venoms5
12-05-2007, 08:05 AM
FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS 1982 aka SUPER NINJAS aka CHINESE SUPER NINJAS Act. ****/blood ****/ Movie *****
Cheng Tien Chi, Lo Mang, Chen Hui Min, Chen Pei Hsi, Wang Li, Chu Ko, Lung Tien Sheng, Yu Tai Ping, Chao Kuo, Kuan Fung
Directed by Chang Cheh
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
This is my all time favorite kung fu flick so this is not only an analysis of the film but also Chang Cheh's post Shaw output and his protege of the time, Cheng Tien Chi aka Ricky Cheng. Also the relevance of the film as well as the numerous copycat movies that came out in the wake of its release are discussed.
Two warlords vie for control over the martial world. The defeated faction hires a deadly group of ninja to destroy his enemy. The ninja issue a challenge for the best fighters to fight against the sinister Five Element Formation; five locations- Gold, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth each with their own deadly array of traps. The eight warriors are decimated. When the ninjas launch an all-out attack on the heroes' base, all but one are annihilated. He escapes to seek out his old teacher and along with three others, they train in the art of countering the Five Element Ninjas.
Chang Cheh's most popular and outrageous stew of gory comic book violence is finally out on remastered DVD after previously only being available on a legit fullscreen tape from Vista and also a terribly butchered bootleg from ground zero. The one title that fans have been slobbering over has lost none of its excitement and looks even better in widescreen. By this time in Cheh's career he had abandoned his earlier themes of brotherhood among men which dominated movies like VENGEANCE! (1970) and HEROIC ONES (1970). Although those ideas are still present in his later works they are not as profound as the blistering choreographed scenes of bloody fighting takes center stage. The seriousness also remains but this too is hampered a bit due to the OTT nature of many of this films spectacular set pieces.
Cheh refused, or simply did not care to go for straight kung fu comedy. He tried it once with MAGNIFICENT WANDERERS (1977) and he failed miserably. And it's probably for the best because nobody could do blood-and-thunder, heroic-gore epics like Cheh not before or since. SUPER NINJAS is no exception. Like most other fans, this was my most eagerly awaited film. Having seen it no less than 25 times on television or the Vista tape, it's finally a sigh of relief to see this film in remastered widescreen. This is one of a few that never gets old to me and will always remain in my top ten favorites along with Cheh's super classic of epic proportions, HEROIC ONES (1970). But again, these are two totally different styles of film from the same director. Gone are the massive, expansive sets and gargantuan number of cast members. In there place are garish, (mostly) studio bound sets adding that usual otherworldly feel that Shaw's were masters at creating. And also the more crude but realistic battle scenes are replaced by intricate displays of stylized combat which was the order of the day during this time.
Cheng Tien Chi was being groomed as one of Cheh's next big stars but he never hit it big despite being as good, if not a far better performer than Jacky Chan (Whom Cheng was friends with). Cheng was already a bit player in kung fu flicks prior to his Shaw debut. He can be seen in indy flicks THE MYSTERY OF CHESS BOXING (1979), KUNG FU OF SEVEN STEPS (1979) and also as one of Jacky Chan's combatants in THE FEARLESS HYENA (1979) among numerous others. Cheng is/was an incredible athlete. He was very loyal to Chang Cheh and followed him back to Taiwan when Chang left in 1982. Cheng appeared in Cheh's indy flicks THE NINE DEMONS (1983), ATTACK OF THE JOYFUL GODDESS (1983), the classic SHANGHAI 13 (1984) and THE DANCING WARRIOR (1985). It's a terrible shame Cheng never capitalized on his abilities and Cheh alludes to this in his autobiography. He never actually names him, but I believe he refers to Cheng Tien Chi when he mentions his failure to grasp the potential of a gifted performer.
Cheng's first Shaw film of note would probably be BRAVE ARCHER 3 (1981) where he played a non speaking role as one of Lo Mang's iron skin followers. He featured in the final fight against his friend and venom actor Chiang Sheng. Cheng then showed up in HOUSE OF TRAPS (1982) in which he played one of the heroes who shows up towards the end to break inside of the deadly trap house. He played another bad guy in ODE TO GALLANTRY (1982). This led to FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS (1982) and Chang's final film for Shaw Brothers, THE WEIRD MAN (1982), a movie which rekindled Chang's interest in strange, mystical kung fu flicks. The film was a mixture of ROMANCE OF THE THREE KINGDOMS historical piece and an oddball magic movie. The results are very uneven but the film has some good fights at least. Cheng can also be seen in earlier Chang films THE SHAOLIN AVENGERS and NEW SHAOLIN BOXERS (both 1976) in minor roles.
NOTE: Cheng Tien Chi was very good friends with Chiang Sheng, the venom actor and it's been said it was Cheng who discovered his body in 1991 when Chiang Sheng died under mysterious circumstances. He had already been dead for three days.
FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS is also considered to be a Venoms film even though it only features one of the original members, Lo Mang. However, when the group split officially in 1981, other films were made with what was called by fans as the "Baby Venoms". These additional players would be Cheng Tien Chi, Wang Li, Lung Tien Sheng and Chu Ko.
