Monkey Fist (1974) is a pretty mediocre cheapie with a few notable points that still cant save it from being an underwhelming piece of chop socky cinema. Monkey Fist is very loosely based on the true tale of Master Koo Sai, who developed a monkey style of fighting while imprisoned. I say 'loosely' because the way I heard his story was not very much like it is in this film. Director Suen Ga Man is pretty unimpressive. Very bland framing. The fights, to their detriment, aren't very stylized, usually a barrage of feet and fist, while desperate, also pretty messy and forgettable. The real notable thing about this film is that it stars Chan Sao Chung.

In the martial film world, there is a lot to be said for performers who actually have a great deal of martial/stunt experience and training before they commit their moves to celluloid. Jet Li was a huge Wu Shu champion. Sonny Chiba was a respected karate and judo expert. Jackie Chan had his strict Peking Opera training. But all of the training in the world still cannot amount to that intangible thing that makes someone appealing to watch- charisma. Jimmy Wang Yu was a champion swimmer before he was a martial film star, and as a martial film star he always looked like,...well, a swimmer. But, in his best films, the guy had charisma, so, for me he could deliver entertainment and be cool despite his lack of actual martial skills. Master Quing Fu Pan (from the film Iron and Silk) may be a one of the worlds greatest living martial arts experts, but he doesn't have that cinematic spark to make him a martial film star. Chan Sao Chung is one of those guys, who has a great martial background and is a true Monkey Kung Fu expert. There is little doubt he is a master of those skills, but as far as charisma goes he is relatively bankrupt. I mean, its really cool and all to have him on film showing off those skills, but as part of a narrative and as an interesting cinematic protagonist he's dead in the water when not fighting.

Chan Sao Chung is tiny. I mean tiny by Asian standards. There are parts when he is training a little kid, who must be about 8-10 yrs. old, and Sao Chung isn't even a head taller than the kid. His movements are economical which shows he's a real martial practitioner instead of a cinematic one, or one who has done stadium exebitions like Jet Li, who's exaggerated movements translate well onscreen. Also, for a film with a touted Monkey Kung Fu expert, Sao Chung does very little Monkey Kung Fu. He looks cool when he does Monkey Fu moves but rarely implements them in his fighting. Even in the final battle, he barely does any, mainly sticks to Tai Chi-ish more direct, precise, fluid fighting. So, that's a disappointment, no crazy monkey fighting. I'll take Mad Monkey Kung Fu over this film any day.

The final duel is pretty good. The most impressive thing about it is Shek Kien's (best known as the villain Han in Enter the Dragon) agility; despite his age, he tumbles, high kicks, and moves at a pretty good speed. But really the final fight is between hairstyles. Shek Kien's dyed black, well-coifed 'do' resembles a slicked back Vincent Price cut. In strong contrast, Chan Sao Chung has a haircut reminiscent of a five year old who has just been allowed to comb his own hair, the part staring somewhere around his left ear and oddly plastered across his forehead. In the end, of course, Chan Sao Chung's Beaver Cleaver behead wins over Shek Kien's salon cut

The DVD: Ground Zero. Part of their Blackbelt Theater line.

Picture: Cropped, Full-Screen. Usual tape transfer with wear and tear, faded color, softness, and some spots and flecks on the print. Most annoying is in the first half of the film, quite a few instances where the picture completely drops off, goes gray, and comes back static ridden for a few seconds

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 mono, English dub. I'm going to have to give this audio the worst rating I've done so far. The problem is that the branching between the dub and the original film track is aggressively uneven and choppy, veering between the two blatantly, with the original track showing nice clarity and the dub the standard muffle and warble. Both tracks have age wear and are of the usual low quality one expects with old kung fu, but the levels are so off kilter between the two it was extremely annoying- the original track is quite a bit louder than the dub. There are even two spots where for a minute or so there is dialogue, but no dub, sticking to the original track, compounded by moments that are out of synch, or stutter, repeating words.

The dub is a very Anglicized one. Sao Chung's name is "Conrad Chan", and I'm assuming it was originally supposed to be "Comrade Chan". "Kang" becomes "Kane". "Chow Li Ming" becomes "Charlie Ming".

Extras: 6 Chapters--- "Lost" Trailers (15:35). Nice bunch of theatrical trailers for Raging Rivals, Enter the Invincible Hero, Dynamite Shaolin Heroes, Buddhist Fist and Tiger Claws and Dragon's Snake Fist

Conclusion: I sort of like the novelty of the little guy, Sao Chung, as a star and Shein Kien has a brief but good bit with a three-sectioned staff, but that alone doesnt equal a good movie. The previous Blackbelt Theater GZ releases wet kung fu fans appetites by being double features. This was something that helped justify the purchase of shoddy tape transfers. Since they have abandoned this and the extras are scant, it is really hard for me to recommend purchasing this transfer unless you are a kung fu film nut who knows they wont be bothered by the quality.