Snake Crane Secret

(1977, HK, Kim Hin Film Enterprises Co.)

Dir. Wu Ma; Pro. Leow Swee-kim; Scr. Wong Yeuk-ping; Action Dir. Li Chao; Cast Meng Fei, Dorian Tan Tao-liang, Yu Tien-lung, Dean Shek Tin, Elsa Yeung Wai-san, Fang Fang.

90 min.

Wu Ma’s cheap 70s chopsockies are meatier than your average, a director not merely content to get the best physical performances out of his cast but also allotting valuable screen time to put flesh on his characters. Yu Tien-lung plays flamboyant villain Master Hung, a Ching Dynasty consul with political and personal links to the Emperor. With his psychadelic robes and greying mane he looks a bit like a member of Slade, masterminding his villainy via the brownnosing exploits of his loyal minions, played by Dean Shek and Wu Ma favourite Dorian Tan. Their mission: to find a stolen list of Sun and Moon revolutionary fighters stashed inside a highly sought after kung fu book. Meng Fei has the book. He’s a cocksure youth with great crane style kung fu who must decide whether to show loyalty to his corrupt government in exchange for wealth and power, or side with the plucky band of rebels. There’s a honking twist in the story which looms into focus with all the stealth of a double decker bus, but on the whole the revenge backstory is handled well despite its predictability. And watching Meng Fei’s crane style combine with Dorian Tan’s Snake Fist is a treat worth sticking around for.

AKA: The Secret of the Snake and Crane; Secret of the Dragon; Snake-Crane Secrets

Prince of the Sun

(1990, HK, Golden Flare Films Co.)

Dir. Wellson Chin Sing-wai; Pro. Peggy Cheung Siu-ping; Scr. Lau Jun-wai, Abe Kwong Man-wai; Action Dir. Yuen Tak; Cast Cynthia Rothrock, Conan Lee Yuen-ba, Sheila Chan Suk-lan, Lam Ching-ying, Jeff Falcon, Chui Jing-yat, Lau Shun.

90 min.

Crass fantasy adventure which steals heavily from The Golden Child incorporating elements of dodgy HK comedy. Rothrock stars as a Caucasian Buddhist sent to retrieve a little boy who is said to be the living incarnation of Buddha. The boy winds up in Hong Kong, kept under close surveillance by new-age scoundrels Conan Lee and Sheila Chan who resist threats from the ‘Four Lamas’, sent by the Dark Lord to kidnap the child. Rothrock supplies nearly all the action in a film which is ridiculously hampered by long sections of trashy slapstick mostly revolving around the conflicting relationship between the boy’s inept protectors and the boundless comedic potential of the little one’s powers. It’s all rather silly, although there are one or two good fight scenes and some wonderfully dated special effects, mostly involving rubbish wirework and colourful flame rods that explode on impact.