Blu-ray Synopsis: Legendary kung fu master Lau Kar Leung (The Legendary Weapons Of China) continues his winning streak of glorious productions for the equally legendary Shaw Brothers studio in this classic entry of the genre, depicting the mischievous folklore hero and his fraternity's strive to uphold righteousness and traditions of society and the martial world. Wong Fei Hung (Gordon Liu, The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin) becomes entangled in a rivalry between the students and masters of their respective schools. (118 Mins)

 

Views: It's been some time since I last watched this classic Shaw Brothers offering from director Lau Kar Leung – almost 25 years ago when I hired it from a video store in Toronto under its alternate title, Instructors Of Death. While I always thought that title represented a much grimmer sounding movie than it actually is, I have to say that I was super excited to finally get my hands on this new uncut Blu-ray edition from 88 Films, released under its original title of Martial Club (although offering the alternate version in a new Grindhouse Presentation). The late Ni Kuang, who had already written well over 100 movies for Shaw Brothers since his debut with the classic One-Armed Swordsman, pens the 12th film for Lau Kar Leung after writing his directorial debut, Spiritual Boxer, and many of his other hits. Due to his success and thanks to many years of dedication to the studio, Sir Run Run Shaw had pretty much given Kar Leung a little more freedom for each of his projects, with each one getting bigger and better in some respect. Having been under the constraints of powerhouse director Chang Cheh for many years, you can almost feel the relief on-screen with what Lau delivered in each of his projects, going from strength-to-strength and rarely disappointing, with Martial Club proving to be one such title. By the mid-80s though, the love for traditional kung-fu movies was fading and after directing Jet Li in Shaolin Temple 3: Martial Arts Of Shaolin, Lau turned his talents to more modern action flicks such as Tiger On The Beat 1 & 2, and Aces Go Places 5 as well as working as the action-director on films such as The Dragon Family, The Barefooted Kid, Evil Cat, Operation Scorpio/The Scorpion King, and New Kids In Town with Moon Lee. Lau's return to kung fu would come courtesy of Jackie Chan's fantastic Drunken Master 2, where he would return to the character of Wong Fei Hung once again. When things didn't go so well on that project – with creative differences cited as the reason for his departure – Lau set out to make his own sequel of the tale, released as Drunken Master 3 (which was a pretty unofficial entry in regards to Jackie Chan's titles). Although it had some star power with Andy Lau, Simon Yam, Gordon Liu, Adam Cheng, and Lau himself, Drunken Master 3 was somewhat of a rushed mess that was panned by critics and fans alike, and was most likely the main reason as to why Lau Kar Leung stepped down as a director for almost another decade. In 2003, Lau bounced back with the fun Drunken Monkey, the film that helped launch Wu Jing's career, before going-on to star in and work the action-choreography for Tsui Hark's underrated Seven Swords. Lau pretty much retired from the industry soon after and passed in 2013 due to cancer, leaving behind a solid piece of cinema history by starring in over 200 features, directing 25, and lending his martial arts talents to just as many as a choreographer...

 

The awesome Martial Club sees Gordon Liu return to the role of Wong Fei Hung for the first time since his major breakthrough role in Kar Leung's Challenge Of The Masters in 1976. While only a sequel of sorts by way of the character in question, this new adventure highlights the young Wong Fei Hung in a similar light to that of Jackie's version in the awesome Drunken Master. Only towards the end of the film do we see a change of pace and character in Wong, which presents him more like that of Jet Li in the Once Upon A Time In China series with a little more maturity and respect; albeit a good decade before Tsui Hark's entry. Since his previous role as Wong, Gordon Liu journeyed on somewhat of a wonky road that shared his newfound stardom between the Shaw Brothers studio and some independent productions including He Has Nothing But Kung Fu, Fists and Guts, and Warrior From Shaolin both of which were directed by Kar Leung's younger brother and star in his own right, Lau Kar Wing. 1981 would prove to be a busy year for the young star with this, My Young Auntie, and Kar Wing's Treasure Hunters being produced for the Shaw Brothers studios, alongside Godfrey Ho's Raiders Of Buddhist Kung Fu and Shaolin Drunken Monk from director Ulysses Au Yeung Jun. I've always been a huge fan of Gordon's since I first saw him in Return To The 36th Chamber – one of my earliest ex-rental buys – and I thoroughly enjoyed him here, once again, as Wong Fei Hung. The handsome Robert Mak plays his good friend Wang Yin Lin, in what would only be his 10th film appearance since making his debut in Chang Cheh's Shaolin Temple five years prior. Going on to star in Crippled Avengers, Ten Tigers Of Kwantung, Kid With The Golden Arm and My Young Auntie, Mak would stick with Lau Kar Leung for The Lady Is Boss, 8 Diagram Pole Fighter and Tiger On The Beat 2 as well as starring in a host of modern hits such as City War, Holy Virgin Vs The Evil Dead, Way of The Lady Kickboxers and more. The relationship between Wong and Wang is the backbone of their journey, with both men belonging to different martial arts clubs, but are always determined to prove that one is better than the other. There is a nod to Sammo Hung's classic Yuen Biao vehicle of the same year, Prodigal Son, as the opponents of both fighters are often paid-off to take a fall. While Gordon impresses (as always) with his fast and powerful moves, Robert wows the audience with some fantastic kicking skills and gives as equally an entertaining performance that should have seen him become more of a bigger star than he actually was...

