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DRAGON ON FIRE (1979)
Xenon Entertainment
Directed by Godfrey Ho
Produced by Tomas Tang and Joseph Lai
Written by Szeto On
Cinematography by Yau Ki
Fight Choreography by Tang Tak Cheung
Music by Chen Chung, Mah Man
Cast: John Liu, Tino Wong, Phillip Ko, Dragon Lee, Bolo Yeung,
Video: Widescreen (2.00.1)
Audio: Dolby Digital Mono 2.0
Subtitles: None
Packaging: Keepcase
Chapter Stops: 5
Bonus Fight Footage

Love him or hate him, Godfrey Ho was at the forefront of Chinese independent moviemaking scene; and he is still in the business of cranking out schlocky, low budget actioners today. Widely regarded as the Roger Corman of Asia, Ho directed some of the most outlandish Kung Fu flicks of all, including ENTER THE INVINCIBLE HERO (1979), GRANDMASTER OF SHAOLIN KUNG FU (1983), EAGLE VS. SILVER FOX (1983), and FURY IN THE SHAOLIN TEMPLE (1982). Without a doubt, Godfrey Ho’s best old school property was the 1979 martial arts fest, DRAGON ON FIRE (also known as DRAGON AND THE HERO). Producers Tomas Tang and Joseph Lai recruited their greatest number of big name superstars for Godfrey Ho yet, including John Liu (FIGHTING ACE, SHOALIN EX-MONK, DEATH DUEL OF KUNG FU), Tino Wong (INVINCIBLE ARMOUR, INHERITOR OF KUNG FU, HITMAN IN THE HAND OF BUDDHA), Phillip Ko (EAGLE’S CLAW, SHAOLIN KUNG FU MYSTAGOGUE, TIGER OVER WALL), and Godfrey Ho regular Dragon Lee (MARTIAL MONKS OF THE SHAOLIN TEMPLE, ENTER THE INVINCIBLE HERO, SECRET NINJA ROARING TIGER). Xenon Entertainment presents DRAGON ON FIRE as part of their Wu Tang Classics series, in a surprisingly crisp widescreen print (for Xenon, that is).

The Shaolin Strike Rock Fist is an ancient form on unbeatable martial arts, known only between two friends. Once they have mastered it, these men are unable to handle the power they possess, causing them to turn against other. Because of their jealously, the Shaolin Strike Rock Fist is nearly lost forever. Both men teach the formidable style to their sons, who grow up to be great fighters named Tang (Tino Wong) and Tu Shen (John Liu). Chin How is a scrawny looking head of an illegal smuggling ring, who is confined to a wheelchair. His extracurricular activities include the staging of tournaments on the grounds of his comfy palace. For the fighters that win the matches, Chin How offers them employment in his gang. Mao Ti (Phillip Ko) is a mad martial artist who has crafted his own deadly techniques, pilfered from a variety of other Kung Fu styles. This callous individual goes around starting fights with the best martial artists around. He tests his skills against the fighters, and then murders them once he beats them. Chin How and the murderous Mao Ti form a mutual alliance that benefits both of them. One day, Tu Shen turns up at Chin How’s palace, challenging the best that the crime boss can provide. Chin How sends four men at him, which Tu Shen quickly makes mincemeat of with his high-kicking ability. Tu Shen takes up Chin How’s offer of employment. On a reconnaissance mission, Tu Shen witnesses two friends Tang and Ah Tien (Dragon Lee) perfecting their martial arts. Tu Sheng recognizes Tang practicing the Shaolin Strike Rock Fist style! Later on, Tu Shen confronts Tang on it and lets him know that he’s not the only person who has mastered it. Immediately, the amiable Tang becomes agitated and spurs Tu Shen to continue the rivalry shared by their fathers. Tu Shen reluctantly declines the offer.

That evening Tang’s friend Ah Tien gets ruthlessly attacked by Mao Ti. Ah Tien is no slouch himself and holds his own against the killer. Mao Ti mortally wounds Ah Tien, but the brave youth manages to elude death and make his way back his residence where Tang finds him. When Ah Tien informs him that a man in white attacked him, Tang thinks that Tu Shen is the culprit because he wears white clothes, too. Tang rushes out and when he finds Tu Shen, he initiates combat with him. Both men appear evenly matched until Tu Shen defeats Tang with his superior mastery of the Shaolin Strike Rock Fist. A battle weary Tang swears he’ll be back. He seeks out the advice of his old master, who teaches him the legendary secrets to counter the invincible style. When Tang is confident of his abilities, he returns to Chin How’s dwelling to again challenge Tu Shen. Chin How and his gang witness the evenly fought duel. Tu Shen congratulates Tang, and manges to convince him that they should avoid the circle of hate that destroyed their ancestors. Impressed with Tang’s new found fighting ability, Chin How offers him a job. Tang refuses the offer, and Chin How is offended because no one has ever turned him down. After Tu Shen and Tang leave the premises, Chin How sends his ally Mao Ti to finish off both men. Tu Shen, Tang, and Ah Tien must team up if they are too beat the lethal combination of Mao Ti and Chin How!

