Movie: Master of the Flying Guillotine (1976)
Directed by Jimmy Wang Yu
As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL
Plot:
A blind master seeks to avenge his two students who were killed by the one-armed swordsman. And he'll have his revenge even if must kill every one-armed person around. Hilarity ensues.
Background and Reaction:
I should note that this was the first Kung Fu movie that I watched from start to finish (assuming you're willing to overlook Rumble in the Bronx and other such Jackie Chan fare. What I found most interesting about it related to the storytelling.
The master is established as the hero. Even though we learn that his cause isn't just, he remains the hero. In that sense it's a lot like spaghetti westerns. But in a spaghetti western the hero would have won in the climactic fight. He would be injured in the battle. It may even look like he's going to lose. But then he'd rally his strength and win -- killing his adversary. So in the climactic battle, I kept expecting the blind master to win. No matter that his flying guillotine gets broken, and that he repeatedly gets hit by flying hatchets. Somehow he'd survive and vanquish the one-armed swordfighter. So I was shocked that he didn't.
But beyond that interesting bit of story, I found the whole thing dull. More than a third (by my reckoning) of the movie was taken up by a big martial arts tournament. That stuff didn't really advance the plot or anything. If you enjoy watching martial arts routines for their own sake, then this is for you. I don;t, so it isn't for me.
Keith and Sean explained that that's part of the genre. Well, if that's true, then it may not be the genre for me.
Ratings:
Dave: 8.8 to 9
Sean: 4 out of 4
Me: 5
Ethan: 5
Bechdel:
Master of the Flying Guillotine fails the Bechdel test.
Tangentially-Related Anecdote:
Sharon's cat is blind and (at least partially) deaf. Before he lost those senses, he was a great hunter. Now that he's lost them, we can still see the string spirit in him. Watching him walk around, you might not realize he's blind -- except for when he walks into walls, which kind of gives it away. We think he relies on echolocation and his familiarity with the house. The blind master uses those same skills to get around and to target the flying guillotine.
clearly, you've never watched kung fu movies before b.c plot is as relevant here as it is in pornos.
ReplyDeletei get tired of kung fu movies with too much plot, and i leave the room, asking stu to let me know when the fighting is on
I think I picked the right week to leave town. Why did Dave, of all people, rate it so high?
ReplyDeleteTo get an authoritative answer, you'd have to ask Dave. But I can try...
DeleteI don't think Dave was as bothered as I was by the lack of plot. He was, I guess, able to accept the move for what it is. As a Kung Fu movie, it isn't meant to be heavily plot-driven (see meep's comment above).
Dave also appreciated the slapstick elements of the movie that reminded of the Three Stooges.
Oh, and he liked the novelty of the titular weapon.