Rage of the Wind (1973) Chan Sing, Irene Ryder, Yasuaki Kurata, Hon Kwok-Choi

[DragonClaws]

 

Here's an older review I wrote back in 2016, that got lost/deleted when the forum went down. I'm re-posting it here for @CT KID.

 

Rage Of The Wind    (1973)

a.k.a Fists Of Death, The Ninja Warlord.

Fight Choreographers- Bruce Leung Siu-Lung, Gam Ming, Leung Siu-Chung.

Directed By- Ng See-Yuen

Starring - Chan Sing, Irene Ryder, Yusuaki Kurata, Wong Yuen-San, Someno Yukio, Hon Kwok Choi.

Plot Synopsis - Japanese martial arts master Taka(Yusuaki Kurata) and his gang of Karate experts are exploiting a small fishing village on the coast of China. At the same time Chan Kwong(Chan Sing), who was born and raised in the same village plans to return home with his wife Ai Lin(Irene Ryder). Only Kwong has sworn never to use his fists again, after he accidentally killed a man in a boxing match. Will he unleash his hands of steel and help the locals fight back?, or will he let Taka take over?.

 

 

This film is pretty much a re-make of Kung Fu The Invisible Fist(1972), also directed by Ng See Yuen(Secret Rivals) with virtually the exact same cast. Made a year later this film continues to use national pride as the main theme with the villains all being Japanese. Ng See-Yuen would go on to direct some classic independent movies but at this stage he was developing as a film maker. Despite the fact they have used pretty much the same cast and crew, it's only Chan Sing and Yusuaki Kurata that really hold this film together. The first movie must have been enough of a success for them to try and replicate it again?. Only it just doesn't seem to have the same spark and appears to have been rushed out with an even smaller budget. That said, glossy production values and a creative story are not essential for an entertaining old school Kung Fu flick. Kurata and Sing's charisma and physical skills are what makes this film worth watching for fans of the two actors.

The team of Gam Ming & Bruce Leung Siu-Lung made their choreography debut with Kung Fu The Invisible Fist, and Ng See-Yuen rehired them again for this one. Only this time the third collaborator is not Lee Ka-Ting but Bruce Leung's father Leung Siu Chung. His younger brother Tony Leung Siu-Hung also worked on this production as an extra/stuntman. This being a 1973 basher film the fights are not stylish or full of intricate movements. Despite some super human leaps in places there mostly very grounded and basic. The Hong Kong stuntmen Chow Kong, Lee Ka Ting and Chan Ling Wai do a great job of convincing you there Karate experts. I guess with Yusuaki Kurata among the cast they had someone who was very knowledgeable on the subject to refer to?.

Special mention should go to Someno Yukio(The Bravest Fist), who apart from sporting some impressive facial hair does a great job playing Taka's vicious right hand man. One of the stand out fights for me see's a very debonair Chan Sing in a suit & hat fighting Lee Ka Ting(Legend Of A Fighter). Sing doesn't even break a sweat or even use his fists as weapons as he fights Ka Ting off with a short staff. Sadly there are no other real stand out encounters until we get to the end of the story. Most of the action with the exception of the finale is pretty much all of the same standard.

Now let’s take a look at the only slightly less epic re-match between Yusuaki Kurata & Chan Sing. When Chan Kwong finally catches up with Taka on the beach, building sand castles and getting an even sun tan are not what they have planned. Despite doing the equivalent of a Kung Fu fighting marathon before reaching the beach, Kwong shows no signs of fatigue and rips into Taka's last man. He then sets about the evil scheming Japanese gang leader and the two actors give their all. There's no fancy acrobatics or shapes on display its a back to basics no frills approach. This style might not be the most impressive to appear on screen but there's no denying it really works well for this screen encounter.

Their original fight in Tiger VS Dragon(192) just has the edge on this one taking in multiple locations and getting progressively more desperate. If I'd watched Rage Of The Wind first however my opinion might just be the opposite?. In this movie we get to see some of Kurata's superb nunchaku skills which is an added bonus. When he's struggling to counter Chan Sing and his staff he unleashes a second pair of nunchuku and the duel gets even more intense. This one on one finale is certainly the highlight of the film and well worth sticking around for.

One unusual feature of the film is that Chan Kwong's wife is played by caucasian actress Irene Ryder. It's not often that you see a westerner play the role of a Chinese heroes wife in a period Kung Fu movie. Ryder was a pop singer in Hong Kong who appeared in a few movies in the early to mid 70's. She even auditioned for a role in Bruce Lees unfinished project Game Of Death. Considering she wasn't a trained actress she does a decent enough job in this one. Apart from her there are no other major female roles and only one other woman appears in the movie. Not sure why there was such a lack of female presence in this one? but the cast is almost entirely made up of men.

