MORANO MOVIES presents VIDEO CONFIDENTIAL

CULT MOVIES & EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC

VIDEO CONFIDENTIAL reviews and reports on U.S., European & Asian Cult & Genre Films & Experimental, Fusion & Improvisational Music. We also provide an effective search service to locate your hard to find movies and music on video and compact disc. Check out our kung fu movie reviews at DVD CULT and our regular eBay auctions!

THIS MONTH'S RECOMMENDED SIGHTS & SOUNDS

DVDs- Jackie Chan's LEGEND OF THE DRUNKEN MASTER (Dimension), THE MAD BUTCHER (Something Weird), MANTIS IN LACE (Something Weird), El Santo in SAMSON VS. THE VAMPIRE WOMEN (Wilshire Filmworks), CURSE OF THE DOLL PEOPLE (Wilshire Filmworks), Sonny Chiba's THE STREET FIGHTER/RETURN OF THE STREETFIGHTER (Diamond Entertainment) ... CDs- Michael Landau's STAR SPANGLED BANNER (www.michael-landau.com), Lamb Of God's NEW AMERICAN GOSPEL (Metalblade), Buckethead's COBRA STRIKE 2 (Ion), Jean-Paul Bourelly's BOOM BOP (Jazz Magnet), NO FORCE FIELD (Stray), Jimi Hendrix' MORNING SYMPHONY IDEAS (Dagger), Kawabata/Pauvros EXTREME-ONCTION (Fractal)...

DVD REVIEW: "DRUNKEN MASTER" (1978- Hong Kong)

Front Row Entertainment DVD.
D: Yuen Woo Ping. Jackie Chan's 1978 Hong Kong break-through film, SNAKE IN THE EAGLE'S SHADOW, was followed up the same year by this vastly superior kung fu/comedy. Reteamed with SNAKE's director Yuen Woo Ping (action choreographer for THE MATRIX) and crusty old Simon Yuen, Chan pumps up the action a couple of notches as a young, mischievous Wong Fei Hung. Chan gets into more trouble than his cranky old dad can handle and is shipped off to the dreaded old wino/sifu Sam Seed (the director's dad, Simon Yuen). Chan and Yuen strangely bond and they begin an odd master/student relationship on the difficult road to mastering the deadly and deceptive 'drunken style.' The plot gets complicated and Chan's dad's life is threatened when a land deal goes sour. Happily for us, this results in a heated final kung fu duel between Chan and super-kicker Hwang Jang Lee (the villain from SNAKE)! The fights and training sequences are spectacular and over the top and were miles beyond anything being done at that time! This Front Row Features dvd is derrived from a dupey, partially letterboxed vhs source so sound and picture is weak. Unfortunately, this is the only dvd issue to date and it isn't too bad an investment considering the $13-15 price tag. Until the real thing comes along, this will have to do. A sequel, DRUNKEN MASTER II (LEGEND OF THE DRUNKEN MASTER) followed about 12 years later.

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