Portrait In Crystal (1983) review

 

PORTRAIT IN CRYSTAL 1983 (Chinese title: CRYSTAL MAN)

Jason Pai Piao (Lung Fei), Liu Yu Po (Crystal), Wang Jung (Prince Jin Tian Di), Chen Szu Chia (Du Sha), Chin Huang (Fatty), Teng Wei Hao (Poison Yama), Lin Hsiu Chun (Jade), Hsiao Yu Ming (Poison Yama's Son), Wu Yu Fen (Zi Juan), Hon Lai Fan (Pearl)

Directed by Hua Shan

The Short Version: Director Hua Shan returned to Swordplay Horror immediately after completing THE BLOODY PARROT (1981) with the exploitation-heavy PORTRAIT IN CRYSTAL—a film that went through a lot of changes in its storyline and the tone of the film. Based on a novel by horror writer Huang Ying, it’s a confusing, mess of a movie but one that thrives on atmosphere, gore and splashy special effects. If popcorn flicks are your thing, get ready to overdose on garishly decorated, cramped sets; flying skulls; laser light shows; a Phantom of the Opera-style villain; deadly traps; exploding bodies; ghosts; and lots of frantic sword action that easily overpower the uninspired plot that flatlines the movie the handful of times things aren't being blown up, set on fire, or engulfed in fog. Simply put, this is a Portrait in Excess.

 

In Ancient China, alchemic manuscripts portend that 10,000 year old crystals, aside from being valuable jewels, possessed magical properties. If blood came into contact with them, the crystal would take on whatever form it was carved in. Long Fei, a well-known sculptor living in seclusion on an isolated mountain, tests the myth, smearing his five-year crystalline masterpiece with his own blood. Unknown to Long, a vengeful spirit begins attacking members of the Poison Yama Clan. Discovering his crystal statue has disappeared from his vault, Long and his apprentice, Fatty, head out to retrieve it while the masked Poison Yama seeks revenge against him and the spirit entity wiping them out. Long and Fatty meet a mysterious woman on the way, who turns out to be Crystal, presumed to be the female embodiment of Long's statue. She's injured by Poison Yama's Seven-Step Soul-Chasing Needle and is separated from Long and Fatty. The two carry on to find the injured Crystal. 

 

 

They end up on Phantom Island, arriving at the spooky residence of Du Sha, the wife of the equally mysterious Heavenly Emperor. She's a powerful fighter who creates crystal killers in a hidden torture dungeon for assassination plots. Those who fail to endure the sadistic training become her zombie servants. Poison Yama, his clan eradicated, arrives at Du Sha's trap-filled mansion and learns who is behind the assassinations of his family and clan members. After a bloody fight, Long Fei learns who the actual owner of the Du Mansion is and where both he and his crystal creation fit into the real mastermind's evil plan.

 

Director Hua Shan made films of various genres although he was closely associated with modern crime thrillers such as BROTHERHOOD (1976), various segments in a few of the five-film THE CRIMINALS (1976-1977) series and THE BROTHERS (1979), a precursor to John Woo's A BETTER TOMORROW (1986). In the early 80s, Hua Shan got on a bit of a martial arts horror kick, helming three back to back. BLOODY PARROT (1981) sourced from novelist Huang Ying's original work was first, and as soon as it wrapped, Director Hua dove into another horror swordplay adaptation. Based on another Huang Ying novel, PORTRAIT IN CRYSTAL (1983) is a typical Martial World tale, but one that's told with a horror movie ambiance. If you're expecting a coherent story, you'll probably have to watch the movie a few times to cobble it all together since the delirious visuals and rapid-fire action scenes sabotage any attempt at following along.

It might be short on logic but there's lots of bloody violence such as a man having his arm cut off, only for his severed arm holding his sword gets planted into the top of his head; another poor sap is impaled through the mouth with dozens of chopsticks; faces are burned off, bodies are blown up, stomachs erupt in geysers of blood, and on and on. ALIEN (1979) had been a major hit in Hong Kong; so much so that the Shaw Brothers, as well as some of their filmmakers, wanted to do a movie like it. Science Fiction films weren't big moneymakers in Hong Kong, but horror was; so likely the famous chest-bursting scene inspired PORTRAIT's exploding intestines.

