(Hong Kong 1975) 

Original Title: Do Ren Tou (aka) Savage Barbarian

​

Directed by Jimmy Shaw Produced by Jimmy Shaw, K.S. Chang Action by Bruce Leung Siu Lung Starring: James Nam, Kim Ki Ju, Travador Ramos, Someno Yukio, Tong Tin Hei, Wu Chia Hsiang, Bruce Leung, Shing Fui On, Richard Cheung Kuen, Tony Leung Siu Hung, Lam Hak Ming, Chiang Nan Reviewing: Vengeance Video UK DVD Release Genres: Traditional Kung Fu / Drama

​

Rating - 3.5 / 5

DVD Synopsis: When his brother-in-law loses his head in a gambling den, kung fu master James Nam sets out on a one-man vengeance trail on the villains who pushed his brother to the limits and resulted in his horrific death. Non-stop foot-to-foot action kung fu the way you like it! (86 Mins)

​

Views: This mid-70s kung-fu flick tells the tale of James Nam, a fisherman who lost his wife during childbirth and now lives out his days as a single parent trying to look after his sick daughter. Leaving his brother to care for his kid, Nam hands over his last dollar for medicine before he sets off on his journey to find more funds. As the child gets worse, a visiting doctor tells brother that he must buy some medicine immediately and get her to a hospital, but with the prescription costing two dollars this proves difficult. As he ponders what to do, the brother enters a casino with the plan that one lucky bet should double his fortune and allow him to buy the much needed medicine. But as he is afraid of losing the dollar, the desperate uncle bets his head – putting his life on the line in the hope that he can save his niece. Within seconds, his bet is lost and he is soon brutally beaten to death by the casino staff! On his return, the poorly fisherman finds his daughter dead and quickly learns of his brothers unfortunate fate. Angered and driven by vengeance, Nam sets out to find each of the casino members that had a part in his brothers death and kills each of them off in the same way they attacked his brother. As he arrives at the casino carrying a sack of heads from his victims, the staff and some hired thugs try to stop the kung-fu fisherman in a blistering and lengthy showdown packed with brutal moves and hard violence!

​

Gambling For Head sounds the kind of title you would have found on the top-shelf or secret room at the the back of your local, independent video store. Of course, this isn't a porno about a nymphomaniac with a gambling addiction, but an old-school kung-fu flick packed with lengthy fight scenes that help flesh out that well known tale of revenge. Directed and produced by Jimmy Shaw Feng, a 1950s actor who went behind the camera as a producer/director in the 70s to deliver titles such as Bravest Fist, Fist Of Fury 2, Avenging Boxer, and Shaolin Iron Finger. While none of these would ever be considered bona-fide classics of Hong Kong cinema, the most of his films did carry enough entertaining qualities – to some degree. Gambling For Head is certainly one such film, told in a non-linear fashion with a straight-forward story that gets right to the point and uses its great fight scenes as the highlight of the show. Choreographed by the wonderful Bruce Leung Siu Lung, whose recent revival in Kung Fu Hustle, Gallants, and Badges Of Fury brought him bouncing back into action cinema, the fights actually get better and better as the story moves along – with most of them offering some sort of brutal violence and decent moves. While they aren't anything overly special, the fight action is still quite enjoyable to watch with the highlight being the final 25 minutes which is practically non-stop and features a claw-on-a-chain weapon very similar to the flying guillotine. Bruce also pops up in a cameo as one of the casino thugs for a fight scene or two, along with his younger brother and equally successful star, Tony Leung Siu Hung – who no doubt helped behind the scenes. A young Shing Fui On also appears throughout, as does the likes of Lam Hak Ming and Richard Cheung Kuen, producer and production manager on many hits like The Club, A Life Of Ninja, Triads – The Inside Story, and pretty much all of the early kung-fu hits from Seasonal Films...

​

The great James Nam Gung Fan leads the show as the poor fisherman who loses everything. Starting his career with the Shaw Brothers in the early 70s, Nam starred in many great titles like The Heroic Ones, The Water Margin, King Boxer, and 14 Amazons, before going on to star in other films such as A Tooth For A Tooth, The Secret Rivals, Fist Of Fury 2, and Enter The Game Of Death. Aside from working as an assistant director on the aforementioned Secret Rivals with Ng See Yuen, Nam would also direct 1974's The Fierce One, as well as Bruce And Shaolin Kung Fu starring Bruce Le. Often playing the bad guy in most of his roles, it was nice to see him play the hero for a change – something of which he manages pretty well and as per usual, pulls off the action scenes brilliantly. His main competition and the big villain of the piece is fellow South Korean, Kim Ki Ju, another popular actor that got into the business in the late 60s after signing up with Shaw Brothers. Not long after, Kim would appear in many early Golden Harvest productions such as When Taekwondo Strikes, Stoner, The Tournament, and Broken Oath, all with Angela Mao Ying. He would soon star for a young John Woo in The Dragon Tamers, and Hand Of Death, before returning to South Korea for a host of Dragon Lee/Godfrey Ho projects that have brought a lot of fun over the years. Kim's big boss is backed by a host of fighters including Travador Ramos (in his last role), Shaw Brothers actor Someno Yukio who also starred in Ninja In The Dragons Den, and Tong Tin Hei – another actor from the Shaw's studio who started in Wang Yu's fantastic Return Of The One-Armed Swordsman, finishing his time in front of the camera as a football manager in Yuen Biao's super-fun football flick, The Champions!

​

While far from perfect, Gambling For Head tells a basic story although without ever boring its audience. The cast may not be anything special, and have definitely appeared in better, but to be honest they don't disappoint either and work with what they've got. The violence sometimes comes as a bit of a surprise, but in a good way that makes the fight scenes a little more exciting, and the last 25 minutes are just non-stop with some fantastic moves and a wild finale. Although it's not essential viewing, this is an old-school flick that proves to be quite entertaining and decently made.

​

Overall: Packed with violent kung-fu battles, Gambling For Head is worth a watch and entertains!

​

DVD Extras: Trailers