The most action-packed documentary about Stock Wushu Weapons ever made.
Legendary Weapons of China, a.k.a Legendary Weapons of Kung Fu is a 1982 Shaw Brothers Martial Arts Movie starring Hsiao-Hou (who become famous thanks to Mad Monkey Kung Fu two years ago),Kara Wai, Lau Kar-leung (who also directs), Alexander Fu Sheng and Gordon Liu.
Tien Hao (Hsiao) is a martial artist seeking to eliminate all experts trained in the skills of all 18 legendary weapons, due to being instructed by the superiors of his sect, the Boxer Clan. A run-in with Fang Shau-Ching (Kara) while both of them are stalking a potential target had Tien Hao unintentionally bunking with Fang's uncle, Yu (Lau Kar-leung) and upon learning the dark secret behind the Boxer Clan's indoctrinations, and both uncle's and niece's intentions to overthrow the Clan, Tien Hao decide to turn against his superiors and join their cause.
While the movie plays out like most typical Shaw kung-fu offerings of it's time, it's however worth noting that true to it's title, the film gives major focus to all eighteen types of weapons
used in wushu; notably, the film's final battle in a courtyard full of weapon racks allow characters to have free rein of choice to access literally every wushu-related weapon for their duel.
Legendary Tropers of Kung Fu:
- Action Girl: Kara Wai's Fang Shau-Ching, who gets to kick plenty of ass alongside the boys and supervise Tien Hao in his inevitable training sequence.
- Advertised Extra: For the DVD release of the film, for some reason Celestial Media feels the need to plaster Gordon Liu's face all over the covers◊; in the actual film Gordon Liu's Monk Ti Tan is not even the sixth most important character in the movie, gets himself soundly beaten by by Uncle Yu, and dissappears before the third act could start, where the movie never mention Gordon's character for the remaining half an hour.
- Armed Legs: Tien Hao have twin swords hidden in his trousers, and when ambushing Uncle Yu, sprouts swords underneath his pants and repeatedly lashes out by kicking.
- Blind Obedience: The Boxer Clan are practically indoctrinated since birth to be obedient to the point of suicidal. If they're Ordered to Die by their bosses, they will comply. Case in point? In their introduction scene, two clan members are ordered to commit suicide, by digging out their eyes and clawing out their nuts. They did exactly just that.
- Cool Old Guy: Uncle Yu, the uncle and mentor to Fang Shau-Ching, and an experienced martial artist in his own right.
- Ear Ache: The battle between Monk Ti Tan and Uncle Yu; the former is defeated when Uncle Yu lands a Finger Poke of Doom into Monk Ti Tan's left ear. One scene later, Monk Ti Tan is visibly bleeding out his ear hole.
- Ensemble Cast: Numerous Shaw megastars including Kara Wai, Gordon Liu, Hsiao-Ho, Alexander Fu, Lau Kar-leung and the like shows up in the film, and play notable roles.
- Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting: If a character have a name and more than seven lines of dialogue, they're proficient in kung-fu and a highly competent ass-kicker in some way.
- Evil Counterpart: "Evil" is a bit of a strong word, but in a way, Gordon Liu's Monk Ti Tan can be considered this to Liu's earlier role of Monk San Te in The 36th Chamber of Shaolin. Both monks are accomplished ass-kickers who fights for the name of injustice, but unlike San Te who is righteous and abides by the Shaolin code of honor, Ti Tan on the other hand is willing to allow brainwashing and indoctrination on his recruits, and order them to die to prove their allegiance to their respective sects.
- Fashionable Asymmetry: Uncle Yu, the resident Cool Old Guy wears a red oriental robe with only the left sleeve intact during the final battle.
- Martial Arts Staff: Monk Ti Tan uses a metal staff during his fight against Uncle Yu and Tien Hao.
- Nigh-Invulnerable: Wu Mo the Charlatan, whose inner qi can deflect stabs and spear thrushes.
- Nobody Here but Us Birds: One of the funnier moments in the film: when Tien Hao and Fang Shau-ching, both of them not on the same side, tries sneaking on Monk Ti Tan from an attic, but ends up confronting each other. To avoid detection from Ti Tan, both Tien Hao and Shau-Ching start making meowing and squeaking noises, pretending to be a cat and mouse in the attic, while furiously fighting one another.
- Parasol of Pain: Wu Mo the Charlatan uses a bamboo umbrella as his preferred weapon, using it to deflect arrows shot at his direction, and then for kicking ass. One of his highlight moments involves him kicking the asses of four umbrella-wielding mooks.
- Ring of Fire: Monk Ti Tan can summon a flaming circle around him by making a ring with his sash and setting it alight with his chi.
- Stock Wushu Weapons: The entire film is about this, with all eighteen of them being featured in numerous fight scenes. The movie actually opens with Tien Hao and Fang Shau-ching using several of the typical wushu weapons to take down plenty of faceless mooks, and the final battle had Uncle Yu duelling in a courtyard filled with weapon racks containing all of the weapon types.
- Sweet Polly Oliver: Fang Shao-Ching spends the bulk of her screentime dressed as a male. Justified by the film's setting in the Ming Dynasty, where women aren't allowed to roam freely in public in the capital city. Tien Hao even said she "looks exactly like a man.", which is more of an Informed Attribute, because she... is kung fu-girl icon Kara Wai in men's clothes and a hat.
- Title In: Used in the final battle, every time a new wushu weapon gets featured, expect a large, bolded title card to announce what sort of weapon is being used. Staff. Sword. Three-Sectioned Staff. Chain Whip. Halberd. Meteor Hammer. Double Tiger Hooks. Snake Halberd. Battle Ax. Butterfly Darts. Broadsword. Triple-Pronged Tiger Fork. Timber Shield. Double Crutches. Fistcuffs.
- Training Montage: It's a Shaw Brothers film with kung fu in it, so naturally this comes pre-packaged.
- Unknown Rival: Tien Hao is on a quest to kill off every rival martial artist who knew the skills of all 18 titular weapons, regardless of their allegiance. This is naturally confusing th Uncle Yu, Fang's mentor, who was ambushed by Tien and had to knock him out in self-defense, and later as Tien recovers from his injuries, upon waking up one od the first thing he did is attacking Uncle Yu again.
- Voodoo Doll: Wu Mo ends up falling under a voodoo doll's control halfway through the film, where his movements are limited to those performed by the doll representing him. Hilariously enough, Wu Mo is somehow able to fight off a whole bunch of mooks by having his voodoo doll mimicking fighting moves. And then hilarity ensues when three of Wu's incompetent sidekicks get their hands on the doll and start passing around themselves, which translates in Wu Mo hopping, skipping, and sumersaulting himself all over the place in a ridiculous mamnner. The doll's spell is broken when Wu, being maniipulated by the doll, crashes into his partners and sends all of them, doll included, into a creek, where the spell is dispelled by water.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: The Mouse being Wu Mo the Charlatan, played by Shaw A-lister Alexander Fu Sheng, who had a prominent role in the film's first half, sees plenty of action, and provides one of the funniest fight scenes involving getting puppeted by a voodoo doll. But after breaking away from the voodoo curse and snapping out, Wu Mo was last seen getting out of a creek, drenching wet, and suddenly the scene cuts and never goes back to him.
