Search - Master Killer Collection: Shaolin Challenges on DVD

Tara S. from LAWRENCEVILLE, GA
Reviewed on 7/27/2010...

This movie is great, but for all the wrong reasons I suppose. It's old and the English voice-over is awful, but that's what makes it so great! The fights are real. None of that computer animated fighting-on-wires crap.

Absolutely Spectacular!!!

kurlebj | Hackettstown, New Jersey United States | 03/24/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Shaolin challenges Ninja is one of the coolest kung-fu flicks I have ever seen. (And I have seen and own quite a lot) The beginning of the movie can get a little boring. Not ridiculously bad, but definetly a little bit on the boring side. From the second half of the movie til the end, it's nothing but awesome kung-fu. There's kung-fu vs. everything japanese. Karate, Akido, Ninjitsu and then some. One of the fist chinese martial arts movies to depict the Japanese martial arts with any respect. Gordon Liu is amazing as always and the film is very entertaining.The fight scenes are clean, crisp and tight. The storyline is not the greatest in the world, but you don't buy these movies for the storyline do you? Get this one without hesitation, as it is easily one of my favs."

Take My Sword!

Scott Bright | Grayslake, IL USA | 08/15/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Movie Summary: Ho Tao is forced to marry a pretty Japanese girl named Kuda in an arranged business marriage. Kuda spends a lot of time practicing her Japanese martial arts. Eventually Ho Tao shows her the Chinese martial arts and they argue over which is best. They end up fighting and Ho Tao wins. When she finally gets the best of him using the sneaky ninjitsu method, he calls it evil and she is insulted. Kuda returns to Japan and Ho Tao is heart broken. In an attempt to bring her home, Ho Tao is talked into sending her a challenge, Chinese versus Japanese styles, to settle once and for all which is best. The letter falls into the hands of Kuda?s martial arts teachers and they take it as a challenge to all of Japan. Seven of Japan?s best fighters escort Kuda back to China to take up the challenge. Ho Tao is very surprised. He goes to his master to find out what to do. In a highly political decision the master decides that Ho Tao must take up the challenge on his own. So Ho Tao, student of the Chinese Martial Arts, must face seven of the best fighters from Japan. He does so with grace and honor.My Opinion: This has been my favorite Martial Arts movie since the first time I saw it on TV as a kid. I managed to tape it the next time it was on and watched it over and over. Now finally it is available to buy and on DVD no less. Everything about this movie is great. The plot is filled out and easy to follow (not always a given with this genre). The story flows from the beginning to the end without any scenes that don?t make any sense. The relationship between Ho Tao and Kuda is very believable. The way she returns to help her husband is a very nice touch. The theme of honor above winning at any cost is refreshing as well. The characters are well fleshed out and likeable. Gordon Liu is great as Ho Tao. I found myself liking this character a lot. The fact that he was just a student and an underdog in each fight made every victory that much sweeter. Last but not least, the fighting is great. With seven Japanese fighters for Ho Tao to fight, we get to see a lot of different styles and different weapons. All of the matches are great. This is a movie that can be watched over and over without getting tired of it.DVD Quality: Full Screen 1.33:1. A Widescreen print could not be found from which to make the DVD. Dubbed English Mono Sound Track. Video is better than the washed out VHS copies that were the only versions available up until now.What You Should Do: Buy this DVD. I am so crazy about this movie that I bought two copies!! One to loan out and one to keep safe just for me. This is an awesome Kung Fu movie.Related Movies To Check Out: Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Dirty Ho, The Kid With the Golden Arm, Master Killer, Legendary Weapons of China"

A young Gordon Liu showing why he's one of the best!

greg_rodgers | Boston, MA | 07/11/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Shaolin Challenges Ninja from the new Master Killer collection is off the hook. I have only witnessed a bad bootleg of this but now I am happy to say that with GZ's DVD I have a very good copy of this masterpiece!! Originally titled "Heroes of the East" this Liu Chia Liang directed and Gordon Liu acted movie is excellent. The story is of Ah Toa, a man hwo is to marry a japanese woman. Once married, she begins to pratice her Japanese styles and Ah Toa his chinese styles of kung fu. The two get mad heated until she decides to leave him and return to Japan. After returning to japan, she hooks up with her teacher played by the great Yauzaki Kurata. While with him, she receives a letter from Ah Toa that asks her to come home he also critiques her Japanese styles. Kurata reads the letter to his school which causes them to feel insulted. Its on from there!! The Japanese students go to China to challenge Ah Toa to 7 fights to see who is best. Of course we know chinese styles are the best!! There are great styles of jujitsu, ninjitsu, and kempo karate as well as drunken style, tiger crane and great chinese and japanese weaponry in this movie. Its a great visual demonstration of the martial arts differences between to lands....and no one gets killed. In fact the two sides end as friends. Watch the great crab style that Kurata does in the final fight with Liu. Also, the drunken master is played perfectly by Liu Chia Liang. Familiar young faces are also in this movie from Tsui Siu Keung, Wilson Tong, Lee Hai Sheng, and Simon "Sam the Seed" Yeun Siu Tien. The movie, filmed in 1975, has a soft grain to it but does not detract from the overall quality of the transfer. The sound is also very good without pops or hiss. One may think that a 1975 movie would have slow kung fu but not here as fast has always been the trademark of Liu Brothers movies. Get this classic 5 star movie while you can!!"