The Fighting Dragon (1975)

1975 - The Fighting Dragon (Golden Films Company) 

[Hong Kong production partly filmed in the Philippines, also released as "Challenge Me Dragon", re-released theatrically in the US in 1982 as "Fighting Dragon vs The Deadly Tiger"; also released in France as "Le Dragon Rouge Contre Les Griffes De La Mort", in Germany as Die Todesfaust der Killerkralle", in Denmark as "Dragens Blodige Hævn"]

NOTE: Sometimes confused with Call Me Dragon (dir. Ng See-Yuen, 1974), also starring Bruce Liang/Leung Siu-Lung and Yasuaki Kurata.

Director Peng Chien [sometimes listed as Pang Him] Screenplay Wu Shih [HKMDB instead lists Ng Sek] Producer Hsiao Yin-Fang [sometimes listed as C.F. Hsiao] Executive Producer Chang Hung [HKMDB lists him instead as Production Manager] Cinematography Liang Hsi-Ming [also listed as Leung Hey-Ming] Music Frankie "Chen"/Chan Fan-Kei [sometimes listed as Yung-Yu Chen] Editor Cheng Keung [sometimes listed as Kuang Cheng] Assistant Director Yue Man-Wa [sometimes listed as Wen-Hua Yue] Sound Recordist Chang Hua Costume Designer Koo Che [sometimes listed as Che Ku] Lighting Fung Man-King [sometimes listed as Wen-Ching Fung] Makeup S. S. Tang Sheung-Sam [sometimes listed as Shang-Hsin Teng]

Cast Bruce "Liang"/Leung Siu-Lung (Interpol Agent Leung Kin Sun), Yasuaki Kurata (Lung Yen Fei), Lee Ka-Ting (Red Scorpion), Bolo Yeung Sze (Red Faced Tiger), Chan Lau  (Purple Snake), Ma Chien-Tang, Chu Gam, Lam Hak-Ming (Thug), Tony Leung Siu-Hung (Taxi Driver/extra), Lee Fat-Yuen (extra), Ng Ka-Wai, Kam Ching-Yan, Yau Mei-Chi, Chow Sau-Kuen, Cheung Ang, Lau Tat-Chi, Tamagawa Isao, Mitani Noboru, Fukawa Fusayo, Yoshida Noboru        

    

SYNOPSIS: The story begins as Leung Yun Fei arrives in Hong Kong to find out the reason his master was killed. As he exits the airport, a undercover Interpol agent is intercepting a kidnapping attempt by the "Black Panther" gang. Gang leader "Red Faced Tiger" manages to kidnap a woman named Ms. Lin to be held for ransom. Now, Leung seeks to save the woman and find his master's killer. This will lead him down a dark and violent road out of Hong Kong to Japan and the Philippines, as he battles waves of formidable gang members such as "Purple Snake", "Red Dragon", and "The Blue Cat" to get some answers, and his revenge.

Review from the Hong KongMovie Database:

This flick could’ve been much better. The flick was doing good until Bolo dies. Bolo plays an unlit Marlboro chomping, Hawaiian shirt wearin’ thug named the Red Faced Tiger. What a sight! The flick reminds me of a modern day Fists of Fury. Lung Yen Fei (Yusuaki Kurata) returns from Japan in a white suit (like Bruce) to find out the cause of his Sifu’s death. Like Master Fok Yuen Gap in Fists of Fury, the death of Lung Yen Fei’s Sifu is hard to fathom as he was healthy and his gung fu was fantastic. After some snooping around, not to mention being at the right place at the right time, Lung Yen Fei finds out that that the Black Leopard criminal society is the cause behind his Sifu’s death. An Interpol agent, Leung Kin Sun (Bruce Liang) is also investigating the Black Leopard gang’s activities and at times manages to lend the Fighting Dragon a helping hand. For the most part, Bruce Liang’s appearances are temporary and do nothing to bring the flick to another level of entertainment. Forget about this flick. Watch up to Bolo’s last hurrah and then turn off your TV. Below average fare.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Force Of The Shaolin Boxer (1980)

1980 – Force Of The Shaolin Boxer (Twin Dragon Films)

[Philippines release date 25th April 1980, original title "Pedrong Palaka"/"Pedro The Frog"; released internationally by Cinex Films/F. Puzon Film Enterprises Inc, listed on the Greek VHS cover as "Forge Of Shaolin Boxer"]

TAGALOG VERSION CREDITS: Director “Reginald King”/Rey Malonzo Producer [uncredited] Rey Malonzo Cinematography Ver Dauz Music Snafu Rigor Editor Joe Mendoza Sound Effects Editors “Jhun”/Jun Cabrales, Rudy Cabrales Sound Supervisor Rolly Ruta Assistant Editors Rogelio Betez, Bonnie de Guzman

