THE SKYHAWK

Eureka Video UK Blu-ray Synopsis: Kwan Tak Hing returns to his iconic role as Master Wong Fei Hung in this late-70s kung fu classic from director Jeong Chang-hwa (King Boxer). Master Wong takes a new student (Carter Wong) under his wing after the young man is soundly beaten by a mercenary master (Hwang In-shik) skilled in hapkido. Meanwhile, Master Wong's friend is being threatened by a local crime boss who wants to use his factory for opium-related shenanigans has hired the renegade hapiko master as his enforcer. Eureka Classics is proud to present The Skyhawk in its UK home video debut, presented on Blu-ray from a brand new 2K restoration. (86 Mins)

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Shout Factory US Blu-ray Synopsis: After he is beaten by a villainous master of martial arts, a young man comes under the tutelage of the legendary Wong Fei Hung (Kwan Tak-hing, who played Master Wong in dozens of films throughout his career). (87 Mins)

Joy Sales HK VCD Synopsis: When Huang Fei Hung, a boxer from Guangdong, and his student Fatty go to Thailand to visit his friend Chu Kwai, they come across Little Lion who was injured by Kwok, a evil drill master of a martial arts school. They save him and bring him with them to Chu's house. Koo Chung Mo, the local tyrant, attempts to monopolize the carrying service at the pier. But he fails even he instigates his men to make trouble among Chu's porters. Huang stays in Chu's home when he accepts Little Lion as he student. As Koo doesn't take his defeat lying down, he tricks one of Chu's men Siu Tung into double-crossing Chu. What's more, he hires Kwok to tackle Chu and Huang. When Chu finds he smuggling drugs, he killed Chu while Fatty also has to die. After forcing Siu Tung to tell the truth, Huang decides to report it to the police, while Koo, along with his men, besiege them, attempting to eliminate them all. By fighting against the tyrant wittily and bravely, Huang and his men finally win. (85 Mins)

Views: After arriving in Thailand to visit an old friend, martial-arts master Wong Fei Hung and his student, Fatty, cross paths with heroic youngster Leo who is on the run from a villainous kung-fu fighter known as the Renegade Master, and his men – although we never really learn why. Helping him to safety, Wong soon agrees to accept Leo as his student but soon finds himself in the sight of the Renegade Master who has joined forces with Ku; a local and ruthless business man who has been dealing drugs, running gambling rackets and murdering those who oppose him, throughout the town. One person to take a stand against Ku is Wong's good friend Zhu. After Ku captures one of Zhu's workers, he blackmails him into trapping his boss. This results in the murderous attack on Zhu and Wong's prime student, Fatty, which sends Wong Fei Hung and Leo on a fight-filled mission of vengeance against Ku and the hard hitting, Renegade Master!

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If I was to describe The Skyhawk in a nutshell, I'd say it's like 'Wong Fei Hung meets The Big Boss'. Both films share many similarities, with the Bruce Lee classic having been released only a couple of years before this went into production and, of course, were both made by the wonderful Golden Harvest studios. It's quite clear that, around this period, the studio had some connection with Thailand having shot both this and The Big Boss there, along with films such as Jimmy Wang Yu's Tattooed Dragon, Angela Mao Ying's The Tournament, and others. Aside from some of it's grand finale, that seems to have captured some of it's main star's fight scenes in the Golden Harvest studio, The Skyhawk was shot in-and-around Bangkok, Thailand – including the beautiful ancient city which looked great and was later used in the first Mortal Kombat movie. In fact, cinematographers Seo Jeong Min and Danny Lee Yau Tong do a fantastic job in capturing some beautiful scenery which proves to be much more pleasing to the eye than that offered in The Big Boss, if I'm to be honest. Of course, the latter cameraman had been responsible for a number of Shaw Brothers titles and early Golden Harvest titles including The Magnificent Swordsman, Sword Of Swords, The Angry River, Bandits From Shantung, and Hapkido, before going on to shoot many modern hits like Encounters Of The Spooky Kind, Duel To The Death, Armour Of God, Police Story 2, and others. Regardless of how beautifully shot it is, I was still a little confused on which time period The Skyhawk was set in with the addition of modern cars, and extras that were kitted-out in regular T-shirts and other modern clothing. I'm just used to seeing Wong in turn-of-the-century China – but perhaps Thailand were just years ahead of everyone else...

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While cliched and above-average at most, The Skyhawk wins over its audience with the fine cast it has on offer, starting with the wonderful Kwan Tak Hing – a man often seen as Wong Fei Hung himself having played the character over a whopping 100 times throughout his career. Although I've never seen any of the older episodes of his Wong Fei Hung adventures, I've always enjoyed Kwan as the character having first caught him in Yuen Woo Ping's double-bill of Dreadnaught and The Magnificent Butcher. For me, The Skyhawk pretty much played like a precursor to the latter. Of course, in that, the great Sammo Hung starred alongside Kwan once again, although this time as his student Butcher Wing. And although Sammo is usually referred to as Fatty, but I like to think of his character as a younger version of the aforementioned burly butcher. Since making his debut in the film industry as a child actor in the early 1960s, Hung had appeared in over 70 movies before his role in The Skyhawk came about. Of course, a lot of these were bit parts – often as a villain or student in many Shaw Brothers and early Golden Harvest pictures from The Bells Of Death to The Golden Sword, and The Invincible Eight to A Touch Of Zen, often doubling up as the action-choreographer from the late 60s onwards. 1972 would see his time on screen elevated somewhat with roles in Lady Whirlwind, Hapkido, When Taekwondo Strikes, and others letting him shine before movies such as The Man From Hong Kong, Shaolin Plot, and Hand Of Death made way for Sammo to make his directorial debut in 1977 with The Iron Fisted Monk. In The Skyhawk, Hung impresses as the happy-go-lucky student who knows how to handle himself and often steals the show when in action.

