the leading man is my tpye

This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The evil and corrupt Emperor Yung Cheng (a marvelously ruthless portrayal by Yang Chiang) commissions a new deadly and seemingly unstoppable weapon known as the flying guillotine. After elite squad member Ma Teng (a solid and likable performance by Kuen Tai Chen) objects to the immoral killings done with the guillotines and decides to defect, Cheng sends the other members of the assassination squad to track Teng down and kill him. Director Meng Hua Ho relates the enjoyable and engrossing story at a snappy pace, doesn't skimp on the bloody'n'brutal violence, stages the action scenes with flair and skill, offers a meticulous and convincing evocation of the period setting, and even sprinkles in a little tasty female nudity for good measure. Kuang Ni's surprisingly meaty script nicely explores the significant themes of guilt, honor, loyalty, morality, and betrayal. The lavish sets and costumes provide an impressive sense of scope. The titular contraption rates as one seriously nasty and fearsome piece of lethal work. The lovely Wu Chi Liu brings a winning blend of charm and substance to her role as the sweet and sympathetic Yu Ping. Hui-chi Tsao's crisp widescreen cinematography gives this film a handsome and expansive look. Fu-ling Wang's dynamic and dramatic score hits the stirring spot. A really sound and satisfying Shaw Brothers outing.

I found this on DVD -- some sort of low-budget or bootleg pan-and-scan transfer -- and since it wasn't marked very well hoped it might be the Yu Wang film. Alas it wasn't but this, I suppose the first of the three films involving the flying beekeeping hat of death, stands out on its own terms. We meet the inventor of the flying guillotine, complete with an origin scene involving a lot of chin scratching. The basic premise is that an evil emperor has a few grudges and trains a crack team of assassins who use the deadly decapitator to carry out his will (complete with a decent training sequence). A few guys on the team get hit in the conscience (with shades of Macbeth) and the story gets moving. A hero emerges, the villains reveal themselves, it's a whole lot more shaded than I expected.Be forewarned that this isn't a film of great fight scenes. Yu Wang brought those to the flying guillotine genre later. This is an HK action flick with a plot -- more like a grainy, overdubbed Die Hard. Perhaps a shot at emulating Kurasawa or Leone without the budget and great equipment, plus an awesome metalworker with a blade fetish. There are great fights but the first kill without a clean separation of mind and body happens around the 40 minute mark.You'll also see some nice early wire work -- the assassins bound silently atop buildings in ways that would evolve to Crouching Tiger. The fight scenes are there, they just aren't the whole point of the movie and the guys fight more like real grunts than Bruce or Jackie. The guillotines might here have been like seeing light sabers for the first time. It may not have the reputation or sense of humour of its successor, aside from the weapon itself you'll barely need to suspend disbelief, but it's heads and shoulders above most other HK films being produced at the time. In fact it's probably the reality-factor that I liked so much and I swear it reminded me of a Shakespearean plot way more than it should have. Add that up with great early effects, terrific editing, and the coolest gadget to behead a censor or two at 100 yards and you've got yourself a winner.

This film is unlike any Shaw Bros. movie I have ever seen. It is about a man who invents a new weapon. It's a flying hat type thing that cuts people's heads off. The man presents it to the evil emperor and the Emperor hires him to teach a squad of soldiers how to use the weapon. A series of events happens and finally after about 35 minutes a main character is established. He runs away from the training camp and the inventor is instructed by the Emperor to hunt him down. This is a long movie by Shaw standards, almost 2 hours long. Also it features the worst fight choreography I've ever seen. It's a pretty original concept, but it should've been executed better. Overall I give it a 5/10.

This film is no high art but, if you would like to be entertained with good cheesy kung fu action, this movie could be for you. So outrageous it was one of the most memorable films I watched as a child. I don't want to give away too much. A flying guillotine, is a sort of hat box attached to a rope. Thrown like a Frisbee, it settles on a person's head then, with a quick tug it swiftly slices it off. The device is then yanked back like a returning yo-yo as the headless corpse drops to the ground. A Shaw Brothers classic.