Rent Invincible Shaolin / The Kid with the Golden Arm (1979)
3.6 of 5 from 45 ratings
3h 12min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Two more films from the final years of the Shaw Brothers studio, proving that while the end was nigh, these merchants of martial arts mayhem weren't going to go out without a fight!
Invincible Shaolin (1978)The Qing government has ordered the Shaolin Temple to send their disciples as kimg fu instructors of tho court. The abbot of Northern Shaolin reluctantly sendn Bao Shanxiong, Xu Fang and Yang Zhongfei to Canton where they meet Yuan Sheng and other disciples of Southern Shaolin. The general of Canton, Xu Kang-tu has plotted to rouse up a quarrel between the two parties in order to destroy both. So when they meet, they quickly break into a fight in which the Southern Shaolin are defeated. Realizing that they are branches of the same stem, the Northern Shaolin does not wound them very much. However, as the Southern Shaolin prepare to leave, they are killed by General Xu in such a way that when their bodies are transported back to their master Mai Qi, everybody there thinks that they are killed by the Northern Shaolin. Mai Qi, with his sons Mai Yuan and Mai Feng, then lead a group of people to Northern Shaolin intending to get revenge on them. But under the mediation of Xu Fang, the Northern Shaolin avoid beinf/, directly involved in the fight. However, one day when Xu Fang goes out alone, he is attacked by Mai Yuan whom he kills accidentally. The death of Mai Yuan has further enhanced the ill feeling between the two parties. Mai Qi, knowing that their standard of martial art cannot help them to win against the Northern Shaolin, sends his two disciples Chu Zhangcheng and Ho Yingwu to practice martial arts with the most famous martial artists of Southern Shaolin. The two, now excelling in martial arts, set out to get revenge on Bao's people at the back court of General Xu's garden. General Xu has already plotted to kill both parties during the fight but his plan is finally discovered by them who then cooperate in killing him. Meanwhile, the Shaolin disciples are pursued by the Qing's troops who fled home to warn their fellow inmates.
The Kid with the Golden Arm (1979)
At the request of the Government, the renowned Hu Wei Security Bureau is to escort a chest containing 200,000 taels of gold to relieve the famine at Yellow River Valley. The owner of the bureau, Yang Hu-yun, who heads the mission, is a well-skilled martial artist, as are his associates Yin Jiu nicknamed 'Long Axe', Swordsman Li Qin-ming and his fiancee Leng Feng. The Government also details Special Constable Hai Tao to assist them, but when he does not show up, the escorts set off without him. Meanwhile, the bandits of 'Deadly Valley' are plotting to take possession of the gold. The principal members of the gang are the big boss Golden Arm Kid, Silver Spear, Iron Robe and Brass Head, all vicious killers and martial experts, who repeatedly attack the escorts. But Hai Tao seems to appear whenever they are in trouble, and helps them escape from danger. Even despite his protection, however, many get killed in the course of the Journey. During one incident, the Wang Brothers decide to leave the gang and to take some of the gold for themselves. But the instant they lay hands on the chest they scream and fall dead. Hai Tao finds this very strange, and secretly confides his suspicions to Leng Feng. In the knowledge that it is Hai Tao who is preventing his gang from taking the gold, Golden Arm Kid set out to fight him. Li Qin-ming challenges Golden Arm Kid by himself in an effort to outsmart Hai Tao, but he is killed and Hai Tao and Golden Arm Kid finally confront each other. A fierce struggle ensues, in which Hai Tao puts out his enemy's eyes. At this point the real Yang Hu-yun emerges from the cart bearing the gold, and fights Hai Tao. Believing that he has mortally wounded him, he reveals his true identity and the plot, without realizing that the full wineskin which the Constable had concealed in his jacket had absorbed the fatal blows. Hai Tao then kills Yang instead, just as Leng Feng appears, acting on Hai Tao's earlier instructions and in time to discover the truth. She kills Golden Arm Kid on the spot. Of all those who have risked their lives, it is only Hai Tao and Leng Feng who survive to complete the mission and to escort the gold safely to its destination.- Actors:
- Feng Lu, Sheng Chiang, Chien Sun, Phillip Chung-Fung Kwok, Meng Lo, Pai Wei, Lung Wei Wang, Dick Wei, Tai-Ping Yu, Shen Chan, Chih-Chiang Chen, Chih-Lu Chen, Hung Chen, Miao Ching, Mai-Li Chou, Kwok Wing Ha, Yu Lung Hsiao, You-Hsing Lai, Hui Huang Lin, Huang-hsi Liu
- Directors:
- Cheh Chang
- Producers:
- Run Run Shaw
- Writers:
- Cheh Chang, Kuang Ni
- Aka:
- Nan Shao Lin yu bei Shao Lin (Unbeatable Dragon) / Jin bi tong (Gam bei tung)
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Classics, Drama
- Collections:
- Cinema Paradiso's 2023 Centenary Club: Part 1, A Brief History of Film...
- Countries:
- Hong Kong
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 21/11/2022
- Run Time:
- 192 minutes
- Languages:
- Cantonese LPCM Mono, Dubbed, English LPCM Mono, Mandarin LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English, English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 2.35:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Interview with action director Robert Tai, filmed in 2003
- Poison Clan Rocks The World, a brand new visual essay on the Venom Mob written and narrated by author Terrence J. Brady
- Alternate and textless title sequences for 'The Kid with the Golden Arm'
- Hong Kong theatrical trailer for 'Invincible Shaolin'
- Hong Kong theatrical trailer (audio only) and US TV spot for 'The Kid with the Golden Arm'
- Image galleries for both films