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The pair are joined by the fantastic Carter Wong who plays Leo, student of local businessman Chu who is a close friend of Wong Fei Hung's. Chu is played by Sze Ma Wah Lung, a veteran actor who starred in a healthy 350 movies over the course of 50 years, including smaller roles in modern hits like Fist Of Fury 1991 and its sequel, The Eagle Shooting Heroes, Madam City Hunter, Drunken Master 2, The Blade, and My Left Eye Sees Ghosts which would also be his last. Having made his debut alongside Sammo and Angela Mao Ying in 1972's Hapkido, Wong would go on to appear with the latter in Back Alley Princess, The Opium Trail and When Taekwondo Strikes before The Skyhawk came about. While he quickly gathered a fan-base and was kept busy on films such as 18 Shaolin Disciples, The Association, Shaolin Kids, Blazing Temple, and many more, the popular star didn't really hit the big time until Joseph Kuo's kung-fu classic, The 18 Bronzemen and its sequel. From there, Carter Wong went on to star in many great films including The Eight Masters, Fatal Flying Guillotines, Born Invincible, and Filthy Guy, as well as John Carpenters fantastic Big Trouble In Little China. The wonderful Nora Miao appears, although in bit of a less prominent role than her previous Golden Harvest titles such as The Invincible Eight, The Blade Spares None, The Comet Strikes, Fist Of Fury, and others. The lovely Lily Chen also appears, as does the brilliant Lee Kwan – the prolific character of 200 films who has starred alongside many of the greatest names throughout his career including Bruce Lee, Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan, Angela Mao Ying, David Chiang, Donnie Yen, and many more...

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A wonderful list of names help fill out the villains corner with Lam Ching Ying and Mars making an early cameo, along with the highly recognisable Chao Hsiung who appeared in many Shaw Brothers classics in the run up to this, including the incredible King Boxer from the same director. Chao would join him (and Sammo) over the following few years in films such as The Association, The Double Crossers, Broken Oath, and The Iron Fisted Monk. He is joined by Chang Ching Po, another Sammo Hung regular who went on to star in many of the aforementioned titles as well as The Victim, Encounters Of The Spooky Kind, Prodigal Son, Dead and The Deadly, Heart Of The Dragon, and more. Korean actor Kim Ki Joo lends his menacing prowess to the gang – another actor who has shared the screen with many of his co-stars numerously over the years – along with the superb Wilson Tong; a man who really needs no introduction having appeared in over 90 films, including most of the previously mentioned titles, as well as kung fu classics such as Shaolin Mantis, Kung Fu Genius, Dirty Ho, Snake Deadly Act, Martial Club, Duel To The Death, and Tiger On The Beat. Of course, they are all under the orders of the Renegade Master, a kick-ass martial-arts master played by the intense Korean powerhouse, Hwang In-Shik. Although he had only made his debut in the industry about 2 years earlier, the North Korean defector had made a strong impression in films such as Hapkido, Way Of The Dragon, The Devils Treasure, and When Taekwondo Strikes. While many more came about soon after, fans would probably recognise him more for his work on Jackie Chan's Young Master and Dragon Lord – two films that really showed him at the top of his game. In fact, I'd go as far to say that his role here in The Skyhawk gave Jackie an idea for how his character would be perceived in their first film together. Equally, Hwang gives a great performance here and, as always, looks amazing in action.

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There's a high possibility that this could be the film Sammo moved to after his time on Bruce Lee's Enter The Dragon, with the big man doubling-up as the action-choreographer also. Throughout the film, Hung provides a host of fantastic fight scenes, no doubt backed by the regular members of his team including Lam Ching Ying, Mars, and Wilson Tong respectively. Although Sammo had been working as a martial-arts director for a good five years before The Skyhawk, it's clear he was still perfecting his style around this period – although he certainly doesn't disappoint with the fight scenes on offer. Of course, Sammo had just previously worked with director Cheng Chang Ho on The Devils Treasure, with the pair continuing their working relationship for a few years after on films such as The Association, Double Crossers, and Broken Oath. Before coming to Hong Kong to work on a host of Shaw Brothers classics such as Heads For Sale, Six Assassins, Valley Of The Fangs, and King Boxer (before jumping ship for Golden Harvest), Cheng had made a host of Korean independent flicks that helped draw the attention of studio bosses at Shaw's. He would end his time as a director soon after making Broken Oath with a horror film called Evil Spirit. While it's not perfect or seen as much of a classic than many other titles from this era, The Skyhawk still makes for a fun watch and has plenty to enjoy. And it's also worth noting that Golden Harvest boss and producer, Raymond Chow, was in fact a student of Lam Sai Wing (Butcher Wing) – the very same student of Wong Fei Hung that Sammo later portrays in The Magnificent Butcher!

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Overall: Neatly directed and cliched by today's standards, The Skyhawk is a highly enjoyable Wong Fei Hung tale that deserves a watch!

Eureka Video Blu-ray Extras: 2K Restoration, Audio Commentary with Mike Leeder & Arne Venema, Audio Commentary with Frank Djeng, Conversation with Blade Ho on The Skyhawk, Trailer

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Shout Factory Blu-ray Extras: Audio Commentary with James Mudge, Audio Commentary with Frank Djeng, Audio Commentary with Frankie Balboa and Peter Glagowski, Trailer, Image Gallery

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Watch my unboxing video of the Eureka Video release HERE

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Watch my unboxing video of the Shout Factory release HERE

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