Hell's Windstaff (1979)

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

The Dragon and the Tiger Kids aka Hell’s Windstaff (or Wind Staff) was made in the spirit of Drunken Master without the drunken part. The film started out featuring two goofball young guys stumbling through comedic scenes. As often happens in these films the laughing turns to crying followed by a revenge filled training montage and rampage.

Tiger Wang and Shih Hai Lung are proficient with kung fu but spend most of their time causing problems for the adults in their lives. Tiger’s dad hires a traveling entertainer to train his son in kung fu. Tiger tries to rid himself of his new teacher, but Ching Wan Li is too crafty for him. When Tiger and Shih end up in trouble trying to run human traffickers out of town, it is Ching who comes to their defense. But will his abilities be enough to defeat Lu Shan Tu and his Devil Staff when he comes calling?

Despite the early comedy, this was an old school brutal kung fu blood fest. I watched this for Hwang Jang Lee and his glorious porn stache. Actually, for his incredible kicking techniques. Like Lo Lieh he was often relegated to villain roles which he did well. It seemed perfectly within reason that the heroes would need at least three guys to bring him down. Hwang did a variety of amazing stunts with fists, kicks, and the staff. I had to rerun and re-watch his three for one kicks all done in a single jump. Mang Hoi reminded me of a kung fu Samwise Gamgee. An excellent martial artist in real life and often a martial arts director, this was a rare leading role for him. Meng Yuen Man as Tiger was considered one of the “Seven Little Fortunes”. The two good guys were extremely acrobatic and performed complicated stunts together and alone. There were several martial arts directors including Hsu Hsia and Corey Yuen. With most of the cast more than capable, the choreography was complex and relatively fast. The fights still had the basic rhythm of most of these early kung fu movies but moved quicker than many of their counterparts. Nothing was sacrosanct, there were numerous hair pulling, eye gouging, and pants dropping fights! Bonus points for Jason Pai Piao who played the courageous and clever Ching Wan Li. I really enjoyed his character.

Hell’s Windstaff would have benefited from a stronger lead performer than Meng Yuen Man. However, the copious fights were well staged and exciting. Hwang Jang Lee was given the opportunity to display his quickness and martial arts abilities which made this movie worth the price of admission. It also had a comedic and gruesome surprise ending. If you enjoy old kung fu flicks this is one to give a try.

20 March 2025
Trigger warning: Snake!

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