The fight scenes between Liu (student) & Wang (instructor) are just plain beautiful, especially at the end. This is the only movie I know of where Wang Lung Wei could be considered a "good guy".
8 Reviews
Wang Lung Wei & Liu Chia-Hui rule this movie!
traveler777x22 February 1999
An excellent tale of honour and chivalry
Leofwine_draca15 December 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Once again director Liu Chia-Liang manages to pull it out of the bag with this Shaw Brothers mini-epic focused around the different styles of Chinese martial arts, particularly the gulf between northern and southern styles. By 1981 you might expect Shaw films to start becoming a little derivative and repetitive but by contrast MARTIAL CLUB is one of the freshest-feeling films I've watched from the studio.
This inventive story is unlike anything else I've seen from the studio. The plot is nothing special, about three rival kung fu schools and their attempts to get one up on each other. However, MARTIAL CLUB is in reality a thematic film exploring subjects such as honour, rivalry, and chivalry and as such it becomes a mature and enthralling piece of film-making. It's the total opposite of the kind of bloody and visceral entertainment that Chang Cheh was putting out during the era, instead feeling graceful and even profound in places.
Elsewhere, there's very little to dislike about any of the film's ingredients. With Chia-Liang directing and doing the fight choreography, the action is admittedly spectacular and never repeats itself. There are the usual one-on-one and one-on-many duels and bouts and one great riotous moment in a theatre that reminded me of similar greatness in the likes of JASON BOURNE; Chia-Liang certainly know how to direct chaotic action well. Inevitably the best stuff is saved for the climax with the alley fight perhaps being one of the greatest Shaw Brothers action scenes ever.
The cast is also exemplary. Gordon Liu does his erstwhile hero bit very well, convincing as the headstrong youth. Kara Hui impresses yet again as his rival and it's hard to take your eyes off her whenever she's on screen. Hsiao Hou is excellent in support and the likes of Ku Feng round out the cast nicely. However, by far the best actor in the whole thing is Wang Lung Wei in an excellent turn as a true martial arts expert. Lung Wei is so often cast as a stock villain and his honourable turn here sees him playing a good guy for once and he's absolutely brilliant in it; his character dominates the story and he gives the performance of his life. He really makes you wish he could have played more than stock villain types all the time.
This inventive story is unlike anything else I've seen from the studio. The plot is nothing special, about three rival kung fu schools and their attempts to get one up on each other. However, MARTIAL CLUB is in reality a thematic film exploring subjects such as honour, rivalry, and chivalry and as such it becomes a mature and enthralling piece of film-making. It's the total opposite of the kind of bloody and visceral entertainment that Chang Cheh was putting out during the era, instead feeling graceful and even profound in places.
Elsewhere, there's very little to dislike about any of the film's ingredients. With Chia-Liang directing and doing the fight choreography, the action is admittedly spectacular and never repeats itself. There are the usual one-on-one and one-on-many duels and bouts and one great riotous moment in a theatre that reminded me of similar greatness in the likes of JASON BOURNE; Chia-Liang certainly know how to direct chaotic action well. Inevitably the best stuff is saved for the climax with the alley fight perhaps being one of the greatest Shaw Brothers action scenes ever.
The cast is also exemplary. Gordon Liu does his erstwhile hero bit very well, convincing as the headstrong youth. Kara Hui impresses yet again as his rival and it's hard to take your eyes off her whenever she's on screen. Hsiao Hou is excellent in support and the likes of Ku Feng round out the cast nicely. However, by far the best actor in the whole thing is Wang Lung Wei in an excellent turn as a true martial arts expert. Lung Wei is so often cast as a stock villain and his honourable turn here sees him playing a good guy for once and he's absolutely brilliant in it; his character dominates the story and he gives the performance of his life. He really makes you wish he could have played more than stock villain types all the time.
This is the good stuff!
ckormos17 October 2012
This movie is why we have kung fu movie fans. It stands as an excellent example of genre. First we have the fights. Lui Chia Liang is such a master of fight direction I believe he could put my grandmother on stage and choreograph an entertaining fight with her beating up Bruce Lee and it would be believable. The fights here are masterpieces. Gordon against Lung Wei Wang in the alley was a classic. Gordon and Kara and Lung Wei Wang can all both act and demonstrate real skills. The spirit of martial arts is also respected. Chivalry and respect is emphasised. Lung Wei Wang does not portray his usual one dimensional bad guy but respects the rules. All the technicalities aside it's just a fun film to watch.
Huang Fei-hong goes clubbing...
poe42614 October 2011
Warning: Spoilers
What starts out as a friendly lion dance soon turns ugly. Before you know it, kung fu experts Huang and Yinlin have decided to test their rspective skills- against someone OTHER than each other... Whoever scores the most punches the fastest, wins. Both men conspire with strangers to win, but the end result is a draw. Zhou then beats them both. The next day, after a brief interlude in a brothel, Yinlin is injured by a powerful fighter, Shan Xiong, who refuses to take a dive. Juying, Yinlin's sister, blames Huang. All of this leads to a close-quarters confrontation in the narrow confines of "Zig-zag Lane." Gordon Liu is as deft at comedy as he is drama or melodrama, and MARTIAL CLUB allows him to run the gamut. A solid seven.
Excellent "small" Kung Fu epic
ChungMo22 January 2006
This is a small wonder from the canon of Liu Chia Liang. The martial arts are absolutely excellent and the only reason that this isn't as well known as 36th Chamber or Dirty Ho is the story. The film is about three kung fu schools in Guangdong and the efforts of the "evil" school to disrupt and discredit the two "good" schools. A lot of yelling and fighting goes on but no-one is killed. The film is lighthearted with little of the seriousness of 36th Chamber or other films. Also, the film sort of stops with out much of a resolution.
