(aka 'Buddha's Palm' or 'Ru lai shen zhang')
directed by
Taylor Wong
Hong Kong 1982
I'm sure Shaw Brothers fans must gush over this one. It has enough acrobatic
action, wild costumes and frenetic camera movement to fill 2 movies. Tack onto that some untypical
fantasy elements and even camp-ish special effects and you have a lot of
entertainment packed in here. I believe it was originally taken from a popular
comic book story. Even for non-martial arts fans though, it will be an
amusing ride. My big complaint is the myriad of characters that are very
meagerly developed and hence I can't remember who is who. There are so many. Throughout the film
the solid footing of 'good' and 'evil' can flux into deception and
back-stabbing villans. The female characters always seem so able to turn allegiance very
quickly. Personally, I prefer my Kung-Fu films very simple and without the
occult/fantasy element. However, I am aware of the huge following and if this
genre of films turns your crank, I'm sure you won't want to miss this one. It's
so early 80's it actually smells of nostalgia.
out
of 
Theatrical Release: 1982 - Hong Kong
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Review: IVL (Intercontinental Video Limited) - Region 3 - NTSC
| DVD Box Cover |
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| Distribution | Intercontinental Video Limited - Region 1- NTSC |
| Runtime | 1:32:42 |
| Video |
2.40:1
Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.72 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Bitrate: |
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| Audio | Cantonese and Mandarin Language Tracks (both post-synced) (Dolby Digital 5.1) |
| Subtitles | English, Traditional Chinese, Malaysian, Indonesian Subtitles and None |
| Features |
Release Information: Edition Details: • Two
trailers for the film |
| Comments: |
Widescreen is in its full glory here, but the video is a little pasty.
The non-anamorphic image looked fine on the tube, but scrutinizing
further and the washed out colors and haziness become very visible.
Audio re-mix is a shade clouded. I don't suppose this films negative was
kept in pristine condition, but it is pretty strong regardless.
NOTE:
English
subtitles are synced to the Mandarin track which is a shame as the
Cantonese inflections are superior. Only trailers as extras. Packaging
is excellent.
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Gary Tooze
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