Last Hurrah for Chivalry (1978)

Clearly one of the best.

My reviews basically state if the movie is worth buying or not.This movie in my opinion is one of the greatest kung fu movies of all time.It has a great storyline,many great characters(who all can fight),and great fighting scenes.All make up a great kung fu movie.I rank it up there with Fearless as one of the best.

Another quality this has is even the stars rather good or bad take hits.I hate kung fu movies where the stars barely get touched.I loved 36 chambers but I wouldnt give it a 5 because after he learned shaolin kung fu they made him look invincible.No one even barely landed a blow and they all were supposed to be great fighters.In real fighting both fighters take blows,the question is who lands the most fatal blow.

I can watch this movie a thousand times and wont get tired of it.Really a sad ending though but this is a must see.Dont hesitate.I copped this bad boy on tape for 1 cent and that was the most valueable buy in my life. July 31, 2008

What to say that hasn't been said-a short and simple review

LHfC is a great movie. Since it's a Dragon Dynasty release it means that the picture is as good as you're going to find on anything this old. The audio is flawless. Of course, the presentation of the menus and extras is top-notch.

The biggest point I'd like to make is that John Woo not only directed this film, he also wrote it. He hasn't done much in the way of writing when it comes to his US films. But back in HK, he wrote just about every one of his major films. To me, that makes this film all the better. If you are a Woo fan, but have somehow missed this, you'll love it. It is trademark Woo.

2 friends who fight side by side-check. Slo-mo combined with slick choreography-check. Slick moving camera that takes on a life of its own-check. Sense of epic and grandeur-check. Doves flying just prior to a major action scene-che. . .OK, so it doesn't have ALL the Woo trademarks. But most of them.

The story is very solid and takes some turns to keep it from being just standard action fare. If you enjoy Kung Fu flicks, this one is excellent. While it's not Crouching Tiger or Hero and isn't loaded with wire-fu. It is definitely the predecessor of these films and is most enjoyable, even by today's standards.

I really thought I would have to lower my expectations a bit since it was an older film that would primarily have the 'rhythmic' kung fu you could set a metronome to. But even that played out well, and more creatively than I would have thought. There's a ton of action, the characters are fun and have some dimension, the story flows well and is creative, and it's just a good movie. Any fan of martial arts flicks should more than easily be able to enjoy this one. July 18, 2008

Interesting as a Woo historical piece...

Fast forwarded through bit; typical chopsocky ham-handed melodrama and physical comedy (no Jackie Chan/Stephen Chow for a while yet...).

Looking at the two protagonists, one really can see the progression from here to the crime movies that Woo is so good at. (I met Lance Henriksen of 'Hard Target', and he said nothing but positive things about working with John Woo.)

I'm a fan of John Woo, but I have to admit that he couldn't do too much with this movie as he had a formula he was forced to follow. Also, comparing the action to something like Donnie Yen's work in Hero or Shanghai Knights is a night and day difference.

As much as fans will not agree with me on this, my argument against Last Hurrah is: in the pantheon of Chinese period piece/kung fu films, does this movie rank in the top five?

If you can get this on the cheap, or as a rental, I'd recommend it. Otherwise...
June 27, 2008

Flawless John Woo Film

From the director of Hard Boiled and The Killer comes this dazzling, brilliant, flawless Kung Fu flick called "Last Hurrah For Chivalry". The one thing that stands out from everything else is the acting and the fighting. Damian Lau and Wei pai take not only the sword fights to another level but also a brilliant team of acting. I loved how they combined the sword fights with hand to hand combat, the transitions between the two were awesome!. I was amazed with every minute of this film. If you dont have this yet, get it right now! Dragon Dynasty is one of the best places to get your martial arts films, classics and modern kung fu flicks. Don't miss this one!

Special Features include:
Pray For Death-Interview with Fung Hak-On
Deliver Us From Evil-Interview with Lee Hoi-Son
Legendary Weapons of China Featurette
Commentary by Bey Logan
Trailer Gallery June 10, 2008

Great Movie.. the dubbing was kinda new too

This is a great flick, you can watch it 2 ways, with the subtitles only and Chinese, or the English version.

What does that mean? well you will see the english dubbed version makes it feel like a "buddy movie" like "Lethal Weapon" aks -- pretty funny quips and good translations. The subtitled (real) version is much more straight foward and not funny. Either way this is really a "must have" for any collector!

Jim
May 30, 2008

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