6. The Fatal Flying Guillotines (1977) by Raymond Lui
Another cheap independent entry from Taiwan starring Carter Wong, Chen Sing and Meng Hoi. The thin plot concerns some Shaolin monks, a sacred book with healing power, an evil Prince and an old evil villain wielding not one but two motorized guillotines! Nonetheless the cool weapons here are the new improved flying head decapitating machines and still deadly as ever. Chen Sing is almost unrecognizable in his cheap looking wig and beard but he is compelling just the same. The overall fight sequences are a mixed bag and Carter Wong is quite fluid in his movement nonetheless.
7. The Deadly Silver Spear (1977) by Sung Ting Mei
After starring in and directing the hugely successful “One Armed Boxer Vs the Flying Guillotine / Master of the Flying Guillotine” (1976) Jimmy Wang Yu was back with both arms and fighting yet another version of the famed Shaw Brothers flying guillotine in this low-budget Taiwanese clone. Most of the weapons displayed here are of the long-reaching variety like the spear, three-section staff and the Guan Dao, a pole with a huge and heavy blade attached. Of course the flying guillotine makes another return in the form of a spinning top with sharp blades. While masterfully choreographed by Lau Kar Wing, the fluid action looks rather mediocre but fast in pacing. The attention-grabbing underwater combat is a curious addition which unfortunately comes to an unsatisfied abrupt end. The final fight between Wang Yu and Chang Yi and the creative use of setting ropes on fire is definitely the film's highlight.
Visually this production looks rather good. especially the outdoor locations like the snow-capped mountain, the bamboo forest and lake. The indoor sets are interesting enough to hold the viewers' attention, in particular the mortuary set which is full of coffins, poison-spewing skeletons, snakes and frogs. Likewise, the atmospheric lighting and spooky soundtrack make for a horror experience. Furthermore, the lair of the Old Recluse is equally well designed with deadly traps everywhere. Taken as a whole, this is very much a revenge seeking wuxia film with multiple plots populated with ample of appealing and crazy characters which makes it an entertaining watch.
Buy This Title
on Amazon by clicking on the image below
8. The Heroic Trio (1993) by Johnnie To
Lovingly cast by Kau (Anthony Wong), the fearsome Shaw Brothers flying guillotine makes a brief but welcoming appearance in Johnnie To's “The Heroic Trio” (1993). Starring three of the hottest Asian cinema icons as a trio of kick ass kung fu superheroines Wonder Woman (Anita Mui), Thief Catcher (Maggie Cheung) and Invisible Girl (Michelle Yeoh) up against the Evil Master who lives underground and kidnaps children. The unrestrained action is totally over-the-top but extremely well executed in a fun and entertaining way. At one point there is a crazy stunt which shows a motorbike spinning horizontally in mid air and with two riders on it.
9. The Guillotines (2012) by Andrew Lau
The Flying Guillotine (1975) was the first movie to feature this deadly flying weapon, starring Chen Kuan Tai and directed by Ho Meng Hua. It became quite a sensation and soon sequels were popping up. Fast forward to 2012, Andrew Lau from Infernal Affairs had another go at it, giving us an even more deadly and faster weapon. In this updated version set in the Qing Dynasty, Leng (Ethan Juan) is the leader of a secret assassination squad known as The Guillotines. He has six, well trained warriors working under him and they kill anyone who's against their Emperor. Their latest mission is to hunt down Wolf (Huang Xiaoming), a rebel leader of The Herders. After a brutal showdown, the guillotine squad manages to capture Wolf, but he soon escapes while taking a female guillotine member as hostage. Accordingly, the stage is set for a bigger showdown. As Leng sets out with his squad, the Emperor also sends out another army, armed with guns and cannons to annihilate Wolf and his Herders.
As it turns out, this movie is not really about those guillotines weapons, director Andrew Lau also touches on human struggle with some historical facts thrown in. Viewers looking for all out wuxia action will be disappointed, there are no elaborate kung fu moves, and even the guillotines themselves are all computer generated weapons. However, the production looks good visually, the acting is adequate all-round and the accompanying music is put into good use too. Look out for a brief cameo by Jimmy Wang Yu as an officer of the Court.
Note: Worth mentioning are these following films in which the awesome flying head chopper shows up in one form or another.
“The Blind Swordsman's Revenge” or “Zatoichi Vs Flying Guillotine” (1972) from Taiwan and directed by Larry Tu, starring Sing Lung as Zatoichi and Shaw Brothers veteran Chen Hung Lieh. Yes it is Zatoichi against the notorious flying guillotine.
“The Golden Mask” or “Bad Ninjas Wear Gold” (1977) Another Taiwanese production directed by Ting Chung and starring another Shaw Brothers veteran Chi Kwan Chun. But the flying guillotine only appears during the end battle and incredibly no one gets decapitated.
Some might argue that the little spinning weapon with a chain attached to it and thrown by Gogo (Chiaki Koriyama) during her fight with the Bride (Uma Thurman) in “Kill Bill: Volume 1” (2003) is yet another modern version of the deadly flying guillotine.
