Thunderfist (1973)

Thunderfist (1973)- * *  for the movie, ZERO for the transfer

Directed by: Wing Cho-Yip

Starring: Angela Mao, Sammo Hung,  Jhoon Rhee, Anne Winton, and Andre Morgan













Lee Chung-Dong (Rhee) is a Tae Kwon Do expert and leader of the “Resurrection Movement of Koreans”, a resistance group focusing on fighting back against the Japanese occupation of Korea in the 30’s. It seems the Japanese are constantly harassing Lee, and he teams up with some other fighters, such as Miss Wai (as she’s known in the English dub) (Mao), and the American (or French, depending on the version you’re seeing) Mary (Winton). Mary’s uncle, Father Lewis (Morgan) is a Catholic Priest who is kidnapped and tortured by the Japanese. Even though he disapproves of her Martial Arts, she trains at Lee’s school. 

After his abduction, she becomes a nun, but then continues on with Lee’s group to get revenge on the people who wronged her. The final fight features Lee forced to become the “Kickmaster” (one of this movie’s alternate titles) we know he is, because his hands are in chains. Will Lee and his motley band get justice?

Thunder Fist is just one of many titles this movie goes by, and the VHS under review today was released by New Pacific, a label not known for quality. The movie is transferred amazingly poorly, with horrendous picture and sound quality, and even jagged, unprofessional reel changes. It even repeats part of a reel to further drive home how badly done it was. 

Plus the movie is dubbed, and the music is louder than the dialogue in many cases. Most of the time the “music” is just pounding drums, which gets annoying after awhile. But there is one funky tune that should be singled out. ALL that being said, it’s very tough to judge this movie on its true merits. The awful presentation hurts the movie, and makes it seem like your standard “chop-socky” outing. 

But we’ve been informed that a foreign DVD release fixes most of these problems, and some fans consider this movie, mainly known as When Taekwondo Strikes, as a minor classic. It may seem hard to believe if you suffer through the New Pacific VHS, but we can tell there’s something here that’s buried by the uncaring treatment of this particular release.

There are plenty of lengthy Martial Arts sequences, including some swordfighting. The movie is also somewhat hurt by its minimal locations, but fan favorites Angela Mao and Sammo Hung are strong, as is Rhee in his only film credit to date. It’s also Anne Winton’s only movie. Interesting legacy.  

It’s fairly unusual at this time to see White people in a hard-core Martial Arts film like this, and Andre Morgan, who plays the Priest, was a frequent collaborator with Sammo, even appearing with him in Comeuppance Reviews favorite The Man From Hong Kong (1975). Adding to the flavor of this Golden Harvest production is some classic racism, featuring such dialogue as, and we quote, “these Japs can’t be trusted!” We’re guessing this movie wasn’t widely distributed in Japan.

One of the more “memorable” aspects of this particular VHS release is the box art. These adonises are not in the movie and are clearly models. Just why these dudes were chosen as models remains unclear. Were they meant to draw in crowds of video store patrons? 

And the insanity/stupidity isn’t only visual. Just read that “description”. Whoever wrote that never saw the movie. It doesn’t even begin to address the racial tensions of the Koreans, Japanese, Chinese, and Americans/French that simmer and boil over. “high finance and international smuggling”? “priceless treasures and bloodthirsty killers”? “turn me on”? What’s this guy talking about? I guess in the 80’s you could get away with this stuff. It was before the internet. No one’s going to look up this movie, much less check into the accuracy of boxcover copy.

Martial Arts aficionados should check this movie out, but AVOID the New Pacific release.

Also check out a review by our buddy, Tars Tarkas!

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Return Of The Tiger (1979)

Return Of The Tiger (1979)-* * *1\2

Directed by: Jimmy Shaw

Starring: Bruce Li, Angela Mao, and Paul L. Smith












In Bangkok, an American crime lord, Paul (Smith) is making his play to become the number one heroin dealer in the region. His main competitor is a Chinese gang who also wants control of the drug trade. But our hero, Chang (Li), is slyly playing them against each other so they can slowly wipe each other out. Inevitably, Paul and Chang will have to battle it out in the final confrontation. See who is victorious tonight!

From the opening of the movie, when Angela Mao shows up in a gym wearing a denim jumpsuit and stylishly beats up all comers, you know you’re in for an above-average chop socky outing. This is a true drive-in-style Martial Arts film, where characters have great outfits with huge collars, the dubbing is funny in its own right, there’s quality, non-stop fighting that is well-choreographed, and there are some nice directorial flourishes along the way that keep things from ever getting too flat.

Adding a lot to the proceedings is the extra-funky music, which includes some seriously badass drums. It’s easy to see why rappers like Wu-Tang like this style of movie, especially after hearing this cool soundtrack. Bruce Li even wears an imitation Adidas tracksuit for a bunch of his fight scenes, showing that the filmmakers trying to wring every last drop out of the Bruce Lee legend created something special that can stand on its own - and since a lot of these movies played on New York City’s 42nd Street, they ended up inadvertently inspiring some of the street culture of the 70’s and 80’s.

We always felt Bruce Li was underrated. While he came to prominence in the rush of Bruce Lee imitators along with Bruce Le, Dragon Lee, and our personal favorite knockoff name, Bruce Rhee, Bruce Li can hold his own as a high-quality Martial Artist, and this movie puts his talents on display - not only does Return Of The Tiger have the most threadbare plot to allow for non-stop brawls and fights, but there’s a hilarious scene where Li, right before a fight, oils himself up with oil that he just happened to have in his own pocket! 

So there’s a sense of humor here too, which is nice. Paul Smith, whose career has plenty of interesting moments, including appearing in the David Heavener vehicle Outlaw Force (1988), makes a visually different villain for this type of film. His bearded, hulking appearance gives Li a big challenge to overcome, and the climax - just like this movie overall - doesn’t disappoint.

Naturally, it takes place in the time-honored abandoned warehouse. Other things to watch out for are the musical stings (presumably) lifted right from the John Barry James Bond theme music, and an obese minion of the baddies named Tom who always wears a sweatshirt with the word “TOM” written in huge letters right on it. There are other memorable moments as well, making Return of the Tiger a cut above the legion of similar films being released at this time.

Also known in some territories under the awesomely overblown title of “Silent Killer From Eternity” (!), Media released this on VHS back in the good old days, so check it out if you can find it.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett