jade doesn't appear in the sequel. The method by whichTien counters the Hindu at the climax is one of those of those deliriously crazed events for which the kung-fu devotee lives to ferret out. The scene in which the Hang Tui students were slaughtered portrays a Hindu assassin who tries to disconcert enemies by walking on his hands when he fights. I didn't get much sense that Tien's fabulous strength played that much of a role in the battles, with one exception. Chao summons Tien for a showdown at a rock quarry and the hero faces down all of his enemies. Conveniently enough, all of Chao's assassins have remained in the vicinity, and Tien announces his quest for vengeance by slaying two of them. The transformation takes place, and soon Tien is seen smashing stone objects with his lone fist. This practice is familiar from many kung-fu films, and seems to convey the notion that practitioners of the arts can gain great powers through acts of self-abnegation. Yet, in the movie's most memorable scene, the hero can only obtain this power by subjecting his surviving arm to a burning torture. Jade, already taken with Tien, appeals to her father, who gives Tien a rare drug, designed to amp up his strength to superhuman levels. Tien is naturally distressed about losing an arm, but he swears to carry out vengeance for his school somehow. Providentially, Tien Lung is rescued from death by an old pharmacologist and his lovely daughter Jade. Only Tien Lung survives, but only because one of the evil swordsmen cut his entire arm off. Finally Chao brings in several professional assassins, all skilled in different martial arts, to decimate Hang Tui and all of his students. That first fight escalates as the two schools quarrel (the main sociological element of the film). The Hooks' master, one Chao, is also a purveyor of such criminal activities as prostitution and opium dealing. He and his fellow students get into a fight with the students of a rival school, the Hook Gang. The hero, Tien Lung by name, is one of many students at a dojo run by Master Hang Tui. Both are set up to provide the put-upon hero with an array of bizarre enemies for a series of end-fights, though BOXER #1 takes much more time to built up the hero's special status. Wang Yu also wrote six of the films he directed, but though the two BOXER films are well written compared to the usual fare, they aren't extraordinary in the script department. I haven't seen any of Wang Yu's other directorial efforts, but will make the effort to check them out now. While his acting may have contributed to his getting the director's job, in both of these films Wang Yu showed an impressive facility with many of the techniques pioneered in Western cinema- quick cuts, well chosen close ups, and angled shots. Then I watched the two "One Armed Boxer" films back to back, both of which star Jimmy Wang Yu, probably due to his meteoric rise to stardom thanks to his performances in THE ONE ARMED SWORDSMAN and its first sequel. Most of these entries favor flat, mid-range almost stagey shots of the principal actors, whether they're fighting a big battle or engaging in talking-head activity. I've only rarely been impressed with the direction of Hong Kong "chopsockies" from the sixties through the eighties. CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *cosmological, psychological*
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