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The Kid With the Golden Arm

The Kid With the Golden Arm

List Price: $14.95
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A good Venoms Movie
Review: (4.5 for video transfer more like 3.75 for movie)

This movie was pretty decent. The fighting was as you expect for the mid/late 70's Shaws movies (meduim fast). Great hand to hand and weapons work from Chang Cheh and Sun Chien. This is a must have for Kung Fu fans as this is as clear and crisp a copy that you are going to get!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: don't buy the 5 dollar version. print quality is [poor]
Review: ..but you get what you pay for. i did get more than 5 bucks worth of fun out of this bad copy of a cool movie. the ... "new/used" version of this DVD of this movie is letter box only, (fine with me) and the image quality is terrible. the opening credits look like they were taped of TV on to VHS. now i have to buy the full price version of the movie too. BR>... both DVDs/cover art looks like somebody made them on a copy machine

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Top 5 Venoms Film with a complete storyline
Review: I have to say that the Venoms really dominated and made the genre of the "Kung-Fu" films. While I prefer to call them "Martial Arts/Hong Kong Cinema", this is one of the finest and most complete movies of that famous era.

Kuo Chui, Wei Pai, Lo Meng, Lu Feng, The late Chiang Sheng(The Five Deadly Venoms) are all in this movie, and they are joined by many of our favorite supporting cast members from their other films including the great Johnny Wang(still a very tough guy at 50+).

This one has everything you want to see in a movie from this type or genre. It has some of the finest choreographed fighting sequences thanks to its very talented cast members. Phil Kwok(aka Kuo Chui) is now considered one of the greatest action directors in the film business in Hong Kong or Europe, and from me to him, you have a lot of fans in the US including me !

The story has some unexpected twists from the Venoms.

First Off, Ms.Lee, a female guest star, is unusual for Venoms films due to the strong feelings of producer Mona Fong, who felt that strong women characters in ancient China would be unrealistic. She was right, of course, however, modern trends all want to show us women with heroic characteristics and Ms.Lee's character is very likable and important in the movie.

Secondly, we have a likable HERO in Lu Feng, who is cast very surprisingly as the evil leader of the Chee Saw gang. However, for all of his fans, he makes even a bad guy a hero in the end.

Lo Meng reprises his undercover bad guy role as the Silver Spear who tries to turn Kuo Chui(Agent High-Toe) into a bad guy. Lo Meng a true master, not only was he a great fighter, but his characters made you feel he could convince others to follow him through low key, friendly persuasion.

Chiang Sheng as "Short Axe" was just classic for him, and to be honest his death scene brought tears to my eyes knowing that he is gone from us in real life now too. Short Axe is a jovial, fun loving fighter, and Chiang was well known to be a man with a big heart. RIP brother Chiang.
We also get to see Wei Pai in a role as the Swordsman. This is important because he did not star in as many movies with the other Venoms as they did with each other. Wei Pai, a gentleman in most of his roles always gives us an air of honor, and higher standards. It would be interesting to know if Wei Pai did come from a upper class background prior to acting.

Veteran Shaw Brothes actor and now director Johnny Wang gives another great "bad guy" appearance as the evil Iron Robe. For those in the know, he was the judge in 5 Deadly Venoms, and he also starred as a bad guy in the Ti Lung classic Avenging Eagle.

A very important movie for Shaw Brothers and Martial Arts fans, this one is a classic by which others may be measured.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Kid Kicked Butt
Review: I love this movie to death. If you love old school Kung Fu movies. This is a must.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: DON'T BUY THIS DVD!!! GET THE VHS!!!
Review: I own this classic on VHS so I had to have the DVD. What a big mistake while the picture quality is good for it's time on a stereo T.V. there's noise but that's not the problem it seems the transfer was taken from a bad copy there's hiccups in the film that equals to 15 minutes of missing footage how could they release it this way? SAVE YOUR MONEY AND GET THE VHS!!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good movie, bad DVD
Review: I waited for delivery on this disc for many weeks. Boy, was I upset to find that whoever did the sound transfer must have been watching TV when he did his job. Throughout the entire movie there is background noise as if a news broadcast is going on in the next room. I didn't have any beef with the picture quality since it's such an old movie, but I did expect some semblance of prefessionalism in the creation of the disc.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great!
Review: If you're a fan of the Venoms, this films is a must have. Even if you're not, it's pure entertainment and excitement. And, the transfer onto DVD isn't bad...much better than the VHS copies I've seen.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best Venoms films
Review: Kid with the Golden Arm, next to Mortal Combat(Crippled Avengers) is probably my favorite of all the Venoms films. The DVD is of pretty good quality, especially when compared to some of the other Kung Fu movies out there on DVD. It even has filmography's for most of the venoms and the director. This is also one of the few Venoms movies with the entire lineup, meaning it includes the Snake who I think left Shaw Brothers at some point. Buy this DVD, you won't be sorry.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Bad-[rear]Shaw Brothers Flick
Review: The DVD is a little choppy and the quality is not too bad. But the fight scenes and the characters are what makes this movie great. This has to be my favorite Venom film. Kuo Chui (the lizard)plays a kick-[rear] drunk and the Chi-saw gang is awesome! Led by the Lo Meng (The Toad) as Golden Arms.

