Tigre blanc

Unusually good kung-fu of the old school. This is characterized by middle shots that emphasize the acrobatic ability of the performers instead of cutting around their short comings with extreme close ups of the actions that, let's say, show a single punch or kick.

As others have mentioned the lion dance scenes alone make this movie worth watching. If you have ever had the opportunity to see a lion dance, this one is in a whole different class at least compared to the ones I've seen in Chinatown parades in the USA.

Tak-Hing Kwan, steals the movie with his portrayal of Wong Fei-Hong. At the time Kwan would have been 76 years old. He was born in the last years of the reign of Empress Dowager Cixi Tai Hou, that is, before the last Emperor Pu-Yi came to power. Truly a link between the Kung-fu of yesterday and today.

All this said, the film is flawed by mixing Hong Kong movie genres. At times it is a kung-fu revenge film, comedy, supernatural horror, master and disciple, as well as a truncated unsatisfying love interest.

Still a must see, by any standard.

This movie is fantastic. Don't be put off that Yuen Biao's character is completely annoying, and that some of the comedy is of the "guy with crossed eyes getting hit in the face" variety. This movie has at least for of the most memorable scenes I've ever enjoyed in a movie, including tailor-fu, laundry-fu, and doctor-fu. The lion dance is easily one of the coolest and most enjoyable set pieces in any kung fu movie. I saw this in a theater, and at the end of the lion dance, the entire room applauded. Both Kwan Tak-hing as Wong Fei-Hung and Sunny Yuen as White Tiger really stand out in the acting department. I've seen more powerful villains, but never one this psychotic and aggressive. Now that I think about it, I can't remember if White Tiger ever even speaks in the movie. His presence is so strong he certainly doesn't need to. This is an odd movie that doesn't fit the usual patterns. If you're not a fan of the Yuen Bros more goofy fare, like Taoism Drunkard, Drunken Tai-Chi or Young Taoism Fighter, see this anyway, it's much less random and silly, and the production values are very high. Don't miss it.

This film begins so similarly to Young Master that I almost felt I was rewatching it. However, to my surprise, it matched and surpassed the classic Jackie Chan movie by miles. The Dragon/Lion fight scene is worth the admission price alone, and it only gets better after that. The comedy is almost Martin/Lewis, and the fighting is amazingly choreographed. Anything less would be your standard Kung Fu fare.

Highly recommended.

"Dreadnaught" has an unforgettable scene featuring four men in two different lion costumes. The costume that appears first climbs up a makeshift bridge made of benches in a feat of extraordinary balance and coordination. They are surprised by the other lion costume, and a fight ensues. It is mind boggling imagining how long it must have taken to get this right.

The movie also has another really unique fight scene, where the actually terrifying bad guy wears an even more unique costume - a head with two faces, and fights in a dimly lit, frightening scene.

You see, "Dreadnaught" is a rarity - a kung fu horror flick. The bad guy paints his face and murders people. He is a serial killer. It is up to our man Yuen Biao to stop him, but first he has to get over his cowardice.

Unfortunately, much of the movie is quite typical for a kung fu flick from the '80s, with slapstick and silly characters. But some of those scenes, and the bad guy, are so good, I wish they'd managed the same tone throughout.

"Dreadnaught" is a consistently entertaining flick about Mousy (Yuen Biao), a hapless and clumsy coward who stumbles his way into plenty of trouble. While trying to collect a debt, he inadvertently runs afoul of a homicidal lunatic called White Tiger, and spends the rest of the movie being stalked by this freak. The flick is a very early attempt at a kung-fu/horror hybrid, with White Tiger sporting spooky Chinese opera-style make-up and frighteningly leaping into frame time and again. Of course, once he sneaks up on folks he karate chops them rather than stabs them. Still, the guy who plays White Tiger is genuinely creepy, and you really feel this guy's menacing presence. Yuen Biao is great as the goofy Mousy, tripping and falling his way in and out of danger. The fight scenes are excellent, played about half for laughs and half seriously. Add in Kwan Tak-Hing in his classic role as Wong Fei-Hung, and a couple of gross scenes involving ripping heads off chickens and cockroaches, and you've got the makings of a very intriguing kung-fu flick. If you're a fan of the slap-happy style of fighting perfected by Biao, Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan, and you like old school kung-fu stories, this one should be right up your alley.