Master of the Flying Guillotine Anniv

Rating:
Summary: if it was anamorphic....
Review: ...then it would be great. But unfortunately this pretty good disc has a non-anamorphic transfer which makes it a no-no for widescreen enthusiasts.

Rating:
Summary: Fun-FU!!!
Review: A Kung-Fu gem! Despite the occasional flaccid acting and cheese riddled effects, there is plenty of entertainment in this film! Sure, it's not a "masterpiece" but as others have noted, the influence of this film on other martial arts flicks is irrefutable! Now, for the break down:

Story- The execution is choppy but the intent is more original than most of its 60s and 70s contemporaries. I won't go into plot detail because that would be redundant.

Fight Scenes- It's all about the FU and effects. Obviously, you can't expect Iron Monkey or Crouching Tiger but it's still very entertaining even if it is a little embarrassing compared to today's standards. Though, in all fairness, many could fairly argue that its entertainment value still outweighs that of Crouching Tiger!! I would!

DVD quality- This current offering appears to be better than many when it comes to quality of restoration, especially in picture clarity. Obviously, there is some film wear but it's not in the least bit distracting. The sound is also a tad cloudy at times but it doesn't detract.

Extras- The fact that such a film would include extras at all is a plus. In this case, the extras are phenomenal. We get some commentary, we get stills and we get biographies and trailers. Sure, if this were a brand new flick we all would be griping but this is more love than most flicks of this type are ever given!!!

Price- It's a great deal considering the entertainment value, the quality of the restoration and the extras!!!

Rating:
Summary: Just watch it
Review: Evocation: Among many of the presentations shown on a weekend showcase named "Black Belt Theatre" which aired on Saturday afternoons in the 80's, this one stood out as the most memorable by far. Driven by justified vengeance, a blind hermit monk with hefty eyebrows goes forth from his home in the clouds high above upon a mountain to avenge two of his pupils, seeking "the one-armed man" responsible. And as we know, in Chinese cinema, all monks are masters in Kung Fu. But what was most remarkable is the weapon he wields - literally, a "flying guillotine", actually, an ingenious design and idea in theory, in which when unravelled from its compact form, reveals what appears essentuially like a red and black "bee-keepers hat" with five criss-crossing blades at its inner base, and a saw-blade design along the outer edges, which when thrown, a mesh enclosure is activated, descending around the head and neck of the opponent, decapitating them, as the head is retrieved by the thrower.

Probably because of this ponderation, I once arranged a weapon Myself by attaching a sawblade to a chain, affixed with a bolt and nut through the chain and the center of the blade, and what I essenially concluded with was a weapon that if thrown at an opponent, could wrap itself around their neck, and with enough force, the sawblade could quite possibly decapitate them. At the very least, some very palpable hits would be suffered, even if it struck an extremity or the torso.. Another time, I considered the arrangement of removing the blades from a chainsaw, wrapping electrical tape around one's hands, and what one would essentially wield would be flying knives.

The first kill transpires in a bar in which a drunken bum claims to be an invincible one-armed fighter in order to get out of paying the bill for his dinner. The monk just so happens to be nearby awaiting his "vegetarian noodles", and forthwith dispatches of the dreg, swearing to kill every one-armed man he comes upon.

The second kill happens at the actual tournament, upon which another one-armed fighter was present. The "one-armed man" turns out to be a Kung Fu instructor who becomes alerted to the monk's intentions at a tournament featuring several schools and styles including a Mongolian with a Vlad-like moustache, an Indian with extending arms {his accent dubbed in an accent reminiscent of Apu from the Quickie-Mart; to catch shoplifters and reach items across the store}, a Tibetan kick-boxing fighter here characterised as a filthy, barefoot, and uncouthe barbarian, staff vs. tri-staff, tonfa wielded by a mysterious cloaked Japanese contender, a lovely girl proficient at the eagle-claw, the always amusing monkey style vs. snake style, preying mantis, etcetera {and I Am sure much of Mortal Kombat was based upon this movie} - and thus sets out to plan his clever methods of self-preservation.