Possibly the most gruesome spectacle is a crucified naked woman with netting tied tightly to her body that rips through her flesh. The Shaw's always managed to find the best bosomy actresses so if that isn't Jenny Liang (whom the Shaw's heavily promoted for her nude scenes in BLOODY PARROT) standing in for Lin Hsiu Chun, then Lin is giving the then exploitation Queen a run for her money. Elsewhere, there's the magical lute whose strings deliver ear-destroying sonic attacks; and a sword that sets things on fire including the air!

 

‘Crystal Man’  was written by horror novelist Huang Ying. It was part of a horror-themed hexalogy titled ‘Six Tales of Horror’ started in 1974. These supernatural swordplay thrillers were outlined by author Ku Lung (or Gu Long) in what was intended to be a break from his usual Wuxia literature. In the mid 70s when he began working on the series, Ku stated “true terror comes from the depths of the soul”. Horror was an unusual avenue for Ku Lung to take, and different from his prominence writing about heroic and villainous swordsmen of the Martial World. Huang was known for his spooky writings, so the subject matter was ideal for him.

The stories in the series are ‘Blood Parrot’ (the film version adds the letter 'y'), ‘The Vampire Moth’, ‘Crystal Man’, ‘The Black Lizard’, ‘Rakshasa Woman’ (a Rakshasa being a shapeshifting, flesh-eating demon) and ‘The Wingless Bat’. Ku wrote the first four of thirty chapters of ‘Blood Parrot’, and wrote outlines of the other stories; but due to deadlines with other novels, he left this series to be completed by Huang Ying, Hong Kong’s version of Stephen King. Huang’s writing style was similar to Ku Lung so it was a good fit to have him take over the series.

The film’s English title was originally the same as the title of the novel, that being ‘Crystal Man’. With the film’s plot changing early into production this necessitated a new export title. Presumably, CRYSTAL MAN was deemed confusing to non-Chinese speakers—most of whom would be unfamiliar with the novel it’s adapted from; so the English title was changed to PORTRAIT IN CRYSTAL. That there's no Crystal Man depicted, but a Crystal Woman, that would've only added to the confusion. Even so, the Chinese title remains CRYSTAL MAN. In the novel, as it is in the movie, it was a female assassin that called itself a "Crystal Spirit". 

 

The description of the Crystal Man in the novel was a key element for director Hua Shan to bring to the screen. The visual of swarms of green fireflies flying out of the spirits face is realized as multi-colored bugs flickering around the crystal assassin. These fireflies are even used as a lethal weapon that fries the flesh on a targeted victim.

 

Additionally, whenever the character is referenced on-screen, it’s called “Shuijing Ren”, which means ‘Crystal Man’ and sounds like “Shay-jing Yen”. On various releases, subtitles translate it as “Crystal Portrait” or “Crystal Being”. Moreover, a little passed the 50 minute mark there's a plot dump of details that reveals, among other things, an actual Crystal Man is in the making.

When it came to adapting the novel for the screen, Huang Ying wrote the script that, aside from the main character, seemed to be faithful to his original work. Changes were made over the course of the near year and a half the film was in production. Early plot descriptions before the entire cast was set read as follows: 

“The story of CRYSTAL MAN revolves around the legendary swordsman, Shen Sheng Yi, who is drawn into a pre-planned battle within the Martial World. After several perilous twists and escaping his enemies’ pursuit, Shen and the wounded Gong Sun Bai arrive at the mysterious Du family mansion; a large, secluded manor nestled in the middle of a vast lake. Amid these strange events, Shen Sheng Yi encounters the deadly assassin, the Crystal Man, who hasn’t been seen in many years. A fearsome and enigmatic killer, several renowned martial arts masters have fallen to the sword of the Crystal Man. Shen Sheng Yi is shocked by the assassins sudden reappearance, sensing an extraordinary event is about to unfold”.

If you’ve seen the movie, you’ll notice a few major differences in the direction the film was originally going. The character of Shen Sheng Yi is a swordsman in a series of novels by Huang Ying. Director Chu Yuan adapted one of them, ‘Silver Sword Shen Sheng Yi’ as THE ROVING SWORDSMAN (1983) starring Ti Lung as Shen. The character was changed from a swordsman to a sculptor named Long Fei who also happens to be a master of the blade. 