Cast Rey Malonzo (Pedrong Palaka [export version: Pei Fong]), Boy Fernandez, John Chan (export version: Cobra Po Chan), Christina Diaz, Don Pepot (export version: Lee Wong), Katherine Santos, Danny Rojo (Cobra's Fighter), Dante Javier

EXPORT VERSION CREDITS: Director "Reymond"/Rey Malonzo Cinematography Ver Dauz Music Snafu Rigor Editor Joe Mendoza Sound Effects Editors “Jhun”/Jun Cabrales, Rudy Cabrales Sound Supervisor Rolly Ruta Assistant Editors Rogelio Betez, Bonnie de Guzman

Cast “Reginald King”/Rey Malonzo, Johnny Leoncio, Arthur Simon, Sandra Dee, Sheryl Monario?, Dante Javier

Mini-review by Andrew Leavold

Cinex Films' export credits highlight shots of a cobra in the jaws of a frog, the powerful metaphor at the heart of the not-so-powerful kung fu feature FORCE OF THE SHAOLIN BOXER, a product of martial arts specialist Rey Malonzo, also in the producer's and director's chairs, delivering a by-the-numbers goon-fu flick with generic action thrills and vague exotic touches. Malonzo plays Pei Fong - Pedro in the original Tagalog version - a slightly-built Shaolin Temple initiate known for his lightning speed, frog-like leaps and as a "crusader for Good". The night he's made a Golden Master (possibly your only chance to see a naked Malonzo in metallic paint), his mother is left for dead by evil cousin Cobra Po Chan (Taiwanese kung fu star John Chan), also the killer of Pei Fong's father, who steals not only the family fortune but Pei Fong's fiancé San Ling. Pei Fong sets out on an epic voyage to avenge his family and to rescue San Ling, a journey which finds him shipwrecked on an island ruled by a primitive tribe, and bound and marked for execution as a dreaded "outlander". The Great Chief's daughter Kalia takes pity on him and arranges his escape, but not before she becomes pregnant with his child; caught once more, Pei Fong manages to battle it out with Kalia's betrothed Lawin to secure his freedom, and if fate allows it, promises to return to her one day. Further along the road he inadvertently stumbles into a kung fu tournament, wins, and is taken in by fight promoter Lee Wong (comedian Don Pepot) as his new champion. Sure enough, Lee Wong's rival is the dreaded Cobra, and after tearing through Cobra's stable of fighters - Malonzo's battle to the death with a mean-looking, spike-gloved Danny Rojo in a warehouse-cum-funhouse is easily the film's highlight - he sets out to liberate both San Ling and the pregnant Kalia, and face off against Cobra: frog stealth versus snake venom. Recommended for goon fetishists and Malonzo completists only.

Shadow Of The Dragon (1973)

1973 - Shadow Of The Dragon (Topaz Film Productions)

[Release date 1st December 1973; released in France as "Il Etait Une Fois Bruce Lee"/"Once Upon A Time Bruce Lee"]

Director Jun Gallardo Story/Screenplay Ka Ikong Producer Jun Dominguez Cinematography Jojo Sangco Music Tito Sotto 

Cast Ramon Zamora, Jeanne Young, Elfe Brandeis, Eddie Garcia, Panchito Alba, Max Alvarado, Michael Murray, Ike Fernando, Rayvann

Bruka Queen Of Evil (1975)

1975 – Bruka (Emperor Films International)

[Philippines release date 18th July 1975; a Hong Kong-Filipino co-production, export title “Bruka Queen Of Evil”]

Director Albert Yu Producer Jimmy L. Pascual [other sources credit Jimmy with Screenplay] Dialogue Yuen Shiao Po Cameraman Leung Kwok Kuen Music Chow Fu Liang Editor Lee Yam Hai In Charge of Production Fely Pascual Production Manager Vic Kwong Assistant Director David Yau Interpretor Teddy Chiu [as Tedmund Chiu] Special Effects Michael Fung Lights Chui Kwok Kuen Makeup Soledad Mauricio Wardrobe Romana Tablate Stills Wong Tit Huang Setting Maurio Carmona Props Ng Chau Electrician Tiburcio Pacia

Cast Alex Lung, Rosemarie Gil, Etang “Ditched”/Discher (Bruka), Sandra de Veyra, Yukio Someno, Anthony Lee, Michael Kwan, Charlie Davao, Connie Angeles, Darius Razon, Tintoy, Matimtiman Cruz, Roldan Rodrigo, Bruno Punzalan, Greg Lozano, Ramon D’Salva, Pedro Faustino, Alfonso Carvajal, Eileen Montinola, Ben Manalo, Michael de Mesa, Rocco Montalban, Kristina Kasten, Sancho Tesalona, Eddie Nicart, Jimmy Cruz, Gigi Vellasenor

