At any rate, even with the addition of the pseudo-tournament, 7 Grandmasters follows most of the conventions of the genre. The sifu's other students don't like the new kid at first, a bit of a love story with the sifu's daughter is thrown in, and there's some dopey comedy as well. There is a "big plot twist" near the end of the movie, but most viewers who have seen more than two or three of this type of picture will see it coming within the first fifteen minutes.

So 7 Grandmasters won't win any awards in the story department, and the low budget won't inspire any excitement either. The costuming is particularly bad -- you can clearly see the edges of the wigs worn by many of the actors. Plus, the movie was obviously shot in a handful of locations, which are recycled throughout the movie. Sure, most kung fu movies from this period aren't known for looking all that great, but 7 Grandmasters's low budget is so obvious that it starts to detract from the viewing experience after a while.

As you might expect, though, what saves 7 Grandmasters are the fight sequences. This one of Corey Yuen's first cracks at being an action director, and it's pretty obvious he was trying to stuff in as many styles as possible; this is apparent in one scene featuring Yuen himself, where six different weapon styles are used. Unlike some other reviewers, I also enjoyed the camerawork and editing during these scenes as well. They set off the fighting scenes enough to differentiate themselves from the dozens of other kung fu movies which were coming out around this time (though I will grant that the rapid zoom-in is used a bit too much).

Sure, 7 Grandmasters might not be a true classic of the genre, but it does feature some very solid fight sequences, and the rest of the movie won't want to make you hit the fast-forward button. If you're a fan of old school kung fu movies and are looking for something new to check out, you could do a whole lot worse than this.

Review: When it comes to hardcore, old school kung fu without gimmicks or lame storylines to get in the way, 7 Seven Grandmasters cannot be beat. Although sharing the production standards of a lot of inferior movies, this one is virtually non-stop fu masterfully choreographed by Corey Yuen Kwai and Yuen Cheung-yan, with incredible performances by all.

The plot is basically a traveling version of an arena-style competition which allows for wall-to-wall fights in picturesque outdoor locales. Jack Lung in one of his finest roles plays Shang Kuan-cheng, an aging grandmaster of Pai Mei kung fu who is joined by his daughter (Nancy Yen) and his three students as they travel across China challenging the top seven grandmasters. This includes Monkey Fist and Mantis Fist masters. Its a cordial affair meant only to prove his reputation as the best of the best. On the advice of a mysterious stranger, a young man named Hsia Hsiao-ying (Lee I-min) begins doggedly tagging along in hopes of becoming Kuan-cheng's student and avenging his father's murder. Hsiao-ying quickly becomes the old man's top pupil, but the two are destined to cross fists when Kuan-cheng is pegged as the murderer.

According to kung fu movie aficionado Linn Haynes (who wrote liner notes for the Media Blasters release) this film is based on the life of a real Pai Mei kung fu expert named Cheung Lai-chun who fought and bested top mainland kung fu experts in the mid-1940s at the age of 66. Genre fans may recognize "Pai Mei" as the name of Gordon Liu's character in Kill Bill: Vol. 2 or traditionally as one of five elder monks of Shaolin Temple who is most often portrayed as a white-browed traitor who aided the Manchu in destroying the temple. Cheung Lai-chun was apparently a martial descendent of Pai Mei, a style of kung fu still practiced today. Although highly fictional in its portrayal and even its setting, 7 Grandmasters definitely has its roots planted firmly in reality which helps it to be a cut above your standard exploitation film. It also helps that Joseph Kuo, one of the top independent kung fu directors is in charge.

Now the man chiefly responsible for the action is Corey Yuen who deserves a lot of respect. Not only has he toiled for years as a lowly stunt actor and risen to become one of the top action filmmakers in Asian and Hollywood, but he has crafted some of the finest old school kung fu committed to film at a time when the likes of Sammo Hung and Lau Kar-leung were at their peak. 7 Grandmasters is probably the best example of this apart from Ninja in the Dragon's Den which featured more ambitious and unusual action sequences, but lacked the previous film's tight focus on unrelenting kung fu. Having worked on Ng See-yuen's excellent Secret Rivals 2 with Yuen Wo-ping as choreographer, Corey noticeably drew inspiration from it. This can be seen in the advanced acrobatics, legwork, locked-limb maneuvers, and a distinctive tandem flip where one fighter rolls backwards and his opponent rolls forwards over him. His choreography seamlessly blends traditional kung fu with opera-style acrobatics and more fantastic moves like ground sliding and flipping onto an opponent's shoulders. It's all shot perfectly with the right mix of cuts, close-ups, undercranking, and zooms. On the widescreen print, the camera work also perfectly frames each fight without leaving dead space which can be a challenge in films with limited sets and few cast members.

