Kung Fu Fridays: Shogun Assassin

Stretching the definition of Kung Fu a bit but for this flick, it’s worth it

Shogun Assassin is an interesting beast of a film. Essentially a mashup made specifically for American and European audiences, Shogun Assassin is the first twelve minutes of Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance and most of Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx. Those films, both released in 1972, are the first two in a series of six films based on a Japanese manga series by Kozuo Koike and Goseki Kojima. 

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Kung Fu Fridays: The Street Fighter

That right there boys and girls, is Sonny Chiba.

One of the baddest men to walk the planet. A military brat who almost made the Japanese Olympic team, Chiba achieved worldwide success through the film The Street Fighter. No, the film has nothing to do with the game, or the film based on the game, or the game based on the film based on the game. (though the film is available in its entirety in the game The Darkness on any TV found in that game world) What The Street Fighter is is a really well done martial arts flick, a staple in many top ten lists, and an incredibly violent movie whose cult following was helped no doubt by Quentin Tarantino’s decision to not only cast Chiba as Hatori Hanzo in Kill Bill but this as well…

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Kung Fu Fridays: The Mystery of Chess Boxing

The Ghost Face Killer is a man out for revenge.

Released in 1979, and also know as Ninja Checkmate, The Mystery of Chess Boxing is one of the most storied Kung Fu films to ever make its way stateside. It was released on 42nd St in NYC. During the late 70’s 42nd St was a mecca for Grindhouse films. The story goes that The Mystery of Chess Boxing was so popular that it played in various theaters for over two years! For a Kung Fu film, not with a high budget and not starring Bruce Lee, to have a run that long is saying something. Perhaps it was the fights, deliberate and beautiful, perhaps it was the abysmal voice over, it really is terrible for the most part, or perhaps it was the blend of traditional and comedy stylings that was all the rage during this time period. Or maybe the reason it stayed around so long, and the one I hold to, is because of the Ghost Face Killer.

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