AUDIO/VIDEO:
Side note: The quality of this film and "The Instant Kung-Fu Man" are the same. Therefore the information regarding the audio/video segments as well as the extras will be identical.

The audio for the film is presented in a mono platform. As such, all of the aural information is channeled solely through the center speaker. The English-dubbed dialogue is easily understood. The video for the film is of very poor quality. The colors are faded, the image is very soft and there are far too many scratches and fleckings within the images to note. At the start of the feature the normal warning banners are brought up however, they appear to suffer from tracking difficulties usually found on VHS. Once the image is corrected a very poor menu screen is posted which echoes the poorly drawn caricatures from the artwork on the DVD Amaray case.

EXTRAS:
The extras identify a trailer for the feature in the disc however, the only trailer available is a very marred and for lack of a better term-"chewed up" trailer for a Jackie Chan movie. The trailer itself is in Chinese with English subs. The English subs are pretty garbled which makes understanding the point of the trailer a bit difficult to discern. No elements of any film are presented rather, Chan performing various forms of martial arts in period costumes.

CONCLUSION:
Again, this is something of a throwback to the kinds of films I used to watch on "Black Belt Theater" here in Philadelphia as a kid! It’s pretty solid fighting sequences are all made a little hoky with the inclusion of a very poorly acted English dubbed language track. The movie is very well choreographed and held my attention throughout. Not everyone is heavy on Martial Arts films and truthfully, these are not the best films to try to win someone over with. But for a lazy Sunday afternoon they are definitely worth a look. Rent it.

REVIEW:
Hwang Jang Lee leads a capable cast of regulars in this rousing tale of revenge that features a climatic finale well worth the price of admission.

The film begins in a common manner with Dao Ha running with his tale between his legs, eventually ending in his expulsion from Master Wong's home. The story becomes more interesting once we get to meet Wong's unruly son, Tiger and his equally troublesome friend, Dragon. Reminiscent of Jackie Chan's performance as Wong Fei Hung in the classic, DRUNKEN MASTER, Tiger is a youngster gifted in martial arts but with a mischievous nature that confounds his father. Having previously sent three kung fu instructors packing, Tiger finally meets his match when a wandering street performer is enlisted as the next teacher. This instructor's skill is only outmatched by his own clever nature and in a series of enjoyable scenes, he outwits Tiger's pranks devised to scare him away. But Tiger soon comes to appreciate the elder man's presense after he assists Tiger and Dragon in defeating the Four Snakes, who were duping men into becoming slaves. Word of this interference reaches Hu and its not long after that Tiger's father is killed along with the instructor who covers the young men's escape. The two hide out with Dragon's master who in an amazing twist of fate happens to be the one man able to train the two in skills capable of defeating Hu and Dao Ha.

The training scenes that take place are fairly average with the ever-popular surgical tubing, usually labeled as ox sinew involved. Its the actual fights that will hold more interest and thankfully there are plenty. It doesn't take long for Tiger and Dragon to finally confront the villains. Dao Ha is unceremoniously dispatched by Tiger who puts the squeeze on him. But the final battle against Hu is the showstopper. Hwang Jang Lee's skills are in full display here as he wields an Iron Staff against his two opponents. The highlight is clearly a carefully choreographed scene involving Tiger, Dragon and their master who joins the battle midway through. The three run towards Hwang, each several feet apart. Hwang runs, leaps into the air and kicks each attacker on down the line. The whole fight rivals those of Jackie Chan's early films such as THE YOUNG MASTER in its fierceness, creativity and length.

But even without this final fight, the film is still enjoyable despite a lot of tired elements of the genre thrown in such as the whole revenge soap opera, a ripped soundtrack and two-dimensional characters. The dubbing is worth mentioning as a bit funnier than usual sporting lines such as, "Teacher, your Devil's Rod was really made in Hell."

HELL'S WIND STAFF is at times humorous, conventional, awe-inspiring, and laughable. While there is little to distinguish it from any number of late '70's chopsocky flicks, the presense of Hwang Jang Lee, coupled with some well-paced humor and solid performances by the remaining cast makes this film well worth a look.

