The Japanese in this case are represented by Chen Chang (Pai Ying), a judo master who, along with his henchmen (Chen Kuan-Tai and Eddy Ko Hung) is taking over schools around China's countryside by defeating their masters.

After Chen cripples Master Shi (Goo Man Chung), his students (led by Chi Shi Hau, played by Tang Ching) team up to try and get revenge. Master Shi surmises that if they can fiure out how to get thrown without falling flat on their asses, the team can defeat Chen. Brilliant strategy -- I guess that's why he's the master.

So the plot is pretty much rubbish, and the exposition isn't helped by the wooden acting. Besides Tang Ching, none of the actors seem to be trying all that hard. Thankfully, The Bloody Fight keeps the story-driving scenes to a minimum, and instead focuses on the action.

Unfortunately, the fisticuffs are a mixed bag. There doesn't seem to be a true martial artist in the bunch, and the film-makers try to cover this up with camera angles and painfully obvious stunt doubles. In particular, the female leads (Ingrid Hu and Lau Lan-Ying) look pretty silly trying to look as if they actually know kung fu. But director Ng Tin-Chi manages to pull things together for the final confrontation.

Like many of these old school movies, the last twenty minutes or so are definitely the best part of the picture. The action presented, while solid, isn't good enough to totally forgive the movie's shortcomings. But at least by the time it ends, you won't feel as if you've totally wasted your time with a viewing of The Bloody Fight.

REVIEW
This movie deals with the old Chinese vs. Japanese issue and I have no idea how I’m going to write something original about it. The movie does contain a lot of fighting and there are a few bloody scenes if you’re interested in that sort of thing. Incidentally, the movie came out in 1972 which is real close to the release of Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury. Of course they deal with the same timeless issue.

The basic story revolves around a traveling Japanese fighter, Chan Cheng and two of his accomplices. They travel through China and seek out all good martial artists and challenge them to the death. Their first target in the movie is a Chinese master who reluctantly agrees to fight. While he may be a master himself, the Japanese fighter is better and he beats the Chinese fighter. During his last days he asks Chi Ling, his daughter, to seek out her uncle and stay with him and then he dies. The girl does get to her uncle but soon afterwards he too is challenged, but escapes with his life. From here on we see the uncle and some students training to get good enough to beat the challengers. Midway through the film I had already lost interest, I’ve seen this all before! The fight choreography wasn’t as good as later films and at times looked very fake. They also implemented a bit of wiring in most of the jumps. But it is an old school kung fu flick and I can’t take that away from it.

Later in the movie Chi Ling finds the fighter that her father threw out of the kung fu school years ago and he agrees to help take revenge for his master's death. Now that Chi Siu has joined forces he combines techniques with Chen Wa and devises a martial art form that can beat the Japanese. They also practice a secret technique for use against Chan Cheng’s Judo throws. This ingenious technique is basically falling on your feet when he throws you... really. At the end everyone walks into a Japanese dojo and you see an all-out fight, which ends with Chi Siu and Chen Wa taking on the Japanese fighter.

The scenery looked good most of the time, especially in the letterbox format provided by Crash Cinema. Most of the fights take place inside a courtyard or so, but the countryside scenes look quite good too. And the director shot lots of scenes from a distance, which turned out well in my opinion. The overall image did at times seem a bit too “clean," but maybe that’s just me. The steel railings and so forth in some scenes did look a bit out of place too! And there was not as much editing as I’m use too and it let the fights move on more naturally. I have no idea what budget they had, but the production values and acting ability are above average.

A Japanese boxer, Chen Chang (Fong Yao) and his two disciples (one played by Chen Kuan Tai) challenge the Chinese martial arts school of old Master Tien. Chen’s disciples beat the proud students of Master Tien, prompting the old one himself to emerge from his school and face the arrogant attackers. Chen wants to pit his Japanese boxing techniques against Master Tien’s Kung Fu. When the Master agrees, Chen adds an additional stipulation that the fight is to the death. Master Tien is not happy, but accepts because he’s in front of not only his students, but his daughter Chi Ling as well. Master Tien and Chen go toe-to-toe until the cunning Japanese boxer gets the upper hand. Master Tien is fatally wounded, and on his deathbed he orders Chi Ling to leave the school and seek out his brother, who is even more superior in the martial arts than he is. He makes Chi Ling promise to not seek revenge on the Japanese before he expires. Chi Ling goes searching for her uncle, and Chen and his men make Master Tien’s school their new home. At a nearby cantina, drunken patron Chi Shi How stands up to the Japanese men, and is quickly hailed as a hero by his neighbors. As soon as Chi Ling arrives at her Uncle’s, Chen and his men arrive, looking for trouble. The Uncle uses diplomacy to avoid starting a fight.

After the Japanese leave, Chi Ling informs her Uncle that Chen is responsible for the death of her father. He is angered and promises that they will eventually be sent back to Japan. He then introduces Chi Ling to his cadre of students and followers each of whom posses a formidable martial arts skill. She also meets and develops feelings for Tien Hwon (Alan Tang), the son of her Uncle. Chi Ling receives word that Chen and his fighters are returning to her uncle’s school to wipe him out, too. The students prepare and practice their special skills in preparation for the battle to come. Chen’s disciples lead the attack, but they are quickly defeated by force of numbers. This leaves Chen by himself to take on the Uncle. A great duel commences, and Chen finally gets put in his place. Rather than face defeat, Chen retreats. He makes it back to his headquarters at Master Tien’s place and recruits his own private army in anticipation of the conflict to come. The now-sober Chi Shi How teams with Tien Hwon to form a special 3-style mix of Kung Fu that exploits the weaknesses of Japanese boxing. The Uncle himself was victorious using this style, and he educates these two men on how to employ these forms. It takes the combined efforts of two men to make it work; one man is ineffective. Uncle lays out the challenge to the Japanese contingent. All the pieces are in place for the final showdown between Chinese martial arts and Japanese boxing. If the Chinese win, the Japanese will leave the area. If the Japanese win, Uncle will concede ownership of his school.

