Secret Rivals

This movie was the first karate/kung-fu movie that i had seen and still today i watch it definately a classic, the Silver Fox is one cool dude anyway good action tons of fights good plot and the usual dubbing but overall 10/10.

Secret Rivals doesn't have a great storyline, but the actors know their kung fu! The movie features a good deal of fighting, and some excellent practice sessions.

The version I saw had very poor picture quality and not all of the subtitles were visible. This is of course a shame, and contributed a great deal to the fact that I only enjoyed this movie moderately. But if it was available in DVD quality, with a clear and crisp picture and sound, it would be a great experience.

This is the kind of movie that Bruce Lee SHOULD have done. His presence here would have elevated this to a world-famous classic.

My rating: 7 out of 10.

I've been watching every martial arts movie ever made in chronological order. This movie is a milestone in the history of the genre. This movie stands out as different from every movie before it and affected many movies to come. The director started with the purpose of introducing real martial artists for the fight scenes and he scored three aces in a row with Don Wong, John Liu and Jang Lee Hwang. The difference was simply the kicks. It boggles my mind that is was so simple as kicks but read any review about this movie and count how many times kicks are mentioned. This is a martial arts movie all about the kicks and it's one of the best. The kicks can't be faked, they are real, they are focused, on target, and full of power. Who would have guessed that a kick to the head could be so entertaining? The storyline or plot has often been commented upon. This is a revenge plot but initially the plot appears to be a tournament plot or no plot at all. Let me point out when John Liu asks the little boy why he wants to learn martial arts the boy replies he wants to beat up the bad guys. John asks him how can he tell who is a bad guy? That's what the first part of the movie is all about, figuring out who are the bad guys and who are the good guys. The white eye brows villain had been around for years so Jang Lee Hwang did nothing new by putting on the makeup but once the makeup was on him, he totally owned that part for the rest of his career. Overall this one belongs on the top twenty of all time.

I had high hopes for this film, especially after watching the vastly superior sequel: Secret Rivals II and had read a lot of good reviews here and elsewhere. Unfortunately, although I think many people disagree with me about this, it was a huge let-down and had little appeal what-so-ever, except for some unintentional hilarious bad English dubbing. The story, although generally non-essential to kung fu-movies of the era, was excruciating at times, with prolonged scenes about some side-plot involving a mutual love interest of our heroes, and the rest isn't much better. This wouldn't have mattered at all if we were treated with a lot of fighting in between the tedious story telling, but WE'RE NOT! I'm a huge fan of Jon Liu and especially Hwang Jang Lee, but they are never allowed to show off their skills properly since they hardly get to fight.

The choreography is really sloppy in the first half of the movie, but doesn't improve nearly as much as I had hoped even for the end fight, which is over really fast. I don't know what other reviewers saw in this movie.. naturally John Liu and Hwang Jang Lee are excellent fighters and their skill somehow manages to bear to movie to some extent, but I was honestly never entertained by any part of it.

If you, like me, are into Chinese classic Kung Fu flicks of the 70's and 80s, you are likely to either have seen this or be about to do so, but I can't recommend it, in spite of it's good reputation. See Secret Rivals II instead, it's a masterpiece, this one isn't.

This is one of the best martial Arts films I have ever seen, mainly because of the 1st rate skill of all the main characters. This is not a film you watch for it's plot or acting but if you want to see some of the best martial Arts ever filmed then this is one film you cannot miss. Wang Tao makes this better than the 2 sequels and his talent is exceptional, so much so that I puzzle over why he has not been in more films? John Lui is his usual 'North kicking' Best and Hwang Jang Lee as Silver fox is outstanding. This is one of the few Martial Arts films that rivals Bruce Lee films for pure skill ( with no special effects or wire work ) My copy is very poor quality and I hope that someday I can get a better DVD of this wonderful film.