The director appears at the beginning to give the audience a little lesson about the etiquette of Lion Dancing. The rest of the film he spends behind the camera directing some of the most chaotic fight scenes I've seen. The scene in the theater is unbelievable at times. There is so much going on it's hard to focus. Liu Chia Hui, Kara Hui and Wang Lung Wei dominate the film with their martial skills. Usually playing a villain, Wang Lung Wei is great as a northern Chinese Kung Fu master who is being used by the bad kung fu school. His intensity is unusual among his cohorts at the Shaw Bros. studios. It shows that he was an actual kung fu master outside the movie set.
A slow start with a lion dance is the only real problem. After that, it's a great kung fu film. The final dual in an alley is an absolute classic.
The director appears at the beginning to give the audience a little lesson about the etiquette of Lion Dancing. The rest of the film he spends behind the camera directing some of the most chaotic fight scenes I've seen. The scene in the theater is unbelievable at times. There is so much going on it's hard to focus. Liu Chia Hui, Kara Hui and Wang Lung Wei dominate the film with their martial skills. Usually playing a villain, Wang Lung Wei is great as a northern Chinese Kung Fu master who is being used by the bad kung fu school. His intensity is unusual among his cohorts at the Shaw Bros. studios. It shows that he was an actual kung fu master outside the movie set.
A slow start with a lion dance is the only real problem. After that, it's a great kung fu film. The final dual in an alley is an absolute classic.
Martial Club
BandSAboutMovies17 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Released in the U. S. as Instructors of Death, Martial Club is from director Lau Kar Leung (The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter) and stars Gordon Liu as Wong Fei Hung, the legendary hero who was also the inspiration for the movies Drunken Master and Once Upon a Time in China.
His father, Wong Kei Ying runs one well-respected kung fu school while the Chan school also provides a good example to aspiring martial artists. Wang Yin-Lin (Te-Lo Mai), a student from the Chan school, has a friendly rivalry with Wong Kei Yung that is tested when a third school - one not as clean-cut - brings a guest martial artist in and convinces them that the good schools are evil and, as they say, hijinks ensue. And seeing as how Master Shan Hsiung is played by Lung-Wei Wang, there is bound to be a big fight between the leads.
The American tagline was "This is a tough school...if you fail, you're dead!" The truth is, while the final fight between Gordon Liu and Lung-Wei Wang down an increasingly narrow room is spectacular, this doesn't have the life and death odds you usually expect from a Shaw Brothers movie. That isn't to say that it isn't fun nor that it's gorgeous from the very first scene, a dragon dance routine at a parade that the new 88 Films blu ray makes look better than perhaps ever before.
His father, Wong Kei Ying runs one well-respected kung fu school while the Chan school also provides a good example to aspiring martial artists. Wang Yin-Lin (Te-Lo Mai), a student from the Chan school, has a friendly rivalry with Wong Kei Yung that is tested when a third school - one not as clean-cut - brings a guest martial artist in and convinces them that the good schools are evil and, as they say, hijinks ensue. And seeing as how Master Shan Hsiung is played by Lung-Wei Wang, there is bound to be a big fight between the leads.
The American tagline was "This is a tough school...if you fail, you're dead!" The truth is, while the final fight between Gordon Liu and Lung-Wei Wang down an increasingly narrow room is spectacular, this doesn't have the life and death odds you usually expect from a Shaw Brothers movie. That isn't to say that it isn't fun nor that it's gorgeous from the very first scene, a dragon dance routine at a parade that the new 88 Films blu ray makes look better than perhaps ever before.
Amazing - an Excellent Movie, with No Deaths!
wayne-williams26 February 2000
Credit must certainly be given to Run Run Shaw, Chang Cheh et al for producing such a classic movie which thrills the viewer from start to finish, and without anyone being killed. The true story behind this film is an understanding of the way the martial artist should conduct himself.
Definitely not bad, but also definitely not my kind of martial arts movie
Jeremy_Urquhart20 January 2023
This is a very low stakes martial arts movie. They usually feature stories with life or death stakes, but here, the characters don't often feel like they're in danger. It's a different kind of story and tone in that regard, and it's entirely subjective, but the martial arts movies with a little more danger do tend to get my heart pumping more than the ones that aren't so concerned with people fighting to the death. Call me bloodthirsty and/or shallow, but it's just something I've found from watching classic martial arts movies.
That's not to say Martial Club is bad at all, not to say I didn't get any enjoyment out of it. The fights are still well-choreographed (even if the stakes mean they're not quite as exciting), and I always like seeing Gordon Liu in a lead role like this, because he's got a very likeable presence on screen.
But while I can recognise the story as being at the very least not bad, I also just wasn't feeling super into this. But hey, it contains decent fights and a serviceable plot, and for those who enjoy martial arts movies regardless of the severity of the stakes, I think there's a lot to like about Martial Club.
That's not to say Martial Club is bad at all, not to say I didn't get any enjoyment out of it. The fights are still well-choreographed (even if the stakes mean they're not quite as exciting), and I always like seeing Gordon Liu in a lead role like this, because he's got a very likeable presence on screen.
But while I can recognise the story as being at the very least not bad, I also just wasn't feeling super into this. But hey, it contains decent fights and a serviceable plot, and for those who enjoy martial arts movies regardless of the severity of the stakes, I think there's a lot to like about Martial Club.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
