Mask of Death

Rating:
Summary: a flick so dope it has an alias
Review: aka "Shaolin devil, Shaolin angel", this movie is worth at least 2 titles and 5 stars. The cinematography in this movie is masterful, especially for being so old ('76), and depicts wong tao and chen sing (not my favorite of actors, but perhaps the finest work of his career)in many confrontations and battles. dvd is of great clarity and quality, except for some non-invasive, but visable verticle lines. And there is actually a descent storyline with some almost tarantino-style flashbacks. why is shoji kurata on the cover though?

Rating:
Summary: excellent film
Review: i bought this one on a whim because it was cheap
i was not dissapointed
i'll watch again and again and again
really fun

Rating:
Summary: THIS IS NOT A KUNG FU MOVIE
Review: I JUST ORDERED THIS AND I GOT A LORENZO LAMAS MOVIE FROM 2001, NOT THE KUNG FU MOVIE FROM 1976. BEWARE!!!

Rating:
Summary: Murder mystery with kung fu in old China
Review: MASK OF DEATH (aka SHAOLIN DEVIL AND SHAOLIN ANGEL, 1979) is a well-made costume tale about a series of murders that offers just enough fighting to barely qualify as a kung fu film. Detailing the fate of a family decimated by the murders, it follows the efforts of a brother and sister to identify the murderers and avenge their family. They are helped by a secret agent, masquerading as an assassin (Wong Tao), and encounter numerous surprises along the way, culminating in a final battle with an unlikely enemy. It's packed with characters, incident, subplots and flashbacks, but, while never boring, is never very exciting either. No one bothered to string the incidents together in any cohesive order. Key people disappear for long stretches and we're not always sure who the main characters are supposed to be. When we learn finally who the villain is and why the murders occurred, it's too late to develop any dramatic tension or suspense.

Tung Wei is credited as co-fight director and also plays a young scholar who goes off, after his father's murder, to learn kung fu from a Buddhist monk. When he finally reappears to join the heroes, his kung fu doesn't help much. Overall, the fight scenes lack the vigor, imagination and relentlessness such scenes require. Wong Tao, normally quite a firebrand in his films, including THE HOT, THE COOL AND THE VICIOUS, in which he played a vaguely similar character, is too restrained here, trapped in a wig and period costume, spending too much time brooding and lamenting a childhood spent working in a brothel (seen in flashbacks). There's far more melodrama than a film like this is generally comfortable with.

All that said, however, the film is beautifully photographed, designed and costumed. It's a consistent visual treat, even when the narrative sags. The Crash Cinema DVD offers a very good letter-boxed transfer of an original print with sharp imagery and striking color. However, the print is extremely scratchy in parts, with occasional speckles and scratch lines streaking vertically through the film. Some parts, however, are not so bad and look almost pristine. The DVD case features a picture of Yasuaki Kurata, a Japanese actor/fighter who often starred in Hong Kong movies (SHAOLIN CHALLENGES NINJA), but doesn't appear in this one.

Rating:
Summary: Very Good Cung fu classic, but....
Review: This is an entertaining Kung fu flick, but it has allot of scratches and lines throughout the movie. I've seen older kung fu flicks in better condition. There was no effort in remastering it. This is the only copy of MASK OF DEATH on DVD right now so if you really want it just be aware of the condition of it.
Nuff said.