Lo Mang plays the honorable and far too trusting Liang Chi Shun. He is probably the most skilled and badass of the whole lot of heroes. During his fight scene at the beginning he steps in to challenge the Samurai who after defeating one the fighters proclaims, "Bare handed?" To which Lo's reply is, "I'll use my hands against...any weapon!" He never even removes his cape! He defeats the Samurai and upon taking his sword away from him says, "Want this back or...wanna use another one?" Lo is so good in this movie it's a shame he gets killed mid-way through the picture.
Chang Cheh does give him a most memorable send off though. When the ninjas have infiltrated the base, they put huge nails into the masters door. They then shoot fire arrows into his room from a window to burn him alive. Liang (Lo), seeing his master in this predicament fights even harder like an enraged bull taking out around thirty ninjas before he is killed. Not to mention he was already suffering from a gut wound administered by a kunoichi (female ninja) with a sword concealed inside a bouquet of flowers. This being a Chang Cheh movie, however, a gut wound won't stop the heroes; at least not until they have a spectacular finish. One of my favorite shots sees Liang grab one of the ninjas and throw him against a wall. He then wails a flurry of punches on the villain at an incredible speed. Another ninja attacks from behind, Zhi moves as the sword stabs the ninja. Then Liang grabs a rafter pulling himself up then drop-kicking the ninja through the air impaling him on dozens of unsheathed swords wielded by his fellow killers. It's quite an adrenaline pumping sequence and one of the best among many in the film.
Going back to Liang's propensity to trust, he saves a young woman (Chen Pei Hsi) who happens to be a kunoichi (female ninja spies). She feigns falling in love with him but secretly gains affection for Hsiao Tien Hao (Cheng) who constantly berates and scolds her. It's interesting to point out this story conceit is relevant today in that women are attracted to bad boys and not so much the nice guy. Liang trusts in her a great deal. In one scene, she tries to repay his kindness for saving her life by sleeping with him. Liang then proposes they marry first. This then leads into the big attack sequence. After revealing her real name, she mortally wounds Liang with a small sword sheathed within some flowers. Liang however, doesn't let a major stomach wound stop him from kicking lots of ass.
Hsiao is captured and tied up in a special style of bonding. As he sits and awaits his possible execution he thinks back to when he met a previous martial arts instructor who taught him some ninja skills. Remembering this enables him to break free his bonds. Junko (Chen) enters the room and tries to convince Hsiao of her love for him even proclaiming "Good men are not liked". Hsiao doesn't care and uses her to get away. He then heads back to his old teacher for further training. Once there he sees there are three brothers there. None of them save for Wang Li get to speak any lines which was a bit odd. I guess too much dialog would hamper the pace as this film is mostly action and on that aspect it delivers heavily. The teacher only trains the four disciples how to counter the Five Elements as opposed to the styles themselves. We only get to see them training for the initial encounter with the Gold ninjas as the final fight takes up the last half hour.
Just before the big finish, Kembichi (Chen Hui Min) sends Junko to find Hsiao in the hopes of learning about his skills as well as that of his brothers. Hsiao is wise to this yet again and as he embraces her, he realizes four ninjas have accompanied her to his location. Only she was not aware that they followed her. Hsiao acts accordingly in a wonderfully directed scene. Here, Junko truly was sincere in being intimate with Hsiao as opposed to earlier when her affections were merely a diversion leading up to a sneak attack. This scene closes with Hsiao assured of his actions but then second guessing himself as the scene switches to the big battle with the Five Element Ninjas.
The most spectacular and intriguing aspect of the film is the Five Elements themselves. All of them are color coded according to their respective names. The Gold ninjas sport shiny metal hats that reflect the sun in their victims faces as well as firing projectiles from the brim of the hats. The Wood ninjas hide within fake trees, the limbs doubling as arms with spiked gloves waiting to snare one of the heroes. The ninjas here also sport long Wolverine style claws that are quite intimidating. The Water ninjas use flotation devices as well as weighted ropes with long, steel sickles to impale their enemies once they've gotten them into the water. The Fire array is made up of ninjas who use smoke generating weapons as well as fire. And finally, the Earth element ninjas hide beneath the ground and use sickles to stab up through the earth which is demonstrated in perhaps the most famous sequence in the entire film where Huang (Chao Kuo) is skewered between the legs no less than 5 times until his guts begin to roll out in the midst of his fight. The leader, Kembichi shows up and as Huang charges, his intestine gets in the way. He steps on in his spilt innards allowing Kembichi to slice his chest open.
What is also of particular interest is in the way the initial characters are presented. In the beginning, we see two factions about to engage in a final fight to name the ruler of the martial world. One good, one bad. All the good guys are wearing white. In China, white signifies the color of death. The heroes (except for one of them) easily defeat their opponents. This sets up the notion that these fellows are quite skilled. When they receive the challenge from Kembichi, they are sent off to fight in combat against the ninjas that they are most unfamiliar with. Thus is the nature of the Chinese hero. Facing all manner of obstacle and adversity in the face of death. The polar opposite of the Japanese ninja. The easiest, sneakiest and quickest way to accomplish the goal is preferred. So when the eight men go off to fight and are summarily butchered by the Five Element Formations, it's quite a powerful scene especially in light of the opening fight sequence. Also of note, Brother Li's (Lung Tien Sheng) shocked visage when he manages to stab one of the Fire element ninjas. Her exposed breasts reveal the killer to be a woman. Then Kembichi appears in a cloud of smoke. He asks what the hero's name is and Li makes mention of the ninjas devious and duplicitous means and branding him unworthy of knowing his name before expiring.
