Duel of the Iron Fist

Quentin Tarantino selected this film for his first film fest, and going into this one knowing that piece of trivia made it a lot of fun to watch, as it becomes quite clear why he highlighted this martial arts film in particular. High crime, Ultra violence, and some really quirky characters sprinkled through out, especially David Chiang's "The Rover" (aka "Rangler" in Chinese), a super cool mystery man. If I had to describe through Tarantino, think Kill Bill meets Reservoir Dogs.

The plot is pretty straight forward, but I suppose the most important thing to focus on is the fact that the world changes around them, and it's interesting to see who stands their ground and who instead falls and changes with it.

The camera work is very impressive here, as the majority of screen time revolves around David Chiang's "Rover". It actually feels like while the rest of the world rages on, a quiet box sits around him. It really stabilizes the tone of the film and solidifies his role as one of the Top Bad-A** characters he's ever played.

The sound mixing is a bit funny in this film, as some effects seem updated and mixed in later into some fights, possibly due to an effect of a re-master?

To sum things up, the film is incredibly charming mostly because of the presence of David Chiang, and the overall quirkiness of many of the other main characters. But the niche really comes in because DUEL OF THE IRON FIST is very likely to have the MOST AMOUNT OF FIGHTING AND BODY COUNT I'VE EVER SEEN in a Shaw Bros. film. I would actually go so far to say it could be a bit out of control to some viewers, not making this one very marketable.

Definitely an underground piece, so watch if you dare. But fans of David Chiang will rejoice. Exceptionally Charming, but Quite Niche

THE DUEL is an excellent Shaw adventure from the triumvirate combiation of director Chang Cheh and stars Ti Lung and David Chiang, perhaps their ultimate outing. It follows a simple, revenge-themed narrative that has much in common with other classics like VENGEANCE! And BOXER FROM SHANTUNG, with Lung going off the deep end when his clan leader is murdered. Chiang has a great dark role as a hired assassin. There's little plot but a huge amount of incredible fight scenes which are packed with blood sprays and a who's who supporting cast of famous Shaw fighters. The ending is the most homoerotic I've ever seen, and the whole thing is tremendously entertaining; I'd go so far as to say this is one of Shaw's best.

Boasting a young production assistant by the name of John Woo, this knife-fighting film is considered by many to be the first HK-style gangster film. In fact Ti Lung would go on to star in "A Better Tomorrow". Ignore the shoddy production values, and enjoy this morality play. WARNING: Some US prints end with the government troops fighting Ti Lung and David Chiang in the rain. This is not the ending, the fight goes on for another 15 minutes! Enjoy the risible dubbing; at one point Ti Lung has 3 different accents in one sentence!

To make it short.... Ti Lung, David Chiang, were the guys in the 70's as far as Martial Arts movies.The one thing wrong today is that it's on VHS tape, but the last 10 minute segment is cut like in some versions of the movie when it played. If you can see the complete version if possible. It doesn't end the way most films would....Still, the part that plays is very good. Very violent set pieces, very bloody, but with great stylized fight throughout. Ti Lung is the best! See also if you can find it The New one Armed Swordsman or in the USA it came out as Triple Irons.

A bunch of gangsters just hack the living $#!+ out of each other. Duel Of The Iron Fist is a mindless hack and slash action movie. It's just gleaming with angry f····rs wielding an assortment of blades and killing each other off in masses and in bloody like fashion. Seriously, you cannot go five minutes without some blood splashing mayhem. Now, I know the acting is stiff and the story is a bit disjointed; I don't give a flying f···. Angry Chinese people hacking each other to death is all that matters. 10 out of f·····g 10. End of f·····g review.