masterly master lee

a home for forgotten and famous korean pulp, its heroes, its heroines, and its pulpeteers

Archive for china

Manchurian Tiger 龍虎對鍊 (1974) review

A title like this sure gets the Master going. Manchurian Tiger… with Han Yongcheol 한용철 aka Charlie Han, the guy who packs a punch and a kick or two. And directed by the dean of Korean action Lee Doo Yong 이두용.  The movie starts out great with Han extorting money from a dubious-looking character. We know we’re in Manchuria because the dubious-looking character is dressed in Chinese-style clothes (let the Master rephrase: cinema Chinese-style clothes). Action then switches to the bad guys (same clothes, mixed with Japanese-style clothes to conveniently identify who’s bad) who are kicking, punching and whipping the bejeezus out of a Read the rest of this entry »

Hapkido 合氣道 aka Lady Kung Fu 女活殺拳 1972 review

hapkido2.jpgHere comes the unbreakable china doll to give you the kicking of your life! That is a fair description of this early Hong Kong/South Korean co-production made by Golden Harvest. Three Chinese students (Angela Mao as Yu Ying, Carter Wong as Kao Chang and Sammo Hung as Fan Wei) Read the rest of this entry »

Shadowless Sword 無影劍 2005 review

shadow1.jpgThis must be my favorite pulp movie or at least one of my favorites. Shadowless Sword 무영검/無影劍 is extremely well-made fun, loaded with historical and contemporary references and with those rare actors who under the right direction gracefully bear the load of impressive action scenes and tongue-in-cheek acting. Read the rest of this entry »

Anarchists 아나키스트 2000

anarchists1.jpgAs opposed to Korean- Japanese co-productions, Korean-Chinese productions usually work out. The first such co-production ever, Anarchists is a typical coming-of-age gangster movie, but with anarchists instead of gangsters. Set in 1920’s Shanghai it tells the story of a tightly knit group of übercool Korean anarchists who have joined countless other Koreans in exile in China. There they continue their struggle against the Japanese colonizers. And boy, do they do so in style! Read the rest of this entry »