 

Long Fei is actually the name of the main character in the novel, described as a wandering swordsman. In the novel, Gong Sun Bai is a wounded swordsman Long met on the road who had been gravely injured by Poison Yama's venomous arsenal. Poison Yama was chasing Swordsman Gong because he believed he knew the Crystal killer's whereabouts and reasons for targeting Yama and his Tang Clan of fighters. The search for an antidote to Yama's poison leads the two men to Phantom Island and the Du Mansion where celestial beings are said to reside.

 

As the film version plays out, Long is a hermetic sculptor and Fatty is his doting assistant. They initially set out to find Long's stolen crystal portrait and discover Long has been framed by unknown parties leading to Poison Yama being after him. Fatty is indeed injured prior to their arrival at Du Mansion to attain an antidote; although Fatty's injuries aren't due to a fight with Poison Yama but members of Yama's clan referred to as the Tang Clan in the book.

Due to the downward trend of Swordplay pictures at the time, it was decided to likewise swap out Gong Sun Bai with a comedic sidekick, the above-mentioned Fatty. This new character, played by the rotund Chin Huang, originally had an actual name, that being Li Siao Tian. 

 

When asked in a 1982 interview what he thought was the key to reviving Swordplay films, director Hua said there needed to be something new on top of innovations in storytelling. PORTRAIT is overzealous in horror-fused motifs but nothing original in how the story unfolds. As convoluted as it is, the premise is the basic Martial World scenario: one clan uses magical assassins to wipe out members of another; numerous instances of subterfuge and deception follows. It's really that simple.

As it turned out, Huang's novel wasn't considered one of his highly regarded works, nor was this film version any better a representation of it--from a narrative perspective, that is.

The cast were the usual quality performers even though the material given them wasn’t. The most seasoned thespian among them was Taiwanese actor Wang Jung. He’d been in the industry for 20 years at this point. A big name in Taiwan, Wang started out at Taiwan’s major studio Central Motion Pictures. He and director Ting Shan Si (800 HEROES), along with their friend, actor Jimmy Wang Yu (THE CHINESE BOXER), founded Giant Films in 1971. A gambling problem and a divorce in 1973 led Wang Jung out of the industry and out of Taiwan and Hong Kong altogether. He moved to America and remained there for four years, returning to Hong Kong in 1977 upon completion of a movie he shot in the US. He stated in interviews at the time that for this second phase of his film career he was simply having fun.

 

Pai Piao was enjoying a career resurgence of his own. He began his career as a stuntman, and was in line for a major role in Chang Cheh's THE WATER MARGIN series. It didn't work out so he found plenty of films as a leading man at Yang Tze Films, an independent studio born out of the remnants of major company, Cathay.  Unfortunately, none of the films Pai made for Yang Tze made money in Hong Kong. He then moved to television in the latter part of the 70s where his star soared. He ended up back at Shaw Brothers where he got numerous major roles like this one, although this film isn't indicative of his best work. As with everything else, the performers in PORTRAIT are only there to accentuate the visuals. 

Actress Tai Liang Chun was originally cast as Du Sha, but the role went to Taiwanese model Chen Szu Chia (above and insert) when Tai quit the industry approximately two years into her five year contract to enter into what quickly became a volatile marriage to action superstar Tony Liu Yung (Law Wing). Barely a year into the relationship, it spiraled out of control, leading to him disfiguring Tai's face. She co-starred with Liu Yung (the evil eunuch in SECRET SERVICE OF THE IMPERIAL COURT) in 1982s PASSING FLICKERS and was the leading actress in the troubled horror production, CURSE OF EVIL (1982). To expound further, Tai’s awful luck didn’t end there. Her second marriage to a doctor ended in divorce and her third husband, a Japanese doctor, ended when her violent second husband tracked her down and killed the third husband.

 

As for Chen Szu Chia, this was one of, if not the meatiest, role she ever had, and possibly her best. She shines as one of the main antagonists.

Director Hua occasionally made movies outside of Movietown. As long as an independent picture didn’t interfere with filming at Shaw’s he could shoot what he wanted. This is where that third martial arts horror movie comes in. During downtime on CRYSTAL, Hua Shan took a crew on location to shoot the cult favorite KUNG FU ZOMBIE for the Eternal Film Company; that film starring Billy Chong, Kwan Young Moon and Chiang Tao. This was another Huang Ying story, and some of his CRYSTAL crew worked on it like martial arts choreographer Teng Te Hsiang and Hua’s regular assistant director Tsai Nai Pin.

