The Master (1980)

Easily one of my favorite Kung Fu films, 3 Evil Masters delivers in both dynamic choreography and excellent quotes. The dubbing is phenomenal in this Shaw Brothers gem as you will finish the movie repeating the jokes or threats by the characters "'I despise your killing, and raping… your… despicable!" (quotes such as this). The only down part in the film is the incredibly poor quality of the movie itself, the beginning is plagued with blurriness and the end had a few glitches reminiscent of the old VHS tapes (the ones that have been watched hundreds of times). This does not take anything away from the story, action and legendary delivery of a Shaw Scope movie, however.Chen Kuan Tai is a righteous kung-fu master and has grown tired of the 3 Evil Masters and their crimes. Taking it into his own hands to take them on, he ends up badly wounded and has to retreat to the Kung Fu school of an old rival. Within the school he meets a bullied orphan and reluctantly teaches him his invincible kung-fu and sword techniques. After eventual death, Chen Kuan Tai's orphan student masters the style on his own and takes revenge on the 3 Evil Masters.Ridiculously great fighting and hilarious slapstick (reminiscent of most Kung Fu movies) are mere bonuses to the host of likable good guys, annoying side characters and badass bad guys. This is one of the best movies to start any newb fan on their journey of fine Kung Fu cinema. A must for the collector, if you haven't seen it, or barely remember it, then check out the 3 Evil Masters ASAP.

Decent plot and good classical 80s Kung Fu make this a worth seeing film. Contains some quotes used in GZAs 1995 album Liquid Swords, and as a general rule of thumb, any film that the Wu Tang quote is worth seeing. I would put this on a par with 5 Deadly Venoms. Classic plot line of - young student with potential is studying under a poor Kung Fu master and is bullied by fellow students. He looks after a real master who is wounded by the 3 evil masters and who teaches him an old, powerful form of Kung Fu to eventually defeat the 3 evil masters. "The Sword. It's the best weapon of all. Two sharp edges and a long spine. The blade is very thin and it's easily damaged you'll remember that. The vital thing is the point. Pay special attention to it, your life could depend on it".

THE MASTER (1980) was made at Shaw Bros., but displays a look and feel much closer to the indie kung fu films of 1980 than it does to other Shaw martial arts films of the time such as Chang Cheh's Five Venoms spectacles. It has a few Shaw trademarks, including some large sets and several dependable Shaw character actors, but its story is simpler and less wide-ranging, with an emphasis on training, and the main cast is much smaller, with only five major characters participating in the important fight scenes. It packs a lot of fighting (staged by Hsu Hsia) into a concise structure that serves as a showcase for the considerable talents of young Yuen Tak (billed as Yuan Te), one of Jackie Chan's classmates at the Peking Opera school in Hong Kong that spawned so many kung fu movie greats.Yuen plays Gao Jian, a hapless student being taught at a school run by a vain, not-so-skilled teacher (Lin Ho Nien). One night he encounters a wounded kung fu master, Jin Tianyun (Chen Kuan Tai), a legendary warrior fleeing from a fight in which he was stabbed in a sneak attack and now has to hide from his pursuers, the Three Devils. Gao tends to Master Jin and hides him in his shack and, in return, Master Jin teaches Gao some essential kung fu. After a tragic turn of events, Gao goes off for a year to practice and then comes back to find his teacher's school taken over by the Three Devils, who are seeking to create a haven for other outlaws. This leads to a series of exciting final bouts between Gao and each of the Devils, the leader of whom is played by the great Wang Lung Wei.Yuen Tak was the ever-patient fiancé in the delightful AMBITIOUS KUNG FU GIRL (also reviewed on this site), the first film in which he fully registered with me. I found his performance here quite a revelation. He incorporates a lot of acrobatics into his moves and certainly compares well with all the other young stars playing eager, put-upon kung fu students at the same time in non-Shaw films (e.g. Meng Fei, Lee Yi Min, Meng Yuan Man, Cliff Lok, etc.). Yuen went on to become a prominent fight choreographer in Hong Kong and even in Hollywood, where he worked on "Martial Law" and Jet Li's THE ONE.Kung fu great Chen Kuan Tai (THE BOXER FROM SHANTUNG) has a relatively small part. He's got a great fight scene at the beginning, but its impact is diminished by the decision to keep freezing the frame all through it in order to show the credits. Candy Wen Hsueh-erh, the only female in the film, plays the daughter of Gao's teacher, but she doesn't get much to do.Overall, it was a pleasant surprise to find a Shaw Bros. kung fu film I hadn't seen before that was so direct, straightforward and free of the studio's usual frills.

THE MASTER is a very entertaining kung fu comedy from the last days of the Shaw Brothers. After the success of Drunken Master and Snake in the eagle shadow, the studio release this one, showing the great capacities of Chen Kuan Tai as "the master". The humor is a bit irritating but there are some good gags and the action is fast-paced. Kung fu choregraphies are good, like in the Jackie Chan movies of this era. This movies is not a masterpiece but it's really fun to watch: the plot is simple, there is a slightly erotic sequence, some violence and plenty of fights. If you like shaw brothers movies that go straight in your face like Monkey Kung Fu or Crippled Avenger, you will surly like this one! Worth catching for all kung fu fan, like the other Tony Liu movies, especially the crazy Holy Flame of the Martial World.