Movie Ad of the Week: THE TOURNAMENT (1973)

For those of you who read my article for the Deuce's Mubi Notebook last week, The Samurai Cinema Slaughter of '74, here's an interesting footnote: Before he made wide release action movies like DEATH MACHINES, WEAPONS OF DEATH and OMEGA COP, filmmaker Paul Kyriazi shot a handful of color 16mm karate/swordplay shorts such as BLADE OF DOOM and TRAPPED that were contemporary remakes of SWORD OF DOOM and THREE OUTLAW SAMURAI.  The last of these was THE TOURNAMENT, an hour-long period samurai movie that Kyriazi filmed in 35mm black-and-white Techniscope with a cast that includes Jennifer Ashley, later seen in THE CENTERFOLD GIRLS, BARN OF THE NAKED DEAD, PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE, INSEMINOID and others. There were screenings, including the four in this ad for the Gemini Cinema in Lompoc, CA in September 1973, before the film was picked up by a non-theatrical distribution company called Threshold Films and converted to 16mm for the college circuit. Only a 3/4-inch copy of THE TOURNAMENT survives today, and it was included as a bonus feature on the Blu-ray release of Kyriazi's NINJA BUSTERS from Garagehouse Films.

Mystery Movies Solved! The Kung Fu Edition Pt. II

In the past year we've identified a number of martial arts movies that played in the U.S. under alternate titles, but the last time we did one of these 10-title Mystery Movie posts was back in 2018. Here's another 10-pack to hold you over until These Fists Break Bricks by Grady Hendrix & Chris Poggiali hits the streets this September!

HUANG SE SHA SHOU (1972) a.k.a. THE YELLOW KILLER and FROM BANGKOK WITH ORDERS TO KILL, was first released in the U.S. by Joseph Green Pictures as KUNG FU-RY. It resurfaced on the action track as MAD DOG DRAGON in 1983.

CHUNG KUO REN (1972) a.k.a. THE CHINESE, was released twice by Howard Mahler Films in the '70s, as THE DRAGON'S VENGEANCE and THE DRAGON'S EXECUTIONER. Unifilm International put it out in the '80s as THE IRON-FIST REBEL, with this poster that recycles photos of Barry Chan from Unifilm's MEAN STREETS OF KUNG FU poster.

GOLDEN RAIDERS OF KUNG FU is another Unifilm release, this one titled BU BU ZHUI ZONG (1974) a.k.a. CHASE STEP BY STEP.

HEI BAO (1973) a.k.a. THE BLACK PANTHER was released in the late '70s by Cinema Shares as BLACK CAT OF KUNG-FU.

LEE'S CHALLENGE is really CHIU CHOW (1974) a.k.a. SUPERGIRL KUNG FU CHIU CHOW and BRUCE LEE'S SISTER.

DO REN TOU (1975) a.k.a. GAMBLING FOR HEAD, was released as SAVAGE BARBARIAN soon after the box-office and home video success of CONAN THE BARBARIAN.

We're pretty sure BRUCE VS. HIS BLOOD BROTHER is ZHEN JIA GONG FU (1977) a.k.a. THE INSTANT KUNG FU MAN, starring John Liu and Hwang Jang-lee.

YU QING TING (1978) a.k.a. MURDER OF MURDERS, was first released by Ark Films circa 1979 as RETURN OF THE 5 FINGERS OF DEATH. Unifilm International reissued it as JADE-WINGED DRAGON in 1984.

THE SHAOLIN FIGHTERS (1978) a.k.a. PA-CHUN MARTIAL ARTS and THE 7 DISCIPLES OF SHAOLIN, was unleashed to action theaters in 1984 as MAGNIFICENT SEVEN OF KUNG FU.

And finally, since OCTOPUSSY did bang-up bucks at the box-office in the summer of 1983, someone at L&T/Ark thought OCTOFIST would be a good title for the U.S. release of XIE QI BIAN (1982) a.k.a. THE BLOODY MISSION.

Movie Ad of the Week: ESCAPE THE FURY (1982)

WU XING BA QUAN (1977) a.k.a. SECRET OF CHINESE KUNG FU, chopped and kicked its way into two theaters in Fort Myers, FL under the title ESCAPE THE FURY on July 9, 1982. Ark Films was the distributor.

Movie Ad of the Week: OUTLAW FIGHTER (1981)

MENG QUAN LAN HUA SHOU (1979) a.k.a. DREAMING FIST WITH SLENDER HAND, was released to theaters in the U.S. by Unifilm International as OUTLAW FIGHTER beginning in 1981.

Movie Ad of the Week: CRAZY-FIST EXECUTIONER (1981)

WU ZHAO SHENG YOU ZHAO (1979) a.k.a. CRAZY COUPLE, is a kung fu comedy from Hong Kong starring Dean Shek that was released to the U.S. action track by Unifilm International as CRAZY-FIST EXECUTIONER beginning in 1981.

Movie Ad of the Week: KILLING GAME (1981)

LUI XUAN LIANG HUO SHAO HONG LIAN SI (1976) a.k.a. STORY IN TEMPLE RED LILY and BATTLE IN RED TEMPLE, first appeared in U.S. theaters as KILLING GAME from Unifilm International in 1981.