Though DRAGON ON FIRE sorely lacks a plot, Godfrey Ho’s exploitative directorial style is sure to strike a chord with cult movie enthusiasts. The movie has some loose humor and often smartly parodies the martial arts genre. For instance, in every single independent martial arts comedy, there is an elder ragamuffin character who excels at Kung Fu while intoxicated, and often trains the young hero. Godfrey Ho turns this cliché on its head by having his ‘Sam the Seed’ being a pot-head! Yes, this guy is puffing away on a bong while training Tino Wong! Via a flash back sequence, Ho shows a dog attack the character of Chin How and bite off his penis! This prompts Chin How to develop a martial arts form based on canines (ridiculous). Later on in the film, he develops rabies and goes around trying to bite people. Chin How eats frogs and bugs for nourishment. Then Ho incorporates a Bruceploitation angle with Dragon Lee doing his best Bruce Lee routine. If Bruceploitation isn’t your thing, give it a chance as Dragon Lee is actually bigger and more intimidating than Bruce. The choreography is typical of the period and mired in front angle, zoom, and reverse action shots. However, the cream of the action choreography is thrilling! With talent like John Liu, Philip Ko, Tino Wong, and Dragon Lee, the combined efforts of these men make even the limited skills of Godfrey Ho look good. Philip Ko looks especially phenomenal with his patchwork form of martial arts. John Liu is his usual gravity defying self. Liu is a lot like Godfrey Ho in the sense that he gets no respect from industry folks or the fans. When in fact he can hang with the veteran bootmasters like Hwang Jang Li, Tan Tao Liang, and even Venom kicker Sun Chien. Except for the bit with the Dog Fu, the final fight sequence is highly entertaining.

SIGHT

Xenon provides a nice widescreen print for this DVD version of DRAGON ON FIRE. The movie was filmed in 2.35.1 and this transfer recreates most of the compositions at approximately 2.00.1. The quality of the print varies from very good to mediocre, with grain and occasional scratches. The image is bit dark and the deep blacks keep things in perspective. Godfrey Ho filmed much the movie at night or in darkened interiors, so there are no lush panoramic scenes that common in many movies of this type. Neither the sets nor the costumes are all that impressive. However, the fight choreography most certainly is. Except for some reverse angle leaps, the fight choreography is very effective. Ho employs more zoom shots any other director. There’s no cheesy speed-ups, and everyone moves like a genuine martial artist. John Liu uses his dexterous feet like I’ve never seen him before, but he still manages to employ the Strike Rock Fist and other styles. Xenon’s widescreen transfer captures all the glory of these realistic fights.

SOUND

DRAGON ON FIRE is presented in Dolby Digital Mono 2.0. The audio is very good in all areas, except that there is some background noise present in many scenes. It becomes really noticeable at higher volume levels. The sound mix overall renders solid fidelity with varying frequency levels. The bizarre sound effects are the kind you’ll hear only in a Godfrey Ho movie. The kicks, chops, and leaps come through loud and clear. Whenever someone employs the Strike Rock Fist, it makes the sound of wings flapping. The dubbing I’m afraid is not very good. In fact, its downright annoying. Yet DRAGON ON FIRE is so over-the-top that the dubbing kind of fits the subject matter. The dialog is prominent in the mix and does not distort at any time. Like nearly all of John Liu’s films, the movie employs a Spaghetti Western soundtrack that makes the action and drama even more surreal. The music is low in the mix, though and should be tweaked up slightly.

FEATURES

CONCLUSION

DRAGON ON FIRE is probably the best film from Godfrey Ho’s prolific career. The story and characterizations are flawed, but the plotting is merely an excuse to link together the great fight sequences of John Liu, Philip Ko, Tino Wong, etc. As a serious martial arts drama, DRAGON ON FIRE does not cut it, but as an outrageous Kung Fu cult oddity, there’s not much out there that can match the weirdness of it. This title could be the dark horse of the entire Wu Tang Classics collection. Xenon gives us the best transfer for their line of martial arts DVDs yet, and it’s about time. If your tastes run toward wild and the bizarre, DRAGON ON FIRE should be right up your alley.

Cheech and Chong Would Love DRAGON ON FIRE!

-- Tony Mustafa

DRAGON ON FIRE is available from HKFlix.com

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