Master of the Flying Guillotine – 1976 – 93 Mins
What’s it about?
A blind imperial assassin takes up his flying guillotine and goes out in search of the One-Armed Boxer – the man responsible for the death of his two students. With the trail leading him to a martial arts tournament, the assassin gets to work ensuring he has defeated every one-armed man he comes across, and with the help of equally powerful subordinates, the One-Armed Boxer’s time just might be up…
In Review
The flying guillotine is a ranged/melee weapon which hailed from China’s Qing dynasty - when used correctly it could be launched onto your enemy’s head then pulled back via a chain, decapitating them in the process. In reality it is highly questionable as to how effective this process would be in an intense combat situation, but in the realm of cinema the flying guillotine is not held back by such trivial matters, and so rightfully it has made many spectacular appearances in Chinese martial art films and beyond. This particular flying guillotine film outing however is a cut above the rest, and could arguably be one of the greatest flying guillotine movies in existence, should a ranking system for flying guillotine movies ever come about.
Master of the Flying Guillotine, also known as One-Armed Boxer 2 or the One Armed Boxer vs. the Flying Guillotine, has everything you’d expect from a film with such impressive titles. There’s flying guillotines, one-armed boxers, fighting tournaments that would be right at home in the Mortal Kombat universe, and of course an over the top story-line pulled along by a cast of misfit oddities that make up the cast of characters. Admittedly, the choreography of the fights may not be up to par with most well regarded martial arts films, but what Guillotine lacks in combat perfection it most definitely makes up for with spectacle.
Spectacle comes in many shapes and sizes in Guillotine, but none quite like the spectacle of the master of the guillotine himself, Fung Sheng Wu Chi. Sporting looks similar to those of Pai Mei of Kill Bill fame[1], Wu Chi is a deadly adversary, armed with both his trusted guillotine and a small collection of explosives, both of which he uses with minimal restraint and with total disregard for the outcome. This takes-no-shit behaviour is sure to leave a lasting impression with the audience - though what definitely makes Wu Chi’s so memorable is the fact he has a Swastika printed on a large bib he wears. Obviously its inclusion in his outfit is due to his Buddhist background and not due to his views on the Jewish community; nevertheless it is still a sight to behold watching an elderly blind Chinese man running around the countryside decapitating one-armed individuals with a symbol of hate plastered across his chest. As if we weren’t lucky enough to be presented with Wu, his associates are equally as bizarre in appearance, though with much less fascist symbolism. One particular warrior at his disposal, Yogi Tro Le Soung, is an Indian fighter (though is in fact played by a Chinese actor named Wong Wing-sang in brown face) who has an attack owl at hand and, shall we say, a couple of other tricks up his sleeves.
Enough about the villains though, let’s talk about our hero – The One-Armed Boxer. Though he is known by no other name in the movie, I can tell you that his true name is Tien Lung, and he is the sole survivor of an attack on his old martial arts school in One Armed Boxer, the prior film in this “franchise” (more on this in “Sequels?”). Following the events of Boxer, in which he came to lose his arm, Lung has trained every day to remain a strong and capable warrior, even starting his own martial arts school where he trains adoring students in his craft. Throughout the duration of the film, Lung shows us what he lacks in two arms he more than makes up for in skill and cunning, often leading to a number of delightfully creative methods of bringing Wu Chi’s lackeys to a deserving end.
Creativity is definitely something Guillotine is packing, though it has not been fully channelled into the martial arts. This is fine however, because the film is never trying to sell itself as a serious martial arts movie, though by no choice of its own I would say it does claw itself into the higher tier of martial arts movies when compared to some of the other offerings of the genre. I would say a hefty seventy percent of the fights in Guillotine are focused more on the spectacle than actual combat, with much of what transpires being impossible to accomplish within the confides of reality, yet there is still a noble thirty percent of well choreographed fighting to appease the kung-fu movie elitists out there. It does go without saying – anyone watching this film under any of its three aliases expecting something to the degree of House of Flying Daggers is a fool – though should it ever happen I can imagine they’ll still walk away pleased with the product.
All in all, Master of the Flying Guillotine is a joy to watch simply for everything that it throws at you, much like a flying guillotine is not a joy when it is thrown at you. The film is non-stop absurdity from the moment it starts, the action is a perfect blend of skilled combat and special effects wizardry of seventies Chinese cinema, the characters are unique, and of course, there’s a flying guillotine. Guillotine’s legacy should also go the distance in proving to a new audience that it’s worth the time; there’s a soft spot for the film in Tarantino’s heart, and fans of the Street Fighter series will notice that Dhalsim shares many combat traits with Indian assassin Le Soung, and rapper Jumpsteady (brother of Insane Clown Posse co-founder Violent J) even named his debut album after the movie. If it’s good with the Psychopathic Family, you know it must have some merit.
The cast have cropped up in a few other famous martial arts movies, such as The 36th Chamber of Shaolin and a number of Jackie Chan’s outputs, but none are quite as famous as the films’ director, writer, and lead actor Yu Wang, who appears under the pseudonym of Jimmy Wang Yu for whatever reason. Wang plays Lung the one-armed boxer, and outside of creating Guillotine he has also acted in Dragon, One-Armed Boxer (naturally), and was the original actor in many of the scenes in Kung-Pow until digitally replaced with Steve Oedekerk to become The Chosen One. Kang Chin, who plays the guillotine’s blind master, has an equally impressive number of martial arts titles under his belt – including Iron Monkey, Shaolin Wooden Men, and the greatest Brucesploitation movie ever made – Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger. Incidentally, the soundtrack which features music by German electro bands Kraftwerk and Neu! was never cleared for usage with the copyright holders when the film was released, though given how fucking amazing the film turned out, I can only assume the respected owners took one glance at the picture and swiftly gave them permission for all future use.
Watch if You Liked
Crippled Avengers | Kung-Fu Hustle | The 36th Chamber of Shaolin | Enter the Dragon
Sequels?
This is a tricky one. Master of the Flying Guillotine is often tied to a film released a year prior to it simply titled Flying Guillotine, though there is no actual link. Both films feature the same weapon and a similar political climate (not that politics even matter in movies like these) but that’s your only real connection – at a push I’d assume that maybe the title Master of the Flying Guillotine was used in certain countries for the film to appear to be a sequel to trick audiences, a similar trick mastered by the distributors of Italian films in the seventies and eighties. Master of the Flying Guillotine is however a true sequel to Wang’s previous film One-Armed Boxer, which is a competent and well-loved martial arts movie despite lacking any flying guillotines. There is also an unofficial prequel to Master of the Flying Guillotine named Fatal Flying Guillotine, but it’s a fairly lacklustre cash-in that just doesn’t hold up against the other films in this strange, disjointed flying guillotine franchise.
Easy to Find?
You can grab a copy of Guillotine on DVD for less than £10 under any of its three titles (or under £15 if you fancy the 2-disc edition). Unsurprisingly there’s no Blu-Ray edition, though it is available for downloading on some sites, surprisingly!
[1] This is unsurprising given that Tarantino has cited Guillotine as one of his favourite films of all time, which is also why the track Super 16 from the Guillotine’s soundtrack also features in Kill Bill.
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