HELL’S WIND STAFF (aka DRAGON AND THE TIGER KIDS) was a breakthrough picture for one of it’s leads, Meng Yuen Man. He went on to star in THE MASTER STRIKES, DAGGERS EIGHT, and TRILOGY OF SWORDSMANSHIP, before a heart attack put him out of the martial arts scene in 1981. HELL’S WIND STAFF also stars another Meng, Meng Hoi, a stunt man and martial arts choreographer, who would go on to a successful career in mainstream Hong Kong fare such as LEGACY OF RAGE, YES MADAM, and HEART OF THE DRAGON. And of course HELL’S WIND STAFF is famous for the presence of the great Hwang Jang Li. This Korean martial arts champion has some of the best high-kicking skills in the entire realm of Kung Fu, but sadly he got typecast as a villain. Still, you can count on Hwang Jang Li to steal pretty much every scene he has appeared in, overshadowing such co-stars as John Liu (THE INSTANT KUNG FU MAN), Meng Hoi (BUDDHA ASSASSINATOR), Jimmy Liu (DRAGON’S CLAWS), and even Jackie Chan (DRUNKEN MASTER). Hwang Jang Li gives it his all in HELL’S WIND STAFF, and the movie is surely one of the best physical roles he’s ever done. CAV and World Video knew they had a winner when they secured HELL’S WINDS STAFF for DVD release on their classic Kung Fu series.

Dao Wu, the nephew of a respected martial arts teacher, Master Wong, rapes the daughter of another Kung Fu master. The father of the girl is naturally pissed, and plucks Dao Wu’s eye out in retaliation. Out of respect for Master Wong, the father leaves Dao Wu blinded, but alive. A dejected Dao Wu joins an underworld organization, led by the insidious Lu (Hwang Jang Li) and over a four-year span, Dao Wu becomes Lu’s top martial arts enforcer. Meanwhile, two young Kung Fu students, Stone Dragon (Meng Hoi) and Tiger Wong (Meng Yuen Man) stumble upon an underworld plot to provide slave labor. Lu is the mastermind behind this plot, which is carried out by a criminal gang called the Four Snakes. Tiger and Dragon beat the Four Snakes, which prompts Lu to dispatch Dao Wu to Master Wong’s school, where Tiger resides. Tiger is not at home, but Master Wong speaks up on behalf of his son, and is killed by Dao Wu. Tiger and Dragon soon return to his father’s school to find him dead. Tiger is devastated and is quick to plot revenge. Dao Wu returns with Lu and his gang to kill Tiger and Dragon. The two are helpless against such an onslaught, and barely escape with their lives.

Tiger and Dragon head for the hills and hook up with an crippled Kung Fu master, who has mastered the Dragon’s Claw style. Legends say that only the White Dragon Fist form can beat Lu’s Devil Stick style. Coincidently, the elder was crippled years ago in battle with Lu, so the old master is more than happy to impart his knowledge of Dragon’s Claw to his eager pupils. Tiger and Dragon undergo an extreme acrobatic regimen to boost their skills and prowess. Then the elder teaches them some anti-staff fighting techniques. The elder says when they can collectively beat him, they shall be ready to fight Lu. But a heartbroken Tiger cannot wait to get his revenge against Dao Wu, so he sneaks out under the cover of night to face his hated opponent. He heads into the village and confronts Dao Wu, and they fight till one of them is dead. When Dragon discovers his comrade has gone to seek revenge, he heads for the village to join him. En route to the village, Dragon discovers Lu and his goons. Thinking that Lu may have already killed Tiger, Dragon pitches himself into battle against Lu. Dragon easily beats Lu’s thugs, but has a much harder time against their boss, who wields his unbeatable wind staff. Just when it seems like Lu has Dragon in his sights, Tiger arrives. The stage is set for the final showdown—but just when you thought you’d seen it all, a mystery fighter enters the fray!

Though comedy in Kung Fu films peaked with DRUNKEN MASTER, there were several earlier efforts that paved the way for the success of Kung Fu and comedy. HELL’S WIND STAFF was one such film. Director Tung Wong specialized in combining both genres, but the comedy in HELL’S WIND STAFF is (thankfully) rather restrained. The first five-minute scene that introduces Meng Hoi and Meng Yuen Man is littered with humor, and then the next 90 minutes is dead serious (with exception of a few light moments). The comedy does not damage the drama or credibility of HELL’S WIND STAFF, but it does create a schizophrenic feel. Meng Hoi and Meng Yuen Man (along with Li Yi Min) are some unique players among the old school pantheon of actors, because all these men have charisma and can make the humor work when the script requires it. The plot is typical revenge fodder that does not bring anything new to the genre, but interestingly the script splits the typical protagonist character into two people (Tiger and Dragon). Since the movies focuses on several characters and villains, HELL’S WIND STAFF takes on the feeling of an ensemble epic, rather than the low budget flick that it is. Much of the credit for the success of the film can be attributed to the directorial craftsmanship of Tung Wong.

