Dance Of The Drunk Mantis

Description

This January, celebrate the new year with these classic martial arts films featuring Hong Kong's most celebrated masters - Yuen Woo Ping (martial arts director Kill Bill and The Matrix), and Corey Yuen Kwai (director of The Transporter, and So Close)

Customer Reviews:

Absolute Kung-Fu P0rn!.......2007-01-10

This flick never stops for a breath between beat-downs. Even though it is low-budget, the choreography of fight scenes is insane.

better than drunken master?.......2006-03-01

I thought that this movie was slightly better. If Jackie or some other good acrobat could have played the role of Foggy in this movie it definitely would have gotten 5 stars.

WARNING:the version I have is the Blackbelt theater version and it also comes with From China With Death, which really sucked. The picture quality on these movies is truly some of the worst that I have ever seen. It is watchable if you are a fan of EVERYBODY in this movie, Rubber Legs CAN'T be seen if there is a white backround.

Unwatchable.......2005-12-31

I bought this movie because I'm a huge fan of both Simon Yuen and Hwang Jang Lee and..I was horribly dissapointed.
Not because of the quality of the movie or the action, but because I couldn't watch it. This DVD features a code called 'Insta-Action' which cheerfully allows you to jump right to the action scenes..and you can't turn it off so far as I've been able to determine. So what you get is about ten minutes of movie..fight..fight..fight..fight..end of movie.
Videoasia should be ashamed of themselves. If you're a fan of Simon or Hwang, try and get the VHS version at your local Chinatown. Don't waste your money on this deplorable DVD.

best movie ever.......2004-05-05

the film quality of this dvd is not to good, but the kung fu is so great that it doesnt matter. i have seen many many kung fu movies but this one tops them all, and my kung fu brothers agree.

Yuen Woo Ping and Sam the Seed.......2004-04-02

When you see a Yuen Woo Ping film, you can pretty much gaurantee that it will be entertaining. At least the fight scenes are. I actually have owned this film for about 6 years now on VHS, and the movie is good, but it can get corney at times (like the singing in the bank?!.) But all in all a pretty decient martial arts film. Sam the Seed plays the usual character, like in Drunkin Master and does a good job, even though it's noticalble that he is not doing the more difficult moves. Watch for when Sam the Seed and Crazy Legs are drinking tea together! To me, It was the highlight of the film. Very good choreography, thanks to Woo Ping, who is one of the most talented martial arts choreographer and director. The firmiliarness of the characters, the cornyness, the slow martial arts sequences, and the unfunny comedy make it an OK martial arts film. Apart from the tea drinking sequence, the film is nothing spectacular.

Black Belt Theatre, Vol. 15: Dance of the Drunk Mantis/From China With Death

Average customer rating:

one of the worst transfers ever
Buy the Original Hong Kong Version, if at all possible
Unwatchable!
Very good value overall
You get what you pay for!

Black Belt Theatre, Vol. 15: Dance of the Drunk Mantis/From China With Death
Starring: Black Belt Theatre 2
Manufacturer: Ground Zero
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Customer Reviews:

one of the worst transfers ever.......2006-05-07

FROM CHINA WITH DEATH-bad picture but very watchable. But who is going to watch a movie where wu ma plays the hero. i know that I certainly never will again.

DANCE OF THE DRUNKEN MANTIS-I actually like this movie better than drunken master. Not too often you will find a sequel that's better than the original. But you just don't beat the drunken masters fight!! If you can get this for like 3.99 like I did, that's the only way that I can reccommend it. When Hwang has a white backround behind him, you literally can't see him.

Buy the Original Hong Kong Version, if at all possible.......2004-04-16

The "Black Belt Theater" series often leaves much to be desired. The transfer of Dance of the Drunken Mantis is so bleached out that the subtitles are often unreadable. Whenever the silver-haired Jang Lee appears, most of his face is indiscernable. What a waste of money! The picture quality on From China with Death (which is dubbed) is also horrible, but due to cropping and the dirty, VHS "original" that was used. I have learned my lesson with "Black Belt Theater": I won't buy that title again.

My advice is that you go to a Hong Kong Imports film distributer and try to find ALL your kung-fu films there. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the really good, re-masters of the best martial arts films (per their original HK release version) are Region 3 encoded.

Unwatchable!.......2003-05-23

I cannot even rate "Dance of the Drunk Mantis" as a film. The subtitles are unreadable and the picture quality is terrible. It made for a baffling viewing experience. It might be worth it if you didn't need the subtitles. Maybe.

Very good value overall.......2002-11-20

... Despite
the fact that the DVD is from a VHS source (almost all the
old school movies are, esp. those released by Ground Zero),
this double feature offers the chance to see two of Woo Ping's
excellent early efforts. Dance of the Drunken Mantis stars Whang Jang Li and Simon Yuen (Sam the Seed), and is a classic old schooler. It easily carries its weight. From China with Death (aka Wits to Wits)is a'modern day' action flick set in the 70's and is a kung-fu comedy starring the prolific Wu Ma, Henry Yu Yung and Corey Yuen (who is also in Dance of th DM). Corey Yuen directed flicks like Savior of the Soul, Letter to my Father (Jet li), Fong Sai Yuk 1 & 2 (also Jet Li) and many other of Hong Kong's best action movies. In short, these are well worth it for any fan of hong kong/action cinema.

You get what you pay for!.......2002-07-31

First off the picture quality is poor on both movies. "Dance" is widescreen but the picture's brightness is so bad that you lose the action at points and the subtitles are often unreadable. "China"'s picture quality is fullscreen but somewhat more watchable but is taken from a VHS copy and even freezes and has tracking problems at points. "Dance" is the only reason to get this DVD as it is a Yuen Woo Ping movie and a sequel of sorts to Drunken Master with Jackie Chan. The action is good (when you can see what's happening) even if the storyline is missing (or not able to be read for those who don't understand Cantonese). I suggest you wait for a better version of the movie on DVD unless you absolutely must have it.

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