This volume of Ground Zero’s Black Belt Theater Collection is essentially a John Chang double feature. Who is John Chang you may ask? John Chang (Chinese name Chang Wu Lang) was a talented martial artist and character actor for both the Shaw Brothers studio and the independent production company, Goldig Films. He played villains for most of his career during the 1970s and 1980s (and a few heroes, too). Chang had key roles in THE 36TH CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN, WRITING KUNG FU, and SHAOLIN MANTIS. John Chang also starred opposite Jackie Chang in the original DRUNKEN MASTER and SNAKE IN THE EAGLE’S SHADOW. John Chang was one of Jackie Chan’s better screen adversaries, and Jackie liked him so much he recruited Chang to play his opponents in POLICE STORY 2, WINNERS AND SINNERS, and the landmark PROJECT A series. One of Chang’s most obscure old-school films is MANTIS FISTS AND TIGER CLAWS, a 1977 independent effort from Goldig Films. This movie is so hard to find (even on the bootleg market) that it has been considered a ‘lost’ film by many fans. Thanks to Ground Zero, MANTIS FIST AND TIGER CLAWS is no longer an obscure film. As a fitting companion piece, they chose DUEL OF THE BRAVE ONES as a backup feature. This pairing is very appropriate, as this 1979 martial arts gangster melodrama is also from the producers of MANTIS FIST AND TIGER CLAWS, and you will recognize similar faces in both films.

John Chang is Pai Ying Fung, a man who is seeking the identity of his sister. His late mother separated the two at birth, and they have never met. The only thing Pai has to go on is half a jade medallion, whereas his sister carries the other half. The trail leads Pai to a local village where he stops at the nearby Inn. Immediately, he runs into trouble with members of the Hung Clan, a ruthless and powerful local gang. One of the Hung brothers lusts after the Innkeeper’s beautiful daughter, Shing Shing (Sabrina Sai). The gang forces her into accepting his sexual advances, causing Pai to intervene and kick the gang’s surprised asses. The Hung brother swears revenge and promises he’ll be back. The Innkeeper and Shing Shing thank Pai for saving her, and then he leaves to head for the local whorehouse (called The Orchid) in search of his sister. The same Hung brother and his thugs overtake Shing Shing in the woods, and the cruel bastard rapes her. Shortly after the evil deed is committed and the Hung brother is bragging to his buddies about it, a strange presence makes itself known in the forest. This unseen entity murders each man in full view of the other. Back at The Orchid, Pai contacts a prostitute named Hsaio Tsui. It seems she indeed has the other half of the jade medallion. Pai and Hsaio Tsui are elated to finally be reunited, and Pai offers to buy her outright from the Madam, who agrees to sell her. Suddenly, Master Hung Chin Piao (Dean Shek), owner of the whorehouse appears and vetoes this transaction. Master Hung blames Pai for the death of his no-good son, since both fought earlier at the Inn. The whorehouse becomes a battleground between Master Hung and Pai. Pai earns the respect of his opponents, but Master Hung manages to poison him by deception.

A groggy Pai flees from The Orchid, and heads back to the Inn, where he stumbles in and passes out. Shing Shing nurses him back to health. She also uses her feminine wiles to break into the whorehouse and sneak out Hsaio Tsui. Pai quickly recovers and together the three of them flee the town knowing that the Hung Clan will do anything to stop them. Sure enough, Master Hung has placed his brothers and their henchmen at strategic positions, and they get the jump on our heroes. Pai fights like a tiger, but even he is outnumbered and is soon captured. The Hung Brothers prepare to deliver the death blow to their captive, but Hsaio Tsui throws her body in front of the weapon meant for Pai, killing her and freeing her brother. A mysterious masked man intervenes and fights off the Hung Clan. He grabs Shing Shing and heads off into the woods. The Hung Clan gang go after the interloper, leaving Pai to mourn the death of his sibling. Thanks to the aid of the masked man, Shing Shing escapes the wrath of the Hung Clan. She returns to the Inn, and finds everyone dead. One of the Hung brothers has murdered her family and now wants to rape the beautiful Shing Shing. After the dirty deed is done, the rapist and his goons laugh about it on their way back to the home of the Hung Clan. Suddenly, an unseen presence attacks the gang members from the trees. In a matter of minutes, all of the men are ruthlessly slaughtered. When Master Hung discovers more bodies, he assumes Pai is responsible. He orders his men to kidnap Shing Shing, the woman that Pai is falling in love with. The lackeys bring back Shing Shing to the palace and start to terrorize her. That’s when Pai shows up—just in time to challenge Master Hung to the final showdown. Both men go at it, unaware that they are not alone. Something angry and powerful is watching and waiting for the right moment to end the lives of both men...