The excellent acrobat Hon Gwok Choi's talents are sadly wasted here. He plays a dim witted character that doesn't showcase any of his physical talents at all. I'm not sure why they would not want to use his abilities, unless he was suffering from an injury at the time?. There's a great performance from Suen Lam playing a obnoxious cowardly Chinese man who helps the Japanese. In the English dubbed print Lam and Gwok Chois character also suffer from having really annoying character voices too. The soundtrack as you might expect is below average. There’s samples from The Shaft theme & Pink Floyd Meddle get re-used yet again.

The two real reasons to see this Eternal Film.Co feature are Yusuaki Kurata and Chan Sing. Both may have appeared in better made productions and Rage Of The Wind is not their finest hour. Yet if you are fan of the two actors you need to at least give this film a chance. Fans of Bruce Leung Siu Leung might also want to check this out for his involvement behind the scenes. He can also be spotted as part of a pair of Chinese fighters who attempts to kill evil gang leader Taka.

Edited October 17, 2019 by DragonClaws

[CT KID]

5 hours ago, DragonClaws said:

 

Here's an older review I wrote back in 2016, that got lost/eleted when the forum went down. I'm re-posting it here for @CT KID.

 

Rage Of The Wind    (1973)

a.k.a Fists Of Death, The Ninja Warlord.

Fight Choreographers- Bruce Leung Siu-Lung, Gam Ming, Leung Siu-Chung.

Directed By- Ng See-Yuen

Starring - Chan Sing, Irene Ryder, Yusuaki Kurata, Wong Yuen-San, Someno Yukio, Hon Kwok Choi.

Plot Synopsis - Japanese martial arts master Taka(Yusuaki Kurata) and his gang of Karate experts are exploiting a small fishing village on the coast of China. At the same time Chan Kwong(Chan Sing), who was born and raised in the same village plans to return home with his wife Ai Lin(Irene Ryder). Only Kwong has sworn never to use his fists again, after he accidentally killed a man in a boxing match. Will he unleash his hands of steel and help the locals fight back?, or will he let Taka take over?.

 

 

This film is pretty much a re-make of Kung Fu The Invisible Fist(1972), also directed by Ng See Yuen(Secret Rivals) with virtually the exact same cast. Made a year later this film continues to use national pride as the main theme with the villains all being Japanese. Ng See-Yuen would go on to direct some classic independent movies but at this stage he was developing as a film maker. Despite the fact they have used pretty much the same cast and crew, it's only Chan Sing and Yusuaki Kurata that really hold this film together. The first movie must have been enough of a success for them to try and replicate it again?. Only it just doesn't seem to have the same spark and appears to have been rushed out with an even smaller budget. That said, glossy production values and a creative story are not essential for an entertaining old school Kung Fu flick. Kurata and Sing's charisma and physical skills are what makes this film worth watching for fans of the two actors.

The team of Gam Ming & Bruce Leung Siu-Lung made their choreography debut with Kung Fu The Invisible Fist, and Ng See-Yuen rehired them again for this one. Only this time the third collaborator is not Lee Ka-Ting but Bruce Leung's father Leung Siu Chung. His younger brother Tony Leung Siu-Hung also worked on this production as an extra/stuntman. This being a 1973 basher film the fights are not stylish or full of intricate movements. Despite some super human leaps in places there mostly very grounded and basic. The Hong Kong stuntmen Chow Kong, Lee Ka Ting and Chan Ling Wai do a great job of convincing you there Karate experts. I guess with Yusuaki Kurata among the cast they had someone who was very knowledgeable on the subject to refer to?.

Special mention should go to Someno Yukio(The Bravest Fist), who apart from sporting some impressive facial hair does a great job playing Taka's vicious right hand man. One of the stand out fights for me see's a very debonair Chan Sing in a suit & hat fighting Lee Ka Ting(Legend Of A Fighter). Sing doesn't even break a sweat or even use his fists as weapons as he fights Ka Ting off with a short staff. Sadly there are no other real stand out encounters until we get to the end of the story. Most of the action with the exception of the finale is pretty much all of the same standard.

Now let’s take a look at the only slightly less epic re-match between Yusuaki Kurata & Chan Sing. When Chan Kwong finally catches up with Taka on the beach, building sand castles and getting an even sun tan are not what they have planned. Despite doing the equivalent of a Kung Fu fighting marathon before reaching the beach, Kwong shows no signs of fatigue and rips into Taka's last man. He then sets about the evil scheming Japanese gang leader and the two actors give their all. There's no fancy acrobatics or shapes on display its a back to basics no frills approach. This style might not be the most impressive to appear on screen but there's no denying it really works well for this screen encounter.