Credit must also go to the Yuen Clan for providing the break-neck fight choreography. If anything, the fights are so flashy that they tend to lack realism. Both Meng Hoi and Meng Yuen Man are agile acrobats whose moves are at times unreal. For instance at one point in the movie, Meng Hoi repeatedly curls himself up into a ball and batters his opponent like a bowling ball hitting a tenpin. In another great training scene, Meng Yuen Man stands on his hands and uses his feet to move a stack of bricks piece-by-piece. No cables or special effects here, it’s really Meng Yuen Man doing it in real time and without any cuts. It’s a shame he had to quit Kung Fu, as he certainly would have been a big star. Hwang Jang Li’s high kicking talents are under-utilized here, due to the fact that he fights with a staff through most of the movie. He does have one great fight scene, where he knocks down three of his enemies (in slo-mo) with one flying kick. Then Hwang Jang Li fights three-on-one during the final showdown, which is guaranteed to leave you exhausted just observing it. The fights and choreography are extremely violent. HELL’S WIND STAFF features eyeball violence, throat-crushing blows, snake attacks, and people falling into a pit of sharpened spikes. So despite the few light moments in the film, the dark moments more than compensate.

SIGHT:
HELL’S WIND STAFF was originally filmed in the 2.35.1 aspect ratio. Unfortunately, the transfer on this disc is cropped to full frame 1.33.1. Some of the Yuen Clan’s fight choreography is truncated, but the tight shots are still within the image. On the plus side, the source print used for this transfer is in fairly good condition, with minimal dirt and blemishes. The image is a bit dark and grain is prevalent, however the picture is generally quite sharp. Black levels are perfectly calibrated. Director Tung Wong eschews bright colors (like yellows and reds) for darker ones like blues and browns. The bloodied victims of Hwang Jang Li’s gang members produce the brightest red hues in the film. HELL’S WIND STAFF is a very low-budget film with virtually no production design. All the fighting takes place in the wilderness or on a couple of village sets. The cinematography is not spectacular like the productions from the Shaw Brothers, therefore the cropping does not quite hurt as much. Most of the budget for HELL’S WIND STAFF went into the over-choreographed fight sequences. CAV’s transfer preserves the strengths of HELL’S WIND STAFF quite well.

SOUND:
The soundtrack is Dolby Digital Mono 2.0. Except for a few crackles and pops (due to the age of this film), the audio is clear and precise. There is no hiss, background noise, or distortion present in the mix. The sound is at times a bit tinny, but still delivers the mono goods. HELL’S WIND STAFF contains a great deal of fighting (and training) with staffs and other weapons. The sound effects consist of the clanging of these magnificent weapons. The combat sequences also produce a lot of yelling and groaning from both the beater and the beated on. HELL’S WIND STAFF has a lot of characters to keep track off, and many of them are sloppily dubbed, even by old school standards. The usual flock of voice talent provides vocals for the principals, but the peripheral characters have British and even Australian accents. Composer Frankie Chan contributes a fine score, which incorporates traditional Chinese stylings. Chan even manages to sneak in a few jazzy strains that conform to the period setting of the movie. CAV delivers a serviceable mono track for their release of HELL’S WIND STAFF.

FEATURES:
From the Main Menu, you can access the Trailer sub-menu to view World Video’s trailer for the documentary, JACKIE CHAN: INVINCIBLE FIGHTER. The trailer is widescreen 2.35.1, in Cantonese with English subtitles, and runs 3:35. In the trailer, a narrator discusses Jackie’s early career, while clips from those films play in the background.

CONCLUSION:
In the realm of Kung Fu fandom, it is often said that a martial arts movie is only as good as its lead villain, because he makes everyone else in the film (including the heroes) look good. With all due respect to the stars, Meng Hoi and Meng Yuen Man, HELL’S WIND STAFF is a vehicle for Hwang Jang Li's. Though his screen time is limited compared to films like BUDDHA ASSASSINATOR, Hwang Jang Li fighting has never been more controlled, more concise, and more intimidating than in HELL’S WIND STAFF. His critics have always thumbed their noses at him for his reliance on his high-kicking skills, but in this film Hwang Jang Li demonstrates his efficiency with the other weapons in his martial arts arsenal. So while his character loses the final battle, Hwang Jang Li proves to be the real winner. Though HELL’S WIND STAFF has its flaws, it is a good reminder of how Hwang Jang Li is quite simply one of the best martial arts villains of all time. Of all the old school films at their fingertips, CAV and World Video smartly selected HELL’S WIND STAFF as one of their summer DVD releases. A commendable move from those two companies, I must say.