Which brings us to the final four heroes and their impressive, mind-bogglingly ingenious weapon that is a dozen different pieces of nasty cutlery all wrapped up in one. James Bond would be devilishly envious. Immense praise must be heaped on the Shaw props department for this one. It's possible the creator of this marvelous piece of armament was long time choreographer and frequent director Tang Chia. Tang created numerous weapons for various movies so it's possible he performed the same duties here as well.
During the Gold fight, the heroes fight with their eyes closed to repel the bright reflections from the shields and this piece of choreo is brilliant for just that and worthy of note. The massive axe is done away with for the Wood fight as the moon blade aligning the back of the axe blade is removed and attached to a chain by which the heroes use on the ninjas in a painful display of Far Eastern grand guinol. The staff is removed from the axe and now becomes an extended spear for the Water Array. Netting the heroes wear is also used here. For the Fire Element, the spear yields a hidden flag within which is used to aid against the smoke effects. Last, the spear splits into two pieces and now becomes death-dealing pairs of stilts! Of course, Kembichi has some tricks of his own.
This final, near 30 minute battle is worth the price of the DVD alone as it is one of the most amazing extended sequences of action I have ever seen. The sheer complexity of the Earth element finale is a tribute to the work of not just the performers involved but to the choreographers- Cheng Tien Chi and relative newcomer, the astonishingly agile Chu Ko who plays one of the brothers at the end. This last segment is especially incredible.
Kembichi with his Naginata takes on all four heroes with their two spears a piece. That alone is extremely difficult. Armed fight choreography is much more difficult to pull off than hand-to-hand. The timing must be much more precise and spot on as opposed to empty handed fights where the marks are easier to meet without many mistakes. In indy kung fu movies and even the other major, Golden Harvest, you seldom saw a fight featuring anything other than a one-on-one or two-on-one fight. The Shaw's or especially the Venoms would feature a multitude of fighters onscreen at one time. Also of note, the Venoms would feature even longer master shots than there competition. You might see as many as 20 moves before the camera cuts to the next set-up. You seldom saw brilliance like this any of Jacky's or Sammo's movies.
The role of Kembichi is a showcase for real life Triad boss and retired, undefeated kickboxing champion Chen Hui Min. A real badass like his friends Bruce Lee and Hwang Jang Lee, Chen was the real deal. It was said that he starred in films to keep the gangsters off the studios backs since the infiltration of the HK movie industry by the Triad Mafia organizations was in full swing by this time (reaching a dangerous apex in the 90s). It is also noted that the Shaw's were responsible for the Triads penetrating the film industry there since they paid their actors very little (save for a scant few) they were forced to act in films outside the studio and some of these were questionable fly-by-night outfits backed by the Triads. All the tattoos seen on Chen's body are real. During this time it was seen as distasteful for a Chinese to have a tattoo of any kind and if they did, it was a sign that they were in a gang of some sort. Now, it's not uncommon among males.
Chen has populated his long career with an assortment of movies and he is still acting today. Famous director Kirk Wong directed him in the autobiographical gangster movie THE CLUB (1980) which features a suitably nasty scene where two guys eviscerate a man with two boat motors! Chen has done films for Chang Cheh as early as 1973 in ALL MEN ARE BROTHERS and also plays a ninja in MY REBELLIOUS SON (1982) starring Fu Sheng. Chen was also featured in the classic modern action film ROYAL WARRIORS (1986) starring Michelle Yeoh and Japanese sensation Hiroyuki Sanada. Chen can also be seen in the Shaw exploitation kung fu favorite SHAOLIN HANDLOCK (1976) playing a rare hero role and also in the super obscure and ambitious Taiwanese quickie NINJA STRIKE (1983?).
Another promising newcomer was Chao Kuo who played Huang, the ill-fated fighter who gets it the worst of the eight warriors during the initial Five Element fight. Chao was also being groomed by Chang Cheh but he disappeared completely after Chang left Shaw Brothers. He was an impressive performer (although not an especially good actor) and can be seen in MASKED AVENGERS (1981) and SWORD STAINED WITH ROYAL BLOOD (1981) among a scant few films. A Chinese friend of mine says Chao was a friend of his and that he was only 17 when he made his debut the year prior.
Lung Tien Sheng plays Brother Li who is one of the eight fighters sent to fight the Elements earlier in the film. He isn't given much to do but he is memorable in his brief role. The dubbed dialog is often time vastly different from the Chinese original. One of the best dubbed lines is delivered by Lung during his Fire Element fight. After they unleash the smoke effects he yells, "Secret weapons...! You bastards! Come on!" And also, "You use dirty tricks...I'll get you!" Lung appeared in a handful of indy features like WORLD OF THE DRUNKEN MASTER (1979), the final film to feature footage of Yuen Sui Tin who died during the filming before moving on to Shaw Brothers where he maintained stable work until they closed up shop for TV productions. He is most memorable as the mysterious Spearman in FLAG OF IRON (1980) where he showed much charisma. He is also good in SWORD STAINED WITH ROYAL BLOOD (1981), LONG ROAD TO GALLANTRY (1984) and in smaller roles like villainous turns in DESCENDANT OF THE SUN (1982), RETURN OF THE BASTARD SWORDSMAN (1984) and THE MASTER STRIKES BACK (1984).
