Search - 3 Evil Masters on DVD

Classic Shaw Brothers

Jack Mann | Bronx, NY USA | 01/19/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

""It's just you should be punished. I'm going to chop off your arms, so are you ready? Those word are spoken by Chen Kuan-tai as Chin as so begins probaly the best opening fight sequence in a Shaw Brother movie. Chin takes on all three of the titled villains in a restaurant. Watch closely as the knife expert does a back flip while throwing two knives. The Three Evils are lead by my favorite Shaw actor Wang Lung-wei. You would reconize him as Iron Robe in Kid With the Golden Arm and also from Five Deadly Venoms. In this movie he uses Panther style. In the movie the Three Evils wound Chin and he hides in a Kung-fu school where he is aided by Kao-chin. Chin repays Kao-chin by teaching him new techniques. I don't want to give away the whole movie, which I'm sure you enjoy. All the good Shaw elements are here excellent martial arts and choreography and the hero gets his revenge. I would like to explain why I gave this movie four stars. Like I said I love this movie, but I took one star away because of the quality of the DVD. I know the makers Ground Zero tried to the best they could by using the best original print they could find, but I can't give a perfect rating to am ovie that's neither wide screen nor remasterd. Unfortuantely many reviewers are quick to slap on a perfect rating because the movie is great and forget the quality of the DVD it's self. I just want people to know what they are buying. If you are a old school martial arts fan I encourage you to buy this because it's the best version of this good film at a reasonable price. I can only hope that one day someone takes the Shaw films seriously and gives a digital remasters with all the extras."

Three Evil Masters - "A Sure Old School Kung Fu Classic"

Minister Dixon | 08/30/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Listen up all old school Kung Fu fans do not sleep on this one. This is surely in my top 5% of great all time Kung Fu flicks. Years ago, this was one of the flicks (on VHS then) that was least advertised and spoken about in my neighborhood. I just happen to pick it up at my local video rental store because the cover looked interesting. Man, I picked a winner with this one!

This flick is the classic case of a young, skinny, and unskilled student getting picked on and bullied by others - in my opinion - less skillful than himself. Because he was less in stature and position and was the Kung Fu school's flunkee, he was often used as a punching bag - even by his teacher who was supposed to teach him Kung Fu and protect him.

After finding an extremely injured man who managed to escape the clutches of "The Three Evils", he took it upon himself to hide him on the premises and try to nurse him back to health. His fellow students nor his teacher never knew that he was hiding a severely injured man. He later learned that it was this same man that broke his teacher's ribs in a fight. So, Yes, his new friend and teacher had history and an obvious hatred for one another. This fact was played into the plot and carried out well here. Out of pure gratitude for what this young student done for him, this teacher taught him Kung Fu to prevent him from being further bullied.

Once his teacher discovered he had befriended the same man who broke his ribs, he was viewed as a traitor and forced to leave the Kung Fu school. After "The Three Evils" caught up with his friend (who was still injured) and killed him they took over his teacher's school. They forced the teacher to obey their demands and made servants of the students.

After using trickery to gain access into the school as a student again, he began to scheme and plan his revenge against "The Three Evils" for killing his friend and taking over his teacher's school.

I purposely left out many details as to not give away too much of the plot and the excellent ending. It's an ending that can easily go down as being one of the best in Kung Fu.

The Kung Fu in this movie is excellent. This guy has a roundhouse kick you won't believe - whoaaaaaa - it's something you must see for yourself!!!!!! This young student is awesome - totally awesome! It's a shame that I don't see this guy in too many other Kung Fu flicks. The "back" button will be your bestfriend in this one. I can't tell you how many times I had to go back to see a special move saying to myself, "Man, no way, he didn't just do that!" The overdubs on the DVD great - acting - no problem! I was sold. I'm truly impressed with the quality of this old school joint.

I gave this movie a "5" star rating based upon the movie itself not the dubbing of it to DVD. This was a great flick in itself from beginning to end. This is a must have for your Kung Fu collection."

This movie is unbelievable to watch.

A. Pittman | Stockton, California United States | 09/02/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Not a bad price, for a darn good flick..."

Another great Shaw Brothers movie

morgoth | omaha, NE | 03/10/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Chen Kuan Tai plays a kung fu master on the run from a gang called the 3 Evils. Johnny Wang Lung Wei is their leader and these 3 are super tough. After getting injured, Kuan Tai looks for shelter at a young man's house. Yuen Tak plays the young man and stays at a kung fu school. He was taken in as an orphan and has lived there for about 3 years. He gladly takes Kuan Tai in and they begin a very friendly teacher and student relationship. Yuen Tak is not an actor and would never fit in at playing a serious role, but this is a comedy and he fits right in as the lead. He and Yuen Bun are responsible for almost every Hong Kong action movie made in the 90's. Along With Yuen Woo Ping and Corey Yuen Kwai, these 4 directed the action in at least 70% of everthing being made for close to 10 years. Lau Hok Nin plays the school master and he is not exactly a fan of Kuan Tai because of their troubles in the past. The story is very well done and more than enjoyable all the way through. It's not surprising since it is directed by Lu Chun Ku who has done many good movies including 'The Postman Strikes Back' with Ti Lung and 'Holy Fame of the Martial World'. He has worked together with Lau Hok Nin and action director Hsu Hsia before. Lau Hok Nin is even better in this than he was in 'Hell'z Widstaff' and 'Tiger Over Wall', both being directed by Lu Chun Ku. Not only is he a wonderful character actor, but he is no slouch in the kung fu department either. The action is absolutely superb and the entire movie is fight filled. Not a single scene looks rushed, and I always love it when they save the best for last.

While the story is very well done, it also has a lot of unique director touches to it. One of the 3 evil masters is a ladies man and his scene in a brothel is not one you will soon forget. The nudity does get a bit excessive, but the hero of the movie steals the show dressing up as a woman. I was amazed to see all the jiggling, but I had no idea that it would turn out to be so funny.

To go along with the amazing action scenes and great acting and directing job, there is also a very fun soundtrack and beautiful cinematography. It is always nice to see the Shaw Brothers outdoor sets. I could have used a little more comedy out of Chan Lau, but other than that, I can only think of one other fault. Lung Wei uses a hair braid very effectively as a weapon, but it only seems to cut up clothes rather than cut up the body or face. It's a minor gripe, but there is some good blood effects for death scenes, and Lung Wei is an absolute madman with a spear in his hands. There is a lot to be happy about. If you are not a fan of the genre, it may get boring at times, but all kung fu fans will be delighted with this classic. 4.5/5

I have the region 3 IVL version. And if you need it English dubbed, there is the bootleg Red Sun version with slightly inferior picture quality."