Their original fight in Tiger VS Dragon(192) just has the edge on this one taking in multiple locations and getting progressively more desperate. If I'd watched Rage Of The Wind first however my opinion might just be the opposite?. In this movie we get to see some of Kurata's superb nunchaku skills which is an added bonus. When he's struggling to counter Chan Sing and his staff he unleashes a second pair of nunchuku and the duel gets even more intense. This one on one finale is certainly the highlight of the film and well worth sticking around for.

One unusual feature of the film is that Chan Kwong's wife is played by caucasian actress Irene Ryder. It's not often that you see a westerner play the role of a Chinese heroes wife in a period Kung Fu movie. Ryder was a pop singer in Hong Kong who appeared in a few movies in the early to mid 70's. She even auditioned for a role in Bruce Lees unfinished project Game Of Death. Considering she wasn't a trained actress she does a decent enough job in this one. Apart from her there are no other major female roles and only one other woman appears in the movie. Not sure why there was such a lack of female presence in this one? but the cast is almost entirely made up of men.

The excellent acrobat Hon Gwok Choi's talents are sadly wasted here. He plays a dim witted character that doesn't showcase any of his physical talents at all. I'm not sure why they would not want to use his abilities, unless he was suffering from an injury at the time?. There's a great performance from Suen Lam playing a obnoxious cowardly Chinese man who helps the Japanese. In the English dubbed print Lam and Gwok Chois character also suffer from having really annoying character voices too. The soundtrack as you might expect is below average. There’s samples from The Shaft theme & Pink Floyd Meddle get re-used yet again.

The two real reasons to see this Eternal Film.Co feature are Yusuaki Kurata and Chan Sing. Both may have appeared in better made productions and Rage Of The Wind is not their finest hour. Yet if you are fan of the two actors you need to at least give this film a chance. Fans of Bruce Leung Siu Leung might also want to check this out for his involvement behind the scenes. He can also be spotted as part of a pair of Chinese fighters who attempts to kill evil gang leader Taka.

Nice review DC, interesting to read your thoughts on this one and thanks for reposting it. I actually like this one better than Invisible Fist but it's probably partly due to nostalgic reasons, I saw it in the early 80s about 15 to 20 years before Invisible Fist. I'll have to revisit it again soon along with Tiger vs Dragon, maybe I'll have a different opinion because it's been a long time.That Suen Lam guy did have an irritating dubbed voice and the scene where he said " It's just a stinking ole hen!" cracked me up. Also when Chen killed his friend in the boxing ring and said "Bill, Bill, Bill, Biiilll!"

Edited October 17, 2019 by CT KID

[DragonClaws]

2 hours ago, CT KID said:

I actually like this one better than Invisible Fist but it's probably partly due to nostalgic reasons, I saw it in the early 80s about 15 to 20 years before Invisible Fist.

 

That will play a part in it, I may have judged it differently had I viewed those two films the opposite way round.

 

 

2 hours ago, CT KID said:

Nice review DC, interesting to read your thoughts on this one and thanks for reposting it.

 

Thank's and no problem, it was something I'd forgotten to re-post along with some other older write-up's.

[Cognoscente]

On 10/17/2019 at 4:28 PM, DragonClaws said:

One unusual feature of the film is that Chan Kwong's wife is played by Caucasian actress Irene Ryder. It's not often that you see a westerner play the role of a Chinese heroes wife in a period Kung Fu movie. Ryder was a pop singer in Hong Kong who appeared in a few movies in the early to mid 70's. She even auditioned for a role in Bruce Lees unfinished project Game Of Death. Considering she wasn't a trained actress she does a decent enough job in this one. Apart from her there are no other major female roles and only one other woman appears in the movie. Not sure why there was such a lack of female presence in this one? but the cast is almost entirely made up of men.

This movie makes me sad because Irene Ryder wouldn't have been cast in this movie had she not been rejected by Bruce Lee for the role that eventually went to Nora Miao for Way of the Dragon. Being rejected changed the trajectory of her career and had sent her down a dark path (i.e. one which led to the acid attack). Had she been cast in WOTD, she wouldn't have met Bruce Leung Siu-Lung during the making of The Good and the Bad (1972); also directed by Ng See-Yuen.

