Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!

Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Micah Lloyd Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

nakived This was and is one of my favorite movies. It was shown back in the late 70s as the B movie to some other movie I don't even remember now. But the theater got quiet, really quiet, people were glued to the movie - and then this movie became a classic. Theaters would be filled every time it played. I saw this movie over 50 times! Wei Pai, the snake, was my favorite - he is beautiful. When he sits on his chair when the cops come to see him, he recalls to mind Batu Khan, even if Wei Pai is not a Tatar! He was also in 2 more Shaw movies with the same characters as the Venoms - unbelievable fighting in all of them, I think Kid with the Golden Arm and 10 Tigers of Kwangtong or also called N and S. Shaolin. The other actors were in more films, but Wei Pai had left for Golden Harvest. I loved the Snake because, IMO, he is beautiful. I was saddened to find that Wei Pai left Shaw Brothers and moved to Golden Harvest where, IMO, his first film with them was overshadowed by Jackie Chan. He was also in Last Hurrah for Chivalry, but again, he's not the star. This movie is a must see for anyone. Heck, I ran into a professor that ranked this as his favorite movie and he wasn't even into martial arts.

Leofwine_draca I admit, I'm a huge fan of the Shaw Brothers studio; alongside Hammer, it's my favourite film production house. Most of their films seem to be bright, action-packed and thoroughly entertaining, and THE FIVE VENOMS (aka FIVE DEADLY VENOMS) is one of their most influential outings.Here's the good news: the director is Chang Cheh, one of Shaw's most prolific and best, so you can rest assured that the film is a visual treat. The cast is decent, featuring the five famous Venom kung fu actors in their most memorable roles (Lo Meng is particularly good as the tough Toad, forced to undergo a number of strenuous trials). Production values are exemplary, as you'd expect.What about the martial arts? Well, it's plentiful, as you'd expect, but not quite up there with the best of the Shaw Brothers. Oh, it's good, you can be assured of that, but it's not on a level with the frenetic action of, say, FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS or CRIPPLED AVENGERS. The complex, angst-filled mystery-cum-kung-fu story is actually better than the action. Still, it's all good, and THE FIVE VENOMS is a classic for a reason; there's little to dislike here.

dbborroughs A dying Kung Fu master sends out his last student in order to track down what happened to the previous five students who were members of the banned Poison Clan.He is to see if they are acting for good and if not he his to stop them The master also wants the student to find another member of the clan who ran off with the clans money which the master wants used for good. The earlier students were all taught in a different style snake, centipede, scorpion, lizard, toad, while the last student was taught a little in each style. All of the students end up in one town looking for the old man with all of the money,and soon everyone is battling to get the money.Classic martial arts film has title that even many non-fans know. I've spoken with a couple of casual fans and this seems to be the one film that sticks in their head. Its a very good movie, though I'm not really sure why this film stays with people when for my money there are other films that are better from the Shaw studio (One armed Swordmen or the Brave Archer series for example). This isn't to sell the film short, its not, since the film is structured like a mystery, our hero has no clue who anyone is and the Venoms themselves only know at best who two of the others is. We're given the identity of four but we still have to work out who the fifth really is. The film is also odd in that for a martial arts film, other than a training sequence at the start and the killing of the old man and his family for the money, there is really no action for about 40 or 45 minutes. Its a bold move to do it but it pays off since the plot and the performances hold your attention. (The film is also odd in that its the first martial arts film I think I've ever seen where there are no women. I don't think one has a speaking role and I'm pretty sure that none appear in the background. Its indicative of nothing, its just something that struck me.) This is a good solid little film that may not live up to the reputation it has in some circles, but is still a really good film to curl up with on your couch.Around 7 out of 10.

unbrokenmetal I've watched quite a lot of "Shaw Brothers Classics" in the (amazingly well restored) DVD series recently, and "The Five Venoms" is 1 of my 3 favorites so far. The movie tells the story of a young man who is sent by his teacher to find out what the masters of 5 very different styles are up to: Centipede, Toad, Snake, Scorpion and Gecko. It appears soon that some of them are involved in a murder, but the identity of each of the five is secret. Who is the Snake, who is the Scorpion... who is the murderer? Thus, besides the original fighting styles superior to most kung fu flicks, we also get a lot of suspense until all masters are ready for a final fight. Two cruel torture scenes made me wonder why this is rated FSK-16 here instead of FSK-18, but nevertheless: watch it!