Like many filmmakers on the Movietown payroll, the vast resources of the company offered a congenial atmosphere for making movies that differed from the unstable nature of working for an independent company. Hua Shan was one such director who had gotten comfortable working within this gated filmmaking community. He viewed Shaw Studio as his home, and whenever he filmed outside, he referred to it as a vacation.

The irony was that Director Hua preferred making modern day films versus the period pieces he was doing in the 1980s. He was also highly critical of the label given a select group of young filmmakers at the start of the 1980s, “the New Wave”. Hua helmed period movies till 1985, returning to the industry six years later for one last picture—a modern day actioner starring moon Lee—ANGEL FORCE (1991).

 

PORTRAIT IN CRYSTAL was completed in September of 1982. The test screening at the studio was reportedly a positive one—leading the studio executives to spend some more money on it. Hua Shan did some additional post-production in October and November of ‘82, adding some special effects shots. Director Hua was also critical of Chinese filming methods of the time period. Prior to PORTRAIT’s release, he pointed out that Hollywood was properly equipped to pull off special effects; Hong Kong was only capable of what he called “special shots”.

By 1983, Shaw Brothers were well aware that, domestically, their production style was viewed as largely outdated. Faced with stiff competition from rival studios, they changed their methods of having directors shoot 3-4 films at one time and had them focus primarily on a single feature before moving on to the next one. 

 

In turn, this affected the number of productions made per year. The company went from 40+ films a year in the 70s to approximately two dozen by 1983; the numbers dropped even further over the next two years they were in operation. The export of their martial arts pictures on the international market was what was keeping them open for the next two years. In Hong Kong, the Shaw's would have at least one or two films in the top ten, but they'd be dramas or romantic comedies which were now big box office along with the modern day action stunt comedies that the company were hesitant to get on board with. And when they made them, there simply wasn't enough of them to reclaim audience interest in their films that, in Hong Kong at least, were viewed as old-fashioned filmmaking.

Swordplay films were losing steam in 1983 versus the gaining momentum of modern day action. To use one example, the heavily hyped ZU: WARRIORS FROM THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN (1983) was a bomb that year, making only HK$1.5 million. PORTRAIT made HK$1.3 million in comparison. There was so much similar product on television, that to get people into theaters, it had to be something unique. PORTRAIT was certainly different, only local audiences weren't interested.

Director Hua’s next film was another wild swordplay movie, the gloomy USURPERS OF THE EMPEROR’S POWER (1983) starring Tony Liu Yung, Chao Kuo, Liu Hsieh Hua, and Lung Tien Sheng. Part historical epic and another part gory supernatural fantasy, it’s in the class of Hua’s co-directed THE FLYING GUILLOTINE 2 (1978) and WHAT PRICE HONESTY (1979) as the darkest Shaw Brothers pictures ever made. It was a bigger failure at the box office than PORTRAIT IN CRYSTAL was.

Interestingly, Hua Shan didn’t like making violent movies. You’d never know that by looking at his resume like the vicious Shaw Brothers Triad actioner BROTHERHOOD (1976); and THE GORY MURDER (1978), whose Chinese title translates to BRUTAL DISMEMBERMENT. This was an independent film Hua made for Eternal Films, founded in 1973 and one of the more prosperous Indy film companies. Their success was largely due to Ng See Yuen, an ambitious film director who later founded Seasonal Film Corporation.

 

Hua Shan’s movies tend to have very little fat on them—moving at a frenetic pace. PORTRAIT IN CRYSTAL is an example of this. Aside from the comedic scenes that slow things down in the middle act, the visual barrage seldom lets up—holding the viewers attention when the flimsy storyline cannot. Unfortunately, the film's trim running time doesn't allow for characterization. The voluminous plot details unloaded on the viewer in the last half, along with a few twists, do nothing to enhance the proceedings because you don't care about anyone on-screen. As a movie, PORTRAIT IN CRYSTAL is poor; but as an entertainment, it's an assortment of colors splashed across a canvas of craziness--an amusement park ride that becomes more wild and exhaustively bizarre right up till it abruptly hits the brakes for a noticeably hasty ending.