Curiously, the three brothers that train with Hsiao, Wang Li, Chu ko and Yu Tai Ping have no dialog whatsoever. Wang Li says "Be careful" and that's it. They're silent for their segment of the film. Wang Li was an impressive acrobat who started out in indy features before graduating to the Shaw school. He never really found any lasting fame but was nonetheless very talented. He was really notable in the Venom flicks THE REBEL INTRUDERS (1980) and THE DAREDEVILS (1979) both as villains, roles that best suited him. He was formally introduced in SHAOLIN RESCUERS (1979) in an exciting fight scene holding off the five Wu Tang killers so Hung Si Kwan could escape. Wang also appeared with Chen Hui Min in the rare NINJA STRIKE (1983?) where he fights against a horde of ninjas during the opening and he's not seen again. During the years of 1983 and '84, Wang was relegated to bit player or as an extra.
Chu Ko was a dynamite performer who possessed extraordinary fighting skills. He appeared in the indy classic NORTHERN KICKS, SOUTHERN FISTS (1981;aka SECRET RIVALS 3) starring super kicker John Liu before showing what he could do in Chang Cheh's heavy duty blood and guts classic MASKED AVENGERS (1981). Chu also featured in HOUSE OF TRAPS (1981), SWORD STAINED WITH ROYAL BLOOD (1981), BRAVE ARCHER & HIS MATE (1982) and WEIRD MAN (1982) among others.
Yu Tai Ping was a real life weapons expert with an unusual face. He looked a bit like a rat with his prominent proboscis. He was never given the chance at a major role at Shaw's and was relegated to support status mostly as villains which he did well. He seldom dabbled as good guys but he played them in FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS MASKED AVENGERS (1981) and HOUSE OF TRAPS (1982). He was memorable as the hot-headed secret weapons expert in CRIPPLED AVENGERS (1978).
It's a shame that Kuan Feng, who plays Yuen, the leader of the Alliance, has no fight scenes in this film. He displayed some blistering pole fighting in the amazing MONKEY KUNG FU (1980) and other memorable turns as villains in the otherwise lackluster THE FIVE SUPERFIGHTERS (1979) and TEN TIGERS OF KWANG TUNG (1977-80). Kuan Feng also had some devastating kicks in his arsenal; kicks that often seemed similar to those of famous bootmaster Hwang Jang Lee.
When FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS was released to HK theaters in 1982, it received a cool reception. Audience apathy towards this kind of picture resulted in a very modest profit of $1.7 million dollars. By comparison, Jacky Chan's DRAGON LORD (1982) raked in just under $18 million. Again, comedy was what was popular then. Also the same year, a similar movie to FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS saw release; Seasonal Films NINJA IN THE DRAGON'S DEN (1982). The first starring role for Conan Lee, the film featured a storyline about ninjas and contained a damn good stilt fight scene albeit played for laughs. Also starring Hiroyuki Sanada and Hwang Jang Lee as the main villain, comedy is again the order of the day with even the final fight played as comedy. This film grossed $7.6 million at the box office in HK.
However, Chang's films were always very popular in Taiwan and one of the reasons he went back there. A number of Taiwanese made FIVE ELEMENT styled movies were released in the wake of Chang's original. Films like THE SUPER NINJA (1984), LIFE OF A NINJA (1983), CHALLENGE OF THE LADY NINJA (1984;aka FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS 2!), NINJA HUNTER (1984), NINJA VS SHAOLIN GUARD (1982), MAFIA VS NINJA (1983), the amazingly awful 8 hour "epic" NINJA THE FINAL DUEL (1984) and the most popular being NINJA IN THE DEADLY TRAP (1984). When the Venoms left Shaw's, Kuo Chui, Lu Feng and Chiang Sheng got together and made this ninja adventure that is a low budget take-off on both FIVE VENOMS (1978) and FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS (1982). Famous Japanese actor Yasuaki Kurata plays the villain and Ti Lung plays the Emperor whom the ninjas are out to kill. The Venoms play three kung fu specialists proficient in separate styles who don't know each other but share the same master. They are hired to protect the Emperor from the invading Japanese and their Five Element Formation. Kuo Chui stars and also directs for the first and last time as the experience was not particularly pleasant for him.
For this ambitious production, Chang appears to have been given a bigger budget than his previous few pictures. Although their actions are pure fantasy, the Shaw's uphold their stance of accuracy in detailing the ninjitsu arts and the actual methods and weaponry of the Five Elements of eras past. In fact, another Shaw film from 1982, LEGENDARY WEAPONS OF CHINA, was not only about the Boxer Rebellion, but it was also about the beginnings of the ninja magic spies. The evil sect of Mao Shan priests were the progenitors of the ninja arts and are still feared to this day in China. I assume the music used in 5EN is all stock music. Portions of it appear in the 1970 Warner Brothers documentary ANIMALS ARE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE. The music used fits the film perfectly. Chang Cheh had also visited the plot point of the Five Elements (from a Chinese perspective) 12 years earlier in the gruesome and spectacular classic from 1970, THE DEADLY DUO starring David Chiang and Ti Lung.
Regardless of its lack of popularity in HK, FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS was definitely noticed elsewhere given the number of bandwagon movies that followed it. It is wildly popular among fans and held in much higher regard than the aforementioned Chan film and the Seasonal ninja comedy. For the numerous implausibilities 5EN has, it makes up for them in sheer creativity and imagination creating a bloody comic book come to life that is a must for any action fan and is arguably the ultimate ninja movie. If you want a kung fu movie with a storyline married to its action than this one isn't for you. If you want some amazing, show-stopping action, then FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS delivers the goods in abundance.
