What's happening?!! On this edition of Hai!Karate, we've got a veritable classic in the house for you to be schooled on. That classic is none other than The Flying Guillotine!!! This entry from the Shaw Studios features one of their greatest stars, Chen Kuan Tai. Co-starring veterans Ku Feng, Frankie Wei-Hung, Norman Chu Siu-Keung and a young Wong Yu, this film is directed by Ho Meng Hua with I Kuang on the screenplay tip.
The Flying Guillotine begins in the reign of the
Ching Dynasty in China. Emperor Yung Chung(Kong
Yeung) despises the Han people. So much so that
he's issued a decree demanding death to anyone
who opposes him. Two senior officials who intervene
on behalf of the Han people are soon marked for
death. Emperor Chung charges chief Xin Kang(Feng)
with their executions, but not to arouse suspicion.
Xin Kang plots and schemes until a child's game
gives him the idea for a perfect weapon - the
flying guillotine! Xin Kang demonstrates how
the guillotine can be used to kill from a great
distance. Emperor Chung then tasks him to create
a special force of killers to train and use this
weapon for his orders. Xin Kang gets together 12
men for this force, and soon his prized pupils
turn out to be Xu Shangkun(Wei-Hung) and Ma Teng
(Kuan Tai). Shangkun secretly resents Ma Teng
all while trying to get in good with Xin Kang.
Now in this mix, a fellow assassin Xie Tianfu
(Yu)begins to question why the emperor would
need such killing machines to keep traitors in
line when no one dares oppose him? Ma Teng soon
finds himself asking the same questions, wondering
about the emperor's tyranny.
Those questions grow louder as Ma Teng begins
to see just how corrupt and merciless the
emperor really is. His conscience eats at him,
and his fears aren't helped by Xie Tianfu's
growing status of suspicion and Shangkun's own
malicious plots. Ma Teng makes the decision to
follow his conscience and defy the emperor; but
that decision means Shangkun and the other
Flying Guillotines are soon hunting him down!
The Flying Guillotine is one of Shaw Studios'
best films of the 1970's without question. I
mean, you're talking about a film that gets
referenced heavily to this day. Ask the Wu-Tang
Clan. And it is so without many fighting scenes
involved in the picture. This doesn't mean that
the violence is limited. Neither man nor beast
is spared from the weapon's wrath; there's a
kill count of TWENTY-FIVE here. All in particularly
gory fashion to make you get the chills. The
film packs plenty of action and suspense and
rolls in a way that's compelling. Chen Kuan Tai
was in his prime with the studio here, and
usually he played the stoic and sometimes
brash hero in his roles. Here, he gets to
display a tremendous amount of range as Ma
Teng, loyal to the empire. Unquestioning.
But his morality comes into play, especially
when it comes to Xie Tianfu and his ultimate
fate. Even as he's on the run and encounters
a performer(Lau Ng-Kei)who he eventually marries,
the emotional complexity never seems to waver.
And it adds to the richness of this film. Ku
Feng's own role lets him show his versatility
from the obedient to the merciless. Frankie
Wei-Hung is at his smarmy best here, playing
Shangkun with all the utter GREASINESS he
can muster. You really find yourself rooting
for his rat bastid ass to get his 20 minutes
into the flick. As for Wong Yu, this was one of
his more early standout roles. He had come
to be a big name thanks to his turn as the
lead in The Spiritual Boxer, Shaw's first real
'kung fu comedy'.(Side note: his first ever
role was in Deadly Buddhist Raiders, three years prior.)
The Flying Guillotine did so well that it not
only guaranteed a sequel the next year, but
it led to Jimmy Wang Yu making his cult classic
Master Of The Flying Guillotine that same year
and a subsequent in-house knock-off, The Dragon
Missile. For all those lovers of martial arts
films, The Flying Guillotine is a must-see
and if you have seen it, worth it's repeat
value.
RATING: 5 OF 5 DRAGON PUNCHES
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