Product Details

• Actors: Jet Li, Terry Fan Siu-Wong
• Directors: Rocky Law
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Subtitles: English
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Tai Seng Entertainme
• VHS Release Date: March 16, 1999
• Run Time: 84 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304745249
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #623,648 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

For martial arts enthusiasts and fans of Jet Li, Yang Ching, and Wang Chun, this historical filmography about the origins of Chinese martial arts, the legendary Shaolin Monastery, and modern kung fu will prove to be an irresistible treat. The documentary is told through two fictional characters, Instructor Wang and Hong Kong sports reporter Ms. Chin Chin, who chance to meet in a park. Ms. Chin Chin is writing a story about the history of martial arts and so Instructor Wang offers to help. Together they visit the Shaolin Monastery and view a weapons demonstration by the monks. Unfortunately, in the translation the different styles are not explained thoroughly, but the scenery is spectacular and so is the history of the monastery. The next stop on the educational journey is the village Tung Yang, where all 2,000 residents practice kung fu every day. Here Instructor Wang and Ms. Chin Chin learn about the hard work required to be a kung fu master. They visit several other martial arts schools and at each school they watch more demonstrations. The fighting styles are fluid and graceful, much like ballet. Unfortunately, the dubbing is poorly translated. This proves to be frustrating, as the correct names for the various fighting techniques observed are not accurately described. However, this documentary is worth seeing, as the viewer can watch all the different styles of kung fu and learn a general history of martial arts in China. Also, Jet Li fans will be happy to discover how their favorite kung fu star learned his art. --Samantha Allen-Storey

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must!, November 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Dragons of the Orient (DVD)

While this seems to be mostly a patched together psuedo Jet Li biography, seemingly made from whatever Jet Li footage wasn't owned by some studio, the video's real worth lies in the large amount of stationary camera footage of style demonstrations. The video is only about 40% Jet Li footage but the other 60% is full of some of the best chinese martial arts routines I have ever seen performed by both men and women. There are at least a dozen mind-blowing demonstrations performed on a mat...like an Olympic exposition sport. If you hate wire work and want the real thing then you need to watch this.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars This is a movie?, August 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Dragons of the Orient [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Terrible. Okay, so Jet was in it, so it wasn't a total loss. The dubbing killed the film. It would have been much better if it was in it's original format. The fighting was okay. It was mostly demonstrations. Only about 25% of it was impressive. They showed alot of wushu segments, which is a good thing. The only problem is that it's so old that by today's standards it's pretty lame. It's still alot better than the Van Damme, Steven Seagal, and Chuck Norris stuff. But compared to the more recent Hong Kong stars, it pales. It's good for a laugh though. The dubbed "heeeya...ha hhooooyaa" and other such grunts were amusing but it quickly becomes annoying. It would have been 50 times better if they kept the original sound, edited out about 50% of the demonstrations, and added demonstrations from martial artists done sometime in the 90s. All of the footage was from the 80s and 70s it looked like. The actually quality of the video was poor, it was fuzzy. If it weren't for some pretty good fight scenes (from Jet's first movie...Shaolin Temple), the RECENT demonstrations from Terry Fang, that girl in red (she teaches in VA near Silver Spring MD...I know because my good friend's cousin goes there...that lady also competes at the national and international level, too bad it was such a poor demo...no butterfly twists, only one or two hoop kicks...short),and some of the older demos (unfortunately some were sped up, like the chain whip demo) then the movie would have been a total waste of time. If you're used to tame stuff from Van Damme and want to have a little taste (even though it's a pretty bad and poo taste) of real kung fu then check it out. But if you're a veteran Kung fu fan that watches Jet, Donny Yen, Yeoh, then maybe you'll wanna skip out on this one

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Jet Li At his Best, January 13, 2000

By 

Joseph F Bianco (lex, Kentucky) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dragons of the Orient (DVD)

If you are into Wu-shu or Shoalin Martial arts, this video is a MUST HAVE! Sure the over dubbed english is a bit annoying, but they don't talk while demonstrating forms. I Think what made me give it a 4 out of a Five was the damn sound effects they dubbed in for the weaponz.Other then that, the talent these martial artists have is Truley amazing, and as for Jet Li... Astonishing! so what are you still reading for, go order it damnitt!