Wow! Such a good movie.

What makes it different from others?

Brilliant and touching

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

CHINATOWN KID is yet another Shaw Brothers kung fu movie that feels fresh and different despite the fact that the studio made literally hundreds of similar movies during this era. Like so many others, this one is directed by Chang Cheh, although this one is a bit unusual as it features the fresh-faced star Alexander Fu Sheng in the leading role instead of one of Cheh's earlier favoured stars like Ti Lung or David Chiang. The Venoms also play in support, on the very cusp of stardom before 1978's FIVE DEADLY VENOMS.What I liked about this film was its setting. It's a modern day story that feels more convincingly modern than something like THE ANGRY GUEST. Fu Sheng is a country bumpkin who finds himself transported off to the USA to begin a new life, before inevitably falling in with some drug-dealing criminal gangs who run San Francisco's Chinatown. The story is thematic and densely-plotted in places, featuring multiple rival factions and characters and of course a multitude of thrilling action scenes.I saw the Chinese version of this film which is some twenty minutes shorter than the international release. As such it feels very fast-paced and never boring. Fu Sheng has never been more innocently likable than he is here and he's given fine character support from the underrated Sun Chien, an actor I thought never really got his dues as he's always very good and should be better-known in the west. The exemplary supporting cast features Wang Lung Wei as a stock villain (with hints of grace) and two of the Venoms, Phillip Kwok and Lo Meng, as rival gang leaders. Chiang Sheng, Lu Feng, and Dick Wei also appear as henchmen. The action sequences are fantastic, of course, and bolstered by the engaging story; there's very little to dislike here, although I would like to see a good-quality version of the extended cut one day to find out what I'm missing.

After watching the recently released and remastered version of Heaven And Hell, I started digging through my collection and found possibly Fu Sheng's greatest film, The Chinatown Kid. This kung fu gangster story sports some awesome fight scenes and is a perfect example of why Shaw Brothers was truly a dynasty back in the day. With fantastic fighting skills, matinée idol looks, and magnetic charisma, Fu Sheng was on his way to becoming one of the greatest stars ever in Hong Kong cinema. Unfortunately, an automobile accident took him away from us too soon. This classic, featuring Fu and the original 5 venoms really needs a legitimate release. Hopefully, it will happen in my lifetime.

The Chinatown Kid (1977) is another masterpiece from Chang Cheh. Alexander Fu Sheng stars as Tang Dong, a bumpkin who illegally immigrates to Hong Kong (with the aid of his uncle) and works odd jobs whilst dreaming about becoming rich and successful. The film also tells the story of a young Taiwanese man who just did a stint in the military who works hard and aspires to become a success. His chance comes when he's offered a scholarship at U.C. Berkely. Two lives that parallel each other eventually cross paths in San Francisco's Chinatown. This film is somewhat similar to Chang Cheh's other films Boxer From Shan tung and The Delinquent. Both of them have the same theme and they're all equally excellent. Ni Kuang reworks the theme by not only modernizing it but by bringing it to "Chinatown". The future Five Deadly Venoms all have small parts in this movie. The movie is cheesy and preachy at times but it's all done in jest. Alexander Fu Sheng shows that he's a lead actor in this movie and it's sad that his life was cut short several years later. His future wife Jenny Tsang has a small part as his girlfriend (but strangely disappears after a couple of scenes) and Philip Kwok co-stars as Tan Dong benefactor. Overall Chinatown Kid is not as deep or heavy as Chang Cheh''s other films but it's good fun and nicely paced and edited.Highly recommended.There are a few things I found strange about this film. One, Chinatown in this movie is very dusty. Two, the car's driver side is on the right hand side.Three, someone forgot to convert Hong Kong Dollars into U.S. Dollars(i.e. five dollars for a hot dog in 1977?). What's even funnier is the fact the sign outside the hot dog stand says 5.00 USD for "hot dogs" and sold canned beer. (Tan Dong called them "dog sausages"). The biggest laugh was the Orange Julius that sold noodles.

I don't normally watch martial arts movies that take place in a modern day city, but I kept seeing parts of this movie on T.V. and it eventually caught my interest.This is actually a good movie. You do sort of get close to some of the characters (good acting for this type of movie).Watching this movie today, it does feel rather dated, with the bell-bottom pants and some of the background music. Though, some of the music is kind of "cool" sounding, and fits in with the scenes. Wait till you see the modern digital wrist watch that the lead character becomes obsessed with (remember those big ones where you had to push a button to see the red LED light up the time? I do!)The story is good and does have some morals to it. The scenery does look rather phoney. It looks as if a strong wind might blow down some of the stores downtown. Is a hot dog stand supposed to convince us that this is really America?The dubbing is also very funny, and stereo-typical of Chinese people and kung fu movies.Most of the fight scenes in this are not that great, and is probably the film's weak point. There seems to be too many fight scenes in this movie anyway. This is one of those rare martial arts film where the plot is more interesting than the fighting.To some it up, this movie does have "campy" elements, and there are some poor production qualities. But the acting, character development, story, and even a few positive production values make this into a very watchable movie.I recommend this to fans of Chinese martial arts movies, especially the older 70's/80's movies. Or anyone who likes to watch something a little different from time to time.7 out of 10 stars.