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A Hard Way to Die

R 1979 1h 26m Adventure List
Tomatometer 0 Reviews Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
A murdered family's only surviving son learns martial arts from a Chinese physician to exact revenge.

Audience Reviews

View All (2) audience reviews
Audience Member Billy Chong was one of the biggest mysteries in Hong Kong films--he should have been a superstar up there with Jackie Chan and the best, but instead we only have a handful of films to remember him by; SUN DRAGON (aka A HARD WAY TO DIE), JADE CLAW (aka CRYSTAL FIST), SUPER POWER, FISTFUL OF TALONS, KUNG FU EXECUTIONER, KUNG FU FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE, BLACK BELT KARATE, and KUNG FU ZOMBIES. Out of these films SUN DRAGON is arguably the best. Set in Arizona during the Great Depression the story concerns Shao-Chong(Billy Chong) who is sent to live with his grandfather in America after rescuing a girl from the clutches of the mayor's son and a pack of would-be rapists. Gramps has relocated however, so while they attempt to locate him Chong takes a job at a Chinese owned bar driving off trouble makers. Meanwhile a gang of robbers headed by "Jimmy" (Louis Neglia, a U.S karate title holder) have killed off all but one member of a black family and are using their home as a hideout. The surviving son, Tom (Carl Scott), barely escapes with his life. Shao-Chong and a friend find him and take him to the home of Dr. Ma a kung fu teacher and Herbalist who nurses Tom back to health and ultimately teaches him kung fu so that he may avenge his family. Pretty stock stuff for an old school m/a flick. But what sets this flick apart from the rest is the high quality of the m/a action and the sheer physical ability of its two stars, Chong and Scott! Chong has the animal ferocity of Bruce Lee--when he sets his sights on an opponent you know they're gonna get beat up one side and down the other, and yet he also has the comic ability of Jackie Chan combined with the impish appeal of Alexander Fu Sheng. The guy has it all wrapped up in one tightly muscled good looking little package. Scott is no slouch either. He wasn't out of his teens when he made this flick and yet he holds his own and delivers some of the slickest fights you'll ever lay eyes on! This movie is sheer old school magic! Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Audience Member Un bon kung-fu movie des 70's avec de l'action non-stop, des combats sympa (quoi que parfois un peu repetitifs) et souvent bien foutus. Et la fin est terrible ! Poutrant Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews
A Hard Way to Die

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis A murdered family's only surviving son learns martial arts from a Chinese physician to exact revenge.
Director
Shan Hua
Producer
Ming Pao, Vee-ing Shaw
Screenwriter
Chan Wei Lin
Production Co
Eternal Film Company
Rating
R
Genre
Adventure
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 25, 2017
Runtime
1h 26m