User reviews

Unlike most contemporary Australian movies, 'The Man From Hong Kong' at least offered some entertainment value.

Coming from a background in commercial television, director Brian Trenchard - Smith was new to feature films. However, his years in the mass media had given him a keen sense of what the 'average punter' was looking for in the way of screen fun.

Perhaps some of the fight scenes go on a bit too long for anyone other than the keenest fans of the genre. But the pace never lets up. And what it lacks in sophistication it more than compensates for with sheer energy and a refreshingly uninhibited charm.

The use of the hang glider scenes to top and tail the movie was inspired and the final car chase was, unquestionably, one of the toughest and best-staged of the period.

The theme song 'Skyhigh' was, quite simply, a classic of '70s pop which, in this writer's humble opinion, sounds as good today as it did three decades ago. Now hauntingly evocative of the era, this beautifully produced and performed hit was almost sublime in terms of its striking originality. It certainly beats the hell out of the mindless, head- banging rubbish that masquerades as pop music these days.

Special credit must also go to cinematographer Russell Boyd whose highly creative twisting, turning and hoisting of his camera(s) throughout the shoot truly 'made' the whole production. Fellow Australian cinematographer Robert Krasker of 'Third Man ' fame would have tipped his sun visor to Mr Boyd.

Sydney Harbour has always provided a stunning backdrop for location filming.

As a movie mad teenager at the time, I can vividly remember the media hype that surrounded this picture. After years of being comatose, it was exciting to watch our feature film industry not only coming back to life but actually enjoying some commercial success.

In the final analysis, Brian Trenchard - Smith deserves a whacking great pat on the back of his purple corduroy suit (you know the one with the wide lapels and the flared pants ).Armed with only a modest budget, some personable actors and loads of raw enthusiasm, he crafted one hell of a fine little action flick.

In fact, in the small but endlessly fascinating world of retro cult movies which it now occupies, 'The Man From Hong Kong ' has become a legend in its own time tunnel. And deservedly so.

This is an entertaining and amusing action flick, a rare bird in Australia. The dialogue ranges from corny to cheesey but there are plenty of great action scenes and a good, simple cop story well told. This film has our best car-chase scenes before Mad Max and is probably the link between The Cars That Ate Paris and the Mad Max series.

Highlights of this film include a chase and a fight on the top of Uluru (or Ayres Rock as it then was), an extended car chase with multiple wrecks and explosions, wonderful hang-gliding footage over both Hong Kong and Sydney (interestingly showing the brown haze that used to hang over the city in those old leaded-petrol days), a fight with one man on fire, an exploding building, and numerous intermettable kung-fu fights, where Inspector Fang whips multiple butts, complete with hilarious sound-effects. The director ensures that during the fights, nothing in the room is left unbroken and strewn across the floor, though it was a shame to see all those lobsters hitting the deck.

Fang is one tough Chinese cookie, bleeding from multiple injuries one moment and going horse-riding with a blond Aussie girl the next, before jumping into bed for some inter-cultural relations. The photography should be also mentioned as, despite the low budget, this film looks great and captures Sydney in the 70s with its streetscapes (including Taylor Square and Oxford St, Paddington, Sydney harbourside, Narabeen beach and Terry Hills), cars and fashion. Add to this the director's sense of visual humour and this film holds up pretty well.

Besides Jimmy Wang Yu, who was a Hong Kong kung-fu 'chop sockey' film star before Bruce Lee, the film includes Australia's James Bond, George Lazenby, as the villain, and future Mad Max actors Hugh Keays-Byrne and Roger Ward playing the Aussie 'good cop-bad cop' team plus a cameo from a skinny Bill Hunter.