MANTIS FIST AND TIGER CLAWS is one of the most bizarre martial arts films of all time. Director Sum Cheung works hard to convince the audience that they are watching a traditional low-budget chop-socky flick. The unknown killer sub-plot leads the viewer to believe that there is a vengeful character who is out to eliminate the Hung Clan. While this is true for the most part, the big surprise comes when the killer’s identity is revealed—and surprisingly enough, it’s not human. Yes, MANTIS FIST AND TIGER CLAWS dares to cross the martial arts genre with that of the monster/horror genre! The Shaw Brothers studio has dabbled in mixing horror with the martial arts genre (LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES, HUMAN LANTERNS, SEEDING OF A GHOST), but rarely has an independent gone that route. As a genre-bending exploitation flick, MANTIS FIST AND TIGER CLAWS succeeds; as a solid Kung Fu saga, the movie leaves a lot to be desired. The biggest problem with the flick are the fight sequences themselves. The fights are sped up (overcranked) to the point of the human characters being super human. John Chang is a great fighter, and he is fast enough in real life that he doesn’t need these camera tricks to make him look good. The pacing and plot progression are flawed too, making MANTIS FIST AND TIGER CLAWS just another below average independent offering. But it’s the exploitative cult elements that separate MANTIS FIST AND TIGER CLAWS from the pack. You know, the violence, the nudity, and the sheer outrageousness of it all. For those that care, the monster elements are reminiscent of those seen in the 1950’s flick THE WASP WOMAN—done as though only the Hong Kong movie machine can do it.

Luckily, the cast makes much of the MANTIS FIST AND TIGER CLAWS worth watching. John Chang, nearly unrecognizable without facial hair, makes for a capable protagonist. His portrayal runs the gamut of emotions, from stern tough guy to vulnerable victim of circumstances. His martial arts skills are considerable, but his efforts are undone by the constant overcranking of the fight sequences. San Kuai plays another hunchback again, just like he did in THE BUDDHIST FIST. In a brilliant move to differentiate from previous hunchback roles, he causes metal spikes to protrude from his hump, threatening his opponents (and even using these spikes against the monster). Dean Shek (who usually plays oddball comedic characters as seen in movies like THE IRON FISTED MONK, DIRTY KUNG FU, and FOUR INVINCIBLES) portrays the nasty and agile head villain. Nick Cheung (FATAL FLYING GUILLOTINE, 36 DEADLY STYLES, SUPER KUNG FU KID) plays a government official investigating the murders. Ho Pak Kwong, also seen in companion piece DUEL OF THE BRAVE ONES, plays another undesirable in MANTIS FIST AND TIGER CLAWS .

Two rival street gangs, one led by Ah Sing (Wilson Tong) get into a brawl over a territorial dispute. The Hong Kong police departments sends Sergeant Shen to investigate the incident which caused thousands of dollars in damages. The psychotic gang leader Boss Wai (John Chang) blames his enforcer, Ah Sing for the failure to defeat the rival gang. Even though Ah Sing is most formidable fighter in his gang, Boss Wai is jealous of Ah Sing’s skill and turns his back on him. Ah Sing gets nervous as now there is a bounty on his head. He informs his girlfriend, Sa Sa, that he is going into hiding and sets his sights on procuring the Golden Jade, a precious amulet in the possession of Boss Wei. Sergeant Shen is a resourceful police operative who probes members of both gangs to gain access to the HK underworld. Sergeant Shen learns that Ah Sing is one of the keys to cracking this case, but he is impossible to find. Instead, Sergeant Shen pressures Ah Sing’s girlfriend to track him down. After busting up a local whorehouse, Sergeant Shen comes across Ah Sing—and the two of them fight it out. The policeman is distracted by other gang members, allowing Ah Sing to sneak away. Meanwhile, Boss Wai’s gang kidnaps Ah Sing’s girlfriend and holds her hostage demanding that Ah Sing show up (so they can finally kill him). Instead, Ah Sing joins the gang that opposes Boss Wai. This leads to all-out gang warfare between the two factions. When the two bosses finally confront one another, Boss Wai gives his rival an ultimatum—they must stop protecting Ah Sing so Boss Wai can personally kill him. If Ah Sing hopes to free his girlfriend and steal the Golden Jade, he must fight his way out of the predicament!

