I'm what you'd call a devout Shaw Brothers fanatic. With that bias in mind, Killer Constable (Lightning Kung Fu) is an interesting diversion from your standard Shaw fare being made at the time. As others have stated before me, the "Kung Fu" in the US video re-title is a bit misleading as there is little to no actual kung fu in the film. Instead we're treated to a lot of swordplay. Not the kind of swordplay you'd expect to see in one of Chu Yuan's jiang hu epics, but a more gritty, rough-and-tumble style of fighting that almost seems out of place in a Shaw Brothers film (much of the action courtesy of a Japanese choreographer whose name escapes me). Shaw veteran Chen Kuan Tai (Boxer From Shantung, Crippled Avengers) plays the constable of the title, Ling Tien Ying, who is ordered to hunt down the men responsible for robbing the imperial treasury of 2 million taels of gold. To make matters interesting, he's given only 10 days to do it. Tien Ying is pretty damn ruthless. An anti-hero if there ever was one, but it's a testament to both Chen Kuan Tai as an actor and Kuei Chih Hung's skill a director that we still care what happens to this man and sympathize with him even after he's done some very questionable things. Speaking of director Kuei Chi Hung, he does a great job of instilling a strong sense of atmosphere and maintaining it throughout the picture. Also, anyone familiar with John Woo's The Killer will immediately recognize a couple of scenes that were clearly used/lifted for Woo's film nearly 10 years later. In fact it's so obvious that I'm surprised I've never read anyone commenting on it before. Perhaps it's due to this films lack of availability? Whatever the case, I'd be interested to hear Woo's take on it. Not to give too much away, but the scenes in question involve a blind girl and two antagonists at each other's throat in the same room, ready to kill one another. Both men play along in lying to the blind girl about the one man's identity and what his intentions really are. Sound familiar at all?
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sevenhooks20 January 2006
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bloodshed66625 February 2004I remember watching this movie as a kid and being quite impressed because I found it so bloody. I often remembered this movie and so I was really happy to find this now in a second hand video store after all those years. Of course I'm not that impressed nowadays - but it's still a very cool swordsplay-movie. I has a lot of great fights with some splatter pleasure like extremities being chopped off. Ohh, and it's no kung-fu- or karate-movie, don't know why they named it "Karate Exterminators" or "Lightning Kung Fu", maybe this was more popular at it's release-date. My german video-release is called "Der gnadenlose Vollstrecker" which is a title that totally fits. Really outstanding is the atmosphere. You have fights in pitch black, in the water and marsh, with fire and so on. And there is a lot of rain. You know, rainy, dark atmosphere, desperate and already injured heroes with long wet hair in the face standing counterpart ready to die. - Cool! And the hero is no real hero because he's a total cold-hearted, bougeois executioner. But there's some development with his character during the story which is quite realistic. And the end is very surprising and radical. So, the movie-makers are not just martial-arts- and swordsplay-professionals, they also knew how to develop a storyline and built some great atmosphere. For me this movie is a hidden treasure of all those kung-fu and swordsplay-movies of the 70ies & 80ies. 7 out of 10.
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InjunNose10 December 2021During the late Ching Dynasty, the imperial treasury is robbed, and the Empress's senior minister sends a dogged, pitiless constable (Chen Kuan-tai) to apprehend the thieves. As he encounters everywhere the suffering of the common people, and as his men die one after another in the line of duty, the constable begins to lose faith in his mission...and in the imperial court itself.
"Killer Constable" has been floating around the home video market for decades, first on VHS and then on DVD, as "Lightning Kung Fu." That English-dubbed print is faded, blotched and scratchy, with the original title clumsily hacked off; it's a disgraceful state for any film to be in, but see it anyhow. It's that good. Director Kuei Chih-hung treats the subject matter with the gravity it deserves, and his artistry is evident despite the condition of the print. Chen Kuan-tai turns in a fine performance, as does veteran Shaw character actor Ku Feng (as one of the desperate thieves being pursued by the constable). Beautifully choreographed swordfights, too, the high point being the confrontation between Chen and Jason Pai Piao as a hired assassin. -
ckormos114 December 2011If you are a kung fu movie fan you can invite your Hollywood movie fan friends over to watch Killer Constable. Tell them it's an action movie that actually has a plot and a dark disturbing emotional impact. Yes, you could even watch this movie with your mom!
