Kung Fu: Cinema of Vengeance by Verina Glaessner

Kung Fu: Cinema of Vengeance by Verina Glaessner

This book, written in 1974, gives an overview of the kung fu movie and some of the biggest stars in the game at that time: Bruce Lee, Angela Mao, Jimmy Wang Yu, David Chiang and Ti Lung. The book starts off with a few chapters of what a kung fu movie is, before moving on to a history of the Shaw Brothers studio, which can also be found in Once Upon a Time in China. There is some discussion on the lesser stars (i.e. Shih Szu) and directors: Chu Yuan, Chang Cheh, Lo Wei, etc. After that, the book more or less focuses on the actors I've already mentioned, before ending with a chapter discussing the future of the genre.

There is a lot of errata, mainly when it comes to years/release dates. I'm surprised that a book written at that time could have so many difficulties getting the years down. The book also talks about Ti Lung, David Chiang and Chang Cheh leaving the Shaw Brothers in 1973 to make their own company. And while it does mention the Hong Kong movie quota in Thailand, it doesn't know (or couldn't know) that latter event influenced the former. Also, I find it interesting that Shih Szu gets more attention than Polly Shang Kwan Ling Feng and Cheng Pei Pei get in the books. The former is mentioned once by name. The latter gets mentioned a few times, but mainly in conjunction of her working with Ms. Shih. 

The chapters about the individual performers are more or less short critical reviews (2-3 paragraphs) of a handful of their films. There is not a lot of background information on the players themselves. Glaessner thinks that The Big Boss was Bruce Lee's best movie, which is an uncommon but fascinating proposition. The chapter on Bruce discusses all of his films, refers to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as a "Harlem Globetrotter", and points out that "Kung Fu" was based on a Bruce Lee idea for a series called "Warrior." While she dismisses a lot of Jimmy Wang Yu movies as cheap, cookie-cutter productions, she does enjoy a handful of them. She even says that One-Armed Boxer is one of the best movies of the genre. In the Angela Mao chapter, she says that Mao's best film was The Fate of Lee Khan and is more appreciative of Lady Whirlwind than the more-polished Hap Ki Do. In the David Chiang/Ti Lung chapter, she goes over a whole bunch of their films.

The book is interesting as a time capsule. It also has a WHOLE BUNCH of black-and-white photos and stills. It also has some boobies, as there are stills of naked women from the films Legends of Lust; Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan; and The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires in it. Midway through is a series of color pictures of movie posters. If you can get it for cheap, I recommend it, despite the ongoing difficulties of getting the release years right (even in 1974).