Eureka Blu-ray Synopsis: Angela Mao and director Huang Feng (The Shaolin Plot) were a superstar pairing that produced an incredible series of top tier kung-fu classics including Deadly China Doll, When Taekwondo Strikes, and the two films presented here – Lady Whirlwind and Hapkido. In Hapkido (aka, Lady Kung Fu in the West), a group of martial artists (Mao, Sammo Hung, and Carter Wong) start their own school to teach the Korean martial art, Hapkido, but a rival Japanese academy attempts to crush them- deeming Hapkido inferior to their Japanese fighting style. Similar to the plot of Bruce Lee's Fist Of Fury (a canny decision by the filmmakers, capitalising on Mao often being referred to as a “female Bruce Lee”), Hapkido was a huge hit in the West, even briefly beating Lee's Enter The Dragon at the North American box office. (97 Mins)

 

Hong Kong Legends UK DVD Synopsis: If you thought that every classic kung fu movie was b y now well known to all then brace yourself for the discovery of the little-known but incredible Hapkido! In a plot highly reminiscent of Bruce Lee's Fist Of Fury, this time we see Angela Mao (Enter The Dragon), Carter Wong (The 18 Bronzemen) and a lethally fast Sammo Hung trying to set up their own martial arts school but once again a rival Japanese academy have plans to crush any rival martial arts outfit from setting up. Cue a wild and wonderful series of fights with Angela Mao wiping out a Japanese dojo Bruce Lee style, Sammo in furious form and the wonderful Carter Wong matching them kick for punch. Also keep an eye out for bit-part appearances from Yuen Biao, Corey Yuen and Jackie Chan as Hapkido once again rips up the screen! (93 Mins)

 

Views: Recently released by Eureka Video as a gorgeously presented 2K restored version alongside Lady Whirlwind – another Huang Feng directed film made the same year as this that also stars Angela Mao Ying and Sammo Hung - Hapkido came from a period when the genre was still trying to figure out just what it could do. This had been kicked-off by the late, great Jimmy Wang Yu only a couple of years earlier with The Chinese Boxer – quickly followed by Lo Wei's Big Boss and hugely successful Fist Of Fury. And while the world had their eyes on Bruce Lee, whose movies were being produced by the newly launched Golden Harvest studios, Raymond Chow was hiring even more new talent to dish out as many cheap and cheerful kung-fu movies as they possibly could (most of which were highly entertaining).This, in essence, was Chow's way of helping to pioneer a new movement in Hong Kong cinema that opened the doors for many new stars and amazing talent. Simply put, directors and choreographers such as Huang Feng and Sammo Hung were refining their styles and reworking their ways after decades of wuxia action, helping to bring something a little different to the screen that would quickly become one of the most loved genres of all time. While many other independent studios were gearing up to produce their own versions and rip-offs of Fist Of Fury, Raymond Chow continued to play with his winning formula a little more, reworking Lo Wei's story of Japanese invaders and martial arts schools into a number of new films. One of these films, of course, is Hapkido – a genuine kung-fu classic that tells the tale of 3 Chinese kung-fu students who have returned home from Korea after learning the fighting style of the titular style. But after opening a new school in their town, the friends are quickly threatened by a local gang under the influence of the Japanese and soon must fight for their lives, and the freedom of their people!

 

Probably more recognised internationally as Bruce Lee's tough little sister in Enter The Dragon, Taiwanese born Mao Ying began her martial life in the Chinese Opera, as many stars of that era would have done. After a brief role in Gwan Jing Leung's Eight Robbers in 1968, Mao was signed on with a new Hong Kong movie studio called Golden Harvest where she would star in a host of classics for directors such as Lo Wei, Huang Feng, and King Hu with films such as The Angry River, Lady Whirlwind, When Taekwondo Strikes, The Fate Of Lee Khan, and many more with Mao Ying going on to star in a total of 45 titles through to the early 80s before retiring from the screen – although she would make an appearance in James Wu's Mr. Vampire in 1990 (no, not the Ricky Lau original) and Mark Long's Witch Edited in 1992 before leaving the film business altogether. Mao would then move to the US in a bid to devote herself to her family and open a number of restaurants. Of course, Hapkido was one such film that helped propel her to stardom and quite often appears in film fans lists of Angela Mao's top ten. The great Carter Wong stars as one of her kung-fu friends and absolutely impresses in his debut role. I've always been a huge fan of Wong's and its odd to think that prior to his infamous 18 Bronzemen role, he had already starred in a good 30 films beforehand for studios like Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest, as well as many Joseph Kuo productions including films like this, When Taekwondo Strikes, The Skyhawk, Dragon Gate, The Dragon Tamers, Shaolin Kids, Marco Polo, The Blazing Temple, and The Traitorous, had already earned him a large following. When his star started to fade in the early 80s, Wong headed to the bright lights of Hollywood where he got the chance to star in the incredibly fun John Carpenter movie Big Trouble In Little China as Thunder, and worked behind the scenes on the action for Rambo 3. The poorly received Hardcase & Fist soon followed before he returned to Hong Kong for appearances in films like The Transmigration Romance, Way Of The Lady Kickboxers, and High Voltage with Donnie Yen – but it was nothing compared to that of his heyday and soon, Wong returned to the States winning a role in Jalal Merhi's Tiger Claws 3. Completing the trio of friends is the legendary Sammo Hung who would also double-up as the martial arts director – a dual role he would carry in many Huang Feng directed films. I really enjoyed the young star in Hapkido and mainly because he got to play a good guy for a change as, more often than not, around this period Sammo would usually be cast as a bad-guy in a bit-part role. Thankfully though, Hapkido allows him to show just what he can do with a much slimmer Sammo dishing out some incredible moves that almost seem that he was letting Bruce Lee know that he was just as impressive! It must have worked though because – and I'm only assuming that – Bruce must have became a fan of Hapkido as he would personally request the services of both Sammo and Angela only a few years later for his classic, Enter The Dragon. Of course, as many old school fans would know, the trio of stars were actually sent to Korea (before production on Hapkido started) to be put through the correct training of the titular martial art which allowed fight choreographer, Sammo Hung, to utilise the skills of hapkido with other kung-fu forms and deliver non-stop fight action that never disappoints...