I like to analyze plot structure and almost all kung fu movies fall into four plots. 1) Revenge or "You killed my master" 2) The Karate Kid or doofus learns martial arts 3) The fighter who has sworn never to use violence again but is finally forced into it and 4) Martial artists from everywhere come to the tournament which is far more than just that. This actually adds a plot I haven't seen before in this genre. It's the good guy crosses the line plot. If you've ever watched an episode of Highlander the TV series this was a favorite plot there. The protagonist's character progression is amazing and unlike Western plot structure. He starts out as a jerk, then there is hope for him, yet he continues to be a jerk. Then you are cheering for him at the end because sometimes the world needs a jerk to kill the real villain.
The only thing I didn't like about the movie was the fights at the beginning. They are filmed in the dark and you can't see what's happening. With Kuan Tai Chen we need to see everything because he is the real deal. Fortunately the rest of the fights were showcases of his true skill level. Make this one an 8.0 for me. A note to all old school kung fu movie fans. I highly recommend Kuan Tai Chen's latest - "The Gallants" and rate that one an 8.0 also. -
a_chinn1 July 2017Solid martial arts film that's darker than most kung-fu films (both in story and tone, but also in it's actually lighting). The story follows a tough no nonsense constable who is hired to recover stolen royal property. He first assembles his team and they then set out to recover the stolen goods and seeking justice. It's a better story than most Shaw Brother's martial arts films, though that's not saying much, and there are enough good fight sequences (more swordplay than hand-to-hand) to make this worth watching, even if it's not a classic.
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simonize-118 June 2007The recent Celestial Pictures region 3 DVD of the 1980 Shaw Bros. film THE KILLER CONSTABLE establishes that the picture deserves cult status. KILLER CONSTABLE is distinguished by a story quite different from the norm (though the set up may seem hackneyed now); sets, locations and atmosphere that are unique in the Shaw Bros. canon, and action and violence unusually cruel and explicit. Add to this, an ending that is very cynical.
Chen Kuan Tai is very effective in his portrayal of THE KILLER CONSTABLE, known for his policy of not taking prisoners. Such is his self righteous position as judge, jury and executioner, that some of his men take exception to his ruthlessness, and worse, his enemies use that predictability against him.
The story is set in motion when the Royal Treasury is robbed of 2,000,000 taels of gold. Chen's character LENG TIAN-YING is given the unenviable job of recovering the gold, and bringing the robbers to justice. In just 10 days. To save face for his superior, who stands otherwise to face the wrath of the Empress Dowager! LENG is able to build a small posse of five men, who are more devoted to him, than they are to the mission. Too late LENG discovers that loyalty has its costs, and too late he discovers exactly who his enemies are.
Once LENG and company leave the capital their journey is like a descent into hell. They enter into and travel through one wasteland after another; do battle in darkness, in rain, in swamps, in mud and everything in between. I have read comments that dismiss the film, because it is a sword fighting film. This is certainly true, but there is no end to the weapons on display and the variety of styles and subterfuge. Furthermore, the sheer savagery of the bloodletting and lifetaking is such you would imagine yourself to being viewing a horror film.
During this journey LENG and his men must battle the elements as well as an ever present enemy. LENG never seems to have any difficulty of finding the original culprits, something he does wonder at, nor is he curious why none of them have very much of the gold with them. He certainly lacks imagination but never resolve. LENG is actually very human and CHEN portrays his failings and even his humanity, as effectively as he does his unswerving dedication to the cause.
Even the music is distinctive; I didn't hear any of the recycled Ennio Morricone, Messrs. Jerry Fielding and Goldsmith - indeed the scene that introduces the character of KU FENG and his blind daughter is quite unlike anything I have heard in a SHAW BROS. film.
I came away mightily impressed by everything in this film and all the contributing elements -it's a film that does not seem to have become dated at all.
My one concern was that the NTSC DVD runs 92 minutes; the only other running time I have see for KILLER CONSTABLE is 99 minutes (however this seems to be true of almost all the region 3 SHAW BROS. DVDs).
PS: A tael is the equivalent of 1 1/3 oz; not much, but imagine moving 2,000,000 bars of gold this size! -
At times you get positively surprised, when you look forward to a film and expect to see some quality work, and you get what you seek out but in a very different way than you thought, and possibly even more. This was the case when I popped Killer Constable into my DVD player and got way more than your regular Shaw Kung Fu hour-and-a-half epistle.
