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

Archive for martial arts

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 »

When Taekwondo Strikes 跆拳震九州 (1973)

Classic Taekwondo movie starring the great Jhoon Rhee (李俊九) and Angela Mao. Set during the colonial period, it tells of the tribulations Koreans went through at the hands of the merciless Japanese occupier. Some, however, fight back using Taekwondo. Now, for those who grew up watching Olympic Taekwondo, this may sound like a lost cause, but proper Taekwondo Read the rest of this entry »

The Jaws Of The Dragon aka The Fierce One (1976) review

Master Lee likes movies with James Nam because he’s such a good bad guy. So, what to think of a movie which he not only directed, but also stars in as the main good guy? Well, fortunately, the good guy here is a criminal, so James Nam can be as bad ass as he wants to be while staying in character. Read the rest of this entry »

The Kung Fu Fever 정무지보 (小師傳與大煞星) (1979)

the black dragon going at it

Another internationally coproduced product of prolific Korean martial arts flick director Kim Si-Hyun 김시현. This one stars Dragon Lee 거룡, sidekick staple Choi Min-Kyu 최민규 and the Black Dragon himself, Ron Van Clief (respect from Master Lee for the Black Dragon!). And quite rarely, Ron Van Clief is the bad guy in this movie about a lost book with the secret finger techniques of Bruce Lee (“So well-suited to a woman,” coos pretty female lead Amy Chun with what hopefully is irony). Read the rest of this entry »

Run Away 런어웨이 1995 review

Oh yummy, a very early Kim Seongsu 김성수 movie! He’s the pulp master that brought us Musa (Musa: The Warrior) 무사, There Is No Sun 태양은 없다, and Beat 비트. And this one features as martial arts director the unsurpassed Jeong Duhong 정두홍.

Yi Donghui (Yi Byeongheon 이병헌), a handsome game designer, and Choe Miran (Kim Eunjeong 김은정), a pretty free-lance illustrator (who lives in an impossibly large loft), have a steamy one-night stand, Read the rest of this entry »

American Ninja The Magnificent 아라한 1986/1988 review

khsMaster Lee is pissed off. He really is. He just went into a well-known thugs den to pick a fight (well, not just one to be honest), beat a few thugs up, get rid of some frustration and cool down a bit. He was anticipating spending an evening at home, working out, felling some trees with his bare hands and watching a new DVD he just received: American Ninja The Magnificent. Read the rest of this entry »

An Emperor Of The Underworld 암흑가의 황제 1994 review

dragonleeAn Emperor Of The Underworld, directed by Hwang Jang Lee 황정리 (who also convincingly plays the überbaddie here) is a very solid action vehicle for Dragon Lee 거룡, his chubby and funny sidekick Yi Jin-Yeong 이진영 and the very, very pretty and voluptuous Kim Mi-Yeong 김미영. Dragon and his chubby friend are ex-commando’s, forced by the police to take on evil crime lord Hwang Jang Lee. This they do. Read the rest of this entry »

Bloody Mafia 붉은 마피아 review

bloodymafiaThis is the last movie directed and starred in by  action legend Wang Ho 왕호 better known as Casanova Wong 卡萨伐 from his many, many, many Hong Kong action flicks. OK, OK, not his last movie, I mean, this ex-marine also helmed the South Korean Ministry of Defense propaganda flick Read the rest of this entry »

Fate 숙명 2008 review

fate6Can you say ‘overacting’? Then you can say Fate. Violent glares, emotional outbursts, screaming contests, ten minute swearing sessions, extreme action, one man beating up tens of tough gangsters, overcooked romantic (?) liaisons, sentimental flashbacks… Read the rest of this entry »

Kill The Shogun 무장해제 1975 review

1killtheshogunzu0In 1592, the Japanese shogun Hideyoshi failed in his attempt to invade Korea (and later, China through Korea). This Hong Kong kung-fu thriller is loosely based on that historical incident. Since the real Hideyoshi is not an issue, and kung-fu is the star of the movie anyway, historical narration does not overpower the action. Basically, the movie shows the Koreans fighting the Japanese against all odds Read the rest of this entry »

Once Upon A Time 원스 어폰 어타임 2008 review

Movies about the colonial period in Korea are getting more and more popular. And they are looking real good as well. Master Lee was impressed with the production values of these movies: Radio Days, Epitaph and the movie he saw just now, Once Upon A Time.

