Pai yu lao hu (1977) watch online HD

An absolutely diabolical & manic wuxia satire of the clan feuds variety. Like the best of medieval Shakesperean tradition, a fanatical air of twisted alliances between members of both sides blur the line between good & evil. Sell out the ones you love to veil deception and to maintain their antic dispositions. You even sell out your headless self. For in the end, you justify your own morality with arsenic in your raised chalice and declare your crest the victor (if anybody's still alive that is).

Surreptitious loyalties exist in a maniacal framework switching sides as many an occasion as there's a hidden blade within a blade within a blade and with this, Chu Yuan's Jacobean flavored prism of blood, we are staring into two mirrors directly facing each other. Ti Lung walks the tightrope against type with his squeaky clean screen image. Like an evil inbred brother to the more insular 'Soul of the Sword', 'Jade Tiger' is Ti Lung and Hong Kong's Shaw Brothers at it's swashbuckling darkest. Yea anon, sharpen ye rapiers and let the bloodletting begin. Three and a half outta four kills.

"The Jade Tiger" is definitely one of the Shaw Brother's darker films. This selection has one the most bittersweet endings I've ever seen in this series of Late Old School films (1977-1983). The film has so many double-crosses and loyalties masquerading as betrayal that it's a task unto itself to keep track of the "good" or "bad" guys. And that's the whole point. Eventually the hero realizes the self-perpetuating absurdity of violence. Why are we killing this clan? To gain dominance over the Martial Arts World? To what end? This would be the sort of chopsocky movie Hayao Miyazaki would have directed if he had grown tired of doing kiddie anime.

"Jade Tiger" is beautifully shot, with the yet another flawless Ti Lung performance. It's a good companion piece to watch with "The Boxer from Shangtung," with which it shares many similarities. I had no idea Chinese dining could be so dangerous!

Solid action, with the trademark Shaw Brothers wacky scenes...look out for the guy with the exploding eyeballs!

Some interesting concepts are contained in this absurd but dark sword film. As in other Yuen Chor films there are a number of characters to keep track of but Ti Lung holds it all together. There a good number of wild martial artists including one with exploding eyeballs! It's a very watchable film filled with fights and extraordinary weapons. Unfortunately for me the drama went a bit too unbelievable and the plot twists required Ti Lung's character to be naive at one point but brilliant and cunning at another. A little more character development might have helped.

A good film with more introspection then the typical kung-fu movie.

THE JADE TIGER begins with a duel: Zhao Wu-ji (Ti Lung), who's about to get married, faces off against an opponent he's really not in the mood to kill (it being his wedding day and all). He bows out of the duel and races to Dafeng Hall, where his bride-to-be awaits- but other matters suddenly take precedence: the notorious Tang Clan, a clan renowned for its use of poisons, arrives with an offer: 10, 000 taels for the head of the Zhao clan. The very next day, Shang Guan (Ku Feng), a trusted Zhao friend, arrives at the Tang Clan base with the head of Wu-ji's father. Wu-ji must avenge this affront AND recover a jade tiger with a message secreted inside of it. He sets out, undercover, for the Tang Clan base. En route, he meets a bumbling but suspicious man, Chueh (Lo Lieh)- who turns out to be Tang Chueh, leader of the Tang Clan. As he puts it at one point (when Wu-ji's identity is called into question): "When in doubt, take him out." The undercover Wu-ji then finds himself engaged to the beautiful sister of Chueh, Tang Yu (Shih Szu); her brother, Tang Ao (Yueh Hua), is suspicious of Wu-ji- especially when a woman claiming to be Wu-ji's fiancé and her entourage arrive and end up dead. Tang Ao follows Wu-ji one night and sees him sending memorial lanterns down the river. Ao confronts him, angered that Wu-ji has betrayed Tang Yu, but waxes philosophical about it all as he walks away from the emotionally distraught Wu-ji: "If yesterday's wrongs are avenged today, today's wrongs will be avenged tomorrow." There are some interesting weapons-within-weapons on display in THE JADE TIGER and some genuinely moving moments (it's easy to see why Ti Lung is considered an actor's actor). The basilisk-like poisons used by the Tang Clan are also interesting (one touch, and you're dead- unless, like Ku Feng, you use gloves...).