Xenon Home Video continues their Joseph Kuo collection with the release of the director’s underrated DRAGON’S CLAWS. Kuo was the man behind the highly successful 18 BRONZEMEN series, which proved that even independent producers outside of Golden Harvest or the Shaw Brothers could produce quality martial arts films. Kuo struck gold again in 1978 with the classic SEVEN GRANDMASTERS, starring Jack Long. The success of this film led to Kuo directing some worthy follow-ups, including BORN INVINCIBLE, THE MYSTERY OF CHESS BOXING, THE 36 DEADLY STYLES, and WAR OF THE SHAOLIN TEMPLE (coincidentally, all these films are available on DVD from Xenon and Tai Seng). Legend has it that DRAGON’S CLAWS was originally intended as a Jackie Chan vehicle (remember, this was before Jackie was a commodity) and Kuo hired Hwang Jang Li as the villain to rekindle their chemistry from DRUNKEN MASTER. Chan apparently backed out and the producers instead hired Jimmy Liu (nephew of famous actor/choreographer/director Chia Liang Liu), who worked with Chan on 36 CRAZY FISTS. Jimmy Liu does not possess the charisma of a Jackie Chan or a Gordon Liu, but he does possess enough martial arts skills to go toe-to-toe with the legendary Korean high-kicker Hwang Jang Li. Of all the old-school directors, the films of Joseph Kuo are widely available on DVD, with the exception of the elusive SEVEN GRANDMASTERS. Though DRAGON’S CLAWS isn’t as good as that classic, it shows Joseph Kuo’s determination to prove that the independents can compete with the major studios.

Master Leung Tzu (Liu Ho Nien) is a master of Dragon Boxing, and teaches hopeful students the techniques known as Pearl of the Dragon, Emerging Dragon, and Claws of the Dragon. One day during practice, Master Leung collapses from an unknown ailment. An evil renegade member of the Dragon Boxing clan named Ling Fung (Hwang Jang Li) picks this inopportune time to break into Master Leung’s school and challenge the stricken master to a duel. As Master Leung can barely stand (never mind fight), his son Leung Chow (Jimmy Liu) steps up to fight in his father’s place. Ling Fung is amused by Leung Chow’s act of bravery, but still proceeds to mop the floor with the young man. He uses the secret fourth technique of Dragon Boxing (which is known only to the high-ranking masters) to seriously injure Lung Chow. This fourth technique is more like a curse—it leaves five marks on the it’s victim and renders them unable to improve in the martial arts. Ling Fung offers a cure for Master Leung’s sickness, in exchange for his father’s Dragon’s Claw medallion, but Leung Chow and his mother refuse to turn over the power and position that goes with the medallion. Meanwhile, a drunken old tramp (Wang Pao Chien) stumbles onto the grounds of the school, and a stressed out Leung Chow literally boots him in the ass and chases him away.

Lung Chow’s mother is also a master of Dragon Boxing, and does the best she can to train her son. But Ling Fung’s Dragon’s Claw curse hinders his progress. Master Leung relinquishes possession of the Dragon’s Claw medallion to Ling Fung and his enforcers, Red Man and Green Man. The triumvirate attend a local restaurant and celebrate their acquisition of the precious amulet. That’s when Ling Fung notices that the medallion is a fake! The fighting-mad trio head back to Master Leung’s school to find that Leung Chow and his mother have fled. Ling Fung takes his aggression out on the students and finally kills Master Leung himself. Hidden deep in the mountains is a area where Leung Chow’s mother struggles in vein to teach him the secrets of Dragon Boxing. She tells her son about her estranged uncle, who she hasn’t seen in years may be the only one able to break the curse. Leung Chow runs into an old friend who claims that a crazy old drifter taught him the secrets of Dragon Boxing. He goes looking for the old man, and finds the same tramp from the beginning of the film. Leung Chow kowtows to the old master in hopes that he will teach him how to defend himself. The old man forces Leung Chow to imbibe a special liquid that cancels the effects of the Dragon’s Claw curse. Leung Chow then undergoes rigorous training to progress his combat skills to the level of his hated rivals. Then Leung Chow seeks vengeance against Ling Fung and his disciples for the death of Master Leung!

At the core of DRAGON’S CLAWS is the student-seeking-revenge plot that is typical of the genre. In this case, Leung Chow is driven to avenge the death of his father. But Chiang Ping Han’s script includes some additional subtext to differentiate DRAGON’S CLAWS from similar student/teacher relationships shown in other Kung Fu films. For example, Leung Chow’s mother handles most of her son’s training. At a certain point in the film, Leung Chow learns that his respected father is not the man he was led to believe, since Master Leung has a dark side that his son does not know about. The whole sub plot about the old tramp is handled much differently than in similar productions. There is several lengthy Dragon Boxing (a rare form of Chinese Wushu that mimics the movement of an attacking Dragon) training sequences to help move the plot along.

If you’ve followed the career of Joseph Kuo, then you’ve noticed how he manipulates moods and humor. In BORN INVINCIBLE, Kuo maintains a serious tone and sense of urgency throughout the film. In MYSTERY OF CHESS BOXING, Kuo presents light humor that is as perfectly timed as the break-neck fight choreography. His humor usually takes a back seat to the dramatic elements, and never seems forced like other directors. In DRAGON’S CLAWS, Kuo again establishes a stark mood for DRAGON’S CLAWS with some dark photography. The comedy in the film is realized with some weird and wonderful moments. For example, the strangest scene in DRAGON’S CLAWS shows the old man approach four little boys. He has them piss into a jug in full view of the camera. Then he forces Jimmy Liu to drink the kids’ piss which cures his ailment. As I indicated, the film is NOT a full fledged comedy spectacle like the works of Sammo Hung, but when the humor comes it is legitimate. There are moments, though when the dramatic elements get compromised by the comedy bits.

Hwang Jang Li is excellent as the hated Ling Fung. He is quite simply the greatest (and most dangerous) bad guy in Kung Fu cinema. Sure, there may have been better villains in other films, but how many of those actors has a track record like Hwang Jang Li? And no one but Li can deliver a kick with his intensity. Ask Jimmy Liu, who spends way too much time getting kicked in the head for this movie. Liu may have won the final battle of DRAGON’S CLAWS, but he was certainly worked over by the superior super kicker. Liu never worked again in an old school flick after this, and I can only speculate that the jousting experience with Hwang Jang Li turned him off to Kung Fu cinema (after all, if you are in the respected Liu family, you have connections and can get film work any time). Jimmy Liu showed up again as a secondary character in his uncle’s DRUNKEN MASTER 2.