CRUD Challenge: The Bloody Fists
May. 8th, 2026 07:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skjamThe Bloody Fists (1972) dir. Ng See-Yuen
It is the 1930s in China. A certain fugitive named Jang Wu-dip (Sing Chen) attacks a dignitary's automobile, but it turns out to be a police trap. (Jackie Chan is one of the cop extras!) The fugitive barely escapes.
Cut to a rural village best known for growing Dragon Herb, a medicinal plant that is especially effective against the type of plague currently sweeping North China. It's harvest time and some buyers have shown up. Unfortunately, these are a group of Japanese martial artists who want to get a monopoly on Dragon Herb supply and then hold the medicine hostage to force concessions to Japan from China. They're willing to pay a high price to get all the Dragon Herb, but if that fails, they're okay with using force. And they've set up a gymnasium as a base, clearly intending to stay long-term.
The villagers attempt to stave off the intruders, but the Japanese have sent top-ranked martial artists and things aren't going well for the locals. But then the fugitive stumbles into the situation as he's caught the plague and needs medical attention. He'd be just as happy to get cured and leave without meddling, but the Japanese won't stop bugging him.
This is a pretty typical low-budget chop-sockey action film of the time period, most notable for having fight choreography by Yuen Wo Ping (The Matrix, Kill Bill. The plot is thin, and the characterization shallow. The Japanese invaders are of course evil, though they do have a veneer of martial arts honor they uphold until it gets inconvenient. Considerably more despicable is their Chinese toady, a fellow who was kicked out of the village years ago for unspecified villainy, and went to Japan to learn karate. It hasn't made him any more effective in combat, and he's a cowardly suck-up to the Japanese, even selling out his own family with basically no qualms.
The fugitive gets what little nuance there is, being a self-centered criminal who would prefer to mind his own business, but does have a soft spot for mute medical assistant Ya Ba (Kwok-Choi Hon).
The fights are good, but the stuff in between is generally forgettable.
Content note: martial arts violence, often bloody or fatal. Torture. Rape. A bit of female nudity. Teens on up should be okay, though sensitive viewers might want to skip the rape scene.
This is an overall okay movie for old style martial arts fans, but not anything you need to seek out.
It is the 1930s in China. A certain fugitive named Jang Wu-dip (Sing Chen) attacks a dignitary's automobile, but it turns out to be a police trap. (Jackie Chan is one of the cop extras!) The fugitive barely escapes.
Cut to a rural village best known for growing Dragon Herb, a medicinal plant that is especially effective against the type of plague currently sweeping North China. It's harvest time and some buyers have shown up. Unfortunately, these are a group of Japanese martial artists who want to get a monopoly on Dragon Herb supply and then hold the medicine hostage to force concessions to Japan from China. They're willing to pay a high price to get all the Dragon Herb, but if that fails, they're okay with using force. And they've set up a gymnasium as a base, clearly intending to stay long-term.
The villagers attempt to stave off the intruders, but the Japanese have sent top-ranked martial artists and things aren't going well for the locals. But then the fugitive stumbles into the situation as he's caught the plague and needs medical attention. He'd be just as happy to get cured and leave without meddling, but the Japanese won't stop bugging him.
This is a pretty typical low-budget chop-sockey action film of the time period, most notable for having fight choreography by Yuen Wo Ping (The Matrix, Kill Bill. The plot is thin, and the characterization shallow. The Japanese invaders are of course evil, though they do have a veneer of martial arts honor they uphold until it gets inconvenient. Considerably more despicable is their Chinese toady, a fellow who was kicked out of the village years ago for unspecified villainy, and went to Japan to learn karate. It hasn't made him any more effective in combat, and he's a cowardly suck-up to the Japanese, even selling out his own family with basically no qualms.
The fugitive gets what little nuance there is, being a self-centered criminal who would prefer to mind his own business, but does have a soft spot for mute medical assistant Ya Ba (Kwok-Choi Hon).
The fights are good, but the stuff in between is generally forgettable.
Content note: martial arts violence, often bloody or fatal. Torture. Rape. A bit of female nudity. Teens on up should be okay, though sensitive viewers might want to skip the rape scene.
This is an overall okay movie for old style martial arts fans, but not anything you need to seek out.
