Customer Reviews

The Crippled Masters

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"The Crippled Masters" may very well be the single most evil movie I've ever seen. It's still hilarious, and it's the kind of movie that makes me happy to be alive and a movie watcher.
This movie is about a guy with no arms and a guy with horribly withered legs who team up to learn kung-fu and fight evil. The legless guy at one point jumps on the armless guy's shoulders during a fight. In several occasions, the armless guy twirls stick with his very bony arm stump, and even punches people (don't ask). Was there a plot? Oh, who knows. I was too caught up in the depravity of it all.
The DVD is in the aspect ratio of 1.33:1, which means it's probably in pan-and-scan. For you two or three people out there who want to catch "every inch" of "The Crippled Masters," then you'll have to wait for a better version. There are a few cheesy special features included: a crappy photo gallery (just a few stills from the movie), some info about the cast, a page of production notes (the same stuff that's on the back of the box) and a page of 'trivia' (more production notes, this time in point form). I still have hope for the special deluxe 5-disc edition of "The Crippled Masters," with interviews, trailers, and a ten-hour documentary, "Burden of Dreams: The Making of The Crippled Masters."

This movie is no joke at all! Revenge, Revenge, and more Revenge! This is the driving force in this movie.

Nothing makes you want to kick the "you know what" of your enemy than to have your arms chopped off and thrown away as if they were yesterday's garbage. The armless character played by Frankie Shum, must learn to deal with his handicap and not feel sorry for himself. He is helped by a stranger on a farm where he learns how to strengthen his legs and do farm work.

But, here's the twist of fate! The same man who carried out the order to have his arms chopped off (Jackie Conn), in turn had his legs burned off by acid for his punishment. This is where the movie grabs you! Yes, you've guessed it! Their paths cross again - "no arms" meets "burned off legs." Frankie had the upper hand because he learned to work around his handicap and nearly beat Jackie to death because he was filled with rage. Jackie tried to explain to Frankie that he was only carrying out the order made by the evil master. An old man living in a cave intervened and persuades Frankie that he must learn to forgive and move on. After he learns to forgive Jackie for having his arms cut off, they were taught kung fu by this same old man. They both vowed to get even with the evil master and later joined forces.

This inexpensive flick is a true gem. You would simply not believe the stunts you see these guys do. The stunts weren't chopped up and made to look real. The guy with this little two inch stub sticking out of his shoulder cavity swirls and swings a staff better than those having hands and arms. This is totally real. No big shirt with the arm tied or taped to the side - faking being crippled. You will see one with his shirt off and you can quickly tell where his arms used to be "or never was" and the other with extremely disformed legs. I guarantee you will be using the rewind button on this one - you'll probably wear it out! This kung fu flick is better than many I've seen where everyone had arms and legs.


All I can say is don't sleep on this one. You'll be sorry!

Movie Summary: One man disobeys the evil master's orders and has his arms cut off and is thrown in the street while a second man helps. Some time later the second man finally objects to the master's cruelty and the master destroys his legs with acid. Eventually these two crippled men meet and swear revenge. They meet up with an old man who teaches them how to fight again by complementing each other's strengths. With newfound confidence and the help of a government agent, they seek out the nearly invincible evil master who crippled them.

My Opinion: I heard about this Kung Fu classic many times on a popular Chicago Radio show. It wasn't available on DVD then. When it finally showed up on DVD, I had to grab it. This is a strange twist on the standard Kung Fu Movie plot of: Hero Wronged, Hero trains, Hero gets revenge. The twist is that both the crippled masters are disabled in real life. Frankie Shum has a tiny stump of one arm, and Jack Conn has useless shriveled legs. It is very strange to see the master with no arms fight, eat, and twirl a staff. The other master spends most of the movie crawling around which isn't quite as weird but is still strange. The masters compliment each other well and the story is pretty good. I was amazed, freaked out, and entertained all at the same time.

DVD Quality: The DVD contains Chapter Selection, Cast and Crew, Film Facts, Facts and Trivia, and Photo Gallery. The Audio is dubbed in English. The video is not too bad.

What You Should Do: Buy this one for you Kung Fu collection. The price is right, and it's a gem that needs to be included in all collections.

Related Movies To Check Out: Crippled Avengers, Crippled Heroes, The Five Deadly Venoms, Shaolin Challenges Ninja

The Crippled Masters is worth every penny! The Kung Fu in this is superb, weird, and at times very funny. I would have given it 5 stars, but since it is in full screen and not the sharpest of picture, I gave it 4 stars. It's definetly a must have kung fu classic!!!

This is a movie with real disabled people, just two of them. Though the title may suggest a gimmicky poke fun of, mockery novelty type laugh at "crippled" people sort of movie. It's just the opposite of the that, more on that later. It starts out with action, they chop the arm off of a good guy, well, a guy that we don't know. A while later they chop his other arm off and throw him off down stairs in one of the *SPOILER ALERT* four scenes in which the armless man spins around and around. This is where you think it gets interesting, but no, the viewer must work for that. There are handfulls of wonderful moments in the film. The one armless hero and the one legless hero are good friends. They find another good friend that hides in wooden baskets.

I don't know it its the chopping off of someone's arms and throwing them down a hundred steps, or if its the little man climbing out of the basket. I know that I saw this movie sometime in 1999 and I talk about it to Kung-fu fanatics like myself, praying they saw it to! Definitely not to be missed. Its a great kung-fu movie and if you have off beat humor like I do (Seinfeld) then you'll find its a comedy too!

This is exactly what I was hoping for. The quality was described perfectly. Thank you.

This movie was somehow overlooked by the Oscars. I can relate to this movie in my day to day life. I just think how thankful we really should be that most of us dont have to worry about being disfigured by a villan. These 2 crippled heros bring a tear to my eye every time I watched the unparalleled acting. This movie is so epic I watched it every day for six months during my lunchtime break at work. The action and revenge will get you going during your day. Kinda like Rocky III. This should be rated a 6 stars if it were possible.

The crippled fighting is amazing, but there were not enough fights in this movie!!!!!! They had plenty of training but I need freaking fighting. The storyline is horrible and doesn't really come up with anythign enw except for usign real cripples. But then again, I heard that there is a sequel for this movie and I will definitely check it out if I can. THE CRIPPLED MASTERS ARE GOOD, THEIR MOVIE IS NOT.

Initially, I was un-comfortable about watching two crippled men fight kung fu,,,,but after all the hype I saw on amazon,,I was compelled to this this one out.

This flick is my first experience with both Jackie Conn and Frankie Shum,,,I must admit, I was pleasantly surprized,,,the cinematography and choreography was excellent, and well done. The fight scenes were simply amazing,,and a very tight plot,,,,,,not bad at all,,,well worth watching...After seeing this one,,,i'm now compelled to check out the other flick with both men,, "Crippled Heroes"