Features Hong Kong Reviews Martial Arts Cinema Reviews

Film Review: The Crippled Masters (1979) by Joe Law

The Crippled Masters Frankie Shum
“You are a sadistic monster. One day you’ll get what’s coming to you!”

Quite a rare entry in the HK martial arts scene, “” stars , a martial artist born with thalidomide syndrome, and , a martial artist with no legs. If that was not enough, let’s also mention that this is as much exploitation as it is action, and that its low budget aesthetics add even more to its cult hypostasis. 

Buy This Title
by clicking on the image below

The story begins with Lee Ho having his arms chopped off by a henchman named White, while another man, his higher up Tang, supervises. It is declared that Lee Ho has betrayed his master, Lin Chang Cao, the boss of the Pluahchi organization, and thus his punishment is justified. Tang is congratulated for carrying out his master’s orders and is praised for his loyalty. Lee Ho ends literally crawling in the street until he reaches a tavern, where the customers are appalled and the owner orders his henchman to beat the cripple up. 

A bit later, Lin Chang Cao proves his cruelty once more, and he decides to punish Tang for knowing too much, by having his other henchmen pour acid on his legs, which essentially leaves him crippled from the waist down. In a similar situation with Lee Ho, he eventually meets him in the wilderness, and the two decide to take revenge from Lin Chang Hao. A mysterious Old Man eventually appears and tells them he will train them. Soon the two become quite powerful, but the appearance of another fighter in the area, Ho, shows them their limitations. 

Although not a Shaw Brothers production, the movie follows the company’s recipe to the t. As such, we have an intro with the protagonists showcasing their prowess in martial arts. Then we have the protagonist getting beaten and humiliated, then the second protagonist doing the same (this is kind of an alteration actually). Then a master who trains them appears, then we have a training session, then they face some weak opponents, they discover a martial arts manual and in the end, they fight the big boss. To the t. 

However, there are definitely elements here that make the movie stand out quite intensely. For starters, the two protagonists, whose crippledness is implemented here not only for some unprecedented action scenes, but also to induce the narrative with a rather realistic sense of drama. Particularly the way Lee Ho is treated in the tavern in the beginning and the way he ‘becomes a pig’ is quite pointed and pragmatic in its presentation, particularly in the way the patrons are disgusted by just his presence. This approach actually continues throughout the film, adding a very rare for such a movie, social comment. 

Of course, do not expect a social drama of sorts, since the movie lingers from exploitation to martial arts almost for its whole duration. Even in that regard, however, the way both are presented is unique. For starters, the way the two protagonists get maimed is as brutal as possible, with the second one even more so, in the scene where the exploitation element finds its apogee. The presentation of the limbs is also terrifying on occasion, especially in the way it is implemented in the battles, with DP Chin Chang-Tung pulling no punches in the depiction of all the aforementioned elements. 

Expectedly, Chan Muk-Chuen’s stunts are also unusual considering the uniqueness of the two protagonists. They are, however, quite impressive, particularly in the scenes in the restaurant , the training, and the final battle, maybe with the exception of some badly implemented wire fu. 

Frankie Shum as Lee Ho looks as heroic as does angry, with his face being a combination of pain and resolve that works quite well for the movie. Jackie Conn as Tang is also good, with the chemistry of the two working particularly well. Chen Mu Chuan as Lin Chang Cao plays the ultra villain with gusto, while the fact that he has a huge wound in his face definitely adds to his persona. 

“The Crippled Master” is definitely a cult production, one of those films that fans of Shaw Brothers movies will definitely cherish and a unique film that is bound to become a prize for any collector. 

About the author

Panos Kotzathanasis

Panagiotis (Panos) Kotzathanasis is a film critic and reviewer, specialized in Asian Cinema. He is the owner and administrator of Asian Movie Pulse, one of the biggest portals dealing with Asian cinema. He is a frequent writer in Hancinema, Taste of Cinema, and his texts can be found in a number of other publications including SIRP in Estonia, Film.sk in Slovakia, Asian Dialogue in the UK, Cinefil in Japan and Filmbuff in India.

Since 2019, he cooperates with Thessaloniki Cinematheque in Greece, curating various tributes to Asian cinema. He has participated, with video recordings and text, on a number of Asian movie releases, for Spectrum, Dekanalog and Error 4444. He has taken part as an expert on the Erasmus+ program, “Asian Cinema Education”, on the Asian Cinema Education International Journalism and Film Criticism Course.

Apart from a member of FIPRESCI and the Greek Cinema Critics Association, he is also a member of NETPAC, the Hellenic Film Academy and the Online Film Critics Association.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

>