Bullet Points: The Leg Fighters
The first title in the new Pearl River Collection, 1980’s The Leg Fighters, has hit the streets and from where I sit the Pearl River Collection is off to a great start.
The mission of the Pearl River Collection is to restore classic kung fu cinema from the original 35mm prints to both honor the films and preserve the genre for future generations.
- This Town Ain’t Big Enough: The action in The Leg Fighters gets underway early when Peng Fei challenges Tan Hai-Chieh (Dorian Tan Tao-Liang, The Hot, The Cool and The Vicious) to a fight. Tan is reluctant stating he has no quarrel with Peng Fei… but Peng Fei forces the issue saying there’s not room for both of them. So the fight begins and it isn’t long before Peng Fei is shown up by Tan. Not knowing when to quit, Peng Fei pulls out a knife and stabs Tan in the leg, things quickly escalate and the end result, Tan Hai-Chieh ends up accidentally killing Peng Fei. This turn of events does not sit well with Peng Fei’s big brother, Chang Pa.
- Mo vs. Ho: The story then shifts to Miss Phoenix Ho (Ha Kwong-Li), her father has hired the great Master Ho to teach her kung fu (and hopefully some discipline). Master Mo is schooling the hell out of Phoenix and her comic relief sidekick Ai Chin Fa. Mo’s teaching style resembles torture at times, so when news gets back to Master Mo that his wife has taken ill and he has to return home… Phoenix and Ai Chin Fa are relieved. At this point I was wondering how the Phoenix story and the Tan Hai-Chieh story were connected. I’d soon find out…
- Tan In Charge: Master Mo arranges for one of his old students, Tan Hai-Chieh to become Phoenix’s substitute teacher until he can return. What does that mean for Phoenix and Ai Chin Fa… well it is quite simple, it means Tan’s in charge of their days and their nights. It also means Tan’s in charge of their wrongs and their rights… but does Phoenix and Ai Chin Fa want Tan in charge of them? Hell no! Phoenix and Ai Chin Fa continue to rebel and continue to pay the price for their actions, but they really step in it after an encounter at a local restaurant.
- Ding Dong School: As Phoenix and Ai Chin Fa are sitting down for their meal, a local tough guy and his entourage enter the establishment… this tough guy is known as Master Ding Dong, due to the bell he wears around his neck. When a bell salesman shows up at the restaurant hyping up a BOGO sale he has going on, Master Ding Dong takes offense, thinking the man (who is just trying to make a living selling bells) was making fun of him. So Ding Dong and his two running buddies beat the crap out of the salesman, that’s when Phoenix and Ai Chin Fa step in and embarrass Ding Dong and company.
- Ring Ding Dong: Master Ding Dong is all kinds of pissed, so he gets his brother Dong Dong and some more of his goons and he tracks down Phoenix and Ai Chin Fa and they are ready to kick some ass… Tan happens upon the situation and at first just watches as Phoenix finds herself on the short end of the stick… Tan wisely uses this unfortunate turn of events for Phoenix as a teachable moment and when she agrees to become a model student he steps in and assists Phoenix and Ai Chin Fa and beats some Dong!
- The Ground Kicker Cometh: So we finally get Tan Hai-Chieh and Phoenix on the same page… Phoenix is making great strides in her training and you can see Tan is beaming with pride… and that’s about the time Chang Pa (aka The Ground Kicker) shows up looking to avenge the death of his brother and setting up the final battle of The Leg Fighters.
This was my first time experiencing the Lee Tso Nam directed The Leg Fighters and I feel like I was spoiled by the restoration work that was done on the film. But the movie doesn’t just look good, The Leg Fighters proved to be a damn good movie in and of itself. The Leg Fighters is filled with memorable characters and features fantastic fighting action… all the things a kung fu film fan could ask for.
If there’s one thing fans of Bulletproof Action ask for, it is some Bonus Bullet Points…
- AKA: The Leg Fighters is also known as The Invincible Kung Fu Legs.
- Special Features: The Leg Fighters Blu-ray is chock full of special features including an introduction by actor/filmmaker and kung fu film fan, Michael Worth. Worth, the driving force behind the Pearl River Collection, also provides the audio commentary for the film and there’s even video of him meeting with Director Lee Tso Nam.
- Favorite Quote: “Now I’ll give you a taste of the Ding Dong style!” – Master Ding Dong
- End with the Beginning : The opening credits are quite informative, giving us a glimpse of the characters to come and also explaining the different kicking styles that we will see play out in the film.
