88 Films 4K UHD Synopsis: The year was 1977 and kung-fu fighting was still blasting out of discotheques, the spectre of Bruce Lee continued to haunt Hong Kong cinema and a young Jackie Chan was fast on his way to superstardom. TO KILL WITH INTRIGUE is undoubtedly one of the martial arts legend's finest moments – with confident direction from the legendary Lo Wei, who had given Bruce Lee his break with THE BIG BOSS in 1971!Shot in South Korea, TO KILL WITH INTRIGUE highlights a fast-paced tale of doomed romance and revenge that gives Chan's token stunts and chopsocky mayhem plenty of space to showcase themselves! Finally available to UK viewers, with a brand new 2024 4K restoration, one of Chan's most underrated motion pictures is ready to fight its way into your collection! (107 Mins)

 

88 Films UK Blu-ray Synopsis: The year was 1977 and kung-fu fighting was still blasting out of discotheques, the spectre of Bruce Lee continued to haunt Hong Kong cinema and a young Jackie Chan was fast on his way to superstardom. TO KILL WITH INTRIGUE is undoubtedly one of the martial arts legend's finest moments – with confident direction from the legendary Lo Wei, who had given Bruce Lee his break with THE BIG BOSS in 1971!Shot in South Korea, TO KILL WITH INTRIGUE highlights a fast-paced tale of doomed romance and revenge that gives Chan's token stunts and chopsocky mayhem plenty of space to showcase themselves! Finally available to UK viewers, in a new 2K scan, one of Chan's most underrated motion pictures is ready to fight its way into your collection of 88 Asia gems! (107 Mins)

 

Eastern Heroes UK DVD Synopsis: 'To Kill With Intrigue' is one of Jackie Chan's darker films, as he takes revenge after the slaughter of his family. Here, in a more serious role, we get to enjoy Jackie's acting skills as well as some wickedly fast set pieces of action. Highly underrated, but much more appreciated by today's audience. (95 Mins)

 

Trans Global UK VHS Synopsis: Jackie Chan stars as Siao lei, son of the Lord of Lei Mansion. Siao Lei is seriously injured by the 'Honeybee Plum Flower' gang who attack the mansion and kill everyone except him. Siao Lei loses his pregnant girlfriend Chien-chien and is attacked mistakenly by the 'Bloody Rain' gang. After a saddened Siao Lei has more skirmishes with the 'Bloody Rain' gang he is eventually reunited with Chien-chien. (102 Mins)

 

Views: If there was one name that defined pure determination in achieving their dreams, then that name would be Jackie Chan! After years of torturous training at his Peking Opera School and many appearances as a child actor alongside his acrobatic brothers, Jackie started to gain some credit as a talented stuntman and extra. With appearances in the Golden Harvest production The Blade Spares None and Shaw Brothers films such as Village Of Tigers and The Golden Lion among others, Chan gained a little more recognition after his stunt duties in Bruce Lee's Fist Of Fury in 1972. Over the next year, the young star would appear in around 15 movies – mostly in tiny bit-parts, but for a few movies that would give him a lot more screen time such as The Cub Tiger From Kwangtung, Not Scared To Die, Police Woman, and Kung Fu Girl, as well as returning to work with Bruce once again in his martial arts epic, Enter The Dragon, respectively.​ After another few rocky years, the wanna-be martial-arts star got a second wind with a role in John Woo's Hand Of Death for Golden Harvest and a new contract with Lo Wei Motion Pictures. Having gave Bruce Lee his big break with The Big Boss and Fist Of Fury, prolific director Lo Wei saw the talent in the young Jackie Chan but, with the passing of Lee only a few years before, was still unsure as to where he wanted to take him. Harking back to his biggest hit with Bruce, Lo Wei kicked off his working career with Jackie by producing and directing New Fist Of Fury – a remake/sequel of sorts with aim of presenting Chan as the new Bruce Lee. While it wasn't a huge hit, Wei would push out two more productions starring Jackie such as the impressive Shaolin Wooden Men and underrated Killer Meteors that would see Chan play the villain of Jimmy Wang Yu's heroic swordsman. This would also be the first of three films that Lo Wei would adapt from a novel and screenplay by praised writer Gu Long, with the second being To Kill With Intrigue and the third, Magnificent Bodyguards, also starring Jackie Chan. While neither would prove to elevate Jackie to superstar status and tensions between him and Lo Wei were getting worse, the pair kept going for another few years giving us classics such as Snake & Crane Arts Of Shaolin, Spiritual Kung Fu, Dragon Fist, Fearless Hyena, and its hugely underrated and entertaining sequel that would eventually see them part ways...