Watched this film for the first time the other night, and it's an absolute wild ride. The film starts with a fight on Ayers rock which definitely sets the tone for the rest of the film. The film is well paced with a variety action scenes with pretty good stunt work throughout. I couldn't help but laugh through the duration of the film with the extremely fun action scenes that often ended up in a large explosion. The acting is over the top, at first I thought it was because the actors were putting on the Aussie accent but most of the main actors were Australian, so I think it is just another layer to the self-aware humour of the film. The best part of the film is definitely the soundtrack. The intro song is an absolute tune, so good in fact that they played it again in the credit sequence. Overall definitely a fun film to watch and currently free on amazon prime 🙌

I find it hard to believe that at a web-site which attracts more than 8 million people a month (that equates to 17 people a minute, one every three seconds!) that only TWO people in all these years have posted reviews of this mini-classic - "Z" grade rubbish that it is!

I LOVE this flick.

The acting is hysterical, the script at junior high-school level (I collapse on the lounge every time I hear Lazenby mouthing off to Wang Yu "I know your martial arts!") But man, this is high-voltage fun, a film that actually defies criticism. Wang Yu comes to Sydney to break up a drug smuggling ring headed up by the "and please leave your license to kill on my desk when you leave" former Bond non-event, George Lazenby. Following multiple impossible chop-socky set-to's with Lazenby's henchman, and George's own comical demise atop his penthouse, Wang Yu saves the day...and the girl! Great stuff!

If nothing else, this film earns a place in the hall of fame for delivering to the world British Jigsaw's SKY HIGH which I can never hear without remembering how young I was when this came out! Magic!

Trivia buffs might like to notice who that rather porky asian scumbag is trying to evade capture atop Ayer's Rock (now referred to as ULURU) during the early part of the flick and who later has his head unceremoniously pushed into the toilet by Wang Yu! None other than long-time Jackie Chan friend and Director - Sammo Hung! Martial arts choreographer without peer! Watch also for the exploding Toyota Crown scene at Ayer's Rock...that airborne door gave the on-set crew-members a few nervous moments!

Very enjoyable film for those who love action and martial arts. Others might find the extended fight and chase sequences too long.

Jimmy Wang Yu is a decent fighter but lacks the charisma, acting ability and screen presence of Bruce Lee (who, let's face it, few could match).

George Lazenby as a debonair but menacing villain, Hugh Keays-Byrne and Roger Ward provide excellent support. All are great to watch.

Grant Page's extended fight sequence was a highlight for me as was a car chase later in the film.

Fantastic Australian locations (fewer glimpses of Hong Kong).

After seeing The Man From Hong Kong, one can easily appreciate why Quentin Tarantino holds writer/director Brian Trenchard - Smith in such high regard. This is grind house cinema at it's gnarliest and released in the middle of that most influential grind house decades, the 1970's. But even today, it still has the power to thrill action junkies with the breadth, depth and variety of its stunts and set pieces. Forget the martial arts on show throughout just briefly. Consider also, the car chases and roll-overs (one occurring beneath the world famous Uluru), followed invariably by an almighty explosion, the hang-gliding, the skyscraper climbing and abseiling and (you guessed it) explosion, the foot chases and villains catching fire ... regularly. In its quieter moments we are graced with some wholly and unashamedly exploitative T &A accompanied by a funky 70's synthesizer soundtrack, just to give us pause before we launch into the next action chapter. This film has it all and does it all relatively convincingly on what was not much more than a half million Australian dollars budget at the time. What's most surprising perhaps, is that the film is an Australian/Hong Kong co-production, rather than American in origin. Besides the very obvious Bond references throughout, film buffs should clearly see the genesis of films such as The Mad Max franchise in TMFHK. Don't see it for the frankly hilarious dialogue, at times grating dubbing and quite honestly its overlong , exciting, but uneven martial arts choreography. See it and appreciate it it for its stunts. They are quite amazing.

This Australian/Hong Kong co-production stars martial arts greats Jimmy Wang Yu (One-Armed Swordsman) and Sammo Hung (Eastern Condors), has a James Bond (George Lazenby) for a villain and Toecutter (Hugh Keays-Byrne) from Mad Max as a cop, boasts stunning locations (Ayers Rock and Sydney Harbour), is directed by Ozploitation legend Brian Trenchard-Smith, and features a catchy theme song to boot ('Sky High' by Jigsaw). With all that, one might reasonably expect something rather special, but this isn't the case: a run-of-the-mill plot, unexceptional fight scenes and mediocre car chases make for a frustratingly average movie, despite all the right ingredients.