Finally, the monk finds the Kung Fu teacher and persues him into a coffin shoppe temporarily converted into a battleground, in which traps have been arranged. So essentially, he realizes that he was no match for the magnificent weapon, and cheats his way to survival. And with the help of his students, manages to kill the afore-mentioned kick-boxer who also happened to become the monk's asistant, in an exceedingly cruel manner of fighting him in a small shack with a metal floor, which has been fire-heated in order to singe the flesh from the soles of his feet. Any attempt to flee out the window was met with spears.

Also notable are the garments worn by the monk, most particularly the Grammadon on his robe, lest it be confused for the Nazi Swaztika, thus asserting that this is indeed an ancient symbol signifying the four elements. A Chinese character which means "ten thousand" and "longevity". It was originally a symbol of Buddha's heart, and was a term borrowed from Sanskrit.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: I do not know if there is a better adjective then amazing to describe this movie. There are so many different fighting styles to observe, a great story, and great characters. I honestly could not get enough of this movie. I wish it was an hour longer.

The movie beginnings by describing a fight tournament that is about to begin. It continues to a lead up of how some of the participants qualify to be in the tournament, as well as some dramatic entrances.

Once the tournament begins, you cannot remove your eyes from the television screen. Shear amazement. Each fighter called out has a different fighting style. Each fight concludes in a different way. Some fights even have different rules. I enjoyed this sequence of the movie greatly, and I do not know if there is a better back-to-back-to-back fight sequence in any other martial arts movie.

The tournament comes to a screeching halt when a one armed boxer participates. A blind man who is the Master of the Flying Guillotine, and is on a mission for revenge to kill the one armed man who is the main character of the film. However, the main character is not a participant of the tournament.

Nevertheless, the main character, the one armed man, fights some of the participants of the tournament who joins the Master of the Flying Guillotine in his quest. The one armed man sets up situations where he gets to fight them individually under his conditions, which makes for great action.

In the end there is a great fight sequence between the one armed man and the Master of the Flying Guillotine that cannot be missed. In all this is a must have movie that you can feel comfortable buying before seeing.

Grade: A+


Rating:
Summary: one of the best old school kung fu flicks of all time
Review: i got to see this film in a theater in pittsburgh a few months ago on a beautiflly restored 35mm print... it was amazing. definately one of the best old school kung fu flicks of all time, and this DVD version is very well transferred.

i'll just say a few things about the DVD, since so many other people have really reviewed the film. the colors of the video transfer are only SLIGHTLY faded, and there are a few scratches here and there. the DVD provides both the original chinese language track (thankfully) and an english dubbed track (which actually isn't too awful). the subtitles are bold, yellow, and outlined and very easy to read. for some reason, when watching the film dubbed, it would occassionally pop into the chinese audio track and subtitles for half a scene here and there. i have no idea why it does that and my friend had the same problem on his DVD, but it's not a big drawback.

overall, this is an amazingly preserved and transferred DVD version of this film, well worth it. it's a shame all classic kung fu films don't get this great treatment upon US release.

Rating:
Summary: Classic Kung Fu, Classic Weapon
Review: theres been some great reviews of this flick but i wouldnt trust them all. this film starts out great but goes down hill quik. the one arm boxer isn't believable at all. there's one scene with another one armed fighter where he falls on his back and you can see his missing arm tucked behind his back. its so bad. the fight scenes are very slow and the fighters come like a foot away from actually hitting each other. those two things made the film crap for me. i just couldnt buy it. i did love the villian, and thats about it. RENT before you Buy ! !

Rating:
Summary: Almost 5 stars
Review: This is a very good movie. IF you like old school Kung Fu movies this is one of the best. The final fight seen draged out a little for me but all and all it was a good movie.

Rating:
Summary: Great Movie... Defective Disc
Review: This review is referring specifically to the new 2-Disc Anniversary Edition of MotFG. Needless to say, this movie is a kung fu classic and this remaster looks and sounds excellent (as good as it can get). The first disc includes the original Mandarin version, while disc 2 includes the dubbed version. However, on Disc 2 (the English dubbed disc) there is a glitch which keeps chapter 10 from playing (roughly 32 minutes into the movie). I don't know how widespread this problem may be (or not), but keep this in mind.