Death Duel of Mantis

Rating:
Summary: 5 For Movie - Minus 1 For Image Quality.
Review: This is a very engaging movie. The story itself is alright. It's about an orphan named Xiao Hai, played by Ting Wa-Chung, who is raised by a crime boss played by Lung Fei, and begins to learn the Chicken fist when he falls for a girl who is a mantis fist expert, played by Kam Yin-Fei.

The reason to get this film is the fight coreography. While it kind of looks undercranked, it's not obvious, unlike some of those Alexander Lo Rei 'Ninja' films during the 80's. And the treat is watching Kam Yin-Fei. She is AWESOME. Not only does she have a lot of power, reminiscent of Michelle Yeoh's on-screen fighting, but she's also very acrobatic. She does as many flips and leg sweeps as the lead character Xiao. Xiao is not a very sympathetic character, but he is a great on-screen fighter and verry acrobatic. He does multiple flips in one spot, not unlike Li Yi Min in some of his films. Lung Fei is also great, but there is some body doubling when his character does some flips.
The downside of this DVD is the picture quality. It is full screen and looks like it was taken from a VHS source. I also had a problem with the sound effects during the fight scenes, but I think that was more a fault of the original makers of the films. Some of the body blows, for instance, had the same sound effect as the 'slap' sound made when one guy blocks a hit with his arms. You realize how important proper sound effects are to making a fight work in a kung fu film.
The special features are interesting, but nothing special. Gordon Liu's interview isn't very enlightening. It's rather distracting that the voice doing the translating only picks out every other sentence (it's like he only had one shot at translating), he translates for both the interviewer AND Liu, and in his British accent, he sometimes throws in British terms, like 'bloke'. The demonstration of Hung Gar is interesting, but is more for show than actual learning value.
Overall, the film deserves a 5. The fight coreography is well paced and top notch. And watch for the girl. It's a wonder why she didn't do any other kung fu films of note. She could have been another Moon Lee or Michelle Yeoh if she was doing her thing in the late 80's. 'Death Duel Of Mantis' - a film you shouldn't pass up on.

Rating:
Summary: 5 For Movie - Minus 1 For Image Quality.
Review: This is a very engaging movie. The story itself is alright. It's about an orphan named Xiao Hai, played by Ting Wa-Chung, who is raised by a crime boss played by Lung Fei, and begins to learn the Chicken fist when he falls for a girl who is a mantis fist expert, played by Kam Yin-Fei.

The reason to get this film is the fight coreography. While it kind of looks undercranked, it's not obvious, unlike some of those Alexander Lo Rei 'Ninja' films during the 80's. And the treat is watching Kam Yin-Fei. She is AWESOME. Not only does she have a lot of power, reminiscent of Michelle Yeoh's on-screen fighting, but she's also very acrobatic. She does as many flips and leg sweeps as the lead character Xiao. Xiao is not a very sympathetic character, but he is a great on-screen fighter and verry acrobatic. He does multiple flips in one spot, not unlike Li Yi Min in some of his films. Lung Fei is also great, but there is some body doubling when his character does some flips.
The downside of this DVD is the picture quality. It is full screen and looks like it was taken from a VHS source. I also had a problem with the sound effects during the fight scenes, but I think that was more a fault of the original makers of the films. Some of the body blows, for instance, had the same sound effect as the 'slap' sound made when one guy blocks a hit with his arms. You realize how important proper sound effects are to making a fight work in a kung fu film.
The special features are interesting, but nothing special. Gordon Liu's interview isn't very enlightening. It's rather distracting that the voice doing the translating only picks out every other sentence (it's like he only had one shot at translating), he translates for both the interviewer AND Liu, and in his British accent, he sometimes throws in British terms, like 'bloke'. The demonstration of Hung Gar is interesting, but is more for show than actual learning value.
Overall, the film deserves a 5. The fight coreography is well paced and top notch. And watch for the girl. It's a wonder why she didn't do any other kung fu films of note. She could have been another Moon Lee or Michelle Yeoh if she was doing her thing in the late 80's. 'Death Duel Of Mantis' - a film you shouldn't pass up on.