Secret Service of the Imperial Court

[rindge]

This movie has always been a favorite of mine. I watched again last night and I was finally struck by how sped up (I forget the actually film term) the fight scenes were. I have seen complaints from others on this board about the sped up scenes, but they never bothered me - until last night. Still a great movie, but it could have done without the speed. What a great ending and Ku feng delivers once again.

Just pre-ordered Killer Constable - no sped up scenes there.

[bubbabgone]

Does anybody else here think Secret Service of the Imperial Court sucks!

Just kidding.

Great movie.

One of my favorites.

A big bold honkin' 5/5.

[sevenhooks]

Sucks!

:b

[BKarza]

It's one that in the end, I don't really care about. Meaning to have or keep. That said, i think it's a very good movie that is very deep. Some of the most powerful scenes in the movie to me are when Ku Feng sees his son's head. His insuing reaction to that truth is a testament to his friggin' skill and the depth of the situation. The other is when Kar Yan is in the village and the folk are forced to try to kill him. It's not a want, it's a have to. The depth of that situation culminates with him having to fight Lo Lieh to the death. I was thinking to me-self, damn, this is deep. Not even mentioning Lo Mang...
Deep baby, deep.

[jirpy100]

1/5

[morgoth]

The undercranking is way out of control, but it is still a great movie. Up there with Killer Constable.

[CLFNole]

Undercranking is what ruined Lady Assassin for me, so maybe I shouldn't get this one as I have been holding off. Isn't this the same story as Killer Constable? Would I be better off getting KC instead?

[Brigadier Chow]

It's not the same story, Demon Strike is closer to KC when it comes to story line.

[CLFNole]

I thought I remember someone posting that SSOTIC was a remake of Killer Constable or vice versa?

[Brigadier Chow]

The only similarity between the two is the sword that they (Liang Jia Ren & Chen Kwan Tai) both carried. I'm telling you, if that was posted the person was mistaken, the story is very much so different.

[chen lung]

Audio is out of sync too.

I liked it, particularily the fierce confrontation between Lau Wing and Beardy :D .

[KyFi]

Haven't seen it, but criticisms of excessive undercranking make me avoid any KF movie. I just do not like that effect. I'll take slow-as-molasses, trampolines, and reverse-film jumps over that any day of the week.

[bubbabgone]

Haven't seen it, but criticisms of excessive undercranking make me avoid any KF movie.

Do not be scared off by that kind of description.

[rindge]

CLF, I think you would do well to have both movies. I think Killer Constable is a much better movie. Both are enjoyable.

[morgoth]

Yeah, Secret Service and Killer Constable are way different movies.

[CLFNole]

Maybe I will get both I was planning to get Killer Constable but never really considered SSOTIC as I had never heard of it before then heard talk of the undercracking.

I do like Leung Kar Yan and I didn't know Law Mong (Lo Meng) was it this as well so I might pick it up in a down month but we have a lot of good months coming with movies I am really looking forward to but I will pick this one up when I have a chance.

[GwaiLoMoFo]

Big fan of SSOTIC! I've always thought of it as a Chinese version of "Lone Wolf And Cub". Also the only Shaw film (that i know of) with Beardy as the lead. One of my first few Celestial dvd purchases a few years back. Yes there is undercranking, but didnt take away from my enjoyment of the film at all. I also liked "The Lady Assassin", which had some undercranking.

[morgoth]

Lo Meng is not in the movie much, but this is definitely one of his finer moments. The movie also stars Phillp Ko, Lo Lieh, and Pai Paio in good roles. And Lau Wing is fabulous as the villain.

[kermit]

Haven't seen it, but criticisms of excessive undercranking make me avoid any KF movie.

We're not talking Donnie Yen levels of undercranking. I think it's used well in this film.

[ironfistedmonk2003]

Maybe we should create a rating system for the level of undercranking used in films similar to the Richter scale used to measure seismic activity, we could call it the Donnie Yen scale!