 

The rest of the cast is filled out with a welcome host of faces, including a cameo from Lau Kar Leung himself who opens the film with an introduction to Lion Dancing and the rules of Martial Clubs. Kar Leung movie regular, protégé, ex-girlfriend, and never-ageing actress Kara Hui Ying Hung stars as Robert's sister Wang Ju Ying and while her character can be a little troublesome and meddling at times, it gives her plenty of chances to kick ass and look good doing it – whether it's against Wong Fei Hung or alongside him. Since making her big screen debut in The Brave Archer, Martial Club would mark her 30th feature film appearance in just 4 years made alongside My Young Auntie around the same period, and is still going strong today with 160 films to her name as well as a host of television shows. She is joined by the wonderful Johnny Wang Lung Wei who gets to impress in a rare role as a good guy as Master Shan; the kung-fu Northerner who is tricked into doing some evil deeds by his kung-fu brother before he is taught a healthy lesson by the young Wong Fei Hung. I've always been a huge fan of Wang's who had starred in over 40 films by this stage since his debut in Chang Cheh's epic, Shaolin Martial Arts in 1974, with the man going on to work alongside his co-stars in the aforementioned My Young Auntie and Treasure Hunters the same year as this. In 1985, Wang would try his hand at directing and made his debut with This Man Is Dangerous which was quickly followed by the much loved Hong Kong Godfather. To date, Wang Lung Wei has directed 10 features, most of which are well worth a watch including The Innocent Interloper, Fury, Bloody Brotherhood, and Angry Ranger. The super-talented Hsiao Ho co-stars and gets to impress time and time again with his amazing physicality, as well as assisting the director with the films action-choreography. The prolific Ku Feng stars as Wong Fei Hung's father and fan-favourite Wilson Tong plays Robert Mak's teacher, Master Zheng, with recognisable bad-guy Chu Tit Wo starring as the twisted Master Lu who is out to take-down Wong Fei Hung no matter what. He is assisted by his equally mad student, Lu Shan Hou, who is played with glee by Lee King Chu, a recognisable face to Lau Kar Leung fans from films such as Heroes Of The East, Spiritual Boxer 2, Dirty Ho, Mad Monkey Kung Fu, and Return To The 36th Chamber where he would play monk San Te. As with many Shaw Brothers films from the late 70s and early 80s, Martial Club features a cast of hundreds with many regular background extras and bit-players including Mak Wai Cheung, Jackie Chan Stunt Team member Johnny Cheung, Steve Mak, Ma Hon Yuen, and others.

 

While it is just shy of perfect, due to some directional choices and moments that drag, Martial Club is still a highly entertaining piece from Lau Kar Leung with an abundance of fights that come within minutes of each other – offering some hugely enjoyable moves and fast-paced choreography courtesy of director Lau Kar Leung, Hsiao Ho, and Lee King Chu. The final half hour is practically non-stop with a lengthy showdown in an opera theatre, before Gordon faces-off against Johnny Wang in Zig Zag Alley where their skills would be put the ultimate test with a surprise ending that sees the latter leave a better man with a new outlook on life. And while it has seemingly been overshadowed by many of Lau's other classic titles, Martial Club most definitely has its moments and gets better as the story rolls along. As always, there's a meaningful moral behind the story and plenty to love in this early 80s kung-fu comedy from the Shaw Brothers studio!

 

Overall: Backed by a great cast and tons of kung-fu action, Martial Club is a worthy title that deserves a place in anyone's collection!

 

88 Films Blu-ray Extras: Audio Commentary with Frank Djeng & Michael Worth, Audio Commentary with Frank Djeng, Instructors Of Death Version in a Grindhouse Presentation, Interviews with Robert Mak, Johnny Wang, Lawrence Wong, Hung Sun Nam & Tony Tam, Trailers

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Watch my unboxing video of this 88 Films release HERE