REVIEW: ‘Master of the Flying Guillotine’ (1975)

Nothing captures the imagination of genre fans like the notion of a mechanical device being hurled through the air to behead its victims. The concept may have less effect today on audiences than it did back in 1974 when the famous character known as the “One-Armed Boxer,” as played by Hong Kong screen legend Jimmy Wang Yu first found himself dodging its razor-sharp teeth. But MASTER OF THE FLYING GUILLOTINE remains a cult film classic that lives up to its eccentric name by offering one of the most unusual and fascinating kung fu movie experiences ever put to celluloid.

As the narrator explains the Qing Emperor has trained numerous assassins in the use of the Flying Guillotine to kill off Ming rebels. This deadly and impractical weapon looks much like a Qing-era hat with a saw blade brim and a long chain attached. The user throws the weapon with practiced precision onto his victim’s head. Chain netting with blades at the bottom drops down and one quick pull severs the head. Best of all, it collapses for easy carrying while traveling.

One of the emperor’s assassins is Fung Cheh Wu Chi (Kam Kong) who has just discovered that his two students were killed by a rebel in hiding named Yu Tieh-lun, aka the One-Armed Boxer (Wang Yu). Although blind, Fung assumes the guise of a Shaolin monk and goes in search of Yu who now runs a kung fu school. Yu is invited to a martial arts competition, but only agrees to watch so as not to draw attention to himself. This doesn’t stop Fung from crashing the party and beheading a one-armed competitor he mistakes for Yu. With the aid of the other foreign competitors, including a yoga master with arms that extend and retract, Fung begins his hunt for Yu. To gain an edge, Yu and his students prepare a series of clever traps to help them defeat these fierce killers, culminating in a memorable fight in a coffin-making shop.

The concept of the guillotine as a portable weapon was not new. A year earlier, Shaw Brothers had introduced the weapon to audiences with THE FLYING GUILLOTINE starring Chen Kuan-tai. Yet Wang Yu’s version became more famous thanks in part to its 1977 release in the United States where it gained considerable fame playing drive-ins and grind house theaters.

In all, there were four guillotine-related films including Shaw Brothers’ sequel FLYING GUILLOTINE 2 (1977) and another independently produced film entitled THE FATAL FLYING GUILLOTINE (1977) starring Chan Sing and Carter Wong. Wang Yu’s version was also a loose sequel to THE ONE-ARMED BOXER (1971).

Wang Yu’s strength as a martial arts star did not lay in his martial arts skills which were limited to what performance training he had learned while working at Shaw Brothers in the 1960s. Yet as a former competitive swimmer he was athletic. He also possessed a healthy dose of charisma and became an moderately successfull filmmaker, often writing and directing his own films once he left Shaw Brothers. MASTER OF THE FLYING GUILLOTINE represents the best of Wang Yu’s creative output before he slipped into irreversible decline in the mid-70s.

A staple of Wang Yu’s films are visual gimmicks that he uses to entertain and make up for lack of fighting skill. What better device than a flying guillotine? In MASTER OF THE FLYING GUILLOTINE, also expect to see Wang Yu walking up walls as he did in RETURN OF THE CHINESE BOXER and some unconventional fighting styles. A character named Nai Men from Thailand introduces the potent skills of Thai boxing to the story as he allies himself with Fung. Less conceivable, but no less enjoyable are the arm-extending skills of the so-called yoga master who strangles his victims from a distance. Even Kam Kong’s head does a 360-degree spin towards the end. The finale also incorporates coffins with spring-loaded hatchets and more of Wang Yu’s gravity-defying wall-climbing.

Although the film could have easily relied on its gadgets and limited special effects, brothers Lau Kar-leung and Kar-wing deliver choreography that keeps the fighting fierce and imaginative. The competition that takes up a big chunk of the film’s running time features various styles such as Monkey Fist and Eagle’s Claw. Wang Yu seems to have a particular interest in Thai boxing and the many scenes where Sham Chin-bo portrays this art as the villainous Nai Men are outstanding.

A number of familiar faces also show up throughout the film to add their competent skills to the mix. Long-time Wang Yu collaborator Lung Fei plays the Japanese villain. Expert screen fighters Lau Kar-wing and Jack Lung also appear in the competition.

MASTER OF THE FLYING GUILLOTINE is a guilty pleasure for any moviegoers who enjoy a bit of overindulgence. As writer, director and star, Wang Yu proves to be an extraordinary showman whose creativity, experimentation with genre conventions and knack for surrounding himself with great talent proves to be a recipe for a marvelously maniacal masterpiece that’s worth losing your head over.