Chen Kuan-tai prepares to demonstrate just why he is known throughout the realm as KILLER CONSTABLE.
as part of her destiny. The ba- sics of the plot have been lifted wholesale from Toshio Fujita’s Japanese classic from four years earlier, LADY SNOWBLOOD [VW 44:13], and while BROKEN OATH is a much less stylish and more conventionally produced effort, it remains an exciting showcase for Mao and served as a worthy end for her tenure at Golden Harvest. Korean-born director Jeong Chang-hwa repeats the 3-D-style of combat he utilized in KING BOXER [VW 137:48] with blades, swords, spears, poles and fire constantly shooting out into the camera. Talented kicker Bruce Leung Siu-lung (who would make a memorable return to movies, after a long hiatus, in 2004 as “The Beast” in KUNG FU HUSTLE) acquits himself well in a supporting role, and Sammo Hung Kam-po, Han Ying-chieh (FISTS OF FURY), Yuen Yat-chor, and Lam Ching- ying are among the numerous henchmen Mao stylishly punches and kicks into a bloody pulp, courtesy of choreographers Yuen Woo-ping and Hsu Hsia. By conventional standards, the 2.35:1 presentation on this Hong Kong import is pretty bad.
Derived from a somewhat worn 35mm positive, the image has low detail levels, light blacks and frequent instability caused by the conversion from PAL (the source would run 96m 45s at 24 fps). The Mandarin audio is thin and shrill even by the standards of the time. Despite these maladies, the transfer remains a step up from the way that most kung fu films look on DVD, so collectors will likely still be appeased. English and Chinese (Traditional and Simplified) subtitles are included, while the Hong Kong trailer and a photo gallery (nothing but five lobby cards) are the only supple- ments on offer. The low price of this and other Joy Sales “Legend- ary Collection” titles is most wel- come, though it should be noted that these discs are apparently not DVDs in the familiar sense. Judging by how noticeably thin- ner and flexible our copy of BRO- KEN OATH is, we believe it may be an Ecodisc, a more environ- mentally friendly alternative often used for discs given away with newspapers and magazines. The standard “DVD Video” logo is nowhere to be found on the packaging or platter, replaced instead by one with a different
font saying “DVD Joy Sales.” We assume these Ecodiscs are as durable as standard DVDs and had no problems with this title. However, our copy of another Angela Mao title from Joy Sales (WHEN TAEKWONDO STRIKES), that was manufactured in the same manner, made a loud rat- tling noise in every deck we’ve tried it in.
KILLER CONSTABLE
Maan yan gan (Cantonese) Wan ren jin (Mandarin) “Beheader of 10,000 Persons” aka KARATE EXTERMINATOR aka LIGHTNING KUNG FU 1980, Intercontinental Video/ Xploited Cinema, DD-2.0/16:9/ LB/ST/+, $15.95, 91m 31s, DVD-3
By John Charles
After two million taels worth of gold bars are stolen from the royal treasury, ruthless Manchu chief constable Leng Tian-ying (THE BOXER FROM SHANTUNG’s Chen Kuan-tai) is dispatched to apprehend the five thieves re- sponsible. Commanding a small company of men, Leng (whose refusal to take prisoners has earned him the brand of Killer
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