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Author Topic: One-Armed Boxer (1971)  (Read 1156 times)
Neville
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« on: May 19, 2022, 03:51:49 AM »

An article in my favorite movie magazine recently reminded of the death of Jimmy Wang Yu, star of many Hong Kong action movies. This prompted me to check out some of his films, starting with "One-armed Boxer", his directorial debut.



Plot: A small village in China sees constant fights between the students of two martial arts schools (why are there always two of them?). In an effort to get the upper hand, one of them hires several foreign masters and challenges the other. During the fight a prominent student loses his right arm, but he returns months later to get his revenge.

Comments: The film has its story... apparently Jimmy Wang Yu rose to fame working for the Shaw brothers and their star director Chang Cheh in films like "The one-armed swordsman". However, when he decided to fly solo he chose rival studio Golden Harvest. And he was also determined to do (gasp) something different. So the beginning of the film strongly sends Chang Cheh vibes, with its clean sets and milimetrical scope compositions. But soon Wang Yu introduces changes. The editing is faster and more energetic, the zooms to his face frequent and furious, and he is not afraid to introduce other stylistic touches, such as tinted flashbacks or stop-motion during fights. And the fights get bloodier and dirtier until the grand finale in a dusty quarry.

However, the most visible addition are the different "enemies". They are outrageous and very funny. There are two Thai fighters who dance before their fights, an Okinawa heavy with vampire-like fangs, a guy in blackface who is supposed to be Hindu and even a copule of Tibetan monks. Wang Yu is evidently not taking them too seriously, and they spice up the movie very nicely.



This has to be one of the most entertaining kung-fu movies I've ever seen, and quite the pleasant surpriose. The only Wang Yu film I had seen before was his Australian outing "The Man from Hong Kong", were he played a police detective in a modern setting, so imagine my shock.
« Last Edit: May 19, 2022, 05:34:31 AM by Neville » Logged

Due to the horrifying nature of this film, no one will be admitted to the theatre.
Jim H
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« Reply #1 on: May 22, 2022, 09:46:33 PM »

I'm a pretty big Wang Yu fan, as the following diatribe will probably indicate.   TeddyR

I've seen many of his films, but finally got around to this one after his death.  I thought it was quite entertaining as well, really enjoyed it.  The sequel is even better.  I also think Wang Yu is a quite good director, especially with visuals.  One-Armed Boxer is a good looking film, just a lot of surprisingly good wide angle shots, especially the setups for new scenes.  Visually better than most other martial arts films of the time.  The bad guys and their numerous gimmicks and styles are a lot of fun and the fight scenes are entertaining and creative start to finish.

On a side note, they really do those dances to that style of music before Muay Thai bouts to this very day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxV9jHMcQ-w

I do think the writing is a bit weak in OAB, especially the second half.  It's like a simplified version of One-Armed Swordsman, and the cuts Wang Yu made don't improve the story.  The random girl who helps him and then kind of vanishes from the film, her role is very similar to the farm girl in One-Armed Swordsman - except she's a love interest in that, which gives her more function and things to do in the story later on.

On that note, One-Armed Swordsman is really good if you get around to it.  It's less energetic, but better written, than One-Armed Boxer.  Like, even if you don't like martial arts films, it's a good coming of age/romance film. The sequel, Return of the One-Armed Swordsman is also TONS of fun, with many huge martial arts battle and a staggering body count.  Seriously, 100+ people must die in fights in Return, all with that gloriously bright Shaw blood, it's almost a war movie.  Weirdly, it also has clear influence from the 60s James Bond movies, with baddies with gimmick weapons like Bond gadgets who are all featured in a stylized intro.

You might also check out Chinese Boxer.  One-Armed Boxer, as the name probably implies, feels like Wang Yu took elements of One-Armed Swordsman and Chinese Boxer, combined them, and got One-Armed Boxer.  You MUST check out the sequel to One-Armed Boxer, Master of the Flying Guillotine.  It's fantastic.  Return of the Chinese Boxer, which Wang Yu took over directing duties on, is also pretty fun.  The last major recommendation I'd give is Beach of the War Gods, which is basically Wang Yu's take on the Seven Samurai. 

Ok, one final one - his much more recent villainous turn in Dragon is worth a watch.  He's like 70 in it, but still intimidating.  It's basically a kung fu unlicensed remake of A History of Violence.  Good film.
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Neville
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« Reply #2 on: May 23, 2022, 04:01:42 AM »

I also got "Master of the Flying Guillotine" and "Return of the one-armed swordsman" on my watching list, but I don't know when I'll watch those. I chose to skip the first "One-armed swordsman" because I already saw the remake Chang Cheh made in 1971 with David Chiang and I don't feel like watching the same story again.

No doubt Jimmy wang Yu was a charismatic actor and a decent director, but the stories about his real life are very different. I heard he once had the Hong Kong press ambush his cheating wife, who ended up comitting suicide. And Brian Trenchard-Smith says of him he was the second most umpleasant human being he ever met, because they constantly clashed during the shooting of "The man from Hong Kong". I wonder who was the #1 on his list!
« Last Edit: May 23, 2022, 04:03:47 AM by Neville » Logged

Due to the horrifying nature of this film, no one will be admitted to the theatre.
Jim H
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« Reply #3 on: May 29, 2022, 03:05:47 PM »

I also got "Master of the Flying Guillotine" and "Return of the one-armed swordsman" on my watching list, but I don't know when I'll watch those. I chose to skip the first "One-armed swordsman" because I already saw the remake Chang Cheh made in 1971 with David Chiang and I don't feel like watching the same story again.

No doubt Jimmy wang Yu was a charismatic actor and a decent director, but the stories about his real life are very different. I heard he once had the Hong Kong press ambush his cheating wife, who ended up comitting suicide. And Brian Trenchard-Smith says of him he was the second most umpleasant human being he ever met, because they constantly clashed during the shooting of "The man from Hong Kong". I wonder who was the #1 on his list!

Well, I'll say "New One-Armed Swordsman" is quite different from One-Armed Swordsman, it's one of those "spiritual remakes" they do in China, where they take some core idea but most of it is different.  But, One-Armed Boxer is much closer to the original film, so if you've seen One-Armed Boxer, you've basically seen the same plot now anyway!

I'd also recommend Tsui Hark's The Blade, which is another One-Armed Swordsman remake that's very different, sans Wang Yu- but it's absolutely terrific, one of the best HK films of the 90s, so I think it's worth seeing anyway. 

On another side note, Wang Yu apparently worked as a mob enforcer for a while, and killed a guy in a bar brawl.  He also used his Triad influence to get Jackie Chan out of trouble with them, which is why Jackie Chan appeared in his mediocre prison film, Island of Fire as well as the loony Fantasy Mission Force, pretty much as a favor.  So yeah, shady and unpleasant character in real life for sure.
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« Reply #4 on: May 29, 2022, 03:51:54 PM »

I really like "Master of the Flying Guillotine," might check out "One-Armed Boxer."  Arrow just released it on Blu-ray.
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