Well to start things at the very beginning, we have the movies title: Master of the Flying Guillotine, which certainly gets my vote for the BEST movie title ever - but it hardly ends there.When viewing this wickedly clever and innovative martial arts classic from the mid-70's (making it an early entry in the post-Lee era), it's apparent from the movies opening credits with it's oddball music selection (Kraut-rock), that it's star/director Jimmy Wang Yu was clearly thinking outside-the-box. "Master of the Flying Guillotine" is the sequel to the "One-Armed Boxer" and it's superior to it's older counterpart in pretty much every way, not that the One-Armed Boxer is bad - not at all, but The Master is an absolute classic of the martial arts genre and once you've seen it you're likely not to forget it.Basic plot structure revolves around a grandiose martial arts tournament and a group of half-a-dozen, vengeful, martial artists from various regions of the East, who along with an old blind priest, who actually is (as it will quickly be obvious) the master of the flying guillotine; they conspire against a certain karate dojo and it's renowned master, the one known as the one-armed boxer. In the first movie titled "The One-Armed Boxer" Jimmy Wang Yu (it's star and director, the same as in this movie, it's superior sequel) kills two of the old blind priest's disciples and when upon finding this out, the old priest seeks to avenge thou who hath slayed his students and what transpires over the course of the next 90 odd, very odd, minutes is perhaps the most creatively colorful and most entertaining of all martial arts films. Starting with Jimmy Wang Yu's stylish sense of direction, Master of the Flying Guillotine works so well in so many ways, from it's tight editing (it's action sequences vantage from this immensely), to it's remarkably unusual and effective soundtrack (an all Kraut-rock soundtrack in a martial arts film was UNHEARD OF at the time and boy does it work well here), plus there's great deal of variety among the villainous ranks of evil martial artists, which showcases many different styles. The long and the short of it is this, Master of the Flying Guillotine is a martial arts film that's simply exemplary in it's combination of style, innovation, humor and creative energy and is said to be the pinnacle of the directors Wang Yu's long career. In fact this great film has SO MUCH style, that it often finds itself bordering on the realm gimmickry, but yet it never does cross the line, nor does it descend into the painfully cringe-worthy depths of supreme idiocy that some movies have gone (such as the reviling "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" for instance).Brimming with no fewer than six individual fight scenes and a lengthy martial arts tournament, Master of the Flying Guillotine has all the action you could ask for (and then some). But with this movie, it's really more about the Quality of such scene's, not the Quantity - though to be accurate about it, it's really both at the same time, LOTS of ass-kicking's (of high artistry) are dealt-out in this unbridled classic of martial arts mastery. The films of this genre are not known for going with the most realistic sound effects (for the kicks and punches, etc.) and this movie has some of the loudest and punchiest sound effects of them all; for instance merely twitching your wrist left to right a few times, will cause loud and dramatic atmospheric turbulence (i.e. loud wind). The finale is, not surprisingly, between: the one-armed boxer (once again the movies star and director) and the master of the flying guillotine himself and let me tell you the flying guillotine is one HELL of a weapon when wielded by the master, a real terror; but our crafty hero the one-armed boxer, cleverly defeats said weapon with his own wit, wisdom and guile. The fight between these two is epic and sprawling in nature and takes place in no fewer than three different locations - I think you'll find the last locale (which Mr. One-Arm has rigged, in advance, with spring-loaded booby-traps) to be wickedly ironic. A ruthlessly intense fight, often in very close confines, finally ending with a POWER PUNCH, which sends us literally THROUGH THE ROOF and then downwards we tumble, head-first, into an open coffin! Sweat is beading on the brow! Yes, there's rarely a dull moment in this one, but Jimmy Wang Yu was considerate enough to include a few slower scenes to this masterwork, in order to establish a few key plot-point's and to let us catch our breath..... OK, it's not full-speed all the way (what movie is?), but almost.On the matter of the movie's preservation, unfortunately The Master seems to have been in rough hands over the years and hasn't aged particularly well. The film has a significant amount of scratching and a few, very minor audio issues. My guess is that in China thing's are seen as being more dispensable and are generally less cared for, then they are over here. But really, just how hard is it (in China) to make some prints and then store properly. I've seen literally one-hundred year-old American-made films with less scratching.Strong Points: Highly-stylized action and SFX, razor-sharp editing, great soundtrack and sound effects (The Master's an orgy for the ears, as well the eyes) and an AMAZING finale.Weak Points: No specific's, other then to say, it's modest budget prevents it from having an overall "oppulent" visual presentation - with more money it would have been even better.One last thing to mention: It's a fact that The Master has a lofty, A-List ally in the form of director-extraordinaire Quentin Tarantino, he champions this movies innovative bad-ass-ness. Now obviously, this doesn't mean you have to like it - but HE does.....

