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Five Fingers of Death

Play trailer Poster for Five Fingers of Death R 1973 1h 38m Action Play Trailer Watchlist
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86% Tomatometer 7 Reviews 81% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
A student (Lieh Lo) of kung fu meets resistance on his way to a major Chinese tournament.
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Five Fingers of Death

Critics Reviews

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Ed Travis Cinapse 02/15/2022
King Boxer is just plain cool as hell Go to Full Review
Matt Brunson Film Frenzy 02/04/2022
2.5/4
The film that began the whole kung fu craze in the United States. Go to Full Review
Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com 11/18/2013
A
[VIDEO ESSAY] Before Bruce Lee's "Enter the Dragon" set a new standard for the American public's newfound obsession with martial arts movies in 1973, another, more traditional, Chinese Kung Fu movie had already set the stage for its success. Go to Full Review
Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid 07/06/2007
Despite the convoluted plot and large tapestry of characters, the film is packed with amazing moments, crisply shot and edited. Go to Full Review
Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews 04/04/2007
C
Helped bring on the kung fu craze of the '70s. Go to Full Review
Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com 08/22/2005
3/5
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Audience Reviews

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Lee B Dec 3 This film is a banger - from the fight sequences to the soundtrack and the palm fighting synth noises are brilliant - A wonder of a movie - spot on See more Stephen C @bob25009 Aug 5 Success in 1 hour and 38 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dubbed and subtitled in worldwide studios!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more DanTheMan 2 03/30/2024 Groundbreaking for its time and a clear influence on the works of Tarantino, Five Fingers of Death does tend to drag its feet throughout its not-so-subtle influences and somewhat tedious clichés. However, for what it may lack in originality, it more than makes up for in sheer determination and exceptionally bloody violence, so respect where respect is due. Steeped in melodrama, the film hardly skimps on plot lines, creating this large entangled web of characters all intertwining into a singular and often extremely convoluted thread. At the same time, its hardcore action is well-shot and staged with a brutal tendency for gratuitous barbarity and eye-gouging mayhem. Capped off by a score that features the likes of John Barry's music to Diamonds Are Forever and the theme to frigging Ironside, Five Fingers of Death remains just as thrilling today as it did upon initial release; not only for how its creators synthesized their influences but for how the film paved the way for so much of what followed it... In other words, Lo Lieh ran so Bruce Lee could soar. See more Robson C 12/28/2023 Um jovem lutador sai de sua cidade para entrar em uma escola de artes marciais e participar do torneio. Lá, ele cai nas graças do mestre que o ensina a técnica mortal dos punhos de aço. Porém, o mestre de uma escola concorrente, decidido a que o seu filho se torne o campeão do torneio, manda mercenários atacarem as outras escolas para eliminar a concorrência. Este filme é um grande clássico dos Shaw Brothers. Tem a estrutura de uma história clássica de bem contra o mal, inveja, vingança e arrependimento, tudo muito bem dosado com excelentes sequências de artes marciais. Apesar de um pouco de exagero, nada estraga o prazer de assistir a este filme, que não poupa sangue na tela. See more Taylor L 01/17/2023 Questionable pacing. Questionable effects and set design. Questionable subtitles. But also ... Sweet showdowns. Sweet fight choreography. Sweet sound mixing for the punches and kicks. It's perfect. It's a Shaw Brothers kung fu film. You don't hear about Five Fingers of Death much these days, as early martial arts film is the realm of Bruce Lee alone if seen through the lens of pop culture. But this film was what really kicked off the kung fu movie craze (so-called 'chopsocky') in America, with a US release that just predated Lee in The Big Boss a month or so later. This may not have been the pinnacle of 'serious' martial arts film seen in retrospect, but upon release it was a revelation and its camp style coupled with narrative creativity makes it a classic still. 50% of this movie is surprise ambushes, but outside of that there's so much going on - a humble beginning with a kindly teacher, a hometown love interest, a rigid training regimen (with time passing in exposition), villains that look evil, brutal mercenaries from abroad, a secret deadly technique, betrayals, a fighting tournament, and then more ambushes because this movie really likes ambushes. You can't look at the story too hard because it begins to fray at the edges, plus the characters tend to be pretty inconsistent, but this movie is still a banger and worthwhile for any fan of the genre, or action in general. Lee brought screen presense and physical insanity, Chan brought antics and acrobatics, but early Shaw Brothers has this great aesthetic that neither of them can match. Plus, that siren sound effect from Kill Bill was lifted from this movie. Tarantino considers it a favorite, apparently. (4/5) See more 01/01/2017 The Eye and Music Vengeance theme that started the Kill Bill. The film's narrative was too long. It could've been shortened. See more Read all reviews
Five Fingers of Death

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Movie Info

Synopsis A student (Lieh Lo) of kung fu meets resistance on his way to a major Chinese tournament.
Director
Jeong Chang-hwa
Producer
Run Run Shaw
Screenwriter
Yang Chiang
Production Co
Shaw Brothers
Rating
R
Genre
Action
Original Language
Chinese
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 17, 2016
Runtime
1h 38m
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