Item #: 2675DVD Category: MARTIAL ARTS Format: DVD MPAA Rating: U

Woolly Rating: 5/10 (104 votes)

MEMBER COMMENTS ON THIS VIDEO

Matt	Sep 7, 2001 @ 16:47:44

Crane vs Crab? Why not!
Shaolin Challenges Ninja, 1978 Yet another from a series of excellent and recent releases to DVD (from Ground Zero, not Beverly Whilshire! ). The movie is not letter-boxed or even presented in 'Shaw Scope', but at least here we have a great print to watch! The film features Gordon Liu and Yasuaki Kurata (so you know its gonna be good), and was directed by the legendary Chia Liang Liu (who also directed and stared in Jackie Chan's Drunken Master II, see it if you haven't!). There are many reviews available for this movie, so I won't go into great detail. The plot is a non-standard non-revenge one, a breath of fresh air for the genre, though there is no villain in the movie either. Gordon Liu is a Chinese aristocrat whose father arranges for him to marry the beautiful and cultured Yuka Mizuno, a Japanese woman. He's loath to marry her until he sees her, but that's when the trouble begins! Yuka is all sweetness and gentleness until we discover she is a weapons expert and fighter! Gordon plays it very cool a first, but eventually they start arguing over whose tradition is more authentic and whose martial arts is better. Gordon is actually incredibly restrained throughout! When one of their lover's quarrels induces Yuka to return to Japan, Gordon sends a letter meant to intise her return (through a letter meant to bait her into a challenge), but winds up having to take on the martial champions of her Dojo. Of course, loads of martial and marital mayhem follow. This movie was obviously meant to touch upon some very sensitive issues between the cultures of China and Japan and does so in what may justly be called, "Shaw style"! I give it 8 out of 10 stars (a little too light hearted for a higher rating from me). You have got to see Kurata do his Japanese crab style - its hilarious and yet you can tell how expert he really is!! The movie also stars Norman Chu, Simon Yuen, and Wilson Tong. Matt

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