There is undercranking in this film and it is noticeable, i didn't like it too much on first viewing because of this but I have since watched it a second time and I think it is starting to grow on me

[Iron Boat]

Yes the undercranking is annoying and the movie is a bit odd. Its entertaining but is definitly not the same film as Killer Constable...Invincible Fist is more like Killer Constable than Secret Service.

[ODH1]

one of my all time favorites. shows the director of "holy Flame of the martial world" can do more straightforward stuff and well.

5/5

[Hellswindstaff]

I think because it was undercranked I didn't enjoy it that much, but i will give it another go, (I think i agree with what KyFi said!!) But also Killer constable apart from the final scene, (which was commendable) could off done with some undercranking as I though I was watching fight scenes from ther late 60's - early 70's era!! And the sad thing is I like Chen Kwan Tai...

HWS

[The Silver Fox]

Does anybody know where I can get the IVL DVD of 'Secret Service of the Imperial Court'? I know DDDHouse has the VCD but since I've got a region free player now, I kind of want the DVD.

Problem is, it's out of print and it seems like this title is pretty scarce-I can't even find it in Chinatown. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[magicpoe]

hkfllx has it "maybe"

http://www.hkflix.com/xq/asp/title.secret+service+of+the+imperial+court/qx/titles.htm

[The Silver Fox]

Thanks for the heads up. Yeah, I checked HKFlix before and I thought about ordering it-but I don't want to get stuck waiting for weeks and then get a message that their supplier doesn't have it. I guess if I can't find it on DVD I'll just get the VCD from DDDHouse.

[Iron Boat]

VCD's are alright, go for it, get it while you can.

[The Silver Fox]

I decided to just get the VCD from DDDHouse. I found it on DVD from The ThaiMegamart but the shipping was outrageous-like 19.95.I had a few DVDs in my cart, so I figured I'd just get Secret Service-the shipping was still 19.95 for 1 DVD! No wonder they don't disclose their shipping costs upfront.

[Iron Boat]

You got taken, thats not good shopping.

[The Silver Fox]

Perhaps I didn't make myself clear. I didn't buy anything from The Thai Megamart. I got to the checkout and when I saw the total cost with shipping, I didn't follow through with it. I then proceeded to good old DDDHouse and made my purchase.

[Iron Boat]

Thats better!!! :)

[Topgun]

Hi The Silver Fox,

I have ordered some DVD's from this site. What you see it's all included in shipping/handling. Good luck man.

Topgun


http://www.ethaicd.com/list.php?keyword=Secret+Service+of+the+Imperial+Co urt&imageField.x=11&imageField.y=6

[The Silver Fox]

Thanks for the link. I think I may use them in the future.

[The Silver Fox]

Unfortunately,Ethaicd has it listed as OOP as well.

My quest to attain this increasingly rare title has taken an unsuspected turn. Johnny from DDDHouse has informed me that the VCD is now out of stock/out of print and they will not be getting any more.

It seems this movie and actually alot of other IVL titles are going the way of the Dodo.

I found another place, PlayAsia that has the VCD in stock so I ordered it from there. It seems like their on top of what's in stock and what's not so I'm really hoping they can help me.

[The Silver Fox]

The saga continues...PlayAsia cancelled my order,they can't locate a copy.

Thankfully YesAsia came through. I should have went with them earlier. They always deliver fast and item is packaged very carefully. I received my copy of Secret Service of the Imperial Court today. Cool

[CominAtYa!]

Seems to get lambasted by fans but I really enjoy it.
In fact, it's one of my favorite Shaw Brothers movies.
Soundtrack is great.

[KUNG FU BOB]

I really dug this one too.

Hey Silver Fox, what did you think of it once you finally got it?

[The Silver Fox]

I thought it rocked. I've watched it 2-3 times already. I'm really glad I took the effort to track it down. 'Secret Service' embodies all the elements of a kung fu/wuxia classic and I feel the undercranking enhances the frantic nature of the story.

[Oily Maniac]

If it helps: The German DVD is still available and has Chinese 2.0 Sound and english subs.

