While Shaw Brothers might have been winding down its theatrical releases in the early ’80s to focus on television production, director Lau Kar Leung (Chia-Liang Liu) was creating quite a few legendary productions. He and actor Gordon Liu were extending the 36th Chamber of the Shaolin series, they were also making one off movies that were vibrant and dynamic. Martial Club (aka Instructors of Death) got into lion fighting. Not actual lions, but the ceremonial lions that roamed the streets during holidays showing off the skills of the pupils beneath the fabric.
The movie opens with director Lau Kar Leung explaining how things went down during a Lion Dance when two schools would meet on the street. The illustrative moment goes straight into the street where a martial club is performing using a “three-layer cake” of students holding up the lion above the rooftops. This is a scene you’ll want to experience with the speakers cranked with percussive band amping up the excitement. The plot centers around the rivalry between three Martial Clubs. The main one is attended by the Chinese hero Wong Fei Hung (Kill Bill‘s Gordon Liu). It is his dad’s school and he’s the prize pupil. A rival school is attended by Wong Chi-Ying (The Flying Guillotine‘s Ku Feng). When their Lion Dance fight goes out of control, the two are forced to reconcile. They quickly become friends as they try to prove who has the best martial arts skills. This turns into a disaster when they meet the wrong man on the road. The heads of their clubs are not impressed. Wong Fei Hung focuses on his training. Wong Chi-Ying uses his feats of strength to get free action at the local brothel. This goes bad when a Master Shan (Dirty Ho‘s Johnny Wang) shows up and takes out the cocky Wong Chi-Ying. Turns out there’s a third club that’s out to cause chaos in the town.
Martial Club is full of action and light comic touches. The interplay between Gordon Liu and Ku Feng keeps things merry between broken bones. Once more Lau Kar Leung delivers on keeping the screen filled with flying kicks, fists and weaponry. Kara Hui (My Young Auntie) gets to swap chops with Gordon Liu. Lau Kar Leung is a Busby Berkeley of buttkicking on the screen.
The video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The 1080p Shawscope vision is breathtaking during the lion fights. The audio is 2.0 DTS-HD Mandarin. As it is pointed out, the actors aren’t really speaking. Shaw Brothers had its own staff of voice actors that handled the dialogue. The English 2.0 DTS-HD MA English Soundtrack has been taken from the print of Instructors of Death. It sounds cleaner than the print. The movie is freshly subtitled in English.
Audio commentary with Asian Cinema Expert Frank Djeng and actor/martial artist Michael Worth. The two were on the recent Legendary Weapons of China Blu-ray. Deng gets deep into the elements of the Lion dance and other cultural elements on the screen, Worth gives insights to the fighting styles.
Audio commentary with Asian cinema expert Frank Djeng has him solo and giving a bit more insight into the production. He talks about how the actors had to be able to merge their fighting elements while keeping up the lion dancing.
Instructors of Death – Grindhouse Presentation (105:22) is the US cut with a not quite restored print. You can imagine watching this version inside a sleazy theater in Times Square.
‘Kung Fu and Dancing’ (13:22) is an interview with Robert Mak. He talks about how he had two black belts before he got into acting. He learned that he had to perform a Kung Fu dance for the screen. He talks about how Martial Club was his first film. He was thrilled by the experience.
‘Instructors of Death’ Trailer (1:03) is for the US release. It promises us a galaxy of Kung Fu stars.
Original Trailer (3:27) gets deep into the action and excitement.
Born To Be Bad (21:10) sits down with Johnny Wang to talk about his career as a badass in Martial Club and other films. He started acting in 1975 for Chang Cheh. This is when he started working with Lau Kar-Leung since he was choregraphing Chang’s fights. Johnny Wang prefers the fight scenes since he didn’t consider himself that great of an actor. He does not have nice memories of producer Mona Fong.
Disciples of Shaolin (25:16) catches up with stuntmen Hung San Nam and Tony Tam. The duo go deep into their fighting styles and how they ended u working for Shaw Brothers. They signed three-year deals and had to do any film Shaw appointed them. They go into the challenges of stunt work at that time.
The Right Hand Man (41:02) meets up with producer Lawrence Wong. He was hired as a secretary when he couldn’t get into college. He mentions the transition from dealing with foreign distributors to being a producer on the lot. He talks about making Martial Club.
Mini Poster with the original artwork and the new cover from Kung Fu Bob O’Brien.
Limited Edition Slipcase with new Artwork by Kung Fu Bob O’Brien
Limited Edition Collectors Booklet with Behind the Scenes Photos and writing by Critic and Author Barry Forshaw. It includes the poster for Instructors of Death with the great tagline “This is a tough school… if you fail you’re dead.”
88 Films presents Martial Club. Directed by Lau Kar Leung. Screenplay by Kuang Ni. Starring Kara Hui, Hsiao Ho, Wang Lung-wei, Gordon Liu & Ku Feng. Rating: Unrated. Running Time: 107 minutes. Release Date: July 19, 2022.
