Audience Member
Sang Kuan Chun is ready to retire. After all, he's done it all and has nothing to prove until he gets a note that says that he's not the best and must challenge the seven grandmasters to prove that he — and his style — are the best. Sang Kuan Chun goes on a journey with his four best students — and soon picks up Siu Ying who wants revenge — to challenge each of the schools. And let me tell you, this is not bs, as I once was part of a small martial arts group that would go school to school and challenge their students to prove that we had the best fighting style. Look — I'm no master of chess boxing and am just one of those gotta be dumb, gotta be tough fighters. So just imagine walking into a martial arts school in the suburbs and being like, "We want to fight your best guy." I felt like Yoji Anjo challenging Rickson Gracie a lot of the time.
Before Sang Kuan Chun's teacher died, he gave him a book of the Pai Mei Twelve Strikes. There was a masked man who stole three of those strikes — and also set up Sang Kuan Chun to kill Siu Ying's father — and who is mathematically the better fighter because he knows all twelve of the deadly strikes. That man teaches Siu Ying the final strikes and leads him to nearly kill the teacher until he remembers the rule of never killing anyone if it can be avoided.
Once the masked man is revealed, there's still one final battle.
Look, 7 Grandmasters isn't the best martial arts movie ever, but it's got a story that breaks from the norm and the idea that there's always one more strike and always someone better than you rings true. It's definitely a blast to watch.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
02/06/23
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Audience Member
After being declared Kung Fu World Champion by the Emperor of China, an aging martial experts embarks on a journey to defeat each regional champion in an effort to prove himself worthy of the title. Along the way, a country bumpkin latches onto his group declaring that he wants to become their student. Lots of great fight choreography in this one, although the shitty full-frame copy they have up on Hulu obscures a lot of the action.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/01/23
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Audience Member
the final 30 minutes propel this film from good to excellent, as the story comes together and the kung fu ramps up a notch. in some ways this is a film that exists solely to put the fighting on display, but the story is serviceable and the choreography was phenomenal for the time. one of the great kung fu classics.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/12/23
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Audience Member
7 Grandmasters (8/10) - Many kung fu fans consider this film one of the better kung fu films to come from Taiwan in the late 70s. Though Hong Kong studios like Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest were famous for making kung fu films many smaller independent companies and producers(especially from Taiwan) made some very entertaining kung fu films during the genre's heyday in the late 70s. Joseph Kuo was one of these producers and he made a slew of popular kung fu films in the 70s including the classic 7 Grandmasters.
7 Grandmasters is partially based on a true story about an aging kung fu master who goes around China challenging various kung fu masters to see who is supreme in the martial world. Though not totally original the film has a fast pace, a truckload of excellent fight scenes and a nice dose of humor and charm.
Along the old master's journey across China he picks up a fellow traveller who desperately wants to be one of his students. This young fellow is played by Yi-min Li and he eventually becomes the focus of the film. He reminded me of Jackie Chan since he was very acrobatic and tended to mug for the camera a lot.
7 Grandmasters is basically a nonstop actionfest and the variety in kung fu styles(including fan favorites like Monkey, Mantis and Pai Mei)on display also helps keep the action fresh throughout the film.
Corey Yuen not only has a small role in the film as a master of swords but he also doubled as the action director for the film. Though one of his earliest films his sense of style and flair for acrobatic fight scenes can be seen in the 7 Grandmasters.
The 7 Grandmasters is on a Tokyo Shock/Media Blasters DVD that comes in a boxset of three martial arts films and the anamorphic release looks mighty fine for a late 70s kung fu film.
7 Grandmasters doesn't break any new ground in the originally department but it is a solid kung fu film that shouldn't be missed by fans of the genre.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/05/23
Full Review
Audience Member
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[font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=white]Sang Kuan Chun is an aging magistrate who is known as a martial arts expert. Chun has three current students and a daughter. Before he retires, Chun decides to travel the countryside and challenge the 7 other martial experts at the leading martial arts schools. While traveling the countryside, an orphaned boy asks Chun to take him on as a student. Chun has enough to worry about without taking on a new student; however, the orphan will stay persistent in his efforts to be amongst Chuns final students. [/color][/size][/font]
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[font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=white]Even if you were wearing the invincible armor you would still die.[/color][/size][/font]
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[font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=white]Joseph Kuo, director of Rickshaw Driver, 18 Bronzemen I & II, Born Invincible, Ninja Checkmate, and 36 Deadly Styles, delivers 7 Grandmasters. The storyline for this picture is wonderfully depicted and well presented. The martial arts choreography was stupendous and the settings were well selected. The cast was brilliant and included Jack Long, Li Yi Min, and Mark Long.[/color][/size][/font]
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[font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=white]This technique is called falling down.[/color][/size][/font]
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[font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=white]I am a huge fan of Joseph Kuos pictures. I have yet to see 18 Bronzemen 2, but I have enjoyed all of his other films listed above. This picture, 7 Grandmasters, is my favorite film of his to date. Jack Long also has an impressive list of movies on his resume. I strongly recommend this film to fans of the martial arts genre. It may not have an A list martial arts star (Bruce Lee, Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Gordon Li, Lo Leih, or Donnie Yen) in the cast, but this is still an outstanding martial arts picture.[/color][/size][/font]
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[font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=white]Hows it taste?[/color][/size][/font]
[font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=white]Like the ass.[/color][/size][/font]
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[font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=white]Grade: A-[/color][/size][/font]
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
01/19/23
Full Review
Audience Member
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[font=Arial Black]Plot: An aging kung fu master wants to prove himself the grand master of all china before he retires and sets about travelling the country seeking out worthy opponent. but when the undefeated master returns home he discovers that there is one more contest to be fought. But why has his young disciple issued the challenge and what dark secrets does he hide? All is revealed in the breath takeing twist ending.[/font]
[font=Arial Black]Review: 7 GrandMasters is an all-time Kung-Fu Cult Classic. A great Blend of comedy and action. The martial arts in this movie is the best I've seen. Some crazy fight scenes with different fighting styles like monkey, mantis, tiger and more. I waz very impressed. Great fights and good laughs. This is goin down as one of my favorite ol' skool martial arts movie of all time. This movie is probably not for everyone, this movie is for the Kung-Fu fanantics or just likes ol' skool Kung-Fu.[/font]
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/25/23
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