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THE CRIPPLED MASTERS (1979)
Special Edition Blu-ray
Label: Film Masters
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 91 Minutes 28 Seconds
Audio: English-dub or Mandarin DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono, Dolby Digital 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1)
Director: Chi Lo aka Joe Law
Cast: Sung-Chuan Shen,Chao-Ming Kang, Li Chung Keng, Chen Mu Chuan, Ho Chiu
Grindhouse kung fu exploitation flick The Crippled Masters (1979), directed by Chi Lo aka Joe Law (Magic Swords) opens with villainous scar-faced and hunchbacked master Lin Chang Cao (Chen Mu Chuan) ordering his underling Lee Ho (Shun Chung-Chuen aka Jackie Conn) be punished for having betraying him in some way. That punishment comes by way of having his henchman cut the man's arms off with a hatchet, gravely injured and bleeding the newly armless man is told to get out of town. He later attempts to beg for food at a restaurant, seemingly have chosen not to seek any sort of medical attention, but the waiter is disgusted seeing him trying to eat without hands and ends up brutaling him, as does the establishment's cruel bouncer, leaving him for dead. He survives with the help of a local coffin maker, but his presence again draws the attention of the evil master and who sends his enforcers Black and White to finish the job. The coffin maker bares the brunt of the attack with the armless Lee Ho escaping into the nearby forest. He comes upon a farm where he is so desperate for food that he fights off a pig to eat the animal's slop. There he is discovered by the farmer who takes pity upon him and offers him a job working on the farm, and where he begins to overcome his handicap.
Later the evil boss becomes is displeased with another of his his henchman, this time it's Tang (Thomas Hong Chiu-Ming), who was complicit in Lee Ho's de-limbing, the cruel boss orders acid poured over his legs, crippling him as well, and he too is left for dead. Eventually he finds himself alone in the forest where he encounters Lee Ho, who is initially quite happy to torment the man who was complicit in disfigured him, until a mysterious, elderly and quite limber master (He Jiu) unexpectedly arrives, emerging from a wicker basket, and telling the disabled men that they need to train together to learn to fight as one, in order to defeat their common enemy, the evil master Lin Chang Cao, his second-in-command Mr. Pow (Hsiang Mei-Lung), and hired-fighter Ah Po (Chen Mu-Chuan).
This is most certainly a slice of kung fu exploitation that capitalizes on the differently-abled star's handicaps, but I think that it's arguable if this is more exploitation or a celebration of the differently abled stars truly impressive martial arts capabilities. I'm not here to make that determination, the fact is that the film exists and had for over forty years, I am just here to see this curio from the kung fu crazy 70's, the basic revenge story itself is pretty hackneyed and follows in the tracks of many similar themed kung fu flicks of this era, but that element of having differently abled stars certainly adds a unique element to it. This was a first time watch for me, and for years I have heard about this one, often described as 'what if Tod Browning (Freaks) had directed a chop socky flick in the 70s?', and I think that's a pretty accurate, what if. It has that fascinating exploration of people with handicaps coming out on top (sort of) after having endured much persecution. The later half of the film with our differently abled fighters mastering their technique and working together to accommodate their handicap, one with the use of his hands, the other without feet, utilizing weaponry and martial arts to great effect, is both fascinating and unsettling at the same time, but there's no denying that the foot-fist flying kung fu action delivered is a crowd pleaser at the end of the day.
Audio comes by way of English-dub or Mandarin-bub DTS-HD MA 2,0 dual mono, as well as lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles. The track is pretty thin and often distorted, canned sound FX and music score can be muted or shrill, but having just watched a boxset chock full of Bruceploitation flicks that seems to be par or the course for the kung fu exploitation flicks, and i never really found it to be an issue.
Film Masters come through with a solid array of extras, starting off with an new Audio Commentary by Will Sloan and Justin Decloux of The Important Cinema Club who give a limited but solid bunch of facts about the film, contextualizing it, and getting into previous public domain releases, and admitting that it can be aa struggle to talk about the film which is arguably quite non-PC in a PC-friendly sort of way.
As has been par for the course with these Film Masters release we get a new Ballyhoo Motion Pictures featurette, the 31-min Kings of Kung Fu: Releasing the Legends, is narrated by author/researcher Chris Poggiali from the Temple of Schlock who gives us a run down of how Asian kung fu flicks were distributed in the U.S., starting out primarily n niche Asian markets before picking up in popularity and the importance of Warner Bros. putting out
Enter the Dragon and other films like Five Fingers of Death aka King Boxer.
We also get the aforementioned 92-min unrestored Original Raw Scan of the Film; a 2-min The Crippled Masters Before/After Examples of Restoration; a 19-min Compilation of Kung Fu Trailers (from Something Weird Video in SD featuring The Soul Of Bruce Lee, Black Samurai, The Game Of Death, Fists Of Vengeance, King Of Boxing, The Star The Rogue And The Kung Fu Kid, Fists For Revenge, Master Samurai, The Martialmates and The Diamond Trap - which I will admit I have seen none of before! Dosc extras are buttoned-up with a 4-mi, Recut of the Original Theatrical Trailer from Restored Elements; and the 4-min Original Raw Theatrical Trailer.
The single-disc release arrives in a black keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the original illustrated movie poster, tucked away inside is a 16-Page Illustrated Booklet with a Forward by Philip Elliot Hopkins, and additional liner notes by disability advocate Lawrence Carter-Long, the latter of whom programmed the film during Turner Classic Movies "Disability in the Movies" schedule during Disability Pride Month in July of 2023.
Special Features:
- A new documentary, from Ballyhoo Motion Pictures, Kings of Kung Fu: Releasing the Legends, is narrated by author/researcher Chris Poggiali (30:48)
- Original raw scan of the film (91:33) SD
- The Crippled Masters Before/After Examples of Restoration (2:21)
- 16-Page Illustrated Booklet with a Forward by Philip Elliot Hopkins, and additional liner notes by disability advocate Lawrence Carter-Long
- Audio Commentary by Will Sloan and Justin Decloux of The Important Cinema Club
- A Compilation of Kung Fu Trailers ( from Something Weird Video (18:31) SD
- A recut of the original theatrical trailer from restored elements (3:57)
- Original Raw Theatrical Trailer (4:05)