With seven main fighters to tussle with Jack Lung has plenty of opportunities to show off his skills. He's one of the more well-rounded kung fu stars of his day and is a joy to watch. Credit also goes to his opponents for matching him and providing such interesting fights. Each of the seven main duels are great, but a few are simply brilliant. Chin Yuet-sang as the Monkey Fist expert is incredibly dynamic and seems to just float around Jack. Corey Yuen himself plays a weapons expert and the least-friendly of the grandmasters. His weapons sparring with Jack may be sped up, but it's precise and intricate to the point where it's amazing that neither of them lost an eye while shooting. Alan Chui plays the leading villain and he remains inconspicuous until the end, but has a memorable fight against Lee I-min who seems to be cast as the token Jackie Chan clone, but easily stands out on the strength of his own skills. The finishing move in this last fight is spectacular, but painful to watch.

There really is nothing wrong with 7 Grandmasters. A bigger budget could have allowed the crew to shoot on big sets and have fancier costumes or more extras, but none of it's needed. This film is about the moment when two or more screen fighters make magic by perfectly executing coordinated combat that looks complex, effortless, dangerous, and very cool - all at the same time. And that moment is repeated over and over again in this film which makes it a must see for even casual old school kung fu fans.

As Sang Kuan Chun and his three students travel from one challenge to the next, the foursome acquires a fifth--a young man named Siu Ying (Lee I Ming) who wants desperately to train under master Sang Kuan Chun to avenge his father's death. So he tags along, despite the master's insistence that he will not accept any more students.

Eventually we learn more about the master's past. His own teacher, before he passed away, left him the secret book of The Pai Mei Nine Strikes. However a masked man soon stole several pages of the book, leaving only six strikes. So, somewhere out there, is this unknown man, and he has the final three strikes of Pai Mei, which are supposedly the most deadly and can beat even the other six strikes.

And, since no old school martial arts flick would be complete without the "groveling idiot student becomes kung fu genius" transformation, master Sang Kuan Chun soon accepts Siu Ying and teaches him the six known strikes of Pai Mei. This all leads up to an exciting climax, where we learn the identity of the masked man who stole the Pai Mei final strikes and the identity of the man who killed Siu Ying's father, and master Sang Kuan Chun challenges his final deadly opponent to a duel in the hopes of retiring.

A very solid old school kung fu actioner, with a constant supply of acrobatic fight sequences, "The Seven Grandmasters" is renowned as a classic for good reason.

Seven Grandmasters is a simple tale about a kungfu master who wants to retire knowing he is the best fighter in China. So he sets out on a journey with his daughter and some students to challenge the seven best fighters in the land. Along the way, they pick up a bumbling bumpkin who dreams of being a kungfu master (and of course, becomes one) so he can avenge his father's murder.

Not an earth-shattering plot, but what this film is about is wall-to-wall kungfu, all of it absolutely breath-taking. There are so many styles, the fights are so long and well choreographed -- it's basically a textbook on how to make a kungfu film. And it's all the more inspiring considering that it was made for fewer peanuts than you'd casually throw to a greedily grasping howler monkey in the zoo. With very few dollars, no major backing, and his usual cast of overlooked stars, Joseph Kuo has given us one of the seminal kungfu films.

If you haven't seen this one, you need to hustle your ass down to the video store and pick it up. It's every bit what a kungfu movie should be about: kungfu. Kuo never delivers frills, but he knows how important the core is, and that's what he concentrates his energies on.

Not to say that he doesn't know how to do anything but film fights and action scenes. His characters are interesting, and he gets in enough human emotion and comedy to carry the film during the non-kungfu scenes, not that there are many of those. Even though it's pretty obvious that the bumbling student will eventually be convinced that his master is, in fact, the same man who killed his father, it's a satisfying finale to see them face off and the truth emerge.Everytime I watch a Kuo film, I want to thank him for having made it, and this is probably his best, most pure film.