This review is representative of the Imprint bluray from Australia (all region) limited to 1,500 units. Specs and extras: 1080p HD 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen; audio commentary with Justin Decloux; Portrait in Plasma: interview with James Mudge; running time: 01:20:51

The Crippled Masters (1980) review

 

THE CRIPPLED MASTERS 1980 aka THE CRIPPLED HEAVEN (Chinese title: HEAVENLY CRIPPLE, EARTHLY DISABLED)

Shun Chung Chuen (Li Ho), Hong Chiu Ming (Tang Su Ting),  Lin Chang Kueng (Li Chung Chien), Chen Mu Chuan (Ah Po)

 

Directed by Joe Law (Lo Chi, Luo Chi)

The Short Version: One of Kung Fu cinema's strangest motion pictures is this uniquely shocking, independently made martial arts movie about people with deformities beating the hell out of one another. Arguably the most exploitative Kung Fu flick of the 1970s is little more than an armless and legless man being trained by a contortionist to defeat a disfigured madman with a humpback of death. The plot is basic, but you're coming for the sideshow atmosphere.

 

 

Lin Chang Kuen runs an escort business transporting goods. He has a top reputation around town but is actually a villainous person who robs his clients. Anyone who disobeys him is killed. One of his workers, Li Ho, has his arms cut off. Later, the man who ordered Li's double-arm amputation has his legs destroyed with acid. Lin, himself a disfigured man, eventually takes over the town and forces all the businesses to pay him protection money. Meanwhile, the two cripples learn to fight in spite of their deficiencies. They eventually meet an undercover officer looking to reclaim eight jade horses stolen by Lin, and together, they all take on Lin Chang Kuen and his lethal humpback style of Kung Fu.

Hong Kong martial arts movies went through multiple changes throughout the 1970s. Swordplay pictures were exceedingly popular from the mid 1960s till they were replaced by empty-handed, Karate-style action in 1972. Action films about actual Chinese Kung Fu styles, particularly those of the Shaolin Temple, took center stage in 1974, and excelled rapidly by 1976. Wuxia cinema came back in a big way in 1976, popularizing novelists Ku Lung and Jin Yong. Movies with actors pretending to be Bruce Lee surfaced in 1974 and hit a peak in 1976. These Bruce flicks were mostly poorly received in Hong Kong, but were made primarily for export where they were hugely successful. 

 

Then in 1978, the most budget-deprived trend yet, the Kung Fu comedy or, 'Bumpkin Kung Fu', took the genre by storm for roughly two years before being replaced theatrically by modern day crime films, gambling pictures and stunt-action comedies.

In the middle of that two-year period in 1979, filmmakers were seeking new ways to make the cheaply made, impoverished independent productions fresh again. The last gasp trend was Kung Fu flicks about fighters who were cripples, mentally ill, or had physical deformities. Virtually all of these were normal actors and martial artists who were made up to look disabled or were playing characters who were physically encumbered in some way. Joe Law's THE CRIPPLED MASTERS (1980) set itself apart by featuring real life cripples as its leading actors.

The following is both a review of THE CRIPPLED MASTERS and an article about its making; and its place in the genre during a period where these outdoor style of Kung Fu movies made for peanuts were about to lose their theatrical vitality.

THE CRIPPLED MASTERS touches all the bases of the Bumpkin Kung Fu movie template of the late 1970s while arguably being the most unorthodox film of its day. It was a risky endeavor for producer Shuai Yue Feng who had only been in the business for a little over a year and had already produced five films when this unusual picture was nearing completion.

 

Director Law Chi wasn't a stranger to tackling new ideas; such as in MONKEY KUNG FU (1980), aka MONKEY FIST, FLOATING SNAKE. In that one, it's the villain who must go and train to defeat the hero. The CRIPPLED co-star, Chen Mu Chuan, was the headliner, channeling Jackie Chan's bumpkin kid from SNAKE IN THE EAGLE'S SHADOW (1978); that being the film that birthed the final phase of the Kung Fu film before they became home video staples. They were replaced theatrically by romantic comedies and modern day crime pictures in the early 80s. Law Chi isn't a widely known filmmaker, but he was certainly not afraid to alter genre conventions to varying degrees.

 

The plot of THE CRIPPLED MASTERS is the standard revenge narrative. As is often the case in many of the indy KF features, there are major holes in the storyline. For example, we never know exactly what it is that Li Ho has done to have his arms severed from his body; it just happens. We also never know what problem Tang Su Ting had with Li Ho to gleefully order Li's maiming; it just happens. This is the nature of Hong Kong and Taiwan action cinema, and especially the lower budgeted, independent variety.

