Greenes
Please don't spend money on this.
Matialth
Good concept, poorly executed.
KnotStronger
This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.
Matylda Swan
It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.
poe426
With so many of Chang Cheh's stalwarts on hand, it's impossible not to like TEN TIGERS OF KWANGTUNG. The always reliable Ti Lung (the backbone of so many martial arts epics over the years) plays Li, a pawn shop owner whose pawn shop has a hidden room for hiding anything and anyONE of value. It's not long before the masked revolutionary Cai, on the run from Qing minions, turns up needing "any port in a storm." Lung naturally puts him up. Enter Lo Meng as "Iron Finger" Chen, and things start to get still more interesting. It isn't long before The Lucky Gambling House becomes a battleground. (At one point, a villain dangling by his heels from the ceiling is literally decapitated by a drop kick...) Among the few extras on the DVD I have is a 2001 poem by Chang Cheh. The last two lines are interesting: "What does opulence amount to? Only a dream across the silver screen!"
petersgow
There is an art to fight choreography, and this movies fights are technically "clean" but lack drama and build up. This movie is an example of why Shaw's popularity fell and golden harvest rose. As the years went on, there was a focus on a sort of Chinese opera style of dance acrobatics and the fights lost the umph of earlier movies such a Heroes Two and Shaolin Martial Arts. Also, the plot is a disjointed mess, and despite the fact that it has a "ton of stars" they are given very little to do. They are better films in the same genre, so I would give this one a pass. You would be better off seeking out Avenging Eagle, Shaolin Temple or Disciples of Shaolin. I read somewhere that Disciples was Fu Sheng's favorite film. Another worthy flick is 5 shaolin masters.
hayabusa-1
I had high hopes for what I believe to be the only movie about the 10 Tigers of Canton. I've heard the 10 Tigers of Canton mentioned in passing in kung fu films about Wong Fei-Hung. Fei-Hung was not one of the 10 Tigers, he was known as "the Tiger after 10". However Wong Fei-Hung's father Wong Kei-Ying was on of these 10 Tigers. Being a fan of Iron Monkey which featured Wong Kei-Ying as a main character I was looking to find similar movies featuring Wong Kei-Ying as a central character. I've also seen movies featuring another of the 10 Tigers, Beggar Su, as a minor character. I was quite intrigued to learn more about the 10 Tigers through this film, and to come to an understanding of the aura of mystique and legend that surrounds them.As a tool for gaining insight into the back-story, lives, and importance of these 10 Tigers this Shaw Brothers movie fails miserably. Wong Kei-Ying is a very minor character in this film. Rarely seen on-screen, he and fellow Tiger Wong Chin Ho are simply referred to in passing as "The Wong Masters". Beggar Su has a more prominent role in the film, but he does not look, dress, nor act the part of a beggar. Instead we're treated to "Acrobat Su". While novel and fresh to use actor Philip Kowk's talent as an acrobat in Five Deadly Venoms, the portrayal of Beggar Su as an acrobat as opposed to a filthy rag-clad beggar left a sour taste in my mouth.This film fails to provide background information on each of the 10 Tigers and hence doesn't deliver on explaining who each Tiger is and what made each one such a standout in the world of martial arts.While the costumes, sets, and martial arts action are all phenomenal and top-notch for a 1979 kung fu movie, The lack of character development really hurts this film as it could have been so much more, missing out on making THE one-and-only classic masterpiece about the 10 Tigers of Canton.I can only hope that someday soon a contemporary Hong Kong director will come out with a film that does justice to the 10 Tigers of Canton, because this Shaw Brothers movie fails miserably at doing such.
Gerald Brown
Ti Lung. Alexander Fu Sheng. Chiang Sheng. Kuo Chui aka Phillip Kwok. Lu Feng. Wei Pai. Sun Chien. Lo Meng. Li Wang. Dick Wei. They make up ten of the most popular stars of 1970's Martial Arts Films. Add villain favorite Wang Lung Wei, and you got a blockbuster movie. With a cast so hot, who needs David Chiang, Chi Kwan Chun or Gordon Liu Chia Hui?The Ten Tigers of Kwangtung was a spectacular showcase of kung fu. The brilliant styles of natural talent these stars had were spectacular. Each and every one of these guys can do anything, by golly. The story is kinda cool; two Ching Dynasty mercenaries are out to kill the students of the Legendary Ten Tigers as payback for Wang's demise at the hands of Ti...which was explained in a flashback.Ti, Alex, Wei, Lu and Sun gather together to protect a hero of the Rebellion against the Manchus while Phil, Chiang and Lo goof off and stir a hornet's nest in their squabbles with Alex.These heroes are great. Wang is in rare form as a villain who thinks he's the hero. The action is vicious and no nonsense. No villain gets charted off to jail saying, "I would have gotten away with nabbing that rebel if it hadn't been for those meddling Tigers!" here. The dubbing and FX are lame and jive. The perfect SHAW Brothers film.I'm gonna miss Alex and Chiang. They were funny, talented and great heroes. They're up there in the pearly gates driving Bruce and Brandon up the clouds!