Cheng Tien Chi, Lo Mang, Chen Hui Min, Chen Pei Hsi, Wang Li, Chu Ko, Lung Tien Sheng, Yu Tai Ping, Chao Kuo, Kuan Fung
Directed by Chang Cheh
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
This is my all time favorite kung fu flick so this is not only an analysis of the film but also Chang Cheh's post Shaw output and his protege of the time, Cheng Tien Chi aka Ricky Cheng. Also the relevance of the film as well as the numerous copycat movies that came out in the wake of its release are discussed.
Two warlords vie for control over the martial world. The defeated faction hires a deadly group of ninja to destroy his enemy. The ninja issue a challenge for the best fighters to fight against the sinister Five Element Formation; five locations- Gold, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth each with their own deadly array of traps. The eight warriors are decimated. When the ninjas launch an all-out attack on the heroes' base, all but one are annihilated. He escapes to seek out his old teacher and along with three others, they train in the art of countering the Five Element Ninjas.
Chang Cheh's most popular and outrageous stew of gory comic book violence is finally out on remastered DVD after previously only being available on a legit fullscreen tape from Vista and also a terribly butchered bootleg from ground zero. The one title that fans have been slobbering over has lost none of its excitement and looks even better in widescreen. By this time in Cheh's career he had abandoned his earlier themes of brotherhood among men which dominated movies like VENGEANCE! (1970) and HEROIC ONES (1970). Although those ideas are still present in his later works they are not as profound as the blistering choreographed scenes of bloody fighting takes center stage. The seriousness also remains but this too is hampered a bit due to the OTT nature of many of this films spectacular set pieces.
Cheh refused, or simply did not care to go for straight kung fu comedy. He tried it once with MAGNIFICENT WANDERERS (1977) and he failed miserably. And it's probably for the best because nobody could do blood-and-thunder, heroic-gore epics like Cheh not before or since. SUPER NINJAS is no exception. Like most other fans, this was my most eagerly awaited film. Having seen it no less than 25 times on television or the Vista tape, it's finally a sigh of relief to see this film in remastered widescreen. This is one of a few that never gets old to me and will always remain in my top ten favorites along with Cheh's super classic of epic proportions, HEROIC ONES (1970). But again, these are two totally different styles of film from the same director. Gone are the massive, expansive sets and gargantuan number of cast members. In there place are garish, (mostly) studio bound sets adding that usual otherworldly feel that Shaw's were masters at creating. And also the more crude but realistic battle scenes are replaced by intricate displays of stylized combat which was the order of the day during this time.
Cheng Tien Chi was being groomed as one of Cheh's next big stars but he never hit it big despite being as good, if not a far better performer than Jacky Chan (Whom Cheng was friends with). Cheng was already a bit player in kung fu flicks prior to his Shaw debut. He can be seen in indy flicks THE MYSTERY OF CHESS BOXING (1979), KUNG FU OF SEVEN STEPS (1979) and also as one of Jacky Chan's combatants in THE FEARLESS HYENA (1979) among numerous others. Cheng is/was an incredible athlete. He was very loyal to Chang Cheh and followed him back to Taiwan when Chang left in 1982. Cheng appeared in Cheh's indy flicks THE NINE DEMONS (1983), ATTACK OF THE JOYFUL GODDESS (1983), the classic SHANGHAI 13 (1984) and THE DANCING WARRIOR (1985). It's a terrible shame Cheng never capitalized on his abilities and Cheh alludes to this in his autobiography. He never actually names him, but I believe he refers to Cheng Tien Chi when he mentions his failure to grasp the potential of a gifted performer.
Cheng's first Shaw film of note would probably be BRAVE ARCHER 3 (1981) where he played a non speaking role as one of Lo Mang's iron skin followers. He featured in the final fight against his friend and venom actor Chiang Sheng. Cheng then showed up in HOUSE OF TRAPS (1982) in which he played one of the heroes who shows up towards the end to break inside of the deadly trap house. He played another bad guy in ODE TO GALLANTRY (1982). This led to FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS (1982) and Chang's final film for Shaw Brothers, THE WEIRD MAN (1982), a movie which rekindled Chang's interest in strange, mystical kung fu flicks. The film was a mixture of ROMANCE OF THE THREE KINGDOMS historical piece and an oddball magic movie. The results are very uneven but the film has some good fights at least. Cheng can also be seen in earlier Chang films THE SHAOLIN AVENGERS and NEW SHAOLIN BOXERS (both 1976) in minor roles.
NOTE: Cheng Tien Chi was very good friends with Chiang Sheng, the venom actor and it's been said it was Cheng who discovered his body in 1991 when Chiang Sheng died under mysterious circumstances. He had already been dead for three days.
FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS is also considered to be a Venoms film even though it only features one of the original members, Lo Mang. However, when the group split officially in 1981, other films were made with what was called by fans as the "Baby Venoms". These additional players would be Cheng Tien Chi, Wang Li, Lung Tien Sheng and Chu Ko.
Lo Mang plays the honorable and far too trusting Liang Chi Shun. He is probably the most skilled and badass of the whole lot of heroes. During his fight scene at the beginning he steps in to challenge the Samurai who after defeating one the fighters proclaims, "Bare handed?" To which Lo's reply is, "I'll use my hands against...any weapon!" He never even removes his cape! He defeats the Samurai and upon taking his sword away from him says, "Want this back or...wanna use another one?" Lo is so good in this movie it's a shame he gets killed mid-way through the picture.