 

One of the main baddies of the piece is played by the wonderful Pai Ying who made his feature film debut in King Hu's classic Dragon Inn. Over the years he would work with many of his co-stars and director Huang Feng in titles such as The Invincible Eight, The Angry River, Bandits From Shantung etc, and much like Chang Yi, Pai had starred in a good 20 productions before Hapkido and Lady Whirlwind before that. 1972 would see him star in no less than 10 films, with Pai going on to be one of the most recognisable and sought after stars of Hong Kong and Taiwanese cinema from there on in. This included starring in a number of King Hu classics before moving into the Shaw Brothers studios, as well as stealing the scenes in a number of independent flicks such as Militant Eagle, 72 Desperate Rebels, and A Fistful Of Talons. Working right through until the turn-of-the-century, Pai Ying also showed up in many modern Hong Kong hits including Royal Warriors, Braveful Police, Dragon From Russia, and Born Wild with Louis Koo and Daniel Wu. The fantastic Whang In Shik, who would gain much more notoriety as the main villain of Jackie Chan's Young Master and Dragon Lord, cameos as one of the head-students at the hapkido school. Although we get to see him put the main stars through their paces in the earlier part of the film, the super-kicker shows up just in time for the big showdown where he gets to let loose with some impressive moves against Toyoda, the Black Bear boss of the Japanese. The gang is joined by Korean hapkido instructor Ji Han Jae, who went onto appear in films such as Fist Of Unicorn, The Dragon Tamers, and Game Of Death as one of the Pagoda fighters, popular actors Nancy Sit, Sun Lan, and Chin Ti, and it was fun to see the great Bruce Leung pop up as one of the Black Bear students who liked to cause a bit of trouble alongside Yeung Wai. The prolific Paul Wei stars (again) as a traitorous creep and secretary to the Japanese, and eagle eyed fans should have no problem spotting a young Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, Corey Yuen Kwai, Billy Chan, Lam Ching Ying, Yuen Wah, and many other future stars, as they deliver multiple roles of henchmen, students and background extras.

 

I really enjoyed watching Hapkido once again, and especially in its 2K restoration which has made it look the best it ever has! Although he only directed 14 in all, Huang Feng has certainly delivered a number of classic titles over the years, and many of which saw the participation of Sammo Hung and Angela Mao Ying in one way or another. From The Angry River to Lady Whirlwind, and When Taekwondo Strikes to The Tournament, it's hard to deny that any of Huang's films don't offer something wonderful or entertaining in their running time. It's safe to say that Hapkido is a genuine classic of kung-fu cinema and of Angela Mao Ying's career, which still proves to be as exciting today as it did upon release!

 

Overall: Packed full of non-stop and highly impressive kung-fu battles, Hapkido is one of Angela Mao Ying's finest films and is worth watching!

 

Eureka Blu-ray Extras: 2K Restoration, Audio Commentary with Frank Djeng & Michael Worth, Audio Commentary with Frank Djeng & Bobby Samuels, Interview with Angela Mao Ying, Archival Interviews with Angela Mao Ying, Sammo Hung & Carter Wong, Original Vintage Featurette, Alternate English Credits, Stills Gallery, Trailers, TV Spot

 

Hong Kong Legends DVD Extras: Interview with Hapkido Instructor Tammy Parlour, Hapkido Examined with Tammy Parlour, Trailer

​

Watch my unboxing video of the Eureka Video release HERE