Kung Fu Fridays: The 36th Chamber of Shaolin

One of the greatest Kung Fu films of all time. Why is it so loved? Read on and find out.

In 1978, martial arts films were dropping at an absolutely intense rate. They were cheap to make, cheap to shoot, and highly profitable. Martial Arts mania was in full swing in Asia and America and studios, as they are wont to do, were eager to capitalize. As we have seen, if you have read any of the previous pieces linked conveniently below, there were more than a few gems to hit the silver screen during this period. However, the glut of releases meant that not every one would be a classic.

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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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Kung Fu Fridays: Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow

Jackie Chan is the kung fu version of Groucho Marx

Directed by Woo-Ping Yeun and hitting theaters in 1978, Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow made a star of Jackie Chan and introduced the world to two things that would become staples of Kung Fu cinema; one, the notion of the kung fu movie as comedy and two, animal style kung fu being one of the greatest things in the history of makind. While Chan had been in a few films before this, the attempt to make him into the new Bruce Lee failed miserably.

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