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Review
by
Ryan S.
Film:8
:
DVD:7
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From the mid to late '70s, America went through quite the kung
fu craze. As a result, Bruce Lee (for one) went from supporting
player to superstar. But much more regrettably than Disco, the
trend eventually started to die. And as the demand dwindled, fans
had to go out of their way to seek out their kicks (sorry, I couldn't
resist) in second-run theaters and the now infamous grindhouses.
At the tail end of kung fu cinema's heyday here in the west, Cheh
Chang's The
5 Deadly Venoms
debuted. |
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The
plot is simple enough: A dying martial arts master commissions
his latest and last pupil (Chiang Sheng) to track down five of
his previous students, each of which is specially trained in a
specific fighting style. It is his duty to find out if in fact
they are using their training for good, or for selfish gain. Our
young hero is to encourage those who may have strayed to change
their ways; by force if necessary. Throw in a missing treasure
map, a little torture and a sizable helping of hand-to-hand combat,
and you have a good handle on what you're in for. |
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To
enjoy Venoms to the fullest, you
need to let your inner teenager come out. Just embrace this fictional
world of over-the-top, bloodthirsty villains and altruistic white
knights. Because here, while "Snake" (played by Wei Pei) may show
a moment of conscience, the line between good and evil is clearly
drawn. There is no room for gray areas. It's a nice place to visit
for just that reason, since you know who to root for from the
start. |
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Yes,
the Shaw Brothers know how to craft their heroes and villains
but their films have always really been about two things, the
action and efficient storytelling. Why show someone questing to
find the truth they seek when you can conveniently place the person
with the answers in the same room with them to begin with? This
is not to say that there are no surprises to be found, just that
very little film is wasted, and as a result, you're never given
a chance to get bored or lose interest. |
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In
'70s kung fu fantasies such as this, the martial arts aren't portrayed
as a skill or an ability as much as a power. In this way, the
fight scenes in The
5 Deadly Venoms
are true old school chop-socky. "Lizard" (or "Gecko"), played
by Kuo Chui* for instance, has been
trained to scale sheer walls, standing completely parallel to
the ground while exchanging blows with his enemies. "Toad" (played
by Lo Meng) on the other hand, has the power of brute strength;
his skin is tougher than steel! However, that's not to say he
doesn't have a weak spot... |
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Just
don't expect Superman-style, high flying action a la Yuen Woo-ping.
About 90% of the stunt work is strictly acrobatic. Our heroes
punch and kick their way out of situations more often than they
soar through the air. |
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Although
it was released at the end of an era, it is easy to see why The
5 Deadly Venoms has had such staying power with audiences.
We have: an iconic director, colorful characters (sets, too, for
that matter), and action that definitely captures the imagination.
Venoms is a prime example of its
kind. It might be dated, but that is part of the charm. |
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*
Better known to Western audiences as "Philip Kwok".
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5 Deadly Venoms
is presented in anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen; picture is crisp
and clean. The original comic book look and feel of the film has
been magnificently restored (not that we should expect less from
Dragon Dynasty). As far as audio is concerned, there is the original
Mandarin soundtrack, as well as an English dubbed option. The
only true extra on this release is the third audio track: Hong
Kong film expert Bey Logan's incredibly informative, exhaustingly
detailed commentary. Please note that, while the box says the
two main audio options are Mono, my setup claims they are all
2.0 Stereo. Whether the system is confused, or this is Dragon
Dynasty's mistake, I cannot say. (It is at least a little disappointing
that we weren't gifted an updated 5.1 Surround sound mix with
this release. True, it could upset purists to hear a genre classic
such as this in anything other than its original Mono, but in
the age of the home theater, it would be nice to at least have
the option.) Subtitles are offered in English, English for the
Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and Spanish; these are clear but are
written in white, and on rare occasions disappear against backgrounds
of the same color. Aside from that, I only caught one grammatical
error. |
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All
in all this is a solid, albeit nearly bare-bones release from
Dragon Dynasty. The only people that would be disappointed with
this edition would be the diehard fans hoping for more in the
behind-the-scenes department. The film itself looks better than
it ever has. (NOTE: Dragon Dynasty released a Blu-ray
edition of the film in May 2011.) 8/22/11
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