Customer Reviews

Kid With Golden Arm

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I have to say that the Venoms really dominated and made the genre of the "Kung-Fu" films. While I prefer to call them "Martial Arts/Hong Kong Cinema", this is one of the finest and most complete movies of that famous era.

Kuo Chui, Wei Pai, Lo Meng, Lu Feng, The late Chiang Sheng(The Five Deadly Venoms) are all in this movie, and they are joined by many of our favorite supporting cast members from their other films including the great Johnny Wang(still a very tough guy at 50+).

This one has everything you want to see in a movie from this type or genre. It has some of the finest choreographed fighting sequences thanks to its very talented cast members. Phil Kwok(aka Kuo Chui) is now considered one of the greatest action directors in the film business in Hong Kong or Europe, and from me to him, you have a lot of fans in the US including me !

The story has some unexpected twists from the Venoms.

First Off, Ms.Lee, a female guest star, is unusual for Venoms films due to the strong feelings of producer Mona Fong, who felt that strong women characters in ancient China would be unrealistic. She was right, of course, however, modern trends all want to show us women with heroic characteristics and Ms.Lee's character is very likable and important in the movie.

Secondly, we have a likable HERO in Lu Feng, who is cast very surprisingly as the evil leader of the Chee Saw gang. However, for all of his fans, he makes even a bad guy a hero in the end.

Lo Meng reprises his undercover bad guy role as the Silver Spear who tries to turn Kuo Chui(Agent High-Toe) into a bad guy. Lo Meng a true master, not only was he a great fighter, but his characters made you feel he could convince others to follow him through low key, friendly persuasion.

Chiang Sheng as "Short Axe" was just classic for him, and to be honest his death scene brought tears to my eyes knowing that he is gone from us in real life now too. Short Axe is a jovial, fun loving fighter, and Chiang was well known to be a man with a big heart. RIP brother Chiang.
We also get to see Wei Pai in a role as the Swordsman. This is important because he did not star in as many movies with the other Venoms as they did with each other. Wei Pai, a gentleman in most of his roles always gives us an air of honor, and higher standards. It would be interesting to know if Wei Pai did come from a upper class background prior to acting.

Veteran Shaw Brothes actor and now director Johnny Wang gives another great "bad guy" appearance as the evil Iron Robe. For those in the know, he was the judge in 5 Deadly Venoms, and he also starred as a bad guy in the Ti Lung classic Avenging Eagle.

A very important movie for Shaw Brothers and Martial Arts fans, this one is a classic by which others may be measured.

The DVD is a little choppy and the quality is not too bad. But the fight scenes and the characters are what makes this movie great. This has to be my favorite Venom film. Kuo Chui (the lizard)plays a kick-[rear] drunk and the Chi-saw gang is awesome! Led by the Lo Meng (The Toad) as Golden Arms.

The fight scenes are surperb and Wei Pei (the snake) and Sun Chien (the scorpion) also appear in excellent roles. Seriously, a good Kung-Fu flick that you can watch over and over again.

the renegade lives!

to have this former saturday special on dvd.life is not so bad after all....and the copy/dvd transfer is very decent.of course there are scratches-n-artifacts and some flickering but all of the most important fight scenes are clear.for 15 bucks put your bootleg vhs copy in the back of the closet and pick up this epic/classic.what these 5 deadly fighters can do with no computer effects is special.the sound is fair...i've definitely heard worse on a dvd.if you don't have a copy of this;you're not a true martial art fan.it's that simple.....

I waited for delivery on this disc for many weeks. Boy, was I upset to find that whoever did the sound transfer must have been watching TV when he did his job. Throughout the entire movie there is background noise as if a news broadcast is going on in the next room. I didn't have any beef with the picture quality since it's such an old movie, but I did expect some semblance of prefessionalism in the creation of the disc.

I own this classic on VHS so I had to have the DVD. What a big mistake while the picture quality is good for it's time on a stereo T.V. there's noise but that's not the problem it seems the transfer was taken from a bad copy there's hiccups in the film that equals to 15 minutes of missing footage how could they release it this way? SAVE YOUR MONEY AND GET THE VHS!!

After seeing 5 deadly venoms for the first time, I had to see their other movies. I went over to hastings once and they were selling venom movies on vhs for 2.99 each, so I loaded up. My favorite one was Kid With The Golden Arm. All the characters were great (most notably kuo chui as agent hai tau). This probably has the best fight scenes out of all the venom flicks. For 2.99 it was a steal. I'm afraid to buy the dvd version, because most of the dvd versions are in cantonese and the one I have is in English. I might have to transfer my version to dvd. The quality will be the same as if I was to buy it on dvd. I definately recommend this to anyone who loves old school shaw brothers.

If you're a fan of the Venoms, this films is a must have. Even if you're not, it's pure entertainment and excitement. And, the transfer onto DVD isn't bad...much better than the VHS copies I've seen.

The video on this DVD was taped from an edited television broadcast of the movie by pointing a video camera at a television. You can see the outline of the TV in the frame. The colors are horrible. Spend (...) more for the Ground Zero Entertainment DVD of this movie- letterboxed, gore intact, and actually watchable.

most 38-42 yo guys saw this on Kung Fu theatre or Drive-In theare as wee pups...like i did. My grandfather would sit and watch kung fu movies on saturday afternoons....i'd come home from playing tennie or riding my bike...and it was kung fu time...
this is a particular stand-out....and memorable for the sheer number of characters and the treachery....oh..the treachery....the egos....the pathos....
while i could list off the actors, explain the plot, harp on the costuming and set design, i won't....
classic story, brilliant kung fu...
any shaw brothers movie with utterances of "but still" in volumes enough to start a drinking game, drunken heros, poisoned palm techniques, and blood shed and death only the way Chang Cheh can do it is worthy of your
current saturday afternoon or evening....
a must have for anyone into kung fu...i mean seriously....if you're into kung fu movies - you already own this bad-boy...
if you don't....you need it.

Kid with the golden arm is a remarkable skilled martial art movie. I recalled watching on a Saturday afternoon with my aunt and I never forgot this movie. It's filled with action and good story line to follow.

Currently, I own the movie on VHS and DVD.. Also, recently watched it for an uncounted number and still wasn't bored with it..