Enter The Fat Dragon (aka Fei Lung gwoh gong) (1978)

[I had some issues taking screenshots, so the pictures have been taken from other sources and may not represent the actual picture quality of the film]

PLOT:

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Sammo Hung plays Lung, a young pig farmer who is pressured by his father to move to the big city to assist at his Uncle's restaurant. Lung idolizes Bruce Lee, and when his Uncle is threatened by some punks, he transforms from a bumbling country boy into a Kung-Fu master. He later has to use these skills to help his cousin, and a young lady friend who has been kidnapped, fend off a perverted crime boss and his goons.

REVIEW:

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Ostensibly a parody of Bruce Lee films (particularly Enter The Dragon and Way Of The Dragon), Enter The Fat Dragon is instead a loving tribute to Lee from Sammo Hung (who actually appeared briefly in Enter The Dragon early in his career). Released amongst a slew of films from Bruce Lee imitators, Sammo's Bruce Lee impression is eerily (and amusingly) spot on, and even if the fights don't match up to Sammo's best of the era, there's plenty of impressive action and (for once) some actually amusing humor.

Sammo built his career on being surprisingly agile for a pudgy guy, and his characters are normally underestimated for being lazy (in this film, and others, he's referred to often as "fatty" or "pig") before blowing people's minds with his shocking fighting skills. Hung is working double duty here as both actor and director, and he shows a strong talent for capturing fight scenes, particularly in the finale (where Sammo takes on a series of henchmen individually) which could have easily felt claustrophobic with the three fights taking place in an enclosed warehouse.

Speaking of the final scene, it would be hard not to mention that one of the Chinese actors is in black face with an afro. It's more comical than offensive, and was apparently included as a parody of the American practice of casting white actors as Asians. The fight scenes as a whole vary wildly in terms of quality, with most of the early scenes involving Lung easily dispatching of a group of toughs. The most amusing fight scene occurs when Sammo is asked to be an extra in a Bruce Lee knock-off film and finds himself offended at the quality of the fighting of the Bruce Lee imitator. He voices his displeasure by beating the actor (and the other extras) into oblivion.

Kung- fu film fans will find lots of recognizable faces. Yuen Baio (Knockabout, The Prodigal Son) makes an opening credits appearance, Eric Tsang pops up briefly, and Leung Ka-Yan (who starred with Sammo in The Victim) shows up as Sammo's final opponent.

The Crash Cinema DVD features a pretty ratty print of the film, but it's luckily presented in it's original 2.35:1 ratio and is subtitled. Unfortunately, the subtitles are both burned in and feature plenty of spelling and grammatical errors. That said, it's always watchable and it's not difficult to follow the minimal plot on display. The sound is acceptable, and the soundtrack (which is an obvious nod to Lalo Schifrin's score to Enter The Dragon) is amusing in its own right.

Outside of chapter selections, the DVD features no special features.

More tribute that parody, Enter The Fat Dragon may be inconsistent at times, but it builds well and the humor works with the plot instead of being seemingly tossed in randomly. A fine introduction for those interested in Sammo's work, and a testament to the respect he had for Bruce Lee and his films. It would be nice to see a better presentation of the film on DVD, but for fans of Sammo Hung or Bruce Lee, this is a must watch.

Eastern Condors (1986)

Eastern Condors is a Vietnam film pastiche that serves as a springboard for some eye popping stunts (and a few short kung-fu fights), but never gels as something more significant. Drawing inspiration from films like The Dirty Dozen and The Deer Hunter, it hits all the war-film buttons, but never transcends being merely a kung fu-laced series of homages.

The Dirty Dozen is obviously the central influence here, as the plot follows a collection of Chinese convicts dropped into Vietnam in the Mid-70s with the promise of freedom (and a hunk of cash) if they survive. Their mission is to destroy a hidden weapons depot that was accidentally left behind by the Americans before it can fall into the wrong hands. The rag tag bunch is led by Lieutenant Lam (the late Ching-Ying Lam, filling out the Lee Marvin role), and the convict Tung, played by martial arts legend Sammo Hung. Joining him is another action superstar, Yuen Baio as Weasel, a black market dealer and Academy Award winner Haing S. Ngor (The Killing Fields) as Weasel's possibly insane uncle.

The film climaxes with some quality fights taking place in the weapons depot, with the surviving members battling the lanky, fem Vietnamese colonel (played by Yuen Wah) and his elite soliders (including the great Billy Chow from Fist Of Legend). Up until this point the film had focused mainly on gunplay, but the martial arts demonstrations in the final twenty minutes are amazing. Yuen Baio, particularly, seems to be trying to find the most elaborate way to land on his own head. The supporting cast feature some familiar names for kung-fu fans, including the great Yuen Woo Ping (choreographer for The Matrix, Kill Bill, Fist Of Legend, etc.) and director Corey Yuen (The Transporter) in unfortunately minor roles.

Directed by Sammo Hung (who slimmed down significantly for the lead role), Eastern Condors is obviously trying really hard to break away from the mold of Mid-80s Hong Kong action films. While moments of humor squeak through, this is a grim and surprisingly violent story. While it borrows wholesale from The Dirty Dozen, that film spent a great deal of its time showing its collection of reprobates coming together as they went through their often grueling training. Eastern Condors throws the group right into the mission with only hints about their background. This lack of substance to the characters hurts the film when they start dying off and the audience is expected to care about their fates. There are simply too many faces and not enough time spent developing them.

Particularly wasted is Haing S. Ngor, who is shoehorned into the film in a role that doesn't really make any sense. His presence was obviously meant to give the film some weight, but instead is just confusing. Also, while the kung-fu sprinkled throughout the film is certainly impressive, it sometimes makes things feel a bit cartoonish. While I appreciate the restraint that Hung is showing as director, it's quite obviously pandering to the Kung Fu audience that are familiar with the talents of the main cast. Still overall it's quite a technical achievement, if a bit empty, and has some incredible stunt work leading up to the impressive final sequences.

The 20th Century Fox DVD is presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, and the print is clear, if a little grainy at times. The Mid-80s were a time that the budgets and production values for Hong Kong action films were on the rise and the film doesn't hold back with explosions or gunfire, all of which look impressive here. The film is available both dubbed and subtitled, though the subtitles seem to not be a direct translation (with, at the very least, characters being renamed).

Included are American and International trailers for Eastern Condors, as well as trailers for Magnificent Warriors, City Hunter, Naked Killer, Magnificent Butcher, Heart Of Dragon, Hong Kong 1941, In The Line Of Duty 4 and Duel To The Death.

Somewhat disappointing considering the talent involved, Eastern Condors contains enough bloody shootouts and acrobatic action to keep fans satiated, but never is quite able to achieve the greatness of some of its influences. Still a worthwhile film in the genre, however, and features some wonderful talent in small roles.