Trailer—The Flying Guillotine

source: The Flying Guillotine

Xue di zi

This film is no high art but, if you would like to be entertained with good cheesy kung fu action, this movie could be for you. So outrageous it was one of the most memorable films I watched as a child. I don't want to give away too much. A flying guillotine, is a sort of hat box attached to a rope. Thrown like a Frisbee, it settles on a person's head then, with a quick tug it swiftly slices it off. The device is then yanked back like a returning yo-yo as the headless corpse drops to the ground. A Shaw Brothers classic.

First thing' s first, I have yet to see anything from this era of Shaw Bros which isn't some of the dopest cinema in history. The sets, the (dubbed) acting. This movie sort of falls off in the plot dept. With your boilerplate Hans Vs Manchu Tyranny. Like I said, there's not much wrong with this, it just feels pretty generic.

(Flash Review) This is meant to be lightly campy I assume or is it just the 70s and low budget? The Emperor had ordered two important officers executed and has entrusted a stealthy ninja to do a clean job. The ninja needed to invent the Flying Guillotine for the special task. This weapon can lop heads clean off from a long distance. The Emperor has also commanded a group to train with the main ninja to master this weapon and become a killing arm to kill traitors. When ordered to assassinate more than just traitors some question their loyalty to the Emperor vs their morals. When the main ninja questions the orders, now he is the one order to die. Can he survive as the warriors he trained who now aim to lop off his head? Overall, this is lightly entertaining. Quality of early Bruce Lee movies.

Having even done a research on such a guillotine, I found that there is no historical proof of its existence, but a program created and replicated and the guillotine worked with puppets, I prefer to believe in the magic of legends, even though this one is tragic, Ma Teng has charisma, together with his wife and the beautiful baby, the attractive and well-developed script, the chase atmosphere, and the scenes with the Guillotines in operation (exaggerated, but exuberant) all conquer us, and enchant us... Very good..

THE FLYING GUILLOTINE is another enjoyable Shaw excursion into the world of wacky weaponry and there's non wackier than the infamous titular weapon. In the hands of BLACK MAGIC director Ho Meng-hua this is a riotously gory little escapade which offers Chen Kuan Tai another chance to essay a tough guy character. Excellent character support from Ku Feng and Wong Yue at the outset of his career. The action isn't as involving or elaborate as in other Shaw martial arts epics, but the story of political and personal corruption is an engaging one and the staging as efficient as ever. Not as outrageous as the cult epic spin-off MASTER OF THE GUILLOTINE, but still decent.

Slightly underrated, I don't think that the influence of this movie is overlooked, but its IMDb rating certainly is. I think that this movie is overshadowed by its successor, Master of the Flying Guillotine, which indeed contained more fight sequences. However, The Flying Guillotine is a martial arts movie that concentrates on his plot and is aware of his weaknesses. Is an exceptionally strong plot for a 1970s Hong Kong movie, can engage the viewer with a wonderful camera angle of rooftop instead of using endless fight sequences, many scenes were shot in a realistic natural environment and some cool transition brought up by important objects. I also have praise to give to the sound effect of "The Flying Guillotine", it's sound is well used to build tension and fear, because you know that something is happening. Unconsciously, as a viewer, I was always trying to estimate the proximity of the danger, which is fascinating.

Another Shaw brothers classic! I would highly recommend this film to anyone who enjoys this genre.