 

The film's Chinese title, HEAVENLY CRIPPLE, EARTHLY DISABLED, is a reference to the two main leads. Li Ho is the Heavenly Cripple with Tang being the Earthly Disabled. 

 

Director Joe Law (who is sometimes listed as Lo Chi), and whose real name is Lo Zu, came from a filmmaking family. One of his younger cousins, Law Kei, or Luo Qi, or Lo Chi Shi, was also a director. He helmed a handful of movies with bizarre characters and peculiar subject matter that--adding to the similarities in their names--could easily give one the impression both men were the same person. Joe Law directed films primarily in Taiwan whereas Law Kei did a lot of acting and directing work in Hong Kong. Law the younger appeared in numerous Shaw Brothers productions as an extra like THE ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN (1967) and GOLDEN SWALLOW (1968). His work as an extra extended to his older cousin's films like THE KILLER SWORD (1968) and the troubled THUNDERBOLT (1973) for Golden Harvest. 

 

Moreover, both men were friends with actor and martial artist Chen Kuan Tai, going back as far as Joe Law's WONG FEI HUNG: BRAVELY CRUSHING THE FIRE FORMATION (1970). Adding to the confusion, Law Kei was invited by Chen Kuan Tai and actor and comedian James Yi Lei, to direct the first film for their independent company, Tai Shen, founded in 1974; that film being THE CRAZY INSTRUCTOR (1974). The following year, Law Kei's THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE was released; not to be confused with the other THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE (1975), a Hong Kong-Thailand co-production starring Lo Lieh. 

To further distinguish the two relatives, Law Kei, Joe Law's younger cousin, was behind one of the wackiest and most creative Bruce Lee clone movies, THE DRAGON LIVES AGAIN (1977). Then there was BRUCE LEE THE INVINCIBLE (1978) that had nothing to do with Bruce Lee, but did have kung fu fighting gorillas. Law the younger then went back to Shaw Brothers to be a director on the bizarre, and outright terrible kung fu comedy, THE TIGRESS OF SHAOLIN (1979); or, as it's known in Chinese, THE LEPROSY FIST. This film, that starred Hui Ying Hung, Liu Chia Yung and Liu Chia Liang's sister, Liu Jui Yi, was one of a handful of deformity-cripple kung fu flicks that were in-production between 1978-1979; THE CRIPPLED MASTERS, directed by Joe Law, being among them.

 

Going back over a decade, Chang Cheh's THE ONE ARMED-SWORDSMAN (1967) initiated and popularized the disabled action hero wherein Jimmy Wang Yu lost an arm, had to overcome his handicap, avenge himself, and rescue his master's school from destruction by a rival gang of fighters. It was the first action film in Hong Kong to gross HK$1 million at the box office. Additional, similar pictures followed, like the 1969 South Korean imitation THE ARMLESS SWORDSMAN, and 1972s THE ONE-ARMED SWORDSWOMAN. 

 

Throughout the 70s, Jimmy Wang Yu was the sole proprietor of this style of action picture, playing single-digit swordsmen and boxers battling an assortment of bad guys. After 1975s THE ONE-ARMED BOXER VS. THE FLYING GUILLOTINE, audiences were tired of Wang Yu waving his arm around against a slew of opponents. After a few more of them, Wang Yu himself either got tired of tying one arm behind his back, or the continuing bad box office.

 

When Chang Cheh returned to Grand Guignol Kung Fu cinema with the 1978 hit, CRIPPLED AVENGERS, more cripple-fests followed like THE FOUR INVINCIBLES (1979) and SIX KUNG FU HEROES (1980). Director Chang Cheh began the amputee trend in 1967; no sooner had Chang revisited stories of heroes with disabilities in 1978, enterprising film producers took notice and ran with it. A year into its new Jackie Chan-influenced platform, the Kung Fu flick was already suffering from over-saturation and needed a new look.

 

The reason for the volume of mangled martial artists was only partially due to filmmakers jumping on a bandwagon; it was also the changing mood of the HK viewing audience--a side effect due to the exhaustive number of movies being produced in Hong Kong; there were so many of them. 