Compared to other Shaw Brother's period Wu Xia and Kung Fu works, Killer Constable differs from the lot quite a bit, and in a very positive way. Director Kuei Chih-hung's background in crime films really show, as he takes interesting elements from hard-boiled crime films and Japanese samurai films, among others, and bring them seamlessly into the Wu Xia movie.
It's more than rare in these films to see the protagonists being as a part of the Manchu dynasty's government. This is probably the main reason why we have such a dark character as the main protagonist. Chen Kuan-tai as the Killer Constable himself is a dark type of hero, bordering the anti-hero nearly all of the time. Along in his company of ever-vigilant law-officers, there's no place for your typical sleek-cheeked do-gooders in the posse, as we soon see, when this group of tough law officers go for their mission to capture and punish the bandit who's responsible for stealing a large sum of Emperor's gold. Also, a bit striking are some features you can see in the villains of the movie, some of them who have unusually humane characteristics, giving less stereotypical image of the characters than your usual black-and-white Good vs. Bad composition found in many of the genre pieces.
While always being a solid actor and great martial artist - one of my very favourite Shaw Bros. stars - Chen Kuan-Tai really shines in his role. He has the powerful presence and charisma as the stone faced law officer who discovers that he is only a tool and gets betrayed by the system he has abidingly served, that the role gets nearly immortalized.
Beautiful use of lighting and scenery, tight script, good balance of action and story, and especially interesting main character make this one the winner all the way. I also have to dish out some bonus points for the very bleak ending shot that somehow emphasized the futility of it all and concretely showed what kind of destruction greed, corruption and following orders without any questioning can lead you to. (This last one may very well be only my interpretation more than the message that was intendedly embedded in the film, but that's how I felt when the last images hit the screen.)
The blend of these elements make Killer Constable very atmospheric and exceptionally dark piece of martial arts mayhem, guaranteed to satisfy the genre fans and most probably being an interesting piece also for the people who are not familiar with the genre. Definitely one of my all-time Shaw favourites!
This is my truth. What is yours? -
mrbungle416 March 2003I saw this film under the title of "Lightning Kung Fu," which is strange because it deals with neither lightning or what most people may consider to be Kung Fu action. I propose the the new title be "Chop Chop Constable in a Dark Room." This is not to say that the film is entirely unworthy of being viewed. It follows a darker story than most Hong Kong films from the late 70's and early 80's with the main character killing every criminal he's sent to find without remorse. The most interesting scene is a battle and chase that takes place almost entirely in the dark. It's very difficult to see and I wonder if it was a bold decision by the film team or merely the product of a low budget and no lighting. However it is realistic in it's pitch black chaos. Altogether this film suffers from some confusing developments (such as the constable not feeling any effects from a certain dart), and weak characterizations. Not my first choice when it comes to swordplay movies.
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InzyWimzy17 July 2002Actually, the title "Lightning Kung Fu" is a bit misleading. There is kung fu, but majority of fighting is swordplay.
Most kung fu movies from the 80s can be either really good or really cheesy. This one is unique since the hero isn't really a hero. The constable is so determined that he doesn't hesitate to kill. So, you get a very jaded portrayal here. However, during his mission, his outlook changes as his allies start to fall by the wayside.
The action scenes in this are really great to watch. There's one scene where an ambush in the dark leaves the constable battling enemies in pitch black! (it was a little difficult to see too). The sword fighting looks authentic and the clanging of blade against blade gets addicting after awhile. The constable's sword looks wicked cool too!! Unlike some cheesy martial arts movies, this one is more serious: you've got fighting, dialogue, then more fighting! Bad guys don't come one on one, they attack at once.
Definitely catch this one. -
bgar-809322 October 2019I'm not a big fan of Kung Fu so take my review with a grain of salt. The story itself was decent, nothing extravagant but decent. The fighting I'd even say was better than the typical Kung Fu movie I've seen but still a little silly and the swords just felt fake to me. The blood is pretty much the same in every Kung Fu movie, it looks like paint or something. That takes me out of it. Also at one part near the end when a wound was cut it came out like marbles or something, it was really goofy. In the end though I just didn't really care for any of the characters and even with a decent little swing of the story I was just ready for it to be over. Not the worst Kung Fu movie I've seen though and it looks like it was shooting for something better and non-goofy/corny.