DUEL OF THE BRAVE ONES is not really a pure martial arts flick—it’s more of an exploitative gangster story with some Kung Fu fights thrown in. The movie takes place in contemporary China (circa 1979), which surprised me as the title DUEL OF THE BRAVE ONES conjures up images of ancient China. As a crime thriller, this movie is a total bust; the director can’t make this plot interesting, and the injection of humor takes away from the serious mood required to make this genre work. There are some interesting exploitative elements worth mentioning here, however. The camera lingers on one particular nude moll, who sports perhaps the biggest breasts I’ve ever witnessed on an Asian actress. There are also some psychedelic elements to the film, as if the director intended to get trippy with the camera lens. The one thing DUEL OF THE BRAVE ONES has going for it is the stars. Wilson Tong is flat at times, but he is surrounded by a capable cast who make him look good. John Chang steals the show with his dynamic crazed portrayal. Jimmy Liu (DRAGONS CLAWS, WARRIOR FROM SHAOLIN, 36 CRAZY FISTS) is good as one of Ah Sing's allies. There are also appearances by Ma Chao (the cross-eyed imbecile from DIRTY KUNG FU, THE BUDDHIST FIST, and DIRTY HO), long time HK film veteran Feng Ging Man (FIVE SUPERFIGHTERS, FLAG OF IRON, THE FOUR INVINCIBLES), and character actor Ho Pak Gwang (also seen in MANTIS FISTS AND TIGER CLAWS) as a henchman. These actors can’t overcome the poor script and bad direction, but they do deliver entertaining performances. Wilson Tong also choreographed DUEL OF THE BRAVE ONES, and in this area the movie excels. However, the fights are few and far between.

SIGHT
Before viewing MANTIS FISTS AND TIGER CLAWS, Ground Zero issues a statement about the rarity of this film, and warns about the quality of the video source material. They should have included a warning of this nature for the supposedly-restored edition of REVENGE OF THE PATRIOTS they released in 2001 (which was an absolute nightmare). Well, here we have a good news/bad news situation. The good news is that this ‘restored’ transfer is presented in widescreen 1.85.1, matted down from the original 2.35.1. The source print is also in surprisingly good shape, though it has it’s share of drawbacks. The print video source is apparently culled from a French version of the film as French subtitles accompany the exposition. Theses subtitles are sort of faded, and are not really all that big of a distraction. The color is oversaturated at times, as evidenced by the opening titles sequence with the red lettering bleeding all over. Though not perfect in scope and composition, fans of this rare film should be satisfied. DUEL OF THE BRAVE ONES was released theatrically in the 2.35.1 aspect ratio. Ground Zero presents the film in a cropped 1.33.1 version. However, the fight scenes appear to be filmed at the center of the frame, and rarely does the action go outside the boundaries of the TV screen. Ground Zero mastered the transfer from a serviceable full frame print which exhibits minor wear. Colors are slightly muted, adding to the trippy look of DUEL OF THE BRAVE ONES The image is a bit cark and soft at times, and grain is a problem. This is a an average presentation for this average back-up feature.

SOUND
The audio for both MANTIS FIST AND TIGER CLAWS and DUEL OF THE BRAVE ONES is Dolby Digital Mono 2.0. DUEL OF THE BRAVE ONES is the typical strong Ground Zero mono mix, without distortion or audio anomalies. The dubbing is not good, but the overall ambiance and sound effects supports the director’s visuals. The audio for MANTIS FIST AND TIGER CLAWS does not sound as restored as the video. The sound is weak and tinny, and the dialog seems stilted somehow. Turn up the volume and you’ll hear some distortion for the dialogue and sound effects. Frankie Chan’s jazzy score is the strongest thing in the mix. The bottom line is that the audio is serviceable; you can still follow the exposition and storyline and hear the weirdness that this soundtrack has to offer, though its not as tight as on DUEL OF THE BRAVE ONES.

FEATURES
The only extras on the disc are a compilation of home-made trailers for Ground Zero’s catalog titles. These are the same trailers that were on their Wu Tang Clan Hidden Chambers collection. Most of these trailers are full frame and run 1:04, some are widescreen as indicated below.