Off with Their Heads!: Flying Guillotine, Part II (1978) Updated Review

It’s been almost a decade since I watched Flying Guillotine, Part II for Blood Brothers (at the time in the US it was released via Dragon Dynasty as Flying Guillotine 2 and you can read my review of the film HERE) and it was a film that didn’t really come off its chain spinning and slicing as I wanted. 

 

Yet, when 88 Films announced the film as one of the final Shaw Brothers flicks that would be released on Blu-Ray in both the US and the UK, it was hard not to reassess where I stood with the film. Would it take my head off with its sharp edges or would I continue to find its weaponry rejected by an extended anti-flying guillotine broken umbrella staff? Yeah, that comparison between the weapons and my feelings towards the film was a reach, but this movie kind of deserves it.

 

As simple as it is, during this recent viewing, the strengths of Flying Guillotine, Part II became more apparent while its flaws became more perplexing. To add to that, I rewatched the original Flying Guillotine (a UK Blu-Ray exclusive from 88 Films) prior to this one. The dissonance between the two seemed larger. Not that this sequel doesn’t have its merits, but it makes some baffling choices throughout to be both a oddity as a sequel and as a film on its own.

 

Pursuit of Vengeance (1977)

IT’S A TRAP!: PURSUIT OF VENGEANCE AND THE POWER OF THREE

Director: Chor Yuen

Notable Cast: Ti Lung, Lau Wing, Lo Lieh, Paul Chang Chung, Derek Yee, Shih Szu, Wai Wang, Ku Kuan-Chung, Cheng Miu

The Magic Blade is a Shaw Brothers film that has accrued quite the devoted audience for its somewhat eclectic and energetic nature as a film. Deservedly so for the sure entertainment of its absurdity. In fact, there’s an entire article dedicated to why The Magic Blade works in its insanity on this site.  However, it’s not necessarily a well-known fact that the film had a sequel. This film is Pursuit of Vengeance and once again it sees Ti Lung’s unshaven, poncho-wearin’ wandering badass Fu Hong-Xue become involved in a complex conspiracy of the martial arts world where loyalties are thin and the body count is high. For a film meant to follow up The Magic Blade, I’m not sure I would expect anything more than wuxia insanity from this film.

Hidden Power of the Dragon Sabre, The (1984)

Director: Chor Yuen

Notable Cast: Derek Yee, Ti Lung, Alex Man Chi-Leung, Cherie Chung Cho-Hung, Ku Feng, Lo Lieh

During my recent Shawtember binge that saw a serious round of Derek Yee Shaw film consumption (ultimately leading up to my article over on the Celestial Pictures site HERE), I ended up reviewing the first two Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre films. While neither film necessarily blew me away, falling to be some flawed films in the usually fun and dynamic filmography of director Chor Yuen, they were still decent films that got better as they went. The third film in this franchise, called The Hidden Power of the Dragon Sabre because I guess that Heaven Sword was not worthy of making it into the title this time around, comes six years after the first two. Six years doesn’t seem like a long time for many franchises, but in the realm of Shaw Brothers this meant a huge difference in tone and style. Hidden Power doesn’t necessarily work all the time, it fixes a few issues from its predecessors and falls into a few new traps, but it is perhaps the most entertaining of the three films just in sheer outrageousness.

Perils of the Sentimental Swordsman (1982)

Director: Chor Yuen

Notable Cast: Ti Lung, Lo Lieh, Teng Wei-hao, Ku Kuan-chung, Linda Chu, Tai Liang-chun, Ku Feng, Yuen Wah

For the first twenty minutes or so, I was fairly confused by Perils of the Sentimental Swordsman. I had enjoyed the previous two entries of the series, but right away the tone of this film felt different – less dramatic, more off the cuff – and Ti Lung’s character was completely different in his actions and demeanor. After a quick pause and five minutes of research I found out that Perils is actually not a sequel to the Sentimental Swordsman franchise, but it’s a sequel to another wuxia series from Chor Yuen that stars Ti Lung. It’s the same series that features films like Clans of Intrigue and Legend of the Bat. With proper expectations, Perils became a fun film filled with some outrageous fantastical set pieces and plenty of memorable battles that I was able to enjoy once my expectations had been adjusted for the proper franchise, but keep this in mind when going into the film. It is probably not the film you will be expecting to see from its title.

Return of the Sentimental Swordsman (1981)

Director: Chor Yuen

Notable Cast: Ti Lung, Alexander Fu Sheng, Derek Yee, Ku Feng, Ching Li, Choh Seung-wan, Lo Lieh, Ku Kuan-chung, Kara Hui, Tony Liu, Yueh Hua, Cheng Miu, Yuen Wah, Yuen Bun

“There’s no truth in the martial arts world. There’s only dead people, gold, and fame.”