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venoms510 September 20072 million taels in gold has been stolen from a vault within the Forbidden City. The Empress wants the money returned within 10 days. Chief Constable Leng Tien Ying is hired to bring back the gold robbers, dead or alive; only he never brings anyone back alive. He assembles a team of officers to find the stolen gold. Over the course of the film a major conspiracy is uncovered.
This is a very famous Shaw Brothers movie from the late 70s. It wasn't a massive hit in HK, but was in other territories. During the time of this films release, audiences were interested in kung fu comedies and not deadly serious and downbeat martial dramas. However, numerous rip-offs and similarly plotted films followed; mostly independents. In the US, it was a major cult film among fans. It is often considered to be Chen Kuan Tai's best role. Chen became a major star literally over night after starring in Chang Cheh's seminal 1972 picture, THE BOXER FROM SHANTUNG. A film that had John Woo as an AD.
Here, Chen plays the brutally cold hearted, but whole heartedly righteous royal constable Leng. His brother also is a constable. He detests his methods of always killing and never showing mercy to criminals. He tells him in a strong scene that he "...stinks of blood". In this scene Chen showcases in very minute facial movements that he does indeed have feelings but he believes if one shows kindness to these cruel and vicious criminals, it would be their undoing. He is told on several occasions that he has no heart, but in reality he has feelings but cannot afford to let them show. In several scenes in Chen's performance, it is apparent that he really doesn't want to kill men wantonly but he knows he must lest he be killed.
During the time period the film is set, shortly after the Ming reprisals to dethrone the invading Manchu hordes had failed, the common people caught amidst all the turmoil and war were left homeless and starving. Many of these folk resorted to crime to survive. This point is mentioned by one of Leng's men who cannot understand his methods and feels pity for those less fortunate. Only when the officers take shelter in a destroyed peasant village does he realize what kindness will get you.
Throughout the pursuit, Leng's men have all been killed and Leng himself has been injured during the increasingly deadly confrontations. One scene has Leng and his few remaining men facing off against a hired assassin (Pai Piao) who uses Butterfly Swords and also a hidden wrist weapon that fires Scorpion Darts laced with venom. One of his men is hit with one of the poison needles and Leng and the assassin fight atop a giant fog enshrouded sun dial. If Leng wins, he gets the antidote and the assassins' share of the gold.
There are many great sets that are nearly always found in Shaw Brothers movies. Even in their lower tier B movies, there is always an element of quality in the set design that makes them appear more expensive than they really are. In almost every sequence, the constant grim and gloomy atmosphere is hammered home in the form of lots and lots of rain, thunder and lightning and a great wind storm.
One ominously Gothic scene has Leng limp across a battlefield amidst many arrow riddled and sword slashed bodies surrounded in fog. He finds the body of his brother resting on his knees his sword propping him up in the mud. Upon reaching him, he touches his shoulder by which he then slumps over. He was dead for some time. Suddenly a great rain storm appears again flushing away the fog surrounding Leng who then maddeningly begins slashing his sword around him yelling "KILL!" after he has discovered the insidious plot.
The finale features a bravura battle sequence filled with much blood splattering and limb severing that would appear prominently in CONAN THE BARBARIAN a couple of years later. Such scenes had been a mainstay in Shaw productions since the 60s but here, these scenes have more of a visceral impact than before.
Usually, in past films precise editing techniques were used in scenes involving people slashed with swords or other implements but here there are no cut-aways. You seen the weapon or arrow enter the body. It's obvious on a couple of occasions that the performer is wearing a plate loaded with blood bags, but by seeing the act without the editing, it adds a level of gruesomeness and savagery that adds another level of realism.
One of the most downbeat and depressing movies of any genre, this type of film was a mainstay at Shaw's. Chang Cheh started the whole concept of showing the hero as vulnerable. You would never know if he would live or die and many times his heroes would die albeit very spectacularly in adrenaline fueled bloody finales. This concept became commonplace at Shaw's. After seeing dozens of movies I had only ever heard of, I began to wonder if it was a policy at Shaw's that happy endings were not allowed!
An interesting note about this film is that the main characters are all Manchu's; the hated enemies of the Chinese after they invaded China in 1644. The thieves and robbers are actually the "good guys" for the most part. Even though Constable Leng is a righteous man, he is still a Manchu or Qing as they are also referred. -
Brilliantly shot, competently edited. Incredibly gritty and "unclean" compared to other very stylish and smooth martial arts films. I mean this in a good way, something feels very raw and pure about this movie. Plus an interesting and flawed main character and bad-guys who aren't inherently evil, something you NEVER see from this genre. Probably one of the gorier martial-arts movies from this genre, if not the most brutal, but it isn't over done like some martial-arts movies today are. Decapitation is used sparingly, and when it happens it takes you off-guard. The best scenes are during the night, and the lighting here is astounding, the director uses the dark to the advantage of the fighting, and it creates a very interesting dynamic. In fact every fight that takes place has some sort of element to it.