This sequel to Wang Yu's ONE-ARMED BOXER offers more of the same and actually manages to surpass that classic film in a number of ways. Although the plot is threadbare, no real genre fans should care about this because the wealth of action on offer is well-shot and always entertaining. For sheer entertainment value alone, MASTER OF THE FLYING GUILLOTINE is a real classic, a film which packs in plentiful martial arts, outlandish props and weapons devices, bizarre scenes of fantasy and horror, appropriate music, and plenty of unexpected surprises. The story begins as the evil bearded blind kung-fu expert goes berserk, jumping through his roof and decapitating an unfortunate chicken. The reason why? His loyal students - the Tibetan Lamas that Wang Yu fought in the first film - have been destroyed and he's none too pleased.Travelling to the local village, the evil blind guy uses his unique weapon, the flying guillotine, to kill off any one-armed men he finds. After decapitating a man in a restaurant, he's informed that this isn't the One-Armed Boxer he is seeking. "I don't care," he replies, "I'm going to kill any one-armed men I find."!!! Totally un-PC, I love it! The flying guillotine itself is an imaginative weapon, a box on a chain that has a spiked interior that can rip a man's head clean off (as we see it do many times). Whoever invented this classic device deserves a pat on the back - although it may be unbelievable it makes for great cinematic entertainment and was used in subsequent films.The One-Armed Boxer, meanwhile, is taking things pretty easy after his workout in the first movie. He's assembled a new martial arts class and he chills out by watching a local staged tournament of kung-fu fighters. This tournament takes up much of the film and is a delight to watch - basically two opponents fight each other to the death. When one or both die, its time for the next round. The long-running tournament is kept fresh and interesting through the various fighters used. The monkey-fighter and the Thai boxer are back from the first film, and new enemies include Without a Knife, a guy in a big hat who kills by using a secret knife (!) and an Indian guy who can stretch his arms out to ten feet long. No, I'm not kidding. The stretchy-armed guy is one of the film's biggest entertainment values. Despite the dodgy effects his appearance is a classic one and adds to the film hugely.After lots of gory bloodshed (bone-breaking, crushing, slicing, and stabbings abound here folks, along with a nasty battle over a bed of poking swords), the Blind Man arrives and promptly decapitates a fighter with one-arm. Turns out he got the wrong guy again! Wang Yu learns of this and narrowly escapes when the guillotine guy arrives at his school. He thinks of a plan and then the long-running conclusion of the film charts the battle between Wang Yu and three adversaries. A great callous moment from Wang Yu here: he locks himself and the Thai fighter in a hut with a metal floor to fight to the finish. The catch? Fires under the hut constantly heat up the metal. Wang Yu wears shoes and his opponent does not. You get the picture. The most sadistic scene in the film and also one of the funniest.The showdown between the Boxer and the Blindman is great show-stopping stuff, incorporating some fine martial arts work, slow motion techniques, suspense, and more props than you can shake a stick at. Plenty of bloodshed, overflowing intensity, weirdness, and classic bad dubbing abound and combine to make a sequel that equals. Wang Yu enjoys himself as the One-Armed Boxer and displays some charisma and swagger too. Despite being no Bruce Lee he handles himself well in the action, creating a screen presence that makes him look more talented than he actually is. The characters are imaginative and interesting and the movie has a unique feel to it which propels it into the realm of the classic. The unintentional humour adds another angle to the entertainment. A must for all kung fu fans or those who just like the films plain and simply weird.

Master of the Flying Guillotine (1975)*** (out of 4)Outrageously entertaining Kung-Fu flick has Lui Ti Lung, aka the One-Armed Boxer (Yu Wang) killing two men who happen to be friends with Fung Sheng (Kang Chin), a master at the weapon known as the flying guillotine. Fung Sheng sets out for revenge by killing any one-armed man he comes across. I take pride in watching as many weird movies as I can and I must admit that I'm kicking myself for not checking this one out sooner. Yes, the plot is simple, the acting fair to poor and the camp level is high but there wasn't a single second where I was bored, which is the important thing. Just when I thought I had seen it all something else extremely crazy would happen and just pump more energy into everything going on. There's no doubt that this film influenced countless others and one can even see the influence certain characters had on the game Mortal Kombat. What I loved most about the film is all the imagination that went into the various characters, stunts and fight sequences. The tournament that happens early one features countless fights. The first one is crazy. The second crazier. The rest just keep topping one another in pure craziness and it's so explosive, over-the-top and violent that you can't help but have a smile on your face. The craziness doesn't stop here as we get several other crazy fights including one that takes place in what's pretty much an over where a guy is getting his feet cooked by not being able to escape. Another memorable character is the swami who has the ability to stretch his arms out. Both Wang and Chin are very memorable in their roles even if neither give what one would call a "great performance". The supporting players fit their roles just fine but once again one shouldn't be expecting Oscar-level performances. The main reason to come to this film is for the camp value and all the outrageous and non-stop fight sequences. Fans of action are going to eat this thing up and those who just want to have fun will have to add this to their collection. For the longest time I thought the flying sphere from the PHANTASM series was the coolest weapon in movie history but that has been replaced by the flying guillotine and the various heads that it chops off.