The best way to describe Once Upon A Time 원스 어폰 어타임 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 »

Wrestling nostalgia

leewangpyo.jpgProfessional wrestling is seen as entertainment rather than a form of sport, but Master Lee says it may just be the purest form of sport there is. After all, sport is not just about winning; it is for the true sport aficionado as much or even more a question of how the game is played. The outcome comes second. Matches in pro wrestling are fixed. Without the outcome as a factor he can determine, the athlete puts everything he has in how he plays the game – or rather, how he fights the fight. As such, professional wrestling is a pure sport, Read the rest of this entry »

Charisma 카리스마 1997 review

vlcsnap-88488.pngWell, after watching Charisma, there can be only one conclusion. Superheroes do exist and they are very hard to beat, although they seem to be very sentimental and vulnerable to rather pathetic music. From the director who brought us Clementine, this 1997 gangster flick is memorable for two things. 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 »

The Invincible From Hell 1981

masterlee.jpgThis blog really should have started with a review of this DVD (a double feature; the other movie on it is Duel of the 7 Tigers), starring the eponymous Master Lee. In The Invincible From Hell Master Lee plays a former triad member who has taken on the triads after they killed his wife. This really is a very nice movie, starting with the soundtrack, which is improbably versatile Read the rest of this entry »

The Last Fist Of Fury 最後의 精武門 1977

lastfist.jpgHere is a treat. An authentic Dragon Lee movie! Starring Dragon Lee 巨龍 거룡, whose Bruce Lee impersonation is so perfect it borders on the surreal. Bruceploitation at its best, it is hard to tell that this was originally a Korean movie. The original version is lost, Read the rest of this entry »

The Korean Connection 1977

koreanconnection.jpgI think this is a nice movie. I guess, because it seems to have been made up from left-overs from other movies. This is the story how it is supposed to be: “Korean martial arts star Yong Chul stars as “Tiger”, a loner fighter with a deadly kick! Read the rest of this entry »

Arahan 아라한 대풍 대작전 2004

arahan1.jpgSurely this is cinema as it was meant to be. It entertains, moves, astounds, engages our sympathy, and makes one want more. It is a loving tribute to classic Asian martial arts and fantasy movies and it produces that elusive belly-aching laugh. The actors are great and the casting is a sequence of strokes of genius. It is the third movie made by the two golden brothers of Korean cinema: Ryu Seungwan 유승완 and Ryu Seungbeom 유승범. It is Arahan 아라한 대풍 대작전. Read the rest of this entry »

Rules of the Gangs 건달의 법칙

14059.jpgThousands of video’s with gangster movies on them must be running the risk of extinction in South Korea. The friendly neighborhood video shop has lost the battle with the South Korean version of Blockbusters. Their stock is discarded or ends up in the hands of wholesalers. As a result, the low-budget pulpies disappear. More often than not, the original spools are gone and there is little interest (and no funds) to transfer these movies to dvd. Some of them, however, escape the quiet extinction of their kind. Rules of the Gangs is one of those movies. Read the rest of this entry »

Clementine 클레멘타인

clementine.jpgClementine isn’t the worst Korean movie ever. That honor probably goes to gangster flick Rules of the Gangs or one of the generic melodrama’s South Korea keeps curning out. Clementine was made by martial arts movie director Kim Du-young (김두영), Read the rest of this entry »

Killing Game 킬링 게임 1996

killinggame.jpgNo better way to start this blog than a posting on a very typical gangster pulp video. I just watched Killing Game, a 1996 direct-to-video pulpie about a gangster who is forced to enter a cage fight competition for the evil crime lord (no, this is not a tautology. The movie also features a good crime lord) of his mining home town. The acting is atrocious (worst acting honors go to the Bored Rich Lady), the dialogues surreal (not a good thing here), the sex gratuitous and violent, the plot absent, but the fighting is actually pretty good. Read the rest of this entry »

The Showdown 거칠마루

Martial arts, unknown actors, gangsters, competing fighting styles, seven people wondering: “Who is the best?” Sounds like a typical martial arts low-budget movie, but Kim Jin-seong’s The Showdown is anything but typical. Yes, it is low-budget and, yes, it is about who can kick ass best,geolchilmaru1.jpg but there the similarities end. The Showdown is a thoroughly enjoyable, well-acted, well-thought out and funny little gem of a movie. It’s a story about the quest for Geochilmaru, a martial artist whose prowess in posting messages on http://www.mulimjizon.com, a martial arts website, has won him the admiration of many martial artists. Read the rest of this entry »