REVIEW:
An increasingly complex plot of subterfuge and mixed loyalties dominates Eagle's Claw and Butterfly Palm, a confused actioner starring several big genre names.

Decked out in furs, the king of the Butterfly Clan (Kam Kong) and his daughter (Suen Ga Lam) are attacked by a lone Chinese hero (Chi Kuan Chun). His chief officer played by Yueh Hua comes to their defense, but not before the lord and most of his guards are killed, leaving Ga Lam and Hua vowing to reclaim the glory of their Mongol empire that once dominated China. This scene pretty much represents much of what you'll see throughout the rest of the film. It is poorly shot in low levels of light that obscure most of the details. The choreography by Yu Tien Lung (Dragon Kid) is well done, but his choppy direction makes it difficult to appreciate. Kuan Chun, who gets top billing but really only appears in this small cameo role is wasted and should have been given more opportunities to display his martial arts skill. Costumes are colorful and the sets look good enough for a low budget film of this type. Kam Kong's raccoon tails adoring his fur cap are a campy highlight, while Tien Lung's scholarly uniform (seen later in the film) makes for one of the sharper looking hero getups seen in recent memory.

A slightly perplexing series of scenes establish the rest of the main cast. Lo Lieh is introduced as the film's lead villain, the ambitious new leader of the Butterfly Clan who is master of the deadly "Butterfly Palm" technique that pretty much goes unexplained aside from his ability to make his hands glow red and push enemies to the floor. In a night fight that is nearly impossible to see, we meet one of the film's main heroes, Ma Sing Kun (Chung Wa) who defeats an entire band of Butterfly Clan members. As it turns out, the Butterfly Clan has already defeated all of the major clans including Shaolin and Wu Tang. Sing Kun becomes the last of his clan and vows to get revenge. Meanwhile, the Four Knights, a valiant band of heroes that include Tin Peng and Leung Kar Yan among their ranks seek justice themselves. Unfortunately for them, Butterfly Clan's secret weapon is a drug that renders it's victims as mindless zombies. This is exactly what happens to the Four Knights who become the pawns of Ga Lam.

Now its up to Sing Kun to save the day. Luckily, he is joined by a rebellious, but talented swordswoman and a clownish scholar who turns out to be a royal agent named Eagle. The trio face Lo Lieh and the Butterfly Clan. A number of surprises are revealed, including Sing Kun's hidden identity. But, the key to our heroes' success boils down to using a cure for the Butterfly Clan's drug and curing all it's victims.

As you can probably tell already, the kung fu action in this film is secondary to the gimmickry that plagued many low budget efforts of Hong Kong and especially Taiwan during this time. The film suffers greatly by substituting a solid story and better action for nonsense about mind-controlled fighters and increasingly ridiculous plot twists including the old ripping off the face mask to reveal your true identity bit.

Mediocre direction from Yu Tien Lung, who does not appear to have either helmed or starred in any Hong Kong films since, is unable to focus the audience on anything or anyone for long. Paired with worse than usual dubbing and this results in a very bland viewing experience. It is a shame considering the talent involved and the solid choreography.