Movie Ads of the Week: SAMURAI SPY (1965-1999)

Masahiro Shinoda's IBUN SARUTOBI SASUKE (1965), currently showing on the Criterion Channel and still available from the Criterion Collection in their Rebel Samurai DVD box set as SAMURAI SPY, first played the U.S. at the Kabuki Theatre in Los Angeles on October 18, 1965. Four months later...

...on February 23, 1966 it arrived at the Nippon Theatre in Honolulu under the title SARUTOBI THE SECRET AGENT.

Under the SAMURAI SPY title, it played the Park Theatre in Fresno, CA during the weekend of June 30-July 2, 1972.

As the first half of a Shinoda double bill, it closed the second month-long Films of Japan festival at the Nuart in August-September 1972.

UC Berkeley's Pacific Film Archive programmed it as part of a Shinoda film fest in March 1973.

The Kokusai Theatre (formerly the Toho Theatre) in San Francisco ran it in July '73

Under the title SASUKE AGAINST THE WIND it played the Bijou (the former Toho Cinema) in New York on September 5, 1973.

It returned to New York on June 5-6, 1974 as part of the landmark ten-week Cinema East festival at the Regency Theatre.

Here it is paired with Masaki Kobayashi's HARAKIRI at the Park Square Moviehouse in Boston in February 1977...

...and at the Cento Cedar Cinema in San Francisco in September of that year, with Kurosawa's THE HIDDEN FORTRESS as part of the Samurai Festival V.

Back in Boston in December '78, this time at the Coolidge Corner with Kurosawa's IKIRU.

Again with THE HIDDEN FORTRESS, this time at the New Loft in Tucson, AZ in February 1981.

As part of a Shinoda double bill with ASSASSINATION at the Vinegar Hill Theatre in Charlottesville, VA in January '82.

As part of a samurai film fest at the Robson Square Center in Vancouver in August 1982.

The Rialto in South Pasadena screened it with SAMURAI REBELLION as part of their "Movies in Cinemascope" series in September 1987.

On a Shinoda double bill with PALE FLOWER, this time at The Screen in Santa Fe, NM in August 1999.

Movie Ad of the Week: THE BAD AND THE BLOODY (1980)

THE BAD AND THE BLOODY, which Temple of Schlock investigator Mike MacCollum caught at the Skyline Drive-In back in 2015 and identified as DA XIAO TONG CHI / WIN THEM ALL (1973), opened at the St. Francis in San Francisco on January 11, 1980. Lo Lieh is not the star, but he does appear in the second half of this Condor Films double feature, BLACK HORNET, which is BO MING (1977) a.k.a. BATTLE OF SHAOLIN, THE DAMNED, and BANDITS, PROSTITUTES AND SILVER (The title of Xenon Entertainment's video release has been scrubbed from the IMDb, so here's the Worldcat entry: WU TANG HOE'S, THUGS AND SCRILLA).

Movie Ad of the Week: KAIJU JAKUMA NO MOSHU w/ GYAKUSHU AMANO HASHIDATE (1961)

Two 60-minute, black-and-white Toei productions -- KAIJU JAKUMA NO MOSHU (a.k.a. STRIKE OF THE JAGUMA) and its sequel, GYAKUSHU AMANO HASHIDATE -- opened on a double bill at the Toyo Theatre in Honolulu on December 22, 1961. Set in 16th century Japan, the films tell the story of the legendary samurai Iwami Jutaro, who is best known in folklore for defeating a white-haired ape-like monster known as the hihi. This confrontation is depicted in the first movie, in which the hihi (someone in a white gorilla suit) runs interference for the dreaded Jakuma and his (its?) band of thieving ninjas in demon masks as they move from village to village ripping off the chiefs and kidnapping their daughters. Good stuff! The sequel, which isn't available, sounds more routine in that it deals with Iwami pursuing the traitors who killed his father, the chief investigator on the Jakuma case. Iwami is played by Kôtarô Satomi, before he really hit his stride in films like 17 NINJA (1963), THE THIRD NINJA (1964), HONOR AMONG BROTHERS 2 (1966), RED PEONY GAMBLER 5 (1969) and the Eiichi Kudo classics 13 ASSASSINS (1963), THE GREAT KILLING (1964), and 11 SAMURAI (1967).

Movie Ad of the Week: A FIST FOR A FIST (1981)

The Taiwanese martial arts movie LANG ZI DI SHI SAN (1980) a.k.a. TRIUMPH BY TWO KUNG FU ARTS, was released in the U.S. by Unifilm International as A FIST FOR A FIST beginning in 1981.

Movie Ad of the Week: NINJA STRIKES BACK (1981)

The Hong Kong production QI QIAO FENG HUANG BI YU DAO (1979) a.k.a. BRUCE TUAN'S 7 PROMISES was released to U.S. theaters by Unifilm International beginning in 1981 as NINJA STRIKES BACK, and is not to be confused with the Dick Randall production XIONG ZHONG, starring Bruce Le, which is also known as THE NINJA STRIKES BACK.

