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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Another Poor Print of A Kung Fu Classic, January 29, 2002
This review is from: Masked Avengers (DVD)
Masked Avengers may be my favourite Shaw Brothers film... certainly it rates highly. I've bought, copied and stayed up late to tape it more times than bear mention. Naturally I was thrilled to see it on DVD... in digital format at last!! But the product is mediocre at best. It is mastered from a very old video copy with plenty of artifacts, and very clearly not from film. It's not letterboxed, making much of the dialogue literally one-sided (since you can only see half of the screen), and as with other films released by NS and Ground Zero, there are gaps in the sound. To put it bluntly, there are plenty of better copies out there in private collections. Even the uncompleted synopsis on the box ("...a stunning climax at the Mask Gang's"-- what? The Masked Gang's what?!) indicates the level of carelessness that went into this "Limited Collector's Edition." Still, this is likely to be the one and only digital print of a Chang Cheh milestone, and it's no worse than a 3am broadcast of Black Belt Theatre. Unfortunately, it's no better. Admittedly it's nice to see these old workhorses finally being immortalised and made available for sale. It would be nicer, however, if it could be done professionally, and with a bit of the affection that makes diehard fans buy them
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Venoms Movie, June 4, 2001
Masked Avengers What a great movie! Though I really like the Venoms stuff in general, this is one of the best! Most people have at least heard of the 5 Deadly Venoms, but I've never thought it was the best 'Venoms' movie (movies w/ the same five guys), though it is very good (I think Ten Tigers, Kid w/ the Golden Arm are at least as good if not better). This story involves a gang of masked assassins-for-hire, whose bloodlust only increases with each kill. [Heading the gang is Venom Lu Feng, who often plays a 'badie']. Opposing the gang are several martial arts families who have united, since various members of their families and friends have been ambushed and killed by the gang. Chiang Shing plays the (surprisingly!) mature leader of the united families/ schools, and Kwok Choi plays an understated cook (initially)with a mysterious ties to the gang. The only flaw in the movie is that Lo Meng, Venoms strong man, is not featured (neither is Sun Chien, despite the credits erroneously listed on the box. Unfortunately, this sloppy tendency is not that uncommon). Only three of the five venoms actually appear. Nonetheless, this movie is chock full of the 'weird', including subtle hints of ritual black magic, strange machines of torture and tantric buddhism! Quite uncommon, but visually arresting. The gang members dance around in bacchanalian fashion, using tridents (their main weapon) to break huge jugs of wine (when they are not thrusting them through others). There are, at times, very dream-like scenes which add a delightful sense of spooky otherworldliness. I feel that director Chang Cheh is at his best when lending this dark and mysterious quality to his work, making for great late-night viewing. A definitive Venoms flick one should not miss! Needs to get cleaned up and slapped onto DVD, ASAP!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Venom flick- for ardent trident lovers, May 28, 2001
Most of the popular Venoms appear here in a convoluted story of a masked gang of trident-wielding villians. No Lo Meng (Toad) or Sun Chien (Scorpion) here --- my favorites. With a large cast of Venom and Venom-like characters, most of the movie fits into place. However, very little hand-to-hand fighting is to be seen --- the weapon of choice, obviously, here, is the trident, an infrequently seen kung fu weapon. Boasting undoubtedly some of the best, if not the best, trident fight choreography ever staged, executed by none other than the Venoms, there is little to go wrong here --- if you like the trident. This is truly a trident lovers feast fest. Personally, I'm not that big on the trident, so I didn't appreciate the movie as much as some others might. Add to that, my favorite Venoms are not in the movie. Therefore I just can't give the movie my highest rating. But its still a solid Venom flick.
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