director: Lee Tso
Nan (sometimes Tso Nam Lee)
starring: Hsia Kuan-Li (Hsia Kwan Li) · Kang Peng (Peng Kong)
· Chi Ping Shang · Chang Kuan-Lung · Sit Hon
This
is another of director Lee Tso Nan's underrated gems. His biggest problem
as a filmmaker was his determination to remain independent, never signing
with powerful studios (i.e., Shaw Bros). As a result, his movies
never enjoyed massive distribution nor big budgets. However, they were
wildly entertaining and have often - in retrospect - enjoyed a durability
not found by his contemporaries. For example, he spent the first decade
of his career making Kung Fu movies (many still unknown today) but he
also directed SHAOLIN
VS LAMA which is generally considered one of the best Martial
Arts films ever made.
By the
early '80s, director Lee decided to compete in the cinema marketplace
by adding other aspects to his 'fight' films. This exploitative edge is
best demonstrated in this Rape Vengeance Martial Arts tale. The
film opens as Miss Lo and her husband playfully frolic on horseback through
the countryside. Suddenly they are attacked by a band of thugs. Her husband
is murdered and she is raped. They are left for dead. However, a hermit
Abbess finds Lo and nurses her back to health while also teaching some
Dragon Fist style kung fu. Now armed with an 'invincible' fighting skill,
Miss Lo tracks down the villains and begins eliminating them one by one.
Her final conflict with boss Kwong Wu Chi (played by Peng Kang who also
served as the fight director) is remarkable and NEEDS
to be seen by fans of cult cinema.
Interestingly,
today Lee Tso Na is better known for his erotic exploitation (KILLING
IN THE NUDE), frantic actioners (LUNATIC
FROG WOMEN) and brain-warping fantasies (KUNG
FU WONDER CHILD) than for his old-school Martial Arts films. After
40+ films, he is still active today directing movies in Beijing under
the name Li Zuonan.
A Hong
Kong film with English and Chinese subtitles; fullscreen format, uncut
(90 minutes)
DVD encoded for ALL REGION NTSC FORMAT; Extras include selected trailers.
Violence/Rape/Sexual
Situations
for Adult Audiences
