Kao Hsiung Movies

Even prior to becoming a recognizable name with such superior entertainments as A Chinese Ghost Story, visionary filmmaker Ching Siu-tung directed this spectacularly effects-laden action-fantasy. Along with the same year's Zu: Warriors From the Magic Mountain, the techniques employed here paved the way for the extravagant spectacles which soon came to dominate Hong Kong cinema. The plot concerns a martial arts contest between China and Japan which was held once every ten years during the Ming dynasty. Set in the days leading up to one such contest, the Chinese fighter Bo Ching-wen (Damian Lau) and a Japanese contestant, Lord Hashimoto (Norman Tsui), discover that their nations have conspired to fix the contest. It seems that a local martial arts master who believes that his daughter should be China's official contestant has conspired with a villain posing as a monk to kidnap the top fighters in the competition. The fake monk commands a team of skilled ninjas who commit the abductions -- in one memorable scene swooping down on their victim on silent kites -- and it is up to Bo and Hashimoto to set matters right. The plot itself, however, is merely a backdrop for an array of thrilling fight scenes and entertaining special-effects set pieces which are all the more impressive for being among the first of their kind in Hong Kong cinema. Flora Cheung and Eddy Ko co-star. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Following up on his debut outing Butterfly Killers, Tsui Hark spins this gory and controversial cannibal crime flick. The film opens with Agent #999 (Norman Tsui Siu-keung) being sent to a remote island to apprehend wanted criminal Rolex (Melvin Wong Kam-sum). Of course, the island is largely inhabited by crazed, blood-thirsty man-eaters who want little more than to gnaw on human bones and devour human brains. 999 barely escapes with his life after a foolhardy jaunt to the local slaughterhouse. Meanwhile, Rolex is desperate to leave the island himself but cannot because of the tribe's deranged boss known only as "the Chief" (Eddy Ko Hung). The criminal eventually finds the cop assigned to arrest him, hoping to join forces and escape this hell of half-eaten corpses. When Rolex gets felled by the Chief, 999 must figure out how to escape by himself. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Mr. Shatter (Stuart Whitman) is an international assassin, hired to bump off a top government official. He is compelled to fend off a host of Oriental kung-fu and karate experts. Peter Cushing and Anton Diffring make brief appearances. The film -- shot simultaneously with Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires, which also co-starred Peter Cushing -- was something of an experiment for the ailing Hammer studios in the mid-'70s, shortly before they expired, attempting to mix an Oriental style with their own distinctly British brand of filmmaking. In most markets, Call Him Mr. Shatter was released simply as Shatter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide