MAR'S VILLA (1977)
(aka Roky Lee, Wu Tang Magic Kick)
Directed by: Ting Chung
Starring: John Liu, Phillip Ko, Tung Wei, Tong Bo-wan 

On the one hand, this is a pretty standard old school kung fu flick shot in Taiwan on a tight budget. It’s got a straightforward revenge plot, there are lots of shots of Taiwanese mountains, the bad guys go “Ha ha ha”, etc. On the other hand, it’s the details that count. Super-kicker, John Liu, plays the hero as an arrogant prick with the Magic Kick who kills Phillip Ko after Ko invades his home and breaks his family tablet, as kung fu guys are wont to do. Liu hasn’t done anything wrong it’s just, as Ko says, “The world ain’t big enough for the two of us.” So Liu kills him with all the passion of a man swatting a mosquito.

Ko’s crew heads to Liu’s place for revenge (said crew includes Phillip Ko playing his own brother and the film’s action choreographer, Stephen Tung Wai) and find his wife instead. She says “No more fighting” so they toss her brother in a pit full of bamboo spikes. Well, that pisses Liu off but no use because they drag him down and drive him crazy by locking him in a cage and banging on the bars. We’ve gone from cold-blooded hero, to absolute zero in half the movie.

Shot on location at a bunch of snazzy looking historic buildings, and presided over by hundreds of giant Buddhas, this Taiwanese spaghetti western of a kung fu flick has a camera set on “Super Zoom” and a soundtrack stolen from Hang ‘em High plus it’s got action by the great Tung Wai and unbelievable kicks courtesy of Liu. As big as all outdoors, and filled with gratuitous torture, this one is more than the sum of its parts, serving up maximum mayhem in family-sized portions. A minor classic, with major attitude.