Review by Andrew Leavold

Back in 1974, a Filipino producer named Jimmy L. Pascual ended his two year run of Hong Kong-based kung fu productions and brought his film outfit to the Philippines to make a film called Devil Woman. Essentially a chop sockey cashing in on the kung fu craze like Pascual’s previous films (The Bloody Fists [1972], The Awaken Punch [1973] amongst others), Devil Woman is a rudimentary revenge saga with fantastic elements and snake motif, a familiar ingredient in Asian horror. Despite the regulation atrocious dubbing and wooden dialogue, Rosemarie Gil is positively regal as the snake-haired queen seeking revenge on the townsfolk for burning her parents alive, and the film was a minor hit, even receiving a theatrical run in the US, and has retained a small fanatical cult following thanks to Quentin Tarantino’s regular screenings.

For years, fans of Devil Woman saw posters for a film called Bruka Queen Of Evil featuring Rosemarie Gil’s distinctive coiffure, and assumed it was one of Devil Woman’s numerous export titles. When a trailer finally appeared, the Devil Woman herself, Manda the Snakewoman, was indeed in the film – but with entirely different footage of bats, walking trees, and an army of little people. Was this the Filipino cut of Devil Woman for the local market merely redubbed and resold, or an entirely different film? Alas, no version of Bruka could be found, even amongst the most intrepid of Asian collectors.

Imagine my surprise, then, to discover a copy of Bruka Queen Of Evil last month in my post box. Ten minutes later, I can confirm Bruka is no Devil Woman. Although made by the same production team and with many of the original’s cast, its immediate sequel Bruka is an entirely different creature. A quantum improvement on Devil Woman, the film throws open Manda’s own personal narrative, giving her both a legacy and a destiny, and adds a new protagonist’s magical quest against a seemingly improbable array of oddities.

Bruka begins as Devil Woman ends, with Manda engulfed in flames as she falls over a cliff. Miraculously she survives, and wakes in a cave next to a white-haired hag and a cadre of dwarves. “I’m your grandmother,” the hag Bruka declares, and to prove the point, unfurls her fifteen-foot snake body. She then shows Manda flashbacks to her birth in a crystal ball, revealing Manda’s mother to have chosen a mortal husband over her reptilian heritage. Manda’s so happy at the family reunion, she literally dances for joy! Surrounding her is a brand new arsenal for her protection: bats, rock creatures, tree-men, and shape-shifting dwarves into snakes. Veteran contrabida Charlie Davao is the test case, a poor villager who sees a figure under a sheet in his yard. It turns out to be a wooden cross covered in reptiles who almost drown him in venom. And with that, the Devil Woman sequel has already shape-shifted itself to the next level of weirdness.

Grandma Bruka now gives her granddaughter a special gift – a black stone which turns her head full of angry snakes into human hair for as long as she keeps the stone in her mouth. To test the theory, she goes for a jungle stroll and kisses the first unfortunate hippie with a guitar who stumbles upon her. Spitting out the stone, the snakes pounce. Exssssscelent! In Bruka, Manda is no longed killing simply for revenge, and is instead awakening her true inner evil, and exploiting her outward normalcy to indulge her more primal, destructive instincts.

In Bruka, Manda faces a new antagonist in the shape of poor and angry Chinese Hong Pin (Pascual’s kung fu kicking regular Alex Lung). He takes on the job of finding rich Mr Tony’s daughter Louisa to buy food for his ailing family. In an eerily effective sequence he walks into a village obliterated by Manda’s snake scourge, bodies strewn everywhere covered in flies and bite marks, and he helps bury the bodies alongside a priest (Ramon D’Salva) and his hunchbacked assistant. The forest is full of peril, warns the hunchback, and Hong Pin must seek a hermit’s help. And as if on cue, Bruka’s dwarves burst into the church, dissolve into snakes and cover the priest and cripple. With the hermit’s rope-belt-turned-into-a-pole, Hong Pin makes his way through hostile territory, through all manner of creatures, to the cave containing Louisa and her virginal companions, all ready to be sacrificed to the Snake Queens’ insidious blood cult.

Pascual’s Philippines output for his Emperor Films International included another starring role for Lung, Dragons Never Die (1974), released in the US on a double bill with Devil Woman, and three Tagalog horror films released in 1975 alone for the local market (Isinumpa, Pagsapit Ng Dilim and Pandemonium: Lupa, Langit At Impiyerno). But if there was ever destined to be Filipino Lords Of The Rings with evil, fondling, Riverdancing hobbits and bleeding trees, this is the one film to rule them all. Those with a snake phobia, BEWARE; those with eyebrows ready to be raised and a keenly-honed appreciation of the absurd, enjoy, and I’ll see you at Ermita’s all-dwarf bar Hobbit House for after-movie rum cocktails.