I would have to take off 2 star though, the fighting choreography isn't as well done as many other classic martial arts films, and that is one of the main strong points of the genre. The other reason is that this movie would have been better if it had been extended. We have an interesting character, and an interesting plot.If the movie was extended by perhaps 30 or so minutes to expand on some character and story elements it would be maybe one of the greatest martial-arts film of this kind.
While this came out in 1980, which isn't exactly the golden era for movies like this, I think you will be hard-pressed to find a single movie of the genre as good and mature as this one. It's a perfect blend of the good Chinese elements of filmmaking and some western-influenced techniques. -
kosmasp13 January 2021The introduction scene of our main character made me think: does this have a moral to it? Can the justice be served without any questions asked? Are all criminals evil and deserving of dying? And is our main character human or rather able of showing some emotions to that point? And the movie kind of touches upon those things. It is not too complex, but you can see things displayed and you can apply your moral code to this. There are characters and decisions that apply to your choices .. and of course there are others too.
Shaw Brothers put movies out at a rapid speed and so many of them, that you may excused for not thinking highly of them ... that is before you actually see some. Of course even they have various degrees of quality, but this right here is more than good! Yes some things have not aged well (like the blood effects generally from back then and in this special case some of the weapons used that in some shots are clearly plastic) ... still this is as entertaining as it can be and yet still gives you some food for thought too -
Leofwine_draca22 December 2016KILLER CONSTABLE is a Shaw Brothers martial arts outing that offers something a little different for the seasoned fan. For a change, it wasn't directed by Chor Yuen or Chang Cheh, but rather Kuei Chih-Hung, who made his mark directing a number of supernatural epics for the studio, most notably HEX and the incredible, insane BOXER'S OMEN. This is a dark and downbeat story about an imperial policeman's job to hunt down gold which was stolen from the treasury.
This film is a vehicle for the excellent and underrated Chen Kuan Tai, who makes for a fantastically brooding hero. The story is rather ordinary, but this is a visual experience in which the emphasis is on what's on screen rather than the intricacies of the narrative. Chih-Hung is careful to supply excellent framing shots and shoots a lot of his action in dark or dreary conditions, giving this a look of doom that reminded me of Bergman and Kurosawa in places. However, what the film lacks in plot it makes up for in theme: this is all about the nature of ruthlessness, greed, and what violence can do to a man. It plows the depths of the human experience in a shocking, existential way and I'm not kidding when I say it's up there with the likes of Macbeth.
Given that this is a martial arts production, there's plenty of action here, and it's of a very good quality. It's also incessantly gruesome and nihilistic, even more so than in a Chang Cheh film. Wounds are show in excruciating close-up detail and there's always some novel way to destroy the human body. The choreography is excellent and the performers are all up to the job, including such reliables as Jason Pai Piao, Chiang Tao, Dick Wei, Yuen Wah, and in particular Ku Feng who has a really meaty role. Things build to an incredible climax which has to be seen to be believed. KILLER CONSTABLE is a stark and shocking surprise and a highlight of Shaw's 1980s output. -
Clarkashton7563 October 2021From the same director of the disturbing "Hex" (1980) and the gore jewel "Bewitched" (1981), an updated reinterpretation of Kung Fu classics such as "One-armed Swordsman" (1967) and "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin" (1978).
The film is about a police chief who is assigned to go in search of the thieves who have stolen two million gold bars from the capital. He will uncover a plot in which he will do justice with blood.
The film immediately takes on an almost feverish pace, thanks to the frantic editing in the style of Shaw Brothers. Excellent from a photographic point of view, especially the night scenes, they are pervaded by a dark blue that fully satisfies the viewer's view. The fights are fluid and fed with massive doses of blood. With a perfect mix of action and speech, cruelty and irony.
The only flaws are: The not very fluid panoramas and some shots to be discarded kept in assembly. In summary, a fresh and very smooth film. Beautiful, but with the blunders of those who produce films in a few months, in perfect Shaw Brothers style.