Genre: Drama

The final word is that this is highly recommended for the teaming of fifteen or so of the top stars of the Shaw Brothers era. As a stand-alone production though, ‘Ten Tigers Of Kwantung’ is not Chang Cheh’s best.

Despite a storyline that is as old as the hills, there’s something refreshingly simple about the execution of Ivan Lai’s version of events.

For those seeking a fast-paced fantasy film with no pretensions, ‘The 13 Cold-Blooded Eagles’ fits the bill very well and, while not comparable to genre classics like ‘Swordsman II’, is worth a look.

Kuo lets the odd moment of peculiar editing affect an otherwise slick kung-fu drama; the final twenty minutes in particular seems far too rushed in comparison to the majority of the film.

Liu Chia Liang’s ‘The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin’ is an important cinematic moment and remains influential not just in Hong Kong film-making, but also globally.

It’s a pity that ‘The Seven Grandmasters’ is nearly a classic, but not quite. The reason it falls short and the reason why many of Kuo’s features stumble in the same way is the ending.

Multi-layered and superbly made, ‘The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter’ remains one of the greatest martial arts movies of all time.

‘The Adventurers’ itself is a breezy romp with a good cast, some smart action sequences and enough momentum to make its duration enjoyable on a standard level.

Packed with switching allegiances, twists and turns and on occasion stellar set-pieces, ‘The Age of Shadows’ rockets along on its quest to keep one guessing and in a perpetual state of tension.

‘The Asian Connection’ is easily one of Seagal’s worst outings to date, as well as being one of the poorest films I’ve seen in some time.

It hasn’t got the sheer confidence and brash brilliance of ‘Red Cliff’, yet it is a welcome addition to the crowded sub-genre of Three Kingdoms movies.

It isn’t a noisy blockbuster with shrill bells and whistles; it is a smartly made drama with a dash of redemption, a healthy chunk of political history and a level of tension cranked up to the zenith.