The connections don't end there. Both films were choreographed by Leung and Gam Ming. Most of the cast are the same: Yasuaki Kurata, Chen Sing, Wong Yuen-San, Hon Kwok-Choi, Kei Ho-Chiu, Lam Hak-Ming and Lee Ka-Ting (who Bruce invited to the U.S. to be a part of his stunt team).

They don't have the same production companies, though. The '72 film was produced by Empire Cinema Center whereas the '73 film was produced by Eternal. As for both films sharing the same crew, they've got: Sung Ming (editor), Stanley Chow Fook-Leung (composer), Chan Wa (assistant director), William Cheung Kei (cinematographer) and Chen Shi (make-up).

Edited June 23, 2021 by Cognoscente

[DrNgor]

On 6/23/2021 at 7:20 AM, Cognoscente said:

The '72 film was produced by Empire Cinema Center whereas the '73 film was produced by Eternal.

I wonder if there's a specific connection between Empire Cinema Center, Eternal, and Seasonal Films.

[Cognoscente]

Ng See-Yuen was the common denominator. The first films of Empire, Eternal and Seasonal were directed by him.

[DrNgor]

On 10/17/2019 at 12:28 PM, DragonClaws said:

The first movie must have been enough of a success for them to try and replicate it again?

Yes, it was in the Top 10 domestic films of Hong Kong of 1972.

 

On 10/17/2019 at 12:28 PM, DragonClaws said:

The Hong Kong stuntmen Chow Kong, Lee Ka Ting and Chan Ling Wai do a great job of convincing you there Karate experts

After watching Lee Ka-Ting fight in End of the Wicked Tigers, I honestly think he was a karate expert. His straight-legged kicks and emphasis on reverse punches was definitely karate-like. Does anyone-- @Cognoscente -- have any background info on him?

[One Armed Boxer]

23 minutes ago, DrNgor said:

Does anyone-- @Cognoscente -- have any background info on him?

He passed off the Kung Fu Fandom coil almost a year ago, apparently the Bruce Lee Lives forum is his new dwelling. 

[Asmo]

6 hours ago, DrNgor said:

Yes, it was in the Top 10 domestic films of Hong Kong of 1972.

 

After watching Lee Ka-Ting fight in End of the Wicked Tigers, I honestly think he was a karate expert. His straight-legged kicks and emphasis on reverse punches was definitely karate-like. Does anyone-- @Cognoscente -- have any background info on him?

Lee Ka-Ding studied Tai Chi, Wing Chun, Xing Yi, Baji, Wing Chun, Karate, Muay Thai, Taekwondo. May be that he learnt bits of each and focused most on karate. He studied under at least one person that was a pupil of Yu Jim-Yuen, so may have undergone similar stylistic training to that of the Peking Opera exponents where they learnt from multiple styles.

[ShawAngela]

8 hours ago, DrNgor said:

After watching Lee Ka-Ting fight in End of the Wicked Tigers, I honestly think he was a karate expert. His straight-legged kicks and emphasis on reverse punches was definitely karate-like. Does anyone-- @Cognoscente -- have any background info on him?

There is a guy on Facebook who knows a lot about our favorite actors and who refers to him as Sifu Steve Lee, so, yes, Lee Ka Ting has a martial arts background. Also, I found an article on him and his wife iI Ming (also a good fighter in movies) and their son, but I don't remember if it's on wikipedia or elsewhere.

[ShawAngela]

Just now, ShawAngela said:

There is a guy on Facebook who knows a lot about our favorite actors and who refers to him as Sifu Steve Lee, so, yes, Lee Ka Ting has a martial arts background. Also, I found an article on him and his wife iI Ming (also a good fighter in movies) and their son, but I don't remember if it's on wikipedia or elsewhere.

I didn't read the above post, sorry and thanks @Asmo!

[DrNgor]

8 hours ago, One Armed Boxer said:

He passed off the Kung Fu Fandom coil almost a year ago, apparently the Bruce Lee Lives forum is his new dwelling. 

How does that work? Did he formally declare his defection? Or did he stop posting and simply reappear there months later?

[Asmo]

No worries @ShawAngela

Lee Ka-Ding also appears/appeared on a cooking show, has won awards at equestrian event, and runs/ran (not sure how it fared during lockdown) a restaurant in HK. 

Talented fellow. 

[Killer Meteor]

The Rifftrax version of this flick is a hoot!

[saltysam]

I'd buy a 4K of this.A Classic.

[saltysam]

Chen Sing returns home with his new bride Irene Ryder,and finds the japanese are in town, causing mayhem.Chen Sing decides to clean house.Another classic Chen Sing basher, some of the regulars are here,Kurata,Kwok Choi,Sun Lan. Needs a restored scope release.