Chang Cheh does give him a most memorable send off though. When the ninjas have infiltrated the base, they put huge nails into the masters door. They then shoot fire arrows into his room from a window to burn him alive. Liang (Lo), seeing his master in this predicament fights even harder like an enraged bull taking out around thirty ninjas before he is killed. Not to mention he was already suffering from a gut wound administered by a kunoichi (female ninja) with a sword concealed inside a bouquet of flowers. This being a Chang Cheh movie, however, a gut wound won't stop the heroes; at least not until they have a spectacular finish. One of my favorite shots sees Liang grab one of the ninjas and throw him against a wall. He then wails a flurry of punches on the villain at an incredible speed. Another ninja attacks from behind, Zhi moves as the sword stabs the ninja. Then Liang grabs a rafter pulling himself up then drop-kicking the ninja through the air impaling him on dozens of unsheathed swords wielded by his fellow killers. It's quite an adrenaline pumping sequence and one of the best among many in the film.
Going back to Liang's propensity to trust, he saves a young woman (Chen Pei Hsi) who happens to be a kunoichi (female ninja spies). She feigns falling in love with him but secretly gains affection for Hsiao Tien Hao (Cheng) who constantly berates and scolds her. It's interesting to point out this story conceit is relevant today in that women are attracted to bad boys and not so much the nice guy. Liang trusts in her a great deal. In one scene, she tries to repay his kindness for saving her life by sleeping with him. Liang then proposes they marry first. This then leads into the big attack sequence. After revealing her real name, she mortally wounds Liang with a small sword sheathed within some flowers. Liang however, doesn't let a major stomach wound stop him from kicking lots of ass.
Hsiao is captured and tied up in a special style of bonding. As he sits and awaits his possible execution he thinks back to when he met a previous martial arts instructor who taught him some ninja skills. Remembering this enables him to break free his bonds. Junko (Chen) enters the room and tries to convince Hsiao of her love for him even proclaiming "Good men are not liked". Hsiao doesn't care and uses her to get away. He then heads back to his old teacher for further training. Once there he sees there are three brothers there. None of them save for Wang Li get to speak any lines which was a bit odd. I guess too much dialog would hamper the pace as this film is mostly action and on that aspect it delivers heavily. The teacher only trains the four disciples how to counter the Five Elements as opposed to the styles themselves. We only get to see them training for the initial encounter with the Gold ninjas as the final fight takes up the last half hour.
Just before the big finish, Kembichi (Chen Hui Min) sends Junko to find Hsiao in the hopes of learning about his skills as well as that of his brothers. Hsiao is wise to this yet again and as he embraces her, he realizes four ninjas have accompanied her to his location. Only she was not aware that they followed her. Hsiao acts accordingly in a wonderfully directed scene. Here, Junko truly was sincere in being intimate with Hsiao as opposed to earlier when her affections were merely a diversion leading up to a sneak attack. This scene closes with Hsiao assured of his actions but then second guessing himself as the scene switches to the big battle with the Five Element Ninjas.
The most spectacular and intriguing aspect of the film is the Five Elements themselves. All of them are color coded according to their respective names. The Gold ninjas sport shiny metal hats that reflect the sun in their victims faces as well as firing projectiles from the brim of the hats. The Wood ninjas hide within fake trees, the limbs doubling as arms with spiked gloves waiting to snare one of the heroes. The ninjas here also sport long Wolverine style claws that are quite intimidating. The Water ninjas use flotation devices as well as weighted ropes with long, steel sickles to impale their enemies once they've gotten them into the water. The Fire array is made up of ninjas who use smoke generating weapons as well as fire. And finally, the Earth element ninjas hide beneath the ground and use sickles to stab up through the earth which is demonstrated in perhaps the most famous sequence in the entire film where Huang (Chao Kuo) is skewered between the legs no less than 5 times until his guts begin to roll out in the midst of his fight. The leader, Kembichi shows up and as Huang charges, his intestine gets in the way. He steps on in his spilt innards allowing Kembichi to slice his chest open.
What is also of particular interest is in the way the initial characters are presented. In the beginning, we see two factions about to engage in a final fight to name the ruler of the martial world. One good, one bad. All the good guys are wearing white. In China, white signifies the color of death. The heroes (except for one of them) easily defeat their opponents. This sets up the notion that these fellows are quite skilled. When they receive the challenge from Kembichi, they are sent off to fight in combat against the ninjas that they are most unfamiliar with. Thus is the nature of the Chinese hero. Facing all manner of obstacle and adversity in the face of death. The polar opposite of the Japanese ninja. The easiest, sneakiest and quickest way to accomplish the goal is preferred. So when the eight men go off to fight and are summarily butchered by the Five Element Formations, it's quite a powerful scene especially in light of the opening fight sequence. Also of note, Brother Li's (Lung Tien Sheng) shocked visage when he manages to stab one of the Fire element ninjas. Her exposed breasts reveal the killer to be a woman. Then Kembichi appears in a cloud of smoke. He asks what the hero's name is and Li makes mention of the ninjas devious and duplicitous means and branding him unworthy of knowing his name before expiring.