Wang Yu plays Hong Kong police inspector Fang Sing Leng, who travels to Australia to extradite a drug dealer (Sammo Hung). When the criminal is assassinated, Fang Sing Leng investigates, suspecting the involvement of Sydney crime-lord Jack Wilton (Lazenby).

What follows is a succession of silly escapades for the fish-out-of-water renegade cop, including lots of punch ups (choreographed by Sammo Hung, but not his best work) and vehicular stunts (of the sort that always end up with a car crashing and immediately bursting into flames). The silly ending sees Fang Sing Leng hang-gliding onto the roof of Wilton's penthouse, abseiling down the side of the building and smashing his way in through the window, where he takes on the machine-gun toting villain. The HK cop gets a full confession and blows the penthouse (and its owner) sky high, to the amusement of his Aussie counterparts.

Best scene: Fang Sing Leng's bloody fight against numerous martial artists (after which our hero gets his wounds patched up by a country vet and thanks the helpful fellow by screwing his tasty daughter).

5.5/10, generously rounded up to 6 for IMDb.

Who could forget the sound track by Ace, and the action of this movie, never mind the fact that George Lazenby, the dejected Bond, who really could have been one of the best was also in the film.

In the era of remastering and re-issuing of so much crap, why not get this classic off the shelf, blow off the dust and put it onto DVD! I'll buy it.

Even though I had trough finding it in the USA as it was under a different name!

This is a great action film, with all the stunts, kung fu, you could possibly want in a movie. Released in 1975 it captures all the best of the Bruce Lee films but with good sound and picture quality. A not to missed film.

If you can find a copy on tape, let me know.

I really liked this movie but the close comparison to Bob Jones the Australian Karate Tycoon of the 1970's and Wilton is a little scary. I would think that Jackie Chan would have made a better Hong Kong Cop thus shoring up fight scenes with a little credibility. What drew me in was the Australian 'Occer' predominant in this film. It looks like they borrowed the cast from Mad Max 1 which was good in my opinion as the actors in that film were good but needed more development and this film gave them that. If they made a remake of this film it would have to be set in the same era, as difficult as that sounds it would have to strive hard to capture the same feel. Bolo's early bit-parts are the best in my opinion and he did not disappoint.

All the pieces are here for a terrific Bond-like movie - including the original Bond himself! How much more A-list can you get? Unfortunately, none of it comes together; it gets played out in typical Hong Kong style. That is to say, wildly erratic pacing, gaping plot holes, absolutely no concern for continuity of time or character, etc. It starts out so promising, with first-rate set locations, helicopter chases, Sammo Hung - and quickly, very quickly, degenerates into schlock detective yarn, and not even good schlock detective yarn.

Reasons to watch this movie? First of all, the theme song! "Sky High", by Jigsaw, is a very familiar pop song from the 70's that many of you will remember, for better or for worse... I personally didn't know it was written to be the theme song for this film, but that only adds to the whole "Bond"-ness of this movie (or failure therein).

Next reason - the chase sequences. Seriously: from the opening helicopter-vs-car quickie (wait until you see your head almost get taken off by that unpredictable flying car door, truly frightening!); to the on-foot chase that startles many dogs and gets free oranges to children playing jump rope; to the final, lengthy, multi-stage car chase that gets the brand-new love interest killed (look for Wang Yu's emotive shaking of a clenched fist over the limp body!), and many, many innocent drivers knocked about horribly in multi-flip car crashes, only to have them pop their heads out of the smoking wrecks, mouthing mildly amusing obscenities, or shaking their fists while standing in ditches next to their overturned vehicles.

Where does this movie go wrong? It's hard to tell. Having Wang Yu climb a drainpipe for ten stories, only to have him break through the same all-glass door he could have broken through in the first place is a good starter. Maybe it was when the grubby, chubby second Aussie cop bumps into the parked motorcycle while walking through some dialogue and they don't bother to re-shoot. Or maybe it was the sex scene with the random hang gliding journalist fifteen minutes into the movie that ends up providing almost nothing for the film except a quick way for Wang to get to the penthouse apartment for the final fight (shades of "Game of Death", anyone?) I wanted to like this movie, but it drags, the fights are just lousy (admit it, you all), and none of the pieces, from actors to locations, ever get used well at all. Like a wonderful movie poster come to life, and just as entertaining to watch as a movie poster for one and a half hours.

It's 1975. A time of funky pants. Muscle cars. Ridiculous sideburns. Porn-star moustaches. Bruce Lee still rules the world of action movies (despite being dead), and I haven't even been BORN yet.

Sydney. Jack Wilton (The Laze) is a bad-ass crime lord with a penchant for cravats, orange velvet sofas and all things Oriental. Under the cover of his legitimate import/export business, he runs an international drug-smuggling outfit with connections in Hong Kong. Two federal narcotics cops, Grosse (Hugh Keays-Byrne, Toecutter from Mad Max) and Taylor (Roger Ward, Fifi from - er - Mad Max) manage to catch Win Chan (Sammo Hung), a member of this Hong Kong connection, following a well-staged--yet amusingly pointless--fight sequence atop Uluru (sorry, Ayers Rock). Chan is to be extradited, as soon as he testifies against Wilton. But the Aussie cops hadn't counted on the extradition officer being a certain Inspector Fang Sing-Ling (Jimmy Wang Yu), of Hong Kong Special Branch ("What's so special about Special Branch?" you ask? Watch the movie and find out!). Fang is a loose cannon, to say the least, and is intent on bringing down Wilton's entire operation himself, no matter how much of Sydney he has to destroy in the process.

This was the first (and as far as I'm aware, only) Australia/Hong Kong co-production, and it's an unusual (but highly entertaining) hybrid. It's full of excellent martial arts sequences, choreographed by Sammo, and amazing stunt work, thanks to chop-socky god Jimmy Wang Yu and Aussie stunt legend Grant Page. But Brian Trenchard-Smith (who went on to direct the classic BMX Bandits, featuring one of Australia's finest acting talents: David Argue) has injected it with a heavy dose of laid-back, tongue-in-cheek Aussie style. It also has some touches reminiscent of Hollywood action movies, in particular the brilliant car chase, in the course of which we see a brand new Charger (That's a VALIANT Charger, not a DODGE Charger, for all you Yanks out there) gradually reduced to a smoking wreck. It must be seen to be believed.

Jimmy Wang Yu appears to be almost completely lacking in both charisma and humour, but this may have something to do with the language barrier. He doesn't seem confident speaking English much of the time. He does, however, play "p--sed off" very well, and this gets him through. Besides, The Laze has more than enough charisma to go around, and there's plenty of humour provided by the cops (particularly Keays-Byrne, who's obviously enjoying himself). The film is also intentionally peppered with bits of political incorrectness, sending up the attitudes of the day ("Talk about the bloody yellow peril!" quips Grosse, surveying the aftermath of one of Fang's escapades).

But the fun doesn't stop there! No, siree! There's babes! There's hang-gliding! There's...babes hang-gliding! There's assassinations! There's a young, svelte Bill Hunter! There's fake blood! There's Grant Page RIPPING HIS PANTS! There's nice scenery! And, of course, there's the obligatory pre-dawn kung fu practise on top of a hill overlooking a nice beach.

The only sore point, for mine, is the terrible "hit" theme song by Jigsaw. The rest of the music's great. Very period. Very funky. But that song...well...it just...sucks.

As a lover of cult cinema, a fan of kung fu movies, someone who's proud of Aussie filmmakers (when they get it right), and someone who just loves to be entertained for an hour or two without having to do very much, this movie is almost impossible to fault. If you're a wowser who believes in political correctness at any cost, or someone who faints at the sight of orange paint (when substituted for blood), steer well clear. But I happen to enjoy this sort of thing. So DON'T GIVE ME ANY S--T!

If it's plentiful action, you're after, and you like some nice sights of Sydney, set your sights on this flick. It a full on non stop, wonderfully orchestrated action extravaganza, you must witness, some violence here and there, but again I reiterate, action packed. The film is so cool, as in the way it's real one note plot, is manipulated and stretched by all the action sequences. taking up most of the film. I've never got more exhausted, looking at Ayers Rock for one thing. Here's what the simple plot consists of. Heavyweight Asian cop comes to Sydney to assist with the operation of a drug muel, busted at the Rock. Forced to testify, against drug czar, Jack Wilton (Lazenby, ruthlessly fantastic) due to some heavy persuasion on Inspector Fung Sung Ling's part (Jimmy Wung Yu) he's shot. Now the rest of the film, the one note plot, has Wang yu, trying to get to Wilton, where he encounters a few obstacles, which finally becomes a mission of revenge, plus an explosion encore. This film is just an action showcase, but it's a brilliant action showcase, on a high scale, but that's it. That doesn't constitute for a good film. It just constitutes, for bubblegum action escapism, and it works tremendously. But just watching it, you may become fit, because it's an exhausting action fare. Too, watching Jimmy Wung Yu, is quite fun, but he's not the best of leading men or ones that can act.

It's quite a trip watching 'The Man From Hong Kong' almost thirty years after it was made. Writer/Director Brian Trenchard-Smith went on to make the Aussie trash classic 'Turkey Shoot' and the early Nicole Kidman vehicle 'The BMX Bandits' so you know it's gonna be class all the way. 1970s buffs will get a kick out of seeing the One Armed Boxer himself (Jimmy Wang Yu) battling it out with "the Aussie Bond" George Lazenby. Their scenes together are very cheesy but a lot of fun. I almost kept expecting Jim Kelly to appear on screen at any moment ('Black Samurai' anyone?) The rest of the cast includes legendary Aussie camp icon Frank Thring, martial arts veteran Sammo Hung Kam-Bo, and half the cast of the biker classic 'Stone' (Hugh Keays-Byrne, Roger Ward, Rebecca Gilling, Ros Spiers, Bill Hunter). Yeah, that's right - BIKER CLASSIC. Keays-Byrne is a great favourite of mine. He's probably best known as Toecutter in 'Mad Max' (in which Ward played Fifi Macaffee), but was also in 'Mad Dog Morgan' and 'Salute Of The Jugger', two movies that have pride of place in my DVD collection. This man deserves a web page NOW! 'The Man From Hong Kong' is stupid but hugely entertaining martial arts schlock, and highly recommended. And boy, isn't that theme song catchy! I haven't been able to get it out of my head since 1975!

Sent to Australia to extradite a drug smuggler, a Hong Kong detective takes matters into his own hands after his prisoner is assassinated en route to court in this fast-paced action film. This was the first full length cinematic feature from 'Turkey Shoot' director Brian Trenchard Smith and the film is assembled with all the energy of a young director willing to experiment. There are some great tracking shots courtesy of Oscar winner Russell Boyd and there are several effective low camera angles throughout. Some nifty editing also leads to decent comic relief, such as two Aussie cops declaring that the Hong Kong detective has "probably gone to lunch", followed by a cut to a restaurant brawl. On that note, the drawn-out restaurant fight is one of the best choreographed scenes in the film, and the action is generally solid here, but that is about all. The actual story is very bare bones and talented though star Yu Wang may be at martial arts, he lacks leading man charisma. The film also tends to get distracted from the drug smuggling plot too often for its own good. A romance with an Australian paraglider adds nothing to the tale other than an excuse for a brief topless scene. The film also does not give a nicely sinister George Lazenby enough to do as the chief antagonist in the tale. The theme song "Sky High" is excellent though, and fans of martial arts, Boyd and Lazenby will probably find enough of interest here, but this is a definitely a step down from the Bond movies that 'The Man from Hong Kong' most often feels like it is trying to emulate.

It's still a great flick to watch with Yu, he did a decent job, but with Lee it would have become one of the best kickass films of all times!

