THE Chinese PROFESSIONALS stands the test of time: it's as entertaining today as it was the day it was released. Endlessly inventive writer-director-star Wang Yu was way ahead of the curve on this one. The first of his ONE-ARMED BOXER movies (not to be confused with his ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN movies),it's far and away the best. The showdown between his kung fu school and the hired killers brought in to crush them boasts some outstanding martial arts forms unlike anything I've ever seen (some may be "re-imagined" martial arts, but, if so, the forms still look absolutely GREAT- and ring true) ("legit" or not, they're fun to watch). The squeamish needn't worry, either: when Wang Yu loses his arm (his limb is lopped off- by hand- by the fanged "Kung Fu Beast"),it's a pretty bloodless affair. The assortment of supernatural villains is about as impressive an array as was ever allied against a hero in an epic of this nature, but Wang Yu is not to be outdone: when he faces a Hindu who can bounce around on his hands or his head, Yu, bouncing along on just two digits, actually manages to poke the guy's eyes out in passing. The final showdown with the aforementioned Kung Fu Beast is shot mostly in wide angle, but it's still fun to see- and the one-armed boxer becomes, by film's end, a one-eyed boxer as well. EXCELLENT.

Made by Golden Harvest, the biggest Chinese rival of the Shaw Brothers studio in the '70s, and starring the one-time star Jimmy Wang Yu, who had previously made an impact in the excellent Chinese BOXER, you might be forgiven for thinking that THE ONE-ARMED BOXER isn't anything special. You'd be wrong. For some bizarre reason, Wang Yu remains virtually unknown outside of his native country, yet his string of films reached new heights of excellence in the kung fu genre, playing with genre staples and adding in fantastic elements to make them more exciting. Although I'm both a newcomer to the martial arts genre and to Wang Yu himself, it seems that he may be the most under-appreciated actor AND director out there! As a director, Wang Yu seems to be an early equivalent of Castellari or Woo, filling his movie with lots of stylish touches such as some impactful slow-motion in the action sequences, suspenseful tracking shots, and even displaying enough skill to trick and tease the viewer. This gives THE ONE-ARMED BOXER an edge over its contemporary rivals. Okay, so the story is kept simple like lots of others, but this gives Wang Yu a chance to develop some interesting and varied caricatures and some fantastic action set-pieces which fully make use of the scenery in which they are set (for instance, in a breathtaking brick factory fight, beaten men invariably fall into bubbling vats or have their limbs crushed in huge, rotating cogwheels).

As an actor, Wang Yu once again essays the role of the innocent man caught up in all kinds of havoc, delivering snappy one-liners to the bad guys before he kills them and always ready with a smirk and a smile to keep his character light and likable. His heroes are also very human and fragile, invariably taking a beating during the film's course, and how could it get any worse than in this film? Wang Yu has his arm chopped off, his eye gouged out and his head smashed into a rock as well as getting beaten up loads of times before the end is in sight. Sure, the supporting cast don't figure much but at least the good guys are likable and the bad guys very imposing.

And what a bunch of bad guys - possibly the craziest you're likely to see. We have two Korean fighters who dance to a bizarre tune before they can fight, a pair of Tibetan Lamas, karate experts, boxers, even an Indian mystic (a Chinese guy in black face!),all presided over by an unforgettably evil dark long-haired guy complete with vampire fangs! Of course the good guys don't stand a chance, at least not until Jimmy Wang Yu has burnt his remaining arm in a kiln and crushed it under a rock, thus destroying all the nerves in his limb and turning it into a rock-like weapon. Yes, you heard me right; the above two scenes are the most painful the film has to offer! Then again, it's a film full of pain and brutality, violence occurring literally every two minutes. Eyes are gouged, bodies scarred with the "iron fist" technique, blood sprays, faces break, people are impaled and broken. Although the version I saw was obviously cut (just WHAT happens to the main bad guy anyway?) it's still an odyssey in screen violence.

I enjoyed this film most for the offbeat and totally insane plot elements it has to offer. Take for instance the mystic guy who stops and does a stop-motion style dance on his hands to confuse his opponent, and the finale in which Wang Yu beats him by doing it on one finger! Or the Lamas who have the ability to literally inflate their bodies before fighting to make them invincible, or Wang Yu learning the art of standing straight up like Nosferatu and flying through the air to strike his opponents. The inevitably arm-chopping is a long time in coming and a little cheesy, but hey, it still hits the mark. The finale, set in a rocky canyon, is insane stuff with the bad guys lobbing dynamite at Wang Yu, and the hero retaliating by kicking men into geysers, over the edge of cliffs, into rivers and generally causing lots of violent mayhem to make up for the damage done to him and his friends earlier in the film. This is a light, breezy, unusual and unforgettable martial arts epic, followed by the equally - if not more so - bizarre MASTER OF THE FLYING GUILLOTINE. A trash classic - not to be missed by any genre fan.

This review is for DU BEI CHUAN WANG/ONE ARMED BOXER from Red Sun. The print is pretty good for a 1970s martial arts film and amazingly the film has subtitles--not those stupid dubbed voices--a major plus. As far as the quality of the subtitles go, they are fair. There are a reasonably high number of misspellings but compared to many films of the genre, this one ain't bad--it's not good, either, but at least you can understand what they are trying to say.

The plot is a very, very familiar one in many ways. First, it's the standard fight between two schools of martial arts and the bad guys cheat...a lot. Second, it's probably the fourth film I've seen involving a one-armed martial artist, so it's a bit of a cliché. However, oddly, none of the films are sequels--it just seems that getting your arm torn off in a fight is an everyday occurrence. And, when this happens you eventually train and return to whip the entire gang--a relatively common event in China if these films can be taken seriously. However, despite having so many familiar plot elements, it is a very good film. I liked seeing all the different styles of martial arts that were supposedly brought from all over Asia. But, more importantly, despite a very simple plot, the film is all about the action--non-stop and insane action, actually. While the fighting isn't among the top echelon of martial arts films (you won't mistake this for a Bruce Lee or Sonny Chiba flick),it is far better than average and so much is going on, it's eye-popping and occasionally brutal action from start to finish.

If you like martial arts films, then this one is a must. If you don't, well it's worth a look--maybe you'll see something you like.