''The Bloody Fists'' , is a

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

Hong Kong action film directed by

See-Yuen Ng Ng See-yuen ( zh, , t=吳思遠; born 6 June 1944) is a Hong Kong film producer, director, screenwriter and businessman. He has been active in the Hong Kong film industry since 1970, particularly in action films. He was one of the first filmm ...

and starring Chen Siu Sing and

Kuan Tai Chen Chen Kuan-tai (born 24 September 1945) is a martial artist and Hong Kong martial arts film star. Background A former fireman, he won a world's kungfu Championship in 1969. He has primarily appeared in Shaw Brothers productions, and was one of the ...

. The memorable fight scenes were choreographed by Yuen Woo-ping, better known for choreographing ''

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' is a 2000 wuxia film directed by Ang Lee and written for the screen by Wang Hui-ling, James Schamus, and Tsai Kuo-jung . The film features a cast of actors of Chinese people, Chinese ethnicity, including Ch ...

'' and '' The Matrix''.

Plot

A roving band of Japanese

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

fighters led by a masked, long-haired warrior (Kuan Tai Chen) enter a remote village in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

hoping to get their hands on the local supply of "Dragon Herb." There they come into conflict with a group of

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

kung fu fighters seeking to defend the herb. Tensions escalate, and the Chinese are defeated in several fights with the clearly superior Japanese force. Luckily, help arrives in the form of an outlaw kung fu expert (Chen Sing), who faces off against the Japanese leader in a climactic fight on the beach.

Background

Authors of ''The Encyclopedia of Martial Arts Movies'' said ''The Bloody Fists'' was

's "first directorial effort". They said, "Though the martial arts are rather primitive, its success as a low-budget independent production encouraged other directors to follow suit." Bey Logan, writing in ''Hong Kong Action Cinema'', said ''The Bloody Fists'' was "widely distributed" and the director's "first hit". Richard Meyers, writing in ''Films of Fury: The Kung Fu Movie Book'', said the film was an "independently produced milestone" for the director. The film was initially refused a BBFC certificate.

was a contract actor cast in the film by Shaw Brothers Studio, but the studio recalled him, resulting in numerous appearances of his character being played by another actor wearing a black mask to conceal his identity.

Release

''The Bloody Fists'' was released in Hong Kong on May 1972. In the Philippines, the film was released by Asia Films in August 1972.

Critical response

A film critic for ''

Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an enginee ...

'' called ''The Bloody Fists'' "a lively example" of an independent production "with a good portrait of collective villainy". The critic commended the "stylish visuals and the care taken to provide adequate motivation for the usual conflict of interests between the Chinese and the Japanese".

References

External links

* * 1972 films 1970s action films 1970s Hong Kong films 1970s Mandarin-language films Hong Kong martial arts films Kung fu films {{1970s-action-film-stub