Which brings us to the final four heroes and their impressive, mind-bogglingly ingenious weapon that is a dozen different pieces of nasty cutlery all wrapped up in one. James Bond would be devilishly envious. Immense praise must be heaped on the Shaw props department for this one. It's possible the creator of this marvelous piece of armament was long time choreographer and frequent director Tang Chia. Tang created numerous weapons for various movies so it's possible he performed the same duties here as well.
During the Gold fight, the heroes fight with their eyes closed to repel the bright reflections from the shields and this piece of choreo is brilliant for just that and worthy of note. The massive axe is done away with for the Wood fight as the moon blade aligning the back of the axe blade is removed and attached to a chain by which the heroes use on the ninjas in a painful display of Far Eastern grand guinol. The staff is removed from the axe and now becomes an extended spear for the Water Array. Netting the heroes wear is also used here. For the Fire Element, the spear yields a hidden flag within which is used to aid against the smoke effects. Last, the spear splits into two pieces and now becomes death-dealing pairs of stilts! Of course, Kembichi has some tricks of his own.
This final, near 30 minute battle is worth the price of the DVD alone as it is one of the most amazing extended sequences of action I have ever seen. The sheer complexity of the Earth element finale is a tribute to the work of not just the performers involved but to the choreographers- Cheng Tien Chi and relative newcomer, the astonishingly agile Chu Ko who plays one of the brothers at the end. This last segment is especially incredible.
Kembichi with his Naginata takes on all four heroes with their two spears a piece. That alone is extremely difficult. Armed fight choreography is much more difficult to pull off than hand-to-hand. The timing must be much more precise and spot on as opposed to empty handed fights where the marks are easier to meet without many mistakes. In indy kung fu movies and even the other major, Golden Harvest, you seldom saw a fight featuring anything other than a one-on-one or two-on-one fight. The Shaw's or especially the Venoms would feature a multitude of fighters onscreen at one time. Also of note, the Venoms would feature even longer master shots than there competition. You might see as many as 20 moves before the camera cuts to the next set-up. You seldom saw brilliance like this any of Jacky's or Sammo's movies.
The role of Kembichi is a showcase for real life Triad boss and retired, undefeated kickboxing champion Chen Hui Min. A real badass like his friends Bruce Lee and Hwang Jang Lee, Chen was the real deal. It was said that he starred in films to keep the gangsters off the studios backs since the infiltration of the HK movie industry by the Triad Mafia organizations was in full swing by this time (reaching a dangerous apex in the 90s). It is also noted that the Shaw's were responsible for the Triads penetrating the film industry there since they paid their actors very little (save for a scant few) they were forced to act in films outside the studio and some of these were questionable fly-by-night outfits backed by the Triads. All the tattoos seen on Chen's body are real. During this time it was seen as distasteful for a Chinese to have a tattoo of any kind and if they did, it was a sign that they were in a gang of some sort. Now, it's not uncommon among males.
Chen has populated his long career with an assortment of movies and he is still acting today. Famous director Kirk Wong directed him in the autobiographical gangster movie THE CLUB (1980) which features a suitably nasty scene where two guys eviscerate a man with two boat motors! Chen has done films for Chang Cheh as early as 1973 in ALL MEN ARE BROTHERS and also plays a ninja in MY REBELLIOUS SON (1982) starring Fu Sheng. Chen was also featured in the classic modern action film ROYAL WARRIORS (1986) starring Michelle Yeoh and Japanese sensation Hiroyuki Sanada. Chen can also be seen in the Shaw exploitation kung fu favorite SHAOLIN HANDLOCK (1976) playing a rare hero role and also in the super obscure and ambitious Taiwanese quickie NINJA STRIKE (1983?).
Another promising newcomer was Chao Kuo who played Huang, the ill-fated fighter who gets it the worst of the eight warriors during the initial Five Element fight. Chao was also being groomed by Chang Cheh but he disappeared completely after Chang left Shaw Brothers. He was an impressive performer (although not an especially good actor) and can be seen in MASKED AVENGERS (1981) and SWORD STAINED WITH ROYAL BLOOD (1981) among a scant few films. A Chinese friend of mine says Chao was a friend of his and that he was only 17 when he made his debut the year prior.
Lung Tien Sheng plays Brother Li who is one of the eight fighters sent to fight the Elements earlier in the film. He isn't given much to do but he is memorable in his brief role. The dubbed dialog is often time vastly different from the Chinese original. One of the best dubbed lines is delivered by Lung during his Fire Element fight. After they unleash the smoke effects he yells, "Secret weapons...! You bastards! Come on!" And also, "You use dirty tricks...I'll get you!" Lung appeared in a handful of indy features like WORLD OF THE DRUNKEN MASTER (1979), the final film to feature footage of Yuen Sui Tin who died during the filming before moving on to Shaw Brothers where he maintained stable work until they closed up shop for TV productions. He is most memorable as the mysterious Spearman in FLAG OF IRON (1980) where he showed much charisma. He is also good in SWORD STAINED WITH ROYAL BLOOD (1981), LONG ROAD TO GALLANTRY (1984) and in smaller roles like villainous turns in DESCENDANT OF THE SUN (1982), RETURN OF THE BASTARD SWORDSMAN (1984) and THE MASTER STRIKES BACK (1984).
