Kung Fu Girl
The first film, Kung Fu Girl, is the better of the
two, and this DVD includes the full 119-minute version, which has previously
not been available in the United States. The print used for this release bears
the title None But The Brave, and no, the print isn’t entirely pristine,
but you don’t want it to be. For me, part of the joy of watching this DVD comes
from the old feel of it.
The film begins with a woman named Chen Xiaoying (Pei-Pei
Cheng) leading a group of men in a fight. She’s quick to fight, and even
quicker to smile, and I’m not sure which I enjoy seeing her do more. Yang Gang,
from the School of Fists and Fury, arrives, thinking that Xiaoying is Lei Tianbao’s
little sister. He wants to use her to get to Lei’s brother in order to find out
the location of Mr. Cai, who is locked away. The sister is dead, so Xiaoying
offers to pose as Lei Yuying herself in order to uncover this information.
The plan works well, but her fight with some Japanese men
causes problems. I have to laugh when the Japanese ruffians play Rock Paper
Scissors. And of course the sounds used for hits to the body are hilarious, and
are almost always the same. In one scene, kicking someone in the abdomen makes
the same sound as kneeing him in the ribs or punching him in the face or
hitting him in the knee. Again, it’s all part of the charm. And speaking of
charm, Pei-Pei is so bloody adorable and delightful when she tags along with
Lie Tianbao to his post. And later she fights off a whole squadron while
dressed as a lump-of-coal salesman, in what is a totally enjoyable scene.
This film takes some interesting, unexpected turns, and
it just gets better and better. I was surprised by just how damn good this film
is.
Whiplash
The second film, Whiplash, isn’t nearly as good as
Kung Fu Girl, but is still enjoyable. It’s quite a strange film. It
begins with an old man who has found ancient treasures in the mountains and
reported it to the local government. Now he’s leading a team up to retrieve the
loot, and he speaks of a nagging daughter who has a temper. He says, “She’s
like a wild tigress.” And so he’s nicknamed her Whiplash.
Meanwhile a band of bandits, including a midget, attempts
to steal Whiplash’s wine and meat. She recognizes the tobacco bag and knife
that the band’s leader, Big Garlic, carries as being her father’s possessions.
And this is where the film starts to get weird. It suddenly becomes a musical.
Seriously. She and the guys sing a song about tigers and drinking, with one of
the men engaging Whiplash in a verse about eating a tiger’s penis. After the
men all pass out, Whiplash sings about having her revenge on whichever man
killed her father. She then ties them up and forces them to guide her to the
ravine where they say they saw her father. And though it ceases to be a
musical, the men occasionally do sing a bit of a refrain of that one song.
The movie is incredibly goofy and odd, and even includes
a pooping scene. Actually, two pooping scenes. And there are some cartoon sound
effects. Of course, there is a lot of intense fighting at the end, through when
characters land on the sand it sounds like they’re hitting a wrestling mat.
Martial Arts Double Feature: Kung Fu Girl/Whiplash
is scheduled to be released on DVD on December 2, 2014 through Shout! Factory.
The DVD contains trailers for both films.
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