After finally scoring the The Sentimental Swordsman trilogy to own, I was stoked to dive into this Chor Yuen directed wuxia series. They were huge box office smashes when they came out, they all feature robust casts, and I’m always a sucker for a franchise I haven’t seen yet. However, the original Sentimental Swordsman was a bit weaker than I was hoping (you can read my review HERE) and its eclectic approach and “too much material weakens the entire thing” writing left the film as a mixed bag. Its follow up, The Return of the Sentimental Swordsman, fixes a lot of the issues that arose in the original and delivers a truly thoughtful, engaging, and emotional Shaw Brothers style wuxia worthy of the franchise tag. Return is exactly what I expected from this series to begin with and it hits home with some great moments.

Duel, The (1971)

Director: Chang Cheh

Notable Cast: Ti Lung, David Chiang, Wang Ping, Yue Wai, Chuen Yuen, Yeung Chi-hing, Ku Feng, Cheng Kang-hing

When it comes to Shaw Brothers fans, there is always those silly online debates about ‘who’s the best’ or ‘who’s your favorite Shaw Brothers actor’ that consistently go around. Of course, two of the names that repeated pop up in these discussions are Ti Lung and David Chiang. Let’s be honest, they are not only two of the most effective actors in the Shaw Brothers catalog, but they were popular at the time and the company capitalized on it. This capitalization on their success with audiences lead to The Duel, a film that was, more or less, commercialized on the idea that Lung and Chiang would be playing badass characters that would eventually take their fists to one another. While this sort of gimmicky concept seemed like a movie ticket sales gold mine to the Shaw Brothers, it helps when both actors have iconic director Chang Cheh to help them out. The results of this gimmick riddled idea? A movie that not only surpasses its concept, but leaves a trail of really impressive thematic material worthy of the time to dive into it.

Magic Blade, The (1976)

Director: Chor Yuen

Notable Cast: Ti Lung, Lo Lieh, Ching Li, Tanny Tien Nim, Lily Li, Ku Feng

When it comes to the Chor Yuen wuxia films of the 70s for the Shaw Brothers, The Magic Blade usually comes highly recommended from those in the martial arts community. My first viewing of the film a few years ago left me a bit cold actually, as the film (like many other Chor Yuen wuxia films) tends to throw the viewer down into the middle of a fully developed world and expect them to keep up with its sprint like pacing. However, after seeing the film again just a few days ago in theaters, I felt like I was able to enjoy it much more for what it is versus what I wanted it to be. Instead of an epic and emotional tale of a man’s plight to dethrone a martial world super villain, I was able to enjoy it for its rather campy approach and off the cuff style. The film is rarely as good as the claims (or even as some of Chor Yuen’s other films), but the combination of its sprinting pace, eclectic narrative, and outrageous action set pieces it’s easy to love it for how entertaining it really is.

Sentimental Swordsman, The (1977)

Director: Chor Yuen

Notable Cast: Ti Lung, Derek Yee, Ching Li, Yueh Hua, Candice Yu, Ku Feng, Fan Mei-sheng, Norman Chu, Ngai Fei, Yuen Wah

While Chor Yuen has never really been my favorite director when it comes to Shaw Brothers films, I seem to find myself coming back again and again to a lot of his material. His ability to craft some dynamic (and ultimately insane) wuxia films makes his films a lot of fun to watch, even when they are of a lesser quality. The Sentimental Swordsman falls exactly into this category. The film is powered on some very silly concepts and made entertaining by its own outrageous moments, but it’s hard to overlook a lot of the deeper flaws of the narrative and the immense world building present. With a stacked cast of iconic Shaw Brothers regulars, The Sentimental Swordsman is going to have its following just on a fan level, but it’s a hard film to swallow for those unprepared for the ridiculous aspects that are presented.

Five Shaolin Masters (1974)

Director: Chang Cheh 
Notable Cast: David Chiang, Ti Lung, Alexander Fu Sheng, Chi Kuan-Chun, Leung Kar-Yan, Mang Fei, Fung Hak-on, Tsai Hung, Johnny Wang, Gordon Liu

Although Executioners From Shaolin struggled to impress with its stuttered story telling but impressed certainly with its action choreography, the very similar Five Shaolin Masters improves on it in every way...and it was made three years prior. With an insanely strong cast, a great kung fu revenge plot that's surprisingly well written, a director of legendary status in Chang Cheh, and choreography by the just as legendary Lau Kar Leung - there isn't a single aspect of Five Shaolin Masters to dislike...sans some of its over the top emotional pan shots that seem to litter the film, but even that is just a small issue that arises.