[Skepparkrans]

I found this old thread while searching for info about Secret Service of the Imperial Court..

I have been searching everywhere for it on dvd but it seems to be OOP :cry:
Does anyone knows if its gonna be released in the US?

Its a shame so many movies goes OOP, hope IVL will re-release or that other companies will continue to make the Shaw library available.

[Blood Sword]

I found this old thread while searching for info about Secret Service of the Imperial Court..

I have been searching everywhere for it on dvd but it seems to be OOP :cry:
Does anyone knows if its gonna be released in the US?

Its a shame so many movies goes OOP, hope IVL will re-release or that other companies will continue to make the Shaw library available.
If you really need IVL original maybe we can fork out something...

[Skepparkrans]

If you really need IVL original maybe we can fork out something...

Interesting :) Im sending you a pm!

[WuxiaFan]

I found this old thread while searching for info about Secret Service of the Imperial Court..

I have been searching everywhere for it on dvd but it seems to be OOP :cry:
Does anyone knows if its gonna be released in the US?

Its a shame so many movies goes OOP, hope IVL will re-release or that other companies will continue to make the Shaw library available.

The IVL DVD is still available new here:

http://shaw.intercontinental.com.hk/en/Details.asp?hLight=others&hType=DVD_VCD&hKeyID=MS-4250

:smile:

[Skepparkrans]

Wow thanks,
But do you have any experiance ordering from shaw intercontinental?
Its seems they have many items that are listed as oop on other stores,
Do they actualy update their site?
seems to good to be true...

Edit:
Guess it is to good to be true, another member on KFC wrote this in a old thread about ordering from them:

"I placed an order with Shaw Intercontinental for 14 Celestial
titles, assuming that they'd have somewhere between 4 and 10 of them. I was
wrong. 12 out of 14 were out-of-stock -- despite the fact that all 14 were and
still are listed as being available."
http://www.kungfucinema.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12783

well my hunt for Secret Service of the Imperial Court and Lady Assassin continue..

[WuxiaFan]

Wow thanks,
But do you have any experiance ordering from shaw intercontinental?
Its seems they have many items that are listed as oop on other stores,
Do they actualy update their site?
seems to good to be true...

Edit:
Guess it is to good to be true, another member on KFC wrote this in a old thread about ordering from them:

"I placed an order with Shaw Intercontinental for 14 Celestial
titles, assuming that they'd have somewhere between 4 and 10 of them. I was
wrong. 12 out of 14 were out-of-stock -- despite the fact that all 14 were and
still are listed as being available."
http://www.kungfucinema.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12783

well my hunt for Secret Service of the Imperial Court and Lady Assassin continue..

I hear what you're saying. The only thing is that they keep adding new titles to their site, so it doesn't seem stagnet. If you're wanting a new DVD, I would be apt to try to place an order just for those 2 titles and see what happens. They shouldn't charge you unless the order ships, but you should check their policy first before placing the order. :squigglemouth:

Did you check the Marketplace Forum?

[The Amazing Psycho Per]

Wow thanks,
But do you have any experiance ordering from shaw intercontinental?
Its seems they have many items that are listed as oop on other stores,
Do they actualy update their site?
seems to good to be true...

I tried ordering Secret service of the imperial cout and Lady Assassin last year, and although they were listed as in stock on their site, they were out of print... There is still the Thai option... That's what I ended up buying anyway.

http://www.ethaicd.com/show.php?pid=11067

[WuxiaFan]

I tried ordering Secret service of the imperial cout and Lady Assassin last year, and although they were listed as in stock on their site, they were out of print... There is still the Thai option... That's what I ended up buying anyway.

http://www.ethaicd.com/show.php?pid=11067

Thank you APP. Unfortunately, SECRET SERVICE OF THE IMPERIAL COURT is OOP there, too. :ooh:

I added eThaiCD.com to my "Where do you Buy..." thread in General Discussion:
http://www.kungfucinema.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7713