By Matt L. Reifschneider of Blood Brother Film Reviews === Every year, I attempt to craft a new list dedicated to my Shaw Brothers addiction, and every year I seem to give myself an aneurysm trying to whittle down the massive Shaw Brothers catalog into a theme and...
By Matt L. Reifschneider of Blood Brothers Film Reviews === In terms of Shaw Brothers films, The Dragon Missile is about as straightforward as it gets and, for better or worse, it doesn’t necessarily strike out as particularly top notch in any of the genre categories. Even the biggest gimmick...
Buddha’s Palm stars Derek Yee as Long Jianfei, a man who loses it all and finds himself the disciple of one of the most feared masters of the martial world: Flaming Cloud Devil, played by Alex Man Chi-Leung. The story unfolds in the shadow of...
In many movies, heroes may suffer, but joining them on their journey is easy. In What Price Honesty?, the director, Patrick Yuen Ho-Chuen, paints a bleak moral world that forces the viewer to ask themselves just how far along the hero’s path they’d be willing...
Love abounds in Shaw Brothers movies. Below are a few favorites featuring sword-crossed fighters, and modern-day innocents who may or may not find their heart's desire. Have Sword Will Travel (1969) by Chang Cheh. Yun Pao Pao’s (Li Ching) devotion to fiancé Siang (Ti Lung) only...
Even by 1969, Chang Cheh has established himself as the cornerstone of creative foundations for the Shaw Brothers. He had delivered a handful of dynamic and effective films like The Assassin or Golden Swallow and he was responsible for the next level box office boom...
Any self-respecting fan of black magic films owes it to themselves to check out the film that spawned countless imitators and an entire sub-genre of Hong Kong horror films: Ho Meng-Hua's Black Magic. The dark arts show up here and there in earlier films, such as the incredible 1972 Sun...
The historical setting of the Shaolin temple burnings and the aftermath of such is one of the more common backing stories used in Shaw Brothers films. Yet, of all of them, it seems that Executioners from Shaolin is easily one of the most popular. Directed...
It's back to school time, so it's a great time to Get Schooled with some Shaw Brothers training films during Shawtember (as if you needed an excuse to watch your favorite Shaw films!). Today's film is Lo Lieh's Clan of the White Lotus, and for...
The year 1972 was an unsettling transition for the studio. Having let Bruce Lee slip through their fingers, the Shaws, like the rest of the industry, were reeling from his power and impact. Fist of Fury (US: The Chinese Connection), arguably Lee’s best film, had...