 

1978s SNAKE IN THE EAGLE'S SHADOW and especially DRUNKEN MASTER, rejuvenated the Kung Fu genre, but wore it out again several months later. Filmmakers had to once more find some new angle to spark interest and produce a new hit trendsetter. Coming up with weird fighting styles was no longer enough. Jackie Chan had captivated audiences with his comedy Kung Fu action that resulted in record-breaking box office. This also led to his health-endangering obsession with topping himself each time.

 

CRIPPLED AVENGERS was one of 48 Hong Kong films to gross over HK$1 million in 1978, becoming a top 20 hit. A group of disabled martial artists taking revenge was a novel concept, so why not mix that with the Kung Fu comedy?

 

 

1979 was the year bodily disfigurements became a major selling point in Kung Fu movies. In DRUNKEN ARTS AND CRIPPLED FISTS, Simon Yuen Siu Tien played a hunchbacked Kung Fu master teaching Li Yi Min what is essentially Arthritis Fist to defeat one his students gone rogue played by Lung Tien Sheng (FLAG OF IRON). Then there's CRIPPLED KUNG FU BOXER that showcased a hunchbacked main villain and a deformed kung fu style; there's even a swordsman with one arm. Back to Shaw Brothers again, there was the aforementioned LEPROSY FIST, aka TIGRESS OF SHAOLIN; and ROTTEN HEAD HO, aka DIRTY HO (1979); both films featuring disease-ridden, sideshow style characterizations.

One of the most bizarre, but entertainingly so, was 1979s KUNG FU VS YOGA. This one featured Dunpar Singh, an Indian contortionist possessing almost inhuman abilities to bend and stretch his body in the most jaw-dropping ways imaginable. This was produced by former Shaw Brothers superstar Paul Chang Chung for his indy production company, Chang Brothers. Much like Joe Law with THE CRIPPLED MASTERS, Paul Chang wanted to do a movie unlike the typical Kung Fu feature that had become so prominent; the only thing differentiating one from another was the new face leading the acting roster.

 

One ambitious producer was taking movies about fighters with  physical ailments or deformities a step further...

 

In old magazine articles of the time period, Taiwanese Producer Shuai Yue Feng was being hailed as a hot new film producer, noting his founding of Golden Tower Film Company in August of 1978 (SNAKE came out in March of '78). He was a savvy, and moderately successful movie producer in an industry where it was commonplace for an indy company to go out of business after a single feature. Another young producer, Cheng Lan Rong (Chen Lang Jung), co-produced the cripple cult classic with Shuai Yue Feng alongside Li Ying Jan. 

 

The idea of making a Kung Fu picture starring real life cripples was the brainchild of producer Shuai. For his main protagonists, Shuai wanted to cast non-actors. Chang Cheh had success with this industry model when he formed his 4th Generation of film stars, known outside HK as The Five Venoms. Director Sun Chung tried the same thing with TO KILL A MASTERMIND (1979). But instead of expending resources finding a multitude of new faces, Shuai Yue Feng settled on three.

 

The two leading actors chosen had never been in front of a camera before. Shun Chung Chuen (Shen Song Cun)  was born without his arms while his co-star, Hong Chiu Ming (Kang Zhao Ming) was born with a bone disease that made him incapable of walking. The two men knew each other and, despite their disabilities, taught themselves Kung Fu. Both men ran the Han Ming Martial Arts Academy in Taiwan. At the time they were recruited to star in THE CRIPPLED MASTERS, they reportedly had 40 students.

 

Starring as the Kung Fu master of the two cripples was a well known contortionist named He Jiu (also billed as Ho Chiu); a 75 year old martial artist whose performance at the Japan World Expo was part of the film's promotion. Nicknamed 'King of Soft Bones', this was the only film appearance of He Jiu.

 

According to articles from 1979, producer Shuai "spared no expense"  on this production. Indy Kung Fu films seldom had much money behind them; few if any actual sets, meager film crews, and sometimes there was no money to pay a scriptwriter. THE CRIPPLED MASTERS didn't have one. In cases like this, an outline is written with pages of dialog that are oftentimes written on the set each day. What script there was contained elements of Chang Cheh's CRIPPLED AVENGERS (1978) and THE MAGNIFICENT RUFFIANS (1979).

 

For this production, producer Shuai allowed director Joe Law to shoot a lot of footage over the course of 80 working days, which was a long time for a film with little to no actual production values. A reported 80,000 feet of film was amassed, amounting to over 14 hours of footage.

