queen boxer [1972]

 

hong kong kung flu flix are a lot of fun.  the plots almost always lean toward revenge.  bad guys sometimes get their comeuppance by wronged good guys in the most spectacular fashion.  the fight choreography is a twin to dance choreography, if a bit more vicious & bloody.  this movie is no exception.  the queen in this movie is, for the era of its release, a rare thing.  a woman fighter.  & this movie is rarer, for that era, still for being directed by a woman, feng-chi yu.  

billed as bruce lee's real-life sister, ha ha, actress judy lee [chia ling], is out to avenge the murder of her brother.  an ax wielding group of thugs hired by the local mobster did the killing.  lee is an unstoppable force.  her kicks, punches & physical prowess bests any & every goon that steps in her way.  she is marvelous to witness as she tears thru the scenery leaving the ruined bodies of bad dudes behind.  we are introduced to her powers when she is accosted by aforementioned goofballs who try to assault her in the street.  she doesn't kill these dorks but she does make them spit out a few teeth.

soon lee gets the blessing of her father to wreak her revenge.  she partners with another man, ma yung, played by david wei tang, a social reformer who is hellbent on breaking the grip of the local gangsters in his town.  but there is no lovey-dovey between our two heroes.  these two run a parallel line toward the beasts that must be bested.  nor does this movie have any nudity or sexual assaults.  just straight up bone crushing, flesh gashing revenge taking purity.

& when we get to the final reel there is an army of lee kicking ass on the thugs & lead gangster.  she had taken a vow to revenge her murdered brother on the pain of her own death.  even more so, would be the music used in this film.  isaac hayes' 'theme from shaft' is the stolen theme for this pic!  & i love the film grain & burns on the print of this movie.  those added to the effect that i was at the grindhouse or drive-in watching a print made of a print of a print of this movie.  damn, that brought tears to my eyes!