The Mystery of Chess Boxing

Ninja Checkmate, or The Mystery of Chessboxing, is a little gem of late 70ties kung-fu. Lee Yi Min plays the young man how is very good at dodging swords and taking beatings on his search for a kung-fu teacher that will enable him to get revenged over the Ghost-Faced Killah, the kung-fu master who killed his father. The Ghost-Faced Killah, played by Mark Long, runs havoc across the land, searching out and challenging a string of kung-fu masters, overwhelming them with his superior five elements style in many amazing fights throughout the film. These fights are creatively choreographed and extremly entertaining, and break up the film in a very nice way, so there is always something fun going on. The problem otherwise is that the first half of the film containing Lee Yi Min is fairly irritating because of his senior students who continously hound him. There are two very good scenes though, one when he meets the cook who will become his first teacher, played by Siu Tien Yuen, father of Yuen Woo Ping, and a scene in which he juggles ricebowls thrown at him from every where. Lee Yi Min gets kicked out of school, but meets up with the kung-fu and chess master played by Jack Long, a kung-fu master in hiding from the Ghost-Faced Killah, who agrees to teach Min the five elements and combines them with the art of chessboxing so Min can help him fight the Ghost-Faced Killah. The big finale, where Ghost-Faced Killah first fights Jack Long, then Lee Yi Min and finally both of them, is long, elaborate and most of all, great fun. Despite some bad editing and strange clips, and the everpresent at times irritating humour of these type of films, this is a very entertaining kung-fu film, and one of the best of that time. Clearly a pearl for everybody interested in the pure elegance of kung-fu!

Lee Yi Min stars as an eager young kung fu student who seeks to improve his fighting skills with an aim to avenge his fathers murder at the hands of the Ghost Face Killer an overwhelming force of destruction and master of the death dealing Five Element Fist. Lee's eagerness to study attracts the attention of the master of Chess Boxing (Jack Long) who is the Ghost Face Killer's arch enemy. Together master and student devise a wicked cross fertilization of the Chess Boxing and Five Element Fist styles and set out to put an end to the Ghost Faces deadly reign.

A typical 'old master teaches student out for revenge" plot contains the best elements of this type of story, and it's engaging from the beginning to the end with a plethora of exquisite martial arts, the acrobatic showmanship, the constant back flips, is a sight to behold. The villain has menace, the master some charisma and the hero does well. Above average Kung fu mayhem,

If you remember anything that made watching kung fu films fun in the late 1970's and early 1980's this film has it. The crazy dubbing, the bizarre behavior of the kung fu fighters, nutty old man wigs and elaborate energetic fighting moves that make no practical sense.

I somehow missed this one completely and finally caught up to it. I can see why it remains a cult classic. The lead villain, the Ghost Face Killer, likes to verbally taunt his victims while performing kung fu moves by himself. He intersperses the moves with half a sentence here and there so it takes a while to complete his taunt. The rest of the film would be standard low budget kung fu film fare but the fighting scenes are really, really well done. These actors (well some of them could act) really could move. Not that all the moves make a lot of sense but it's entertaining.

The only problem I had is the TV print I saw is very badly transfered which made the film a chore to watch at times. It was missing an entire scene so that the young hero shows up all beaten up and we never see why. Also the cook character played by Simon Yuen is killed off-screen by the villain but it's only mentioned in passing. It seems like that scene is missing also.

Good fun.

NINJA CHECKMATE (1979) is better known as THE MYSTERY OF CHESS BOXING, a more appropriate title given the absence of any actual ninjas from the film. Produced and directed by Taiwanese-based master kung fu filmmaker Joseph Kuo, CHECKMATE ranks with the best of his work (BORN INVINCIBLE, 7 GRANDMASTERS) in telling a simple concise story and peopling it with some of the best fighting stars at Kuo's disposal. Lee Yi Min stars along with Kuo regulars Jack Long (aka Lung Sai Gar) and Mark Long (aka Lung Kwan Wu), while the venerable Simon Yuen (DRUNKEN MASTER) makes an appearance as well. Mark Long plays the feared "Ghost-Faced Killer," a name later appropriated by the rap group, Wu Tang Clan, as part of their ongoing homage to classic kung fu films.

Lee Yi Min (SEVEN COMMANDMENTS OF KUNG FU) plays an eager young student seeking masters who will teach him enough kung fu to enable him to get revenge against the killer of his father. Lee has an amiable quality and ready smile and his character here is willing to withstand humiliation from senior students at the start of his training in order to gain access to the teachers who can help him. In addition to fighting skills, he brings acrobatic and gymnastic skills to the role and his transformation from eager novice to skilled fighter is believably portrayed.

Lee's first real teacher is the cook at the school where he apprentices. Played by Simon Yuen, the cook shows how food preparation leads to development of strength and agility. Lee's next teacher is Jack Long, a chess master who insists on teaching Lee the fundamentals of Chinese chess before embarking on actual kung fu training. Lee is slow to catch on to the significance of this strategy but it eventually serves him in good stead in the final battle. Jack Long has a young daughter, played by Jeannie Chang, who helps persuade him to take Lee as his student.

Mark Long's Ghost-Faced Killer is an embittered ex-official who travels the Chinese countryside using his Five Elements kung fu to challenge and kill assorted retired kung fu masters who had once opposed him. The film is punctuated with several of these superbly-staged confrontations and tension is built up as the killer sets his sights on the chess master and seeks his whereabouts. The stage is eventually set for a final battle between Ghost-Faced Killer and the chess master and his prize student.

The fights are frequent and interspersed with a steady stream of clever and often humorous training sequences. Five Elements Kung Fu is a fascinating concept and involves strategies voiced in such phrases as "earth absorbs water" and "gold cuts wood." The two Longs were both top-notch kung fu performers and are always thrilling to watch, as is the underrated Lee Yi Min.

The film is aided considerably by excellent cinematography and use of small, well-appointed sets and outdoor locations in the Taiwanese countryside. In addition, the lovely and evocative original Chinese music score is retained on the English-dubbed soundtrack. This film was very popular among kung fu fans in New York when it played at theaters on 42nd Street during the heyday of the kung fu genre some 20-odd years ago. Its current availability on VHS and DVD ensures its rediscovery by legions of enthusiastic new fans in the years ahead.

I heard about this movie because of the famous rap group The Wu-Tang Clan. So i checked it out on youtube. And man is it fast!!!! When i say say fast, I mean it is difficult to keep up with a technique that is so complex. There are excellent fight scenes, especially at the ending! The acting isn't so terrific, but since this is real genuine kung-fu that very few practice, it doesn't matter. The storyline is decent, but you don't always need a storyline for old fashioned fun. Funny haircuts, funny English dubbing, intensely good scenes. It would make an excellent remake.

Plus, it's not overly violent either. Kids tend to watch kung-fu movies regardless of the violence level. So this would also fall into parental approval.