 

 

With so much random footage, the filmmakers still couldn't decide how to end the movie. As things play out, the two cripples and Ah Po (played by one of the choreographers Chen Mu Chuan) march to Li Chung Chien's home to take revenge. Po arrives with two coffins in tow with Li and Tang hidden inside of them. Po, wearing a blue jacket, engages Li Chung first. The cripples emerge from the coffins and begin fighting Li so Po runs off after Li's subordinate who earlier had tortured him; only now, Po isn't wearing the blue jacket and the scene plays out like it was meant for earlier in the movie. Then suddenly, the fight between the humpbacked villain and the crippled avengers has switched to their master's training ground out in the woods.

 

This continuity error is noticeable but not detrimental to the flow of the film; just that both the old master and Chen's character aren't seen again. 

 

Chen Mu Chuan was a monkey Kung Fu specialist and had the same monkey master as Chen Kuan Tai. When Chen Kuan Tai broke his contract with Shaw Brothers to make IRON MONKEY (1977), Liu Chia Liang was supposed to have designed the action for what was to have been the inaugural film for their newly founded independent company. When Liu bailed, Chen Mu Chuan stepped in to choreograph the action sequences.  

 

Filming for CRIPPLED MASTERS ended in November of 1979. The director and producer assembled what was described as an "uncut version"  for a test screening. A distributor who ran one of the biggest theater chains in Taiwan liked what he saw and bought the license for that territory. Taiwanese filmgoers got to see this strange new curio in January of 1980.

 

Critics in Hong Kong weren't kind to this style of Kung Fu flick, referring to them as the "Terminal Disease Kung Fu films". They found them to be in almost as poor taste as the Bruce Lee clone pictures. They blamed Shaw Brothers for birthing the short-lived movement, going so far as to mock them by stating films like 'Hemorrhoid Girl vs Syphilis Hero', 'Butt Punch', and 'Abortion Fist Against Athletes Foot'  would surely be the next big moneymakers. THE CRIPPLED MASTERS must've been a moderate success at least in Taiwan considering the few, unrelated sequels that followed.

 

New Line Cinema acquired US rights, and released it in America as THE CRIPPLED MASTERS. As often happened in those days, the two leads were given Americanized names. Shun Chung Chuen was called Frankie Shum while his co-star, Hong Chiu Ming, was renamed as Jack Conn. 

 

Producer Shuai Yue Feng felt he had something special; so he immediately began preparations for a sequel titled 'The Three Crippled Wanderers'. This followup was to have added a blind Kung Fu fighter to the mix. The actual sequel didn't surface till a year later and was titled FIGHTING LIFE (1981) wherein Shun Chung Chuen and Hong Chiu Ming take off to find a job in the big city. Shuai Yue Feng co-directed this unrelated sequel, but had no involvement in the next two films starring Shun and Hong.

 

Their time in the industry was brief, but they did two more movies together; starring again in TWO CRIPPLED HEROES (1982), which was another story-centered movie for the two men. Here, they protect a blind girl from a gang of local thugs. This film was released on VHS in the late 80s by Video Treasures, so it was the introduction to these crippled masters for a number of fans.

 

They appeared one final time in 24 SHAOLIN MOVES (1983), aka RAIDERS OF SHAOLIN TEMPLE and in Chinese as 24 SHAOLIN HORSEMEN. Shun Chung Chuen (who passed away in 2014) and Hong Chiu Ming are no longer the leads, but in cameo appearances as the teachers to Sonny Yu, a real life martial arts master who still possesses an amazing degree of agility in his old age. RAIDERS was a First Films Production.

 

As for the Two Crippled Heroes, their debut outing is the best of the quartet. It's a novelty film with a high degree of exploitation and entertainment value. To the Drive-in and 42nd Street crowd, it delivers plenty of cheap, even grotesque thrills. Sometimes you'll see so-called academics read things into these films that aren't there. Most of these movies were never intending for anything other than to grab an audiences attention and their money in the process. The filmmakers responsible for THE CRIPPLED MASTERS were aiming for something uniquely different, and succeeded, despite any technical handicaps.

 

This review is representative of the Film Masters blu-ray. Specs and extras: new 2K HD scan, 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen; English and mandarin language tracks; Kings of Kung Fu: Releasing the Legends documentary; commentary track; Kung Fu movie trailers; original 1982 trailer; new, re-cut trailer; before/after restoration; booklet; running time: 01:31:28