Few films enjoy the moniker of a "cult classic." Few films have a one-armed hero, a blind antagonist who wields a Flying Guillotine, steal German techno music for the soundtrack, a martial arts tournament in the middle of the film, and have been inspirational to Quentin Tarantino and video games. Master of the Flying Guillotine (aka One-armed Boxer vs. The Flying Guillotine) is one of several old-school martial art films to take on an iconic stature amongst Asian film fanatics. This movie is one of my favorite Taiwanese films - produced by First Films.It is 1730 during the reign of Emperor Yung Cheng of the Manchu Dynasty and is in the case of all films about this oppressive era the protagonists are supporters of the Ming Dynasty. The awesome antagonist is a blind (disguised) Buddhist named Fung Sheng Wu Chi played with demonic fury by Kam Kong (Half a Loaf of Kung Fu). He wears Buddhist garb, has his own lifted musical theme of "Super 16" by the German group Neu! (they also use "Super" by Neu! in the opening theme and "Mitternacht", "Morgensparziergang" and "Kometenmelodie 2" by Kraftwerk in the film), throws bombs that remind me of Tim from Monty Python and the Holy Grail and carries an ingenious weapon called the Flying Guillotine. This weapon is a round circular disk with serrated edges on the outside and a retractable net with sharp knives that can be thrown by its user to go over the head of its opponent and with a jerk of the attached chain rip off the head. It is also be folded and fit in your pocket! With this weapon and his learned knowledge that his students Chow Lung and Chow Fu were killed by the One-Armed Boxer he goes off in search of his revenge.The One-Armed Boxer (Jimmy Wang Yu reprising his most successful role as well as directing this film) is the sifu of a martial arts school where he shows his students how to fight, walk on empty baskets and to walk on ceilings (it is all in how you breathe). His students want to enter a martial arts tournament run by Wu Chang Sheng of the Eagle Claw school but he fears that government might find them out. He does agree to go watch the tournament though.The tournament is one of the many highlights of the film. While the tournament film was nothing new (Enter the Dragon was done several years earlier), the approach of many styles and deadly fighting would go on to influence video games such as Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter. There are nine fights that range in quality but most are memorable. The first is Long Spear Chang Chia Yu (actually uses a three-section staff) versus Long Stick Ho Po Wei. This is a short but decent fight that is more memorable because the underrated Lau Kar Wing (also one of the stunt coordinators) plays Chia Yu and that it is more calm than the fights about the happen. However there is much more: there is a Mongolian who looks more like a silent movie star (with his dastardly false mustache) than a Mongolian. There is a double fatality. There are crotch kicks, eye pokes, pole-fighting, a one-armed fighter who accidentally shows his other arm, a cheating Thai fighter and an Indian fighter who can stretch his limbs (like Dhalsim in Street Fighter) to attack his opponents. One of my favorite fights is the fifth fight between Eagle Claws Wu Shao Tieh (Doris Lung) and a Monkey Boxer Ma Wa Kung who is small, agile and carries the fight between the two (being comic relief he will not win but he will not die either).But this tournament is just a diversion. The main plot will continue after the abrupt conclusion of the tournament. There are still several fights to go and two are unforgettable. The first memorable fight involves the One-Armed Boxer vs. the Thai fighter. Though Wang Yu would have trouble with plot, dialog and making sense in many of his films he has always had an interesting knack on weaponry and situations. Here he uses a small metal house to trap the barefoot Thai fighter while the OAB's students are piling wood and setting underneath the house ablaze making this a giant hotbox. This fight to the death is a bit difficult and is sometimes hard to watch but nonetheless a fantastic bout. Sometimes the hero must have some sadistic element in fighting his enemies. The last fight is an awesome inevitable confrontation between the protagonist and Fung Sheng. Here is where Fung Yu's ingenuity at situational martial arts comes to blossom. I will not tempt to spoil this be explaining it (just in case you have not watched it). I will say that it is the perfect ending to this momentous martial arts film.There are a couple of good Master of the Flying Guillotine R1 DVDs out there by Pathfinder. Pathfinder has a 2002 (Ultimate Edition) and 2004 (2-disc Anniversary Edition) release. The latest release is preferable because of the anamorphic video transfer, additional interviews with Jimmy Wang Yu and an insert booklet with a several goods articles including the history of the Flying Guillotine, the movie itself and one on Wang Yu. It is important to mention to extreme collectors that the commentaries are different on both disks. The first one has Wade Major and Andy Klein, the second adds Alex Luu to the mix. I was not particularly impressed by the second commentary. While they acknowledged their mistakes in the first one (such as calling this a Hong Kong film) they still did not add as much factual information as they could (name the music that was lifted instead of saying a German band) and they digressed a few too many times. While this film could use a better transfer it is great to see in a good-enough widescreen version with Mandarin dialog.