FILM: 7.0 Rewatching The Man from Hong Kong is always a bit of a wild ride for me. If you haven't seen it before, you're definitely missing out on one of the more entertaining pieces of 70s Ozploitation. I've caught this film a few times over the years, and it's always a blast. It's got that perfect mix of over-the-top action and cheesy dialogue that keeps me coming back for more. As director Brian Trenchard-Smith once pointed out, the film is 106 minutes of non-stop action with only 18 minutes of dialogue-and you can tell.

The dialogue is hilariously bad, but honestly, that's part of the fun. It gives the film a certain charm, especially when paired with the action scenes. One of my favourite moments is the kitchen fight, which is pure gold. It's the kind of scrappy, old-school fight choreography that feels both brutal and fun at the same time. Then there's the introduction to Wilton-what a scene. We meet him absolutely wailing on a group of students, complete with some gloriously over-the-top dubbing of grunts and groans as bodies get slammed to the ground in slow motion. It's ridiculous in the best way possible.

What I really like about this film is that it doesn't take itself too seriously. Sure, it's rough around the edges, and the story is pretty thin, but that's not why I'm watching it. It's all about the fun, the action, and the sense of chaos that only 70s Ozploitation films seem to capture.

If you haven't seen The Man from Hong Kong before, you're definitely missing out. It's not the kind of film you watch for deep storytelling or nuanced performances, but if you're in the mood for some non-stop action and a bit of Aussie flair, it's worth a watch. It may not be perfect, but it's a wild ride!

FORMAT: Blu-ray

VIDEO: 7.0 1080/24p presentation Detail level: Moderate Colour reproduction: Good Level accuracy: Good Encode: Moderate Master condition: Good

AUDIO: 8.0 DTS-HD MA 5.1 & LPCM mono audio Dialogue reproduction: Good Soundtrack & effects clarity: Good Dynamics: Good Surround sound presentation: Moderate LFE content: Moderate

MOOFIEMETER: 7.0.

The hero, Yu Wang, is a poor man's Bruce Lee in this action film which is a poor man's James Bond adventure. It's an astonishingly lame-brained movie, with no plot or suspense: instead, it provides endless fight sequences which produce more yawns (from us) than thrills. As for George Lazenby, who plays the villain, he has absolutely no charm as an actor, but at least here he's passable and ALMOST makes you forget his Bond past...

Funky soundtrack, tight sound effects, great action. Knife play, guys on fire, tons of exploding cars. Ridiculous 70s haircuts, mustaches, tight pants on men--it's camp gold.

Special Inspector Fang of Hong Kong police is sent to Sydney after the Sammo character gets caught doing a heroine deal with an Aussie. And it turns out that the mastermind behind the operation, Sammo's boss, is an Australian kung fu master. The final showdown between them is slightly disappointing. The putative Aussie kung fu master catches on fire and has trouble getting his sport coat off. Why doesn't he just roll on the ground? Instead he sustains severe burns, making him easy work for Fang to finish off.

The whole thing is laced with not-so-subtle nationalism, as the Australians continually compliment Fang's toughness and smarts, saying things like, "I really admire you. Chinese people are exceptional."

Inspector Fang is a kind of Asian James Bond, and he meets beautiful Australian girls both in Hong Kong and Sydney, one of whom teaches him to hangglide.

Note that Sammo's role in the film is quite small.

This movie isn't half as bad as the previous review would have you believe. It doesn't have the best plot or actors, but it is entertaining. There are great location shots of Uluru, Sydney Harbor and many other places. The movie is entertaining and does have lots of fight scenes. You've got to have somewhat of a sense of humour when watching it. Remember that it was a product of the time period. The fashion, the acting, the premise of the movie, the politics of the time. Take it for what it is. As for George Lazenby, the only thing unfortunate about his part in the movie, is that he isn't in it enough. Not enough presence of the great George Lazenby, the BEST James Bond by far. His acting in 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' is far better than many would have you believe. And it is to his effort, and interpretation of Bond that made that movie the best of the Bond movies. He is quite simply a fine actor and a victim of mass media misinterpretation. Thank you for reading.