09-12-2014, 10:08 AM
Saw it on El Rey's Flying Five Finger One Armed Eight Pole Shaolin Exploding Death Touch Thursdays.
This is one of my fav Shaw Brothers films ever - a hysterical slapstick stab at Kung Fu comedy that is pure genius. I remember seeing it at the Great Star in Chinatown whenever it first came over and being totally blown away by it. I'm not sure if I've seen it since actually. The wine-tasting Kung Fu test has always stuck out in my mind as one of the greatest fight scenes ever. I remember thinking as a kid that it was exactly what I wanted to do - drink rare wines out of crazy cups while discreetly Kung Fu fighting.
It's a true testament to the magic of Shaw Brothers - long complex fight scenes at least a dozen moves per take. The choreography is stunning and clever, comic yet with it's own unique style independent of Jackie or Woo Ping. It's all about Gordon Liu, Wang Yue and Lo Lieh. Gordon is at his mustache-stroking best, delivering one of his most timeless characters with that precise Kung Fu panache that is so distinct to his style. The 'hidden Kung Fu' storyline is brilliantly actualized in all of those early fights and that only could have been played out so well by Gordon. Wang is the titular Ho, a punky brat and petty houligan, who eventually sees the wisdom of Kung Fu. His training sequences are intense when you realize that it's all real fire - no CGI or effects. When he does those kicking drills around the candles and oil lamps, you can clearly see how long the flames are and imagine how hot that was. And Lo Lieh's Kwan Do skills are awe-inspiring - it's always great to see a true master wield a Kwan. The villains - oh man, the cripples? That dude with the woman's voice and his awkward posse and the sex-change tea? Insane! The wheelchair and crutch Fu? Over the top astounding. I luv this film. It remains staggeringly awesome, sword fights and all.
I have two personal anecdotes to share about this film:
1. CF, LCF & DM were at Lam Kwoon with our Kung Fu brother 'O' who fanatically video-recorded classic Kung Fu films on late night as a kid. He usually missed the opening titles and so he didn't know the name of some of his fav films. He asked us, describing the plot in detail, and it was LCF who got it first.
LCF: Was it Dirty Ho?
O: I dunno. If so, that title makes it even better! (we all burst out laughing next)
Of course, none of us had really considered the title as back when the film came out, Dirty Ho wasn't in the vernacular like it is now.
2. Also from Lam Kwoon, our Kung Fu brother Hoel legally changed the spelling of his name from Joel a few years ago because everyone pronounced it wrong. Y'all might remember him, the barrel-chested Lenape native with the long queue - he works our tournaments and events and has been a close partner in crime with DM for years now. After his name change, I've always called him Dirty HOel, in part because of the implications in today's vernacular but mostly because he knows the film, and luvs it too. It honors and humiliates him, just like any good KF nickname should.
This is one of my fav Shaw Brothers films ever - a hysterical slapstick stab at Kung Fu comedy that is pure genius. I remember seeing it at the Great Star in Chinatown whenever it first came over and being totally blown away by it. I'm not sure if I've seen it since actually. The wine-tasting Kung Fu test has always stuck out in my mind as one of the greatest fight scenes ever. I remember thinking as a kid that it was exactly what I wanted to do - drink rare wines out of crazy cups while discreetly Kung Fu fighting.
It's a true testament to the magic of Shaw Brothers - long complex fight scenes at least a dozen moves per take. The choreography is stunning and clever, comic yet with it's own unique style independent of Jackie or Woo Ping. It's all about Gordon Liu, Wang Yue and Lo Lieh. Gordon is at his mustache-stroking best, delivering one of his most timeless characters with that precise Kung Fu panache that is so distinct to his style. The 'hidden Kung Fu' storyline is brilliantly actualized in all of those early fights and that only could have been played out so well by Gordon. Wang is the titular Ho, a punky brat and petty houligan, who eventually sees the wisdom of Kung Fu. His training sequences are intense when you realize that it's all real fire - no CGI or effects. When he does those kicking drills around the candles and oil lamps, you can clearly see how long the flames are and imagine how hot that was. And Lo Lieh's Kwan Do skills are awe-inspiring - it's always great to see a true master wield a Kwan. The villains - oh man, the cripples? That dude with the woman's voice and his awkward posse and the sex-change tea? Insane! The wheelchair and crutch Fu? Over the top astounding. I luv this film. It remains staggeringly awesome, sword fights and all.
I have two personal anecdotes to share about this film:
1. CF, LCF & DM were at Lam Kwoon with our Kung Fu brother 'O' who fanatically video-recorded classic Kung Fu films on late night as a kid. He usually missed the opening titles and so he didn't know the name of some of his fav films. He asked us, describing the plot in detail, and it was LCF who got it first.
LCF: Was it Dirty Ho?
O: I dunno. If so, that title makes it even better! (we all burst out laughing next)
Of course, none of us had really considered the title as back when the film came out, Dirty Ho wasn't in the vernacular like it is now.
2. Also from Lam Kwoon, our Kung Fu brother Hoel legally changed the spelling of his name from Joel a few years ago because everyone pronounced it wrong. Y'all might remember him, the barrel-chested Lenape native with the long queue - he works our tournaments and events and has been a close partner in crime with DM for years now. After his name change, I've always called him Dirty HOel, in part because of the implications in today's vernacular but mostly because he knows the film, and luvs it too. It honors and humiliates him, just like any good KF nickname should.
Shadow boxing the apocalypse
![[Image: dirty-ho-movie-poster-1020491786.jpg]](http://isleofcinema.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/dirty-ho-movie-poster-1020491786.jpg)