Director – Chi Lo (Black Magic, The Hell)
Starring – Sung-Chuan Shen (The Crippled Heroes, Fighting Life), Chao-Ming Kang (Raiders of the Shaolin Temple, Fighting Life), and Chiu Ho
Release Date – 1979
Rating – 3.5/5
Blu Release – 3.5/5
I’ve always had a fondness for old martial arts films. I remember watching several of them with my dad as a kid and several more with friends during my teenage years. When I was in college I remember snagging a poorly made DVD release of 1979’s The Crippled Masters to watch with some friends while we were drinking.
I remember really liking the movie but hating that barebones release with VHS quality video. I held on to it just in case I ever wanted to watch it again and forgot about it over time. However, that changed when Film Masters sent over their new release of the film on blu. This gave me the perfect opportunity to revisit it. Like always, I want to thank Film Masters for sending this one over.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows two men who find themselves severely disabled by a gang that they once proudly supported. Now, one without arms and the other without the use of his legs, must work together to become one warrior and stop their former gang from terrorizing more people. **Spoiler Alert**
I seriously enjoy this zany yet amazingly choreographed martial arts film. Not only because of the great character development but because the fight scenes truly have to be seen to be believed.
The acting in this one is pretty cheesy at times but that’s part of the charm that makes Hong Kong cinema so much fun. The characters, for the most part, had a great back story which gave the cast a lot to work with. When you mix these great attempts at serious acting with the language barrier and the kung fu films of the 70s and you get something that is wildly entertaining.
The story for this one is is pretty straight forward but so much fun. Two disabled men working together to make up for their short comings to battle an evil organization that they were once apart of is pretty poetic if you ask me. Sure, there isn’t a lot of depth in other aspects with all the creativity placed on the two stars and their connection to the story along with the choreography but it’s more than enough to hold your attention.
Finally, The film has a few bloody moments and two really gags making using of the actor’s disabilities. They are extremely campy but they work very well for the film. With that being said, this is not a gory flick so those looking for that will be very disappointed. Overall, The Crippled Masters is an iconic piece of Hong Kong cinema that all genre fans can appreciate. The release from Film Masters is the go to release for this one. As I said earlier, the DVD release I had before was garbage with this one being night and day better. I highly recommend it.
Special Features:
Ballyhoo Motion Pictures presents a new documentary, “Kings of Kung Fu: Releasing The Legends,” Narrated by Chris Poggiali.
One of the original theatrical trailers has been recut using restored film elements.
Original raw theatrical trailer.
Original raw scan of the film (SD).
Before/After examples of restoration.
