What's good people? We've got a film to match the scorching heat out there on Hai! Karate for you today! And that film is... When Taekwondo Strikes starring the fierce Angela Mao!! The film also stars Korean martial arts legends Jhoon Rhee, Whang In Sik, Sammo Hung & Carter wong among others. This Golden Harvest production is directed by Huang Feng from 1973.
When Taekwondo Strikes opens up in a Korea
occupied by the Japanese, possibly during the
early part of World War II. Jin Zhang Zhi
(Wong) is being chased by a band of Japanese
who corner him and reveal that they know
he works with the resistance. Jin flees
to find refuge in a Catholic church run by
Father Lu Yi(Andre Morgan). Yes, his name
is credited that way as an approximation
of 'Lewis'. It may also be a rare for other
reasons I'll get into a bit later on here.
The thugs confront Li Jun Dong(Rhee) who is
a caretaker at the church, but is secretly
THE leader of the patriotic resistance, the
Resurrection Movement with a bounty on his head,
and a Taekwondo grandmaster. Taekwondo at
this point is strictly forbidden. He gets
slapped around, but is saved by Jin and a
white student of his named Mary, who is the
niece of Father Lewis. This sets off a whole
debate between he and Jun Dong about the
better path of resistance. Soon though, he
and Mary and Jin have to flee as the Japanese
thugs will soon return. And they do, with
Sammo Hung at the helm. Jun Dong comes
back to thrash them all and reluctantly
leaves Father Lewis behind. Turns out all
the trouble was caused because Jin was
looking into the Yokohama School kidnapping
Korean girls to be sold into slavery as
comfort women. Jun Dong goes to the restaurant
that Huang Li Chen(Mao) and her mother owns.
Li Chen is Chinese, but supports the rebels
being raised in Korea most of her life. She
goes to find Father Lewis at the church but
has to fend off the Yokohama thugs laying
in wait, which she does viciously, killing
one of them. This sets off the thugs who
make her a target.
Li Chen is assailed by the secret police
about her fighting, and she consents to go
to the police station. Pretty soon though,
she's trailed by more thugs who she takes out
easily. This makes them MORE mad and they
wind up lashing out by capturing Jun Dong
and striking against Li Chen in a way that
makes her furious. The stage is then set for
Li Chen, Jin and Mary to rescue Jun Dong
from the clutches of the Japanese, led by
Whang In Sik!!
When Taekwondo Strikes is a tried and
true classic kung fu fest that manages to
keep together a few moving parts with proven
tropes. It's an interesting script by Huang
Feng in that the movie does involve Western
characters having an influential role. While
this reflected the times in Asian cinema,
(quite a few Japanese movies were boasting
Westerners in their own films then)it was
still a point of curiosity to see that take
place. It gets even more so when you consider
Father Lewis and Mary Lewis. Father Lewis was
played by Andre E. Morgan, and this was the first
of his TWO acting roles. He'd go on to have a
close relationship with Raymond Chow, enough
to executive produce a Jimmy Wang Yu pic,
The Man From Hong Kong as well as being a
production manager for a couple of films.
Even more curious is the presence of Anne
Winton, who plays Mary. This was her only
acting role ever. Turns out she was one of
Rhee's students. Not much else can be found
about her, save for this clipping below(credit
to HKMDB):
This leads us to Jhoon Rhee. This was Rhee's
only picture, but it is a calm and calculated
performance that speaks to the master's
sense of nobility. I mean, the man is breaking
people down IN CHAINS in the final fighting
scenes. Rhee is best known as the father of
Tae Kwon Do in the United States after coming
here in the 1950's. He became close with and
taught Bruce Lee the art. Grandmaster Rhee
learned directly from the creator of the martial
art form himself, Choi Hong Hi, a South Korean
military general. The 10th degree black belt
has gone on to be a highly regarded teacher
with Muhammad Ali and other notables as his
students at schools nationwide. Here in the
film though, his prowess is undeniable. As
for Angela Mao, she's stunning. She displays
a range in her fighting in this movie, and as
the film ramps up so does her attacking. Which
is great when it comes down to her and Whang
In Sik. Whang is sporting the rugged beard
and high-flying kicks to match. Seeing him
go toe to toe with both Mao and Rhee is the
highlight of the film. Winton does okay as a
fighter here, and Carter Wong is seen in
sparse moments. Sammo pulls double duty as
a sinister thug and action choreographer,
and does well at both. Look out for a couple
of familiar faces here in Gam Kei Chu, Wilson
Tong of Shaw Studios fame, Chin Yuet Sing
(you can't miss him with that face) and Yuen
Biao as an extra. Also, even though I've made
mention of it, see if you can spot the Marvin
Gaye sample. When Taekwondo Strikes is a
must-see film for any martial arts fan for
both the sake of action and for the strength
of Angela Mao. It's out on DVD and online...
RATING: 4 of 5 DRAGON PUNCHES
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