The fight scenes are surperb and Wei Pei (the snake) and Sun Chien (the scorpion) also appear in excellent roles. Seriously, a good Kung-Fu flick that you can watch over and over again.

the renegade lives!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Golden Movie!
Review: The state government has hired an Escort Service led by Yang Yu Han (Sun Chien), to transport two tons of gold into a famine area. Yang takes 30 men on the job with him, as well as hiring a swordsman named Li Ching Min (Wei Pai) and his girlfriend, Miss Leng (Pan Ping Chang) and a pair of young, enthusiastic killers named "Long Axe" and "Short Axe" (named so because of the weapons they carry) to help on the journey.Also electing to help transport the gold is Agent Hai To (Kuo Chui), a drunken master whose best friend is wine. He lives for getting drunk, and fights best when he is inebriated. Kuo Chui's scenes are hilarious, not only is he always looking to get drunk (or more so than he already is), he often fights in clever, intricately choreographed and amusing fight scenes with nothing but a jug of wine. Anyone who thinks Jackie Chan is the best drunken boxer had better take a look at this film- after watching Kuo Chui, you'll realize that Jackie Chan is a lightweight. Hai To isn't "officially" with the escort, but he looks out for them nonetheless, in between shopping for good things to drink. The problem for the escort is, a vicious group of bandits known as the Chi Sa Gang is out to get the gold for themselves. The Chi Sa gang knows the exact course Yang and his escorts will take to transport the gold, and they lay numerous ingenious and deadly traps along the way, such as poisoning the drinking water for miles along the route, placing poisoned needles throughout resting areas and trails, filling torch brackets with poison gas (so when the brackets get hot, it will expand and burst out of the brackets, killing anyone within reach), as well as plenty of ambushes along the way. The leader of the Chi Sa gang is Golden Arm (Lo Meng) who, though young, is the most skilled and brutal killer of the whole gang. He fights with only his arms, which are immune to any kind of weapon. His only vulnerable area is the eyes. Though he is a killer, Golden Arm is also of a noble heart, and respects a good warrior. Anyone brave enough to fight him is honored with a decent burial.Second in charge of the Chi Sa Gang is Silver Spear (Lu Feng). Here is a truly devastating adversary for anyone who crosses his path. Armed with a silver spear which ejects to twice its length, as well as numerous small silver daggers which also double as darts, Silver Spear's fight scenes are truly the best of the film, especially his final encounter with Short Axe (Chiang Sheng), who fights with a pair of short-handled axes. Watching the two of them whirling, back-flipping, somersaulting, tumbling, and clashing their weapons together while spinning is just unbelievable to watch. These two men actually choreographed the fight sequences in this movie, and there's no doubt they saved the best moves for themselves, because it is just incredible. Two other fight scenes that are equally impressive are the final showdowns between Kuo Chui and Lo Meng, and also Kuo Chui and Sun Chien. Kuo Chui pits his acrobatics against Lo Meng's powerful Mantis boxing, and then he actually matches leg fighter Sun Chien kick for kick in two astonishing battles!The third chief of Chi Sa is Iron Robe (Wang Lung Wei). True to fashion, Wang Lung Wei plays a blackhearted, cunning, deceitful character. Why he would be chosen to be a chief is beyond me, as his fighting has never been very exciting to watch, and in this film, he is using a metal fan as his weapon of choice. Only a battle with the ever creative Phillip Kwok can make his final scene interesting. Finally, the fourth chief of the Chi Sa Gang is Brass Head (Yang Mi-Chu). Though he is a good fighter, and more exciting to watch than Wang Lung Wei, the only thing unique about this character is the giant brass helmet he wears on his head. Also of note are some new members of Chi Sa called "The Seven Hooks", named because they fight with long silver hooks. Wei Pai's character is a stubborn, ill-tempered and bigoted young man who is quick to use his sword and would rather die as a hero than lose a fight. As his girlfriend, Pan Ping Chang also carries a sword, but she couldn't be more useless with it. She uses it all of three or four times in the film, can't even hold it right, and just generally embarrasses herself by trying to act the role of swordswoman. Wei Pai seems to spend more time being jealous of her budding friendship with Hai To in the film than concentrating on his swordfighting, and overall, these two are just a waste of screentime in the movie, which is a shame because Wei Pai is one of the best sword-fighters of the era. The scenery is, naturally, the same scenery you'd see in tons of Shaw Brothers films, but add to that a rickety cart to transport the gold that is basically pulled apart along the way. The soundtrack to the film is hilarious- there's one scene in particular where Golden Arm is walking through a path littered with dispatched bandits, talking about death and destruction while a happy "Robin Hood" type song plays in the background. Along with "Five Deadly Venoms" and "Crippled Avengers", this ranks as one of the top Venoms movies of all times. It embodies all the qualities we have come to know and love in the Venoms films- great fighting, lots of bloodshed, meaty plots and stories, likeable characters, familiar faces and scenery, and an all around enjoyable experience to watch.


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