- Master of the Flying Guillotine
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For the album, see Master of the Flying Guillotine (album).
Master of the Flying Guillotine 
American theatrical release posterTraditional 獨臂拳王大破血滴子 Simplified 独臂拳王大破血滴子 Mandarin Dú Bì Quán Wáng Dà Pò Xuě Dī Zǐ Directed by Jimmy Wang Produced by Wong Cheuk-hon Screenplay by Jimmy Wang Starring Jimmy Wang
Kom Kang
Doris Lung
Lau Kar-wing
Philip KwokMusic by Frankie Chan Cinematography Chiu Yao-hu Editing by Kwok Ting-hung Studio First Films Distributed by Epoch Entertainment (Cinema Epoch) & Pathfinder Pictures Release date(s) April 24, 1976 (H.K.)
February, 1977 (U.S.)24 May 2002 (U.S.)(restored version)Running time 81 minutes (original)
93 minutes (restored version)Country Hong Kong Language Mandarin Master of the Flying Guillotine is a 1976 Hong Kong wuxia film starring Jimmy Wang, who also wrote and directed the film. It is a sequel to Wang's 1971 film One Armed Boxer, and thus the film is also known as One-Armed Boxer 2 and The One Armed Boxer vs. the Flying Guillotine.[1]
Contents
Plot
The film concerns Wang's one-armed martial arts master being stalked by an imperial assassin, the master of two fighters (the Tibetan lamas) who were killed in the previous film. When the One-Armed Boxer is invited to attend a martial arts tournament, his efforts to lie low are unsuccessful, and the assassin soon tracks him down with the help of his three subordinates competing in the tournament: a Thai boxer, a yoga master, and a kobojutsu user.
The title refers to the assassin's weapon, the "flying guillotine", which resembles a hat with a bladed rim attached to a long chain. Upon enveloping one's head, the blades cleanly decapitate the victim with a quick pull of the chain.
Cast
- Jimmy Wang as the One-armed Boxer
- Kam Kong as Fung Sheng Wu Chi
- Doris Lung as Wu's daughter
- Sham Chin-bo as Nai Men, the Thai boxer
- Lung Fei as Yakuma
- Wong Wing-sang as Indian fighter
- Sit Hon as tournament referee
- Lau Kar-wing as fighter with a three-section staff
- Wong Fei-lung as One-armed boxer's student
- Yu Chung-chiu as Wu Chang Sang
- Shan Mao as bamboo cutter
- Wang Tai-lang as Ma Wu Kung, Monkey stylist
- Shih Ting-ken as One-armed boxer's student
- Lung Sai-ga as Wang Jiang
- Philip Kwok as Chang Chia Yu
- Lung Fong as Tiger Fists / nose-picking fight
- Sun Jung-chi as Daredevil Lee San
- Wong Lik as Tornado Knives Lei Kung
- Hsieh Hsing as one-armed fighter
- Ma Chin-ku as fighter walking on poles
- Su Chen-ping as blind monk's disciple
- Hau Pak-wai as fighter with long braid
- Cheung Yee-kwai as blind monk's short disciple
- Tang Tak-cheung as Tung Erh
- Au Lap-bo as one-armed fake boxer
- Yeung Fui-yuk as waiter
- Ho Wai-hung as Mongolian fighter
- Kwan Hung as student
- Woo Chau-ping as coffin maker
- Wong Chi-sang as Wu's student
- Ching Kuo-chung as drummer
- Tai Chi-hsien
- Lau Yau-bun
- Chan Sam-lam
- Tsang Ming-cheong
- Ng Ho
The Master and his Flying Guillotine.
Reception
The film had a mostly positive reception,[2][3] and currently holds a 90% rating on RottenTomatoes.com.[4]
Legacy
Most of the music in the film is taken from Krautrock bands Neu!, Tangerine Dream, and Kraftwerk. Rights issues with the score later caused the Australian DVD release to entirely replace the soundtrack. [5]
Clips from the film's soundtrack (particularly Super 16 by Neu! which plays whenever the assassin appears) have been sampled by Wu Tang Clan and has been mentioned in their lyrics.[6]
Quentin Tarantino has cited the film as "one of my favorite movies of all time."[7] In his film Kill Bill, he used the villain's theme music briefly when O-Ren Ishii appeared, as well as the film's protagonist's hiding on the ceiling in the same manner as the imperial assassin in this film.
The character Dhalsim from the Street Fighter video game series has been compared to the Indian assassin in the film.[8]
In The Boondocks episode Stinkmeaner 3: The Hateocracy, the Hateocracy member, Lord Rufus Crabmiser, used a flying guillotine disguised as a lobster trap to attack the Freeman family and ultimately kill Bushido Brown.
Prequel
In 1977 a prequel called Fatal Flying Guillotine was made by Hong Kong director Raymond Liu.[9] It serves as an origin story for the evil Master: as a young man he was once a Buddhist monk who betrayed his friends to steal the Flying Guillotine, then in the possession of the elderly (and insane) Master Wu.[10][11]
References
- ^ Thomas, Kevin (2002-05-24). "A 'Master' of Style in Martial Arts". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2002/may/24/entertainment/et-master24. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
- ^ Mitchell, Elvis (2002-05-31). "FILM REVIEW; An Avenger Rampages, and Chop! Chop! Heads Roll (or Rather, Fly)". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/31/movies/film-review-an-avenger-rampages-and-chop-chop-heads-roll-or-rather-fly.html?src=pm. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
- ^ Thomas, Kevin (2002-05-24). "A 'Master' of Style in Martial Arts". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2002/may/24/entertainment/et-master24. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
- ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/master_of_the_flying_guillotine/
- ^ http://martialartsmusic.wikia.com/wiki/Master_of_the_Flying_Guillotine
- ^ Lyrics to "Wu Tang Clan Ain't Nuthin Ta Fuck Wit"
- ^ Quentin Tarantino: Interviews By Quentin Tarantino, Gerald Peary
- ^ Ciolek, Todd; Rob Bricken (2008-04-30). "The 10 Most Ridiculously Stereotyped Fighting Game Characters". Topless Robot. The Village Voice. http://www.toplessrobot.com/2008/04/the_10_most_ridiculously_stereotyped_fighting_game.php. Retrieved 2010-03-11.
- ^ [Fatal Flying Guillotine on Rotten Tomatos http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fatal_flying_guillotine/]
- ^ [Fatal Flying Guillotine http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086622/]
- ^ [Fatal Flying Guillotine at HK Flix http://www.hkflix.com/xq/asp/filmID.539538/qx/details.htm]
External links
- Master of the Flying Guillotine at the Internet Movie Database
- Master of the Flying Guillotine is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
- Master of the Flying Guillotine at AllRovi
- Master of the Flying Guillotine at the Hong Kong Movie DataBase
- Master of the Flying Guillotine at Metacritic
One Armed Boxer (1971) · The Man from Hong Kong (1975) · Tiger and Crane Fist (1976) · Master of the Flying Guillotine (1977)Categories:- Hong Kong films
- Martial arts films
- 1976 films
- Taiwanese films
- Hong Kong action films
- Mandarin-language films
- Kung fu films
- Shaw Brothers Studio films
- Films directed by Jimmy Wang
- Martial arts tournament films
- Wuxia films
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