Mystery Movies: DEATH MASK OF THE NINJA (1981) and THE JACKY CHAN CONNECTION (1983)

When DEATH MASK OF THE NINJA was first issued on videotape in March 1986 by Master Arts Video, "The finest in martial arts entertainment," it was revealed to be the Shaw Brothers production SHAOLIN PRINCE with the opening credits lopped off. Since Shaw already had a distribution deal with World Northal, which released SHAOLIN PRINCE to theaters as IRON FINGERS OF DEATH in 1984 (and then sold it to television under the same title as part of their Black Belt Theater 4 package), we're pretty sure whatever movie premiered at the Cine 42 on June 12, 1981 under the title DEATH MASK OF THE NINJA was not SHAOLIN PRINCE (which didn't open in Hong Kong until 1983). Besides, our pal Shawn Johns tells us that he saw DEATH MASK OF THE NINJA at the sleazy Westdale 4 multiplex in Phoenix in October '84, and although he can't remember what movie was actually shown that day, he does know that it definitely wasn't SHAOLIN PRINCE. So the question is, what the hell movie did get released to theaters as DEATH MASK OF THE NINJA?

Utilizing photos from THE YOUNG MASTER and SPIRITUAL KUNG FU in their deceptive ad campaign, Ivory League Pictures (run by the late Ivory Lee Harris, former print controller for World Northal) premiered something called THE JACKY CHAN CONNECTION at the Times Square theater on December 30, 1983 and then proceeded to play it all over the U.S. for the next two and a half years -- yet no one seems to know what Chan movie was really being peddled under this title. In the book Dying for Action: The Life and Films of Jackie Chan, author Renée Witterstaetter states that it's TO KILL WITH INTRIGUE, but other sources claim it's SHAOLIN WOODEN MEN. Does anyone know the true identity of THE JACKY CHAN CONNECTION?

The Endangered List (Case File #169)

BANDITS ON THE WIND (1961)

a.k.a. YATO KAZE NO NAKA O HASHIRU

Starring

Yôsuke Natsuki (Taro)

Makoto Satô (Gale)

Somegorô Ichikawa (Gen)

Izumi Yukimura (Kayo)

Chishû Ryû (Village Priest)

Akiko Wakabayashi (Sawa)

Kôshirô Matsumoto (Tasaka)

Nami Tamura (Sato)

with

Mannosuke Nakamura

Jun Tatara

Tadao Nakamaru

Chusha Ichikawa

Akira Tani

Directed by

Hiroshi Inagaki

Written by

Masato Ide

Hiroshi Inagaki

Takeshi Kimura

Produced by

Tomoyuki Tanaka

Cinematography by

Kazuo Yamada

Music by

Kan Ishii
Running time: 111 minutes

A Toho production

Honolulu premiere: February 14, 1962
Los Angeles premiere: September 14, 1962
New York premiere: January 14, 1964

The Honolulu Advertiser - February 16, 1962

Los Angeles Times - September 19, 1962

South China Morning Post - October 24, 1963

Daily News - January 15, 1964

New York Times - January 15, 1964

Movie Ad of the Week: FURY OF ROAMING MONK (1981)

The Taiwanese martial arts movie YOU FANG HE SHANG (1980) a.k.a. SHAOLIN MONK FIGHTS BACK and THE WANDERING MONK, was released to U.S. theaters by Unifilm International beginning in 1981 as FURY OF ROAMING MONK.

Movie Ad of the Week: KUNG FU MANIAC (1981)

BAI CU SHI FU KOU CU TOU (1979) a.k.a. THE EAGLE'S KILLER - a Hong Kong production starring Hwang Jang-Lee ("King of the Legfighters") and John Cheung (Chang Wu-liang) - was released to theaters in the U.S. by Unifilm International as KUNG FU MANIAC beginning in 1981.

Movie Ad of the Week: HE KILLS WITHOUT WARNING (1981)

The Taiwanese production DA YING WANG (1978), a.k.a. THE EAGLE KING and starring Hua Tsung, was released to theaters in the U.S. beginning in 1981 as HE KILLS WITHOUT WARNING by Unifilm International.

Don't miss Chris P's first podcast appearance!

Last month Bill Ackerman of the great Supporting Characters podcast interviewed Po Man about his "many endeavors in film culture, from co-creating the Temple Of Schlock fanzine and founding the long-running blog of the same name, to contributing to various magazines and video releases, distributing BLACK SAMURAI and working on books with Grady Hendrix, Michael Gingold and Sam Sherman. Topics include: Jack Starrett, the impact of crack on 42nd Street theatres, Steve Puchalski’s Slimetime and horror fanzines, The Journal of Interstitial Cinema, William Smith, blogathons, Paul Talbot, lost and endangered films, the link between THE GREEN HORNET and WANDA, bootlegs, THAT’S HOLLYWOOD, screenwriting for William Grefé, identifying PETS with Vinegar Syndrome and how interviews can become derailed by criminal confessions." Check it out HERE!