Although it was released just a year before the Shaw Brothers studio closed, OPIUM AND THE KUNG FU MASTER proves to be just as strong a piece of film-making as their earlier classics. I'm constantly astounded at the way Shaw continued to innovate and provide fresh-feeling movies even having produced literally hundreds of similar efforts over the preceding decades.

This film's a vehicle for martial arts legend Ti Lung, who takes on a role that requires acting as well as fighting ability. You see, OPIUM AND THE KUNG FU MASTER is the ultimate Shaw anti-drug film, detailing the horrendous effects of opium addiction among the working class population. Lung himself is the usual kung fu expert but an opium addict to boot, so conflict comes both internally and eternally in this story.

The scenario is fast-paced and inventive, ably mixing together the usual comedy hijinks (the cross-eyed guy is hilarious),furious action scenes, training, and dense plotting. Chia Tang's direction is outstanding and makes this a fine-looking film and the action never disappoints, although the final bout is a little brief for my liking and the film's true dramatic climax comes earlier. The triumvirate of villainy comes in the form of Chen Kuan Tai, Lee Hoi San, and Phillip Ko, all of whom are excellent.

In what has to be one of the more interesting turns for a character in a martial arts movie, Ti Lung (as Tie) oversees the day-to-day activities of his students (including a Lion Dance, which they win before belittling and then belaboring their opponents). Tie is a strict disciplinarian- at first. Enter Rong Feng (Chen Kuan-Ti),who decides to open an opium den. Rong learns of Tie's addiction and promptly offers him a jar of opium. Before you can say "uh, gimme a second to think this one over," Tie's all but comatose, sucking on a pipe day after day (and, one presumes, night after night). As one might well expect, when it comes time for Tie to step up and man the barricades against the evil opium dealers, he's barely able to stand: in a surprising sequence, he's knocked around by Rong in front of the whole village. Will he go Cold Turkey fu and bounce back, or will the mighty Ti Lung succumb to The Pipe...? There's a bit of high-flying, Old School wirework on display here (as one might well expect in a kung fu movie about opium addiction),but it's kept to a minimum. Not a bad movie, but definitely one with at least one foot planted just a bit too squarely in The Real World.

Veteran action choreographer for the Shaw Bros. studio directed a total of three films on his own at the very end of the studio's existence. This was his last one and after that Tang Chia dropped out of the records. A contemporary of Liu Chia Liang, the other Shaw choreographer turned director, Tang Chia's style was very distinctive and some say defined the classic Shaw kung fu look. He had a fascination with elaborate weapons and apparently took to designing his own for many of the movies that called for something unusual.

A small town is protected by one of the famous Ten Tigers of Kwangtung, played by Ti Lung. The town is very safe as Ti Lung and his kung fu students patrol for criminals. Enter the rival kung fu school whom Ti Lung's students have beaten in a lion dance competition and then humiliated in a brawl. The rival school is joined by an opium dealing kung fu master who plans to turn the town into a community of addicts! Can Ti Lung's character fight this threat when he is quickly slipping into opium addiction himself?

Right off, the martial arts are excellent. Some of the best in any Shaw film. That is enough for some to find this film and I encourage them. The signature Tang Chia crazy weapons are not here but that doesn't lessen the quality of the martial arts at all. The story is quite unusual, you wouldn't expect a kung fu film to tackle the subject of addiction, usually drug dealers are just bad guys to be pounded and the issues of drugs are ignored. The film starts out as a light mixture of action, humor and slapstick. Halfway through the plot turns tragic and sometimes the old school theatrics are turned on full force. The action remains top notch. The ending is unfortunately telegraphed and that lessens the enjoyment a bit. Still the subject of the film is important and it was dealt with in an interesting way.

It too bad that Tang Chia apparently quit the business after this, his three films were quite good. Perhaps he felt that without the support of a studio like the Shaw's, he couldn't maintain the quality.

Recommended and check out the Shaolin "Zatoichi"!