​

Although many have heavily criticised their work over the years, it's only fair to say that each film definitely has their own entertaining qualities with To Kill With Intrigue proving to be the most lavish of them all – coming across as a Chor Yuen directed production from the Shaw Brothers studio with great costumes, wild characters, and fantastic cinematography. It's also worth noting that the film was presented by Hsu Li Hwa – Lo Wei's second wife and someone who Jackie himself held great respect for, having supported him throughout his troubled journey during his Lo Wei years. A joint Hong Kong and South Korean production, To Kill With Intrigue was filmed over the winter months in the latter where it is known as The New Big Boss. I have to note: I was actually very lucky to visit some of these locations when I visited Seoul in 2025, and they really hadn't changed too much at all. Being there was both surreal and amazing, but what a fantastic experience to walk in the footsteps of my hero! Oddly, in Japan, it is known to be called Becoming Dragon Fist where, once again, it was put out with a catchy new theme song and marketed quite differently to other Asian territories. It's also worth that noting that the character of Chin Chin had to be renamed for the Japanese release, with the term 'chin chin' known locally as slang for penis! While many have criticized the film as having a convoluted plot – something quite common in many Gu Long adaptations and Shaw Brothers wuxia films – To Kill With Intrigue actually delivers a well crafted tale of doomed romance and revenge. The film tells the unfortunate story of Lei Shao Feng who reluctantly forces his pregnant girlfriend away from the family mansion in a bid to save her from an oncoming attack by the Killer Bee gang. During the attack, Lei's whole family is killed although he is spared by the gang's leader and forced to live with her where he is subjected to torture through training. Determined to fight for his true love and get her back, Lei does what he can to defeat the bandit leader and take revenge on a traitorous friend.

 

To many modern Jackie Chan fans, Jackie's role here as Lei Shao Feng seems out of place and miscast – perhaps, in hindsight, suiting the likes of Jimmy Wang Yu in a continued role from Lo Wei's previous Gu Long adaptation, Killer Meteors. But at the time, when Jackie wasn't known as the Clown Prince of Kung Fu, his jarring role here would have made no difference. In fact, it's fair to say that Chan does a pretty good job in both his dramatic performance and while in action. Starring alongside him, and often credited as the first lead in the film, is the wonderful Hsu Feng – a beautiful talent who had already been in the business a good decade before with an obviously stronger track record than her up and coming co-star. Since making her debut in King Hu's Dragon Inn, the Taiwanese starlet went onto star in his classics such as A Touch Of Zen, The Fate Of Lee Khan, The Valiant Ones, Raining In The Mountain, and Legend Of The Mountain. By the time she had starred in this, Hsu Feng had already appeared in well over 30 titles, eventually retiring from the screen in 1986 to focus more on producing and working behind the scenes to bring us titles such as the Kung Fu Kids film series, Runaway Blues, Farewell My Concubine, and Shanghai Story among many more. Korean actor Shin Il Ryong, who starred alongside Sammo Hung in The Double Crossers and Bruce Leung in The Dragon Lives Again, co-stars throughout while the brilliant George Wang (father of kung fu star Wong Tao) appears at the Master of the Dragon Escort. Fans should also keep an eye out for regular faces from the era of Jackie Chan's career such as Tung Lin, the prolific Ma Chi and equally busy Lee Man Tai also appear, while the enjoyable Chen Hui Lou guest stars.

 

Although delivered as a Shaw Brothers-style wuxia film, To Kill With Intrigue still has its fair share of hand-to-hand martial-arts action, wonderfully choreographed by Jackie Chan himself and action-director Chen Tin Yi who previously choreographed the fight action in Killer Meteors as well as Shaw Brothers titles such as Marco Polo, 7 Man Army, New Shaolin Boxers, and Shaolin Temple. Here, the pair create some exciting moments blending fantasy swordplay and neatly choreographed kick action that is sure to please, especially during its lengthy grand finale. While revered film-maker Frankie Chan handles the music that accompanies it, prolific cinematographer Chan Chung Yuen beautifully captures things, delivering some stunning shots and interesting angles – returning to work with Chan and Lo Wei after shooting all their previous outings, and going on to work his magic on films such as Jackie's own Dragon Lord, Yuen Biao's Iceman Cometh, and many more. While it may not be perfect, To Kill With Intrigue definitely has its moments and is absolutely one of the most polished productions from Jackie Chan's 'Lo Wei Era' – now delivered in a gorgeous 4K restoration from 88 Films. It just makes you wonder what direction his career would have went had he been moulded under the banner of the Shaw Brothers studio, but perhaps, given the incredible action classics he went onto give us that were born from his experiences and journey during this time, it actually isn't worth thinking about!

​

Overall: An underrated piece from an important era of Chan's career, To Kill With Intrigue is a polished wuxia adventure that deserves to be seen!

 

88 Films 4K UHD Extras: 4K Restoration, Audio Commentary with Frank Djeng & F.J. DeSanto, Rick Baker remembers To Kill With Intrigue, Hong Kong Theatrical Trailer, Japanese Trailer, Japanese Teaser, Japanese TV Spot, Japanese Theatrical Opening, Stills Gallery

 

88 Films Blu-ray Extras: 2K Restoration, Rick Baker remembers To Kill With Intrigue, Hong Kong Theatrical Trailer, Stills Gallery

 

Eastern Heroes DVD Extras: Jackie Chan Interview, Promotional Trailer

​

Get your copy of this 88 Films 4K Blu-ray release HERE

​

Watch my unboxing video for this 88 Films release HERE

​

Watch my video retrospective for this film HERE