BLOODY FIGHT is a real surprise. It’s not a ‘hero’ movie, where the unbeatable protagonist fights solo against all odds (like Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan). This is an ensemble piece, with a scope that matches the early Shaw Brothers productions. Ng Tin Chi is influenced by Spaghetti Westerns, which comes through in nearly every scene. The director includes some awesome scenes of the characters traveling through and fighting in some treacherous desert terrain that made me believe I was watching a Western movie (I was shocked that there was such landscapes in China that resembled the old west). BLOODY FIGHT is propelled by a thin revenge plot, as Chi Ling and her Uncle plan the defeat of the lead Japanese boxer. Neither of those two characters are directly involved in the final conflict however. That ultimate destruction of Chen falls into the hands of Tien Hwon and Chi Shi How. These two characters and Uncle’s other students have their own agenda. Its interesting how the script relates the character of Chi Shi How. At first he seems like a drunken guy with a big mouth. Then he actually demonstrates some fighting ability by dueling with the Japanese, but his skills not fully up to the task (Chi Shi How is not your typical drunken master stereotype ala Sam the Seed). When he first gets involved with Tien Hua and his father, there is resistance and distrust. Another other interesting things about the movie is that some guards are shown using guns, so that limits the unspecified time period of BLOODY FIGHT to the late 1800s-1900s

There are a few problems with BLOODY FIGHT through. First of all, every Japanese character in the movie is played by Chinese actors, and they all have Chinese names. While viewing this movie I came to the conclusion that these characters were not Japanese at all, but merely Chinese traitors who abandoned their own martial arts to learn superior fighting skills from the lead Japanese fighter (this was the only way to justify the Chinese names and appearances). My theory proved it could hold no water as the lead Japanese villain’s name is Chen Chang—but at least he is the only character that looks and dresses like a real Japanese Ninja type. Often when these movies get "Internationalized", the dubbers change the names of the characters, so this could explain the non-Japanese naming conventions. Another major flaw of BLOODY FIGHT is the fighting style of the Japanese characters. The Japanese fighters are all employing modified Kung Fu styles! There is no Karate, Ninjitsu, or Sword fighting in the entire movie. So those hoping to see a true comparison of Japanese vs. Chinese styles better stick with your video of SHAOLIN CHALLENGES NINJA instead. BLOODY FIGHT features some great choreography from the always reliable Chan Siu Pang. His fight sequences are magnificent for the day (remember this is 1972 we are talking about here), but can’t hold up to the intricate, lightning fast choreography pioneered by Lau Kar-Leung or the Venoms stable. BLOODY FIGHT is aptly named as the movie features some truly graphic death sequences. The gory make-up effects for these scenes are surprisingly effective, and more convincing than those employed by Chang Cheh in his movies!

SIGHT:
BLOODY FIST is presented uncut in the original theatrical ratio of 2.35.1. Crash Cinema has utilized a print that is in near immaculate condition. This transfer is obviously mastered from a 32MM print, and not some video master. The print exhibits some scratches and dirt, but considering the age (1972) of BLOODY FIST, this is their best presentation yet, beating out both SHAOLIN MASTER KILLER and RETURN OF THE DEADLY VENOMS. The picture displays some depth, the colors are fully saturated, and the black level is perfectly calibrated. BLOODY FIST features some wondrous cinematography (reminiscent of a Spaghetti Western) and all the battles take place in the wilds, with the picturesque rolling hills of China serving as the backdrop. The detail level for these scenes is very good. I’m happy to report that Chan Siu Pang’s fight choreography is fully preserved in the image.

SOUND:
In the past, Crash Cinema has suffered in the area of poor audio mixes. On some DVDs like SHAOLIN MASTER KILLER, the dialog is all but inaudible. Crash Cinema has clearly resolved that problem, because BLOODY FIST is their finest soundtrack to date! The martial arts sound effects, English dubbing, and musical score boast superior Dolby Digital Mono 2.0 fidelity. There is no background noise, tape hiss, or distortion of any kind on the sound elements. It’s as if Crash Cinema went and cleaned up the soundtrack.

FEATURES:
No extras on the disc. But the DVD menuing, music, and chapter selection are impressive.

CONCLUSION:
BLOODY FIGHT is an early take on the timeless Chinese Vs. Japanese martial arts genre. This movie is a precursor to SHAOLIN CHALLENGES NINJA, NINJA IN THE DEADLY TRAP, and CHINESE SUPER NINJAS. About the only thing missing from this one is Yasuaki Kurata himself. Despite it’s age and flaws, it is solid Kung Fu filmmaking, with some big name talents involved. BLOODY FIGHT is also worthwhile as one of Chen Kuan Tai’s very early films. Crash Cinema really surprised us with their video and audio presentation. While it’s true there is no extras on this disc, it’s my opinion that technically this is their best DVD to date.