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Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful widescreen transfer of a great kung fu film
Review: 7 GRANDMASTERS (1978) is a legendary kung fu film that's been a fan favorite for over 25 years. Good home video copies were impossible to come by until this legit DVD which offers the film letter-boxed, with 16:9 enhancement, enabling most of us, for the first time, to see the breathtaking kung fu action in all its widescreen glory. Licensed to Tokyo Shock/Media Blasters by Hong Kong's Mei Ah, the transfer was made from a high-quality print that may be the best non-Shaw Bros. print of a kung fu film yet released in the U.S. The dual language track includes both the familiar English dub and the original Mandarin track, with English subtitles.
7 GRANDMASTERS is almost a pure kung fu film, combining as it does two plot threads which sum up the essence of the genre. First we have a venerated kung fu champion, Shangkuan Chang, who must renew his status before he retires by traveling through China, accompanied by his daughter and three students, and taking on the grand masters of the title in fair bouts to prove he can still beat them. Second, he trains an eager young novice, Hsiao Ying, who has joined the party early on in the two-year journey and who gradually surpasses his existing students. We see a succession of bouts with other masters, experts in weapons and various styles (snake, tiger, mantis, monkey, etc.), all of whom must confront the Pai Mei Fist technique of Shangkuan. And we also see the young student go through the grueling process of being grudgingly accepted by the master, putting up with abuse from the other students, and practicing hard before developing his own unique style. During the course of it all, we learn of a threat to the master from his past and a hidden agenda on the part of the student.
It's a kung fu classic featuring fight choreography by Yuen Cheung Yan (one of the famed Yuen Clan) and Corey Yuen, who went on to become a top director of HK action films in his own right (YES, MADAM!, FONG SAI YUK, SO CLOSE, etc.). Corey also appears in the film as a weapons expert who is one of the grand masters. The stars are Jack Long as the kung fu master, Lee Yi Min as the new student, and Mark Long as the senior student. All three also co-starred, to great effect, in NINJA CHECKMATE (aka MYSTERY OF CHESS BOXING), also reviewed on this site. As kung fu films go, it rarely gets better than this. If I can offer one mild criticism, it's that there are so many good fights throughout the film that when we get to the final bout with the villain from the master's past, it's almost anti-climactic.
Rating:
Summary: the way old-school should be on DVD.
Review: First off, the print of this dvd is great for an old-school kung-fu flick. The picture is crisp yet still has that old school feel and it has the orignal dubbed track, not some new dubbed garbage you find on most of the remastered fung-fu DVD's. Also has orignal dialogue for fans who don't like the cheesy dubbed voices.The movie itself is a little over rated as being one of the best ever of the genre, but it is still highly entertaining. Predictable plot and bad hair-wigs galore...but most watch these flicks for the almost super-human fight scenes.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as Good as Other Kung Fu
Review: I saw a clip of this and then decided to buy it. I was wrong, the story is O.K. but most of it is pretty lame. The other "masters" are far to nice. Stick with Sonny Chiba or Bruce Lee for real kung fu.
Rating:
Summary: Not as Good as Other Kung Fu
Review: I saw a clip of this and then decided to buy it. I was wrong, the story is O.K. but most of it is pretty lame. The other "masters" are far to nice. Stick with Sonny Chiba or Bruce Lee for real kung fu.
Rating: 
Summary: Even a mouse can defeat the cat.
Review: Then the Legend of Pai Mei (Kill Bill Vol. 2) is born. As our hero Lee Yi Min (Ninja Checkmate) goes all out in his efforts to learn from the 9 forms of Pai Mei from "The Master." However, "The Master" is on a voyage to defend his title as "champion," and does not have the time to take on a fourth apprentice.
The story continues as Lee Yi Min tries everything, and screws up everything, in attempt to gain the master's trust and be taken on as a student. Now, to be champion there are 7 Grandmasters, and The Master has to defeat the other six. Each of the six has their own fighting style, which makes the movie extremely entertaining.
In addition, the true villain of the movie, the man w/the remaining three of the twelve Pai Mei fighting styles is an old school replica of the Pai Mei from Kill Bill. I sat up in my seat when I saw that. What a delightful surprise.
I must say, the only other Lee Yin Min movie I have seen is Ninja Checkmate, and though I enjoyed the movie, I did not like his role in the film. However, this movie is quit the opposite, and changed my perception on Min. This is an extremely entertaining movie, and very, very well done. It has great character development, and is under rated in my opinion.
Grade: A
Rating:
Summary: the best fight scenes i have ever seen.
Review: this is my all time favorite Kung-Fu flick.
i have seen over 200 Kung-Fu flicks...im not into the flying around with wires and cutting walls in half with 1 punch flicks. but what i do like is the old school hardcore/hard working flicks... (drunken master 1,shaolin vs wu-tang,prodigal son,snake and crane arts of shaolin etc etc..) this movie,IMO if you want to see one of the best fight scenes ever created is for you. the part where Jack Long meets the guy who was so determined to have him assasinated and Jack Long shows up bare fisted,but yet his rival has a whole weapon rack that he uses against him....Jack Long uses each weapon against him until there is no others. this is my favorite fight scene. i dont think any movie will ever match it,the pure skill and precision ( on the original version) is just amazing...no string,no flying just pur hardcore fight seens. the only other movie that i can honestly compare it with is the end fight seen in drunken master 1. this is a must have for any collector. the basic story is Jack Long has to go fight all the 7 masters of the regions to show to his secret rival that he does deserve the title as the grandmaster...each fight just shows how bad ass he is but he was never that popular as an actor,but my favorit with jackie chan being the second. my favorite movie of all time.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best ever!!
Review: This movie is absolutely brilliant. The fight scenes are really awesome. . .unbelievable. Action from beginning to end, does not lag at all. I would recommend this film to anyone who likes kung fu even if only a little. You will not be disappointed.
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