My last post of the year should be something significant, so I've decided to go with "Du Bi Quan Wang Da Po Xue Di Zi.".............
........"Master Of The Flying Guillotine,"...........
........or as it is also sometimes called, "One Armed Boxer vs. The Flying Guillotine!!!" I just made myself some egg flower soup with bok choy, and some salt and pepper chicken to get me in the mood, so let's get this egg rolling!!
This film is actually a sequel to the 1972 flick "Du Bei Chuan Wang" (One-Armed Boxer) and this is the blind Fung Sheng Wu Chi as played by Kang Chin, who has just got the word that his disciples have been killed by the One-Armed Boxer, so it's up to him to exact some revenge with his flying guillotine! Kang Chin has some 60 acting credits, some as Kang Chin, some as Kong Kam, some as Kam Kong, and even one as King Kong!!
The music in "The Master OF The Flying Guillotine" was created by a German band called Neu! who were former members of Kraftwerk, who are the masters of what is commonly referred to as the "Motorik" (Motor Skill) beat, or as Klaus Dinger would call it, the "Apache Beat!" This "Super"
Theme Song is a great example of how they would use a single minimalist 4/4 beat, repeated continuously throughout the entire track! Simply stated, it pounds the listener into oblivion! Interestingly enough, the makers of this film didn't ask permission to use the music, but I think they made it right a few years later!
There's a big mixed martial arts tournament going on that the One-Armed Boxer and his students are attending that is not a whole lot different from sticking 25 cents into a "Mortal Combat" video game, and there is a whole assortment of weird characters with different skills going up against one another mano a mano!!!
This is the Monkey Boy! He has his own set of special skills!
These two guys have to fight on top of a bunch of poles stuck in the ground, and if one of them falls off, he's apt to land on one of those strategically placed swords!
There are many no-holds barred styles of fighting, and many of them are also lethal!!
So the tournament is just getting in gear when party pooper Fung Sheng Wu Chi shows up with his flying guillotine. Since he's blind, he just starts randomly killing anybody who only has one arm, and sometimes just anybody! I guess he figures that if kills everybody, then he'll eventually kill the right guy! I'd be more than happy to listen if anybody wants to explain to me why he has a swastika on the front of his gown!!
The flying guillotine is kind of a cross between a giant yo-yo and a lampshade with teeth! He throws it very accurately, it lands on the target's head, and then when he pulls the cord for it to come back to him, it severs off the head of the individual it landed on slick as a whistle!!
When it gets to the point that he's not getting anywhere, he just destroys the whole freakin' place and prematurely ends the tournament!
The flashback scenes are always psychedelic!!
The Master Of The Flying Guillotine is not the only one pissed off at the One-Armed Boxer, and several other attendees of the tournament go after him too once he gets back to his school! This dude with the Mr. Fantastic arms that stretch out is particularly weird!
The little barefoot guy is also a real pain in the ass, so the One-Armed Boxer comes up with this plan to fight him in this shed, and then he has his students set it on fire, and block all the exits! The floor gets a little too hot for barefoot boy, and makes him a lot more vulnerable!
Yu Wang as the One-Armed Boxer gets credit for being the star of the first ever real kung-fu movie in 1970 titled "Long Hu Dou" or "The Chinese Boxer," and was the most popular movie star in China from 1965 to 1971 until Bruce Lee appeared on the scene!
The only way the One-Armed Boxer can escape the wrath of the Master Of The Guillotine is through distraction! He has to just keep faking him out, and causing him to make mistakes!
But it's not an easy task, and this final battle goes on for a long time!
I'll leave you with this great production still of the two protagonists really hacking it out to the very end! For all you fans of the genre, this film should not be missed, and can be found on Netflix! See you in 13!!