Curiously, the three brothers that train with Hsiao, Wang Li, Chu ko and Yu Tai Ping have no dialog whatsoever. Wang Li says "Be careful" and that's it. They're silent for their segment of the film. Wang Li was an impressive acrobat who started out in indy features before graduating to the Shaw school. He never really found any lasting fame but was nonetheless very talented. He was really notable in the Venom flicks THE REBEL INTRUDERS (1980) and THE DAREDEVILS (1979) both as villains, roles that best suited him. He was formally introduced in SHAOLIN RESCUERS (1979) in an exciting fight scene holding off the five Wu Tang killers so Hung Si Kwan could escape. Wang also appeared with Chen Hui Min in the rare NINJA STRIKE (1983?) where he fights against a horde of ninjas during the opening and he's not seen again. During the years of 1983 and '84, Wang was relegated to bit player or as an extra.
Chu Ko was a dynamite performer who possessed extraordinary fighting skills. He appeared in the indy classic NORTHERN KICKS, SOUTHERN FISTS (1981;aka SECRET RIVALS 3) starring super kicker John Liu before showing what he could do in Chang Cheh's heavy duty blood and guts classic MASKED AVENGERS (1981). Chu also featured in HOUSE OF TRAPS (1981), SWORD STAINED WITH ROYAL BLOOD (1981), BRAVE ARCHER & HIS MATE (1982) and WEIRD MAN (1982) among others.
Yu Tai Ping was a real life weapons expert with an unusual face. He looked a bit like a rat with his prominent proboscis. He was never given the chance at a major role at Shaw's and was relegated to support status mostly as villains which he did well. He seldom dabbled as good guys but he played them in FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS MASKED AVENGERS (1981) and HOUSE OF TRAPS (1982). He was memorable as the hot-headed secret weapons expert in CRIPPLED AVENGERS (1978).
It's a shame that Kuan Feng, who plays Yuen, the leader of the Alliance, has no fight scenes in this film. He displayed some blistering pole fighting in the amazing MONKEY KUNG FU (1980) and other memorable turns as villains in the otherwise lackluster THE FIVE SUPERFIGHTERS (1979) and TEN TIGERS OF KWANG TUNG (1977-80). Kuan Feng also had some devastating kicks in his arsenal; kicks that often seemed similar to those of famous bootmaster Hwang Jang Lee.
When FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS was released to HK theaters in 1982, it received a cool reception. Audience apathy towards this kind of picture resulted in a very modest profit of $1.7 million dollars. By comparison, Jacky Chan's DRAGON LORD (1982) raked in just under $18 million. Again, comedy was what was popular then. Also the same year, a similar movie to FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS saw release; Seasonal Films NINJA IN THE DRAGON'S DEN (1982). The first starring role for Conan Lee, the film featured a storyline about ninjas and contained a damn good stilt fight scene albeit played for laughs. Also starring Hiroyuki Sanada and Hwang Jang Lee as the main villain, comedy is again the order of the day with even the final fight played as comedy. This film grossed $7.6 million at the box office in HK.
However, Chang's films were always very popular in Taiwan and one of the reasons he went back there. A number of Taiwanese made FIVE ELEMENT styled movies were released in the wake of Chang's original. Films like THE SUPER NINJA (1984), LIFE OF A NINJA (1983), CHALLENGE OF THE LADY NINJA (1984;aka FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS 2!), NINJA HUNTER (1984), NINJA VS SHAOLIN GUARD (1982), MAFIA VS NINJA (1983), the amazingly awful 8 hour "epic" NINJA THE FINAL DUEL (1984) and the most popular being NINJA IN THE DEADLY TRAP (1984). When the Venoms left Shaw's, Kuo Chui, Lu Feng and Chiang Sheng got together and made this ninja adventure that is a low budget take-off on both FIVE VENOMS (1978) and FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS (1982). Famous Japanese actor Yasuaki Kurata plays the villain and Ti Lung plays the Emperor whom the ninjas are out to kill. The Venoms play three kung fu specialists proficient in separate styles who don't know each other but share the same master. They are hired to protect the Emperor from the invading Japanese and their Five Element Formation. Kuo Chui stars and also directs for the first and last time as the experience was not particularly pleasant for him.
For this ambitious production, Chang appears to have been given a bigger budget than his previous few pictures. Although their actions are pure fantasy, the Shaw's uphold their stance of accuracy in detailing the ninjitsu arts and the actual methods and weaponry of the Five Elements of eras past. In fact, another Shaw film from 1982, LEGENDARY WEAPONS OF CHINA, was not only about the Boxer Rebellion, but it was also about the beginnings of the ninja magic spies. The evil sect of Mao Shan priests were the progenitors of the ninja arts and are still feared to this day in China. I assume the music used in 5EN is all stock music. Portions of it appear in the 1970 Warner Brothers documentary ANIMALS ARE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE. The music used fits the film perfectly. Chang Cheh had also visited the plot point of the Five Elements (from a Chinese perspective) 12 years earlier in the gruesome and spectacular classic from 1970, THE DEADLY DUO starring David Chiang and Ti Lung.
Regardless of its lack of popularity in HK, FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS was definitely noticed elsewhere given the number of bandwagon movies that followed it. It is wildly popular among fans and held in much higher regard than the aforementioned Chan film and the Seasonal ninja comedy. For the numerous implausibilities 5EN has, it makes up for them in sheer creativity and imagination creating a bloody comic book come to life that is a must for any action fan and is arguably the ultimate ninja movie. If you want a kung fu movie with a storyline married to its action than this one isn't for you. If you want some amazing, show-stopping action, then FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS delivers the goods in abundance.