Long before Dana White expanded the popularity of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), there was a different type of mixed martial arts craze in America. During the ’60s and the ’70s, the chopsocky subgenre (sometimes referred to as Bruceploitation) was all the rage. Bruce Lee helped popularize martial arts films during this time, as imports from Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea became immediate hits. While the kung fu craze may have faded away a decade later during the ’80s, Film Masters has embraced this type of genre film with its latest release, The Crippled Masters Special Edition.
Newly restored from original 35mm archival elements, this special collector’s set will be available on Blu-ray and DVD on July 23rd during Disability Pride Month.
A Kung Fu cult classic from the grindhouse era, The Crippled Masters features a story directed by Chi Lo aka Joe Law (Magic Swords, Hong men xiong di, Hei lung), which was originally released in Mandarin in 1979 as Tiān cán dì quē, and later released in the U.S. in 1982.
The storyline isn’t too complicated, but what makes it powerful is its vengeance!
Our tortured heroes (Frankie Shum and Jackie Conn) previously worked as henchmen to the evil Master (Chen Mu Chuan). After being accused of disobeying orders (although they were seemingly loyal to their crime boss), both men are disabled via a variety of painful-looking punishments. One man loses both arms, while the other loses both legs. Shamed and shunned from their community, they eventually join forces under the tutelage of a third super-flexible fighter, complementing each other as two parts of the whole, becoming a lethal team fighting team on a full-fledged revenge tour.
Acrobatic and agile, these one-time enemies get creative in their fight against the Master. There’s lots of action and this story is not gory in the least, but the off-screen implications are definitely strong. The exaggerated effectiveness of their battles makes the genre so great as they take out the thugs one by one, making their way up to the Big Boss.
In a world where everyone is just following orders, there’s some mighty forgiveness on display here. That type of honest storytelling led to two eventual big-screen sequels.
“The worst possible thing is to be crippled in your mind…”
Obviously, one of the biggest highlights of this film is the fight choreography. It is great, improving as the fighters ultimately reach the grand finale. But it’s their training through a variety of low-tech exercises that are meant to sharpen the mind that would make even Mr. Miyagi jealous with envy.
Previously, I didn’t know too much about this action film or its subgenre. Good thing Ballyhoo Motion Pictures’ documentary, “Kings of Kung Fu: Releasing the Legends,” is included in the box set. Shaw Brothers Pictures basically opened up the world, bringing kung fu movies to the U.S., starting in Hawaii, and later Manhattan and Chinatown movie theaters, but it took a cult-like following of Bruce Lee to really popularize the fad. After the actor’s death, the cinematic style would cross over into other subgenres, including blaxploitation films.
Other bonus features in this collector’s edition include audio commentary, liner notes, a Mandarin language track for the movie, original and recut film trailers, before-and-after restoration comparison (Which looks incredible, BTW!), an archival collection of martial arts film trailers provided by Something Weird, the raw scan of the original film presented in HD and the updated version presented with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. These discs are region free, which include English SDH, with DTS-HD/Dolby AC3s audio.
The suggested retail price is$24.95 (for Blu-ray) and $19.95 (for DVD).
Horrible wrongs are righted by two desperate fighters in The Crippled Masters Special Edition, whose separate, distinct skills work well together. These characters may have limited kung fu knowledge, but their willpower is exceptional. There are some great fighting sound effects sprinkled throughout the film and the before/after video is a true humblebrag concerning the amount of restoration work done by Film Masters. I enjoyed my introduction to The Crippled Masters and hope their sequels will receive the same restorative treatment!
Film Masters Embraces Martial Arts with The Crippled Masters
Long before Dana White expanded the popularity of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), there was a different type of mixed martial arts craze in America. During the ’60s and the ’70s, the chopsocky subgenre (sometimes referred to as Bruceploitation) was all the rage. Bruce Lee helped popularize martial arts films during this time, as imports from Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea became immediate hits. While the kung fu craze may have faded away a decade later during the ’80s, Film Masters has embraced this type of genre film with its latest release, The Crippled Masters Special Edition.
Newly restored from original 35mm archival elements, this special collector’s set will be available on Blu-ray and DVD on July 23rd during Disability Pride Month.
A Kung Fu cult classic from the grindhouse era, The Crippled Masters features a story directed by Chi Lo aka Joe Law (Magic Swords, Hong men xiong di, Hei lung), which was originally released in Mandarin in 1979 as Tiān cán dì quē, and later released in the U.S. in 1982.
The storyline isn’t too complicated, but what makes it powerful is its vengeance!
Our tortured heroes (Frankie Shum and Jackie Conn) previously worked as henchmen to the evil Master (Chen Mu Chuan). After being accused of disobeying orders (although they were seemingly loyal to their crime boss), both men are disabled via a variety of painful-looking punishments. One man loses both arms, while the other loses both legs. Shamed and shunned from their community, they eventually join forces under the tutelage of a third super-flexible fighter, complementing each other as two parts of the whole, becoming a lethal team fighting team on a full-fledged revenge tour.
Acrobatic and agile, these one-time enemies get creative in their fight against the Master. There’s lots of action and this story is not gory in the least, but the off-screen implications are definitely strong. The exaggerated effectiveness of their battles makes the genre so great as they take out the thugs one by one, making their way up to the Big Boss.
In a world where everyone is just following orders, there’s some mighty forgiveness on display here. That type of honest storytelling led to two eventual big-screen sequels.
“The worst possible thing is to be crippled in your mind…”
Obviously, one of the biggest highlights of this film is the fight choreography. It is great, improving as the fighters ultimately reach the grand finale. But it’s their training through a variety of low-tech exercises that are meant to sharpen the mind that would make even Mr. Miyagi jealous with envy.
Previously, I didn’t know too much about this action film or its subgenre. Good thing Ballyhoo Motion Pictures’ documentary, “Kings of Kung Fu: Releasing the Legends,” is included in the box set. Shaw Brothers Pictures basically opened up the world, bringing kung fu movies to the U.S., starting in Hawaii, and later Manhattan and Chinatown movie theaters, but it took a cult-like following of Bruce Lee to really popularize the fad. After the actor’s death, the cinematic style would cross over into other subgenres, including blaxploitation films.
Other bonus features in this collector’s edition include audio commentary, liner notes, a Mandarin language track for the movie, original and recut film trailers, before-and-after restoration comparison (Which looks incredible, BTW!), an archival collection of martial arts film trailers provided by Something Weird, the raw scan of the original film presented in HD and the updated version presented with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. These discs are region free, which include English SDH, with DTS-HD/Dolby AC3s audio.
The suggested retail price is $24.95 (for Blu-ray) and $19.95 (for DVD).
Horrible wrongs are righted by two desperate fighters in The Crippled Masters Special Edition, whose separate, distinct skills work well together. These characters may have limited kung fu knowledge, but their willpower is exceptional. There are some great fighting sound effects sprinkled throughout the film and the before/after video is a true humblebrag concerning the amount of restoration work done by Film Masters. I enjoyed my introduction to The Crippled Masters and hope their sequels will receive the same restorative treatment!
For more information, please visit the Film Masters webpage.
Ash and Matt
Zombies in My Blog covers everything in Geek and Pop Culture.
July 22, 2024
Deep Zombie Thoughts, Geek Culture
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