. . . . . VENOM ROLL CALL . . . . .
Sun Chien -- the best kicker; sometimes he's a hero, and sometimes he's not one
Kuo Chui -- usually the main hero; he often pretends to be a beggar or criminal
Lu Feng -- usually plays the insidious traitor who lures the other four to doom
Lo Meng -- a thick-headed but often kind muscleman; he tends not to use weapons
Chiang Sheng -- a comedic, nimble stylist; nicknamed "Cutie-Pie" by his HK fans
. . . . . THE "VENOMS FILMS" . . . . .
(NOTE: entries preceded by a "o" denote alternate film titles
entries preceded by a "6" denote films with 6 Venoms: all 5 plus Wei Pai
entries preceded by a "5" denote a proto-Venoms film [with all 5 Venoms]
entries preceded by a "5" denote films with 5 Venoms
entries preceded by a "4" denote films with 4 Venoms
entries preceded by a "3" denote films with 3 Venoms)
5 AVENGING WARRIORS OF SHAOLIN (1978)-- Lo Meng, Kuo Chui, Lu Feng, Jason Pai
Piao, Sun Chien, Chiang Sheng, Ku Kuan-chung (aka SHAOLIN RESCUERS)
o BLAST OF THE IRON PALM: American title for BRAVE ARCHER, PART III (1981)
4 BRAVE ARCHER (1977)-- Fu Sheng, Ku Kuan-chun, Danny Lee, Dick Wei, Ti Lung,
Ku Feng, Kuo Chui [aka Philip Kwok], Lo Meng, Lu Feng, Chiang Sheng
(US: KUNG FU WARLORDS)
5 BRAVE ARCHER, PART II (1978)-- Fu Sheng, Chang Cheh, Wang Lung Wei, Ku Feng,
Kuo Chui, Ti Lung, Sun Chien, Lu Feng, Lo Meng, Chiang Sheng
(US: KUNG FU WARLORDS, PART II) [a Proto-Venoms Film]
5 BRAVE ARCHER, PART III (1981)-- Fu Sheng, Lo Meng, Ti Lung, Kuo Chui, Chiang
Sheng, Sun Chien, Lu Feng, Li Li-li, Chu Ko (US: BLAST OF THE IRON PALM)
(aka KUNG FU WARLORDS, PART III)
o BRAVE ARCHER, PART IV: see BRAVE ARCHER AND HIS MATE (1981)
3 BRAVE ARCHER AND HIS MATE (1981)-- Kuo Chui, Fu Sheng, Chiang Sheng, Lu Feng,
Andy Lau [Lau is only according to the IMDb] (aka BRAVE ARCHER, PART IV,
aka MYSTERIOUS ISLAND [1982])
5 THE CHINATOWN KID (1977)-- Fu Sheng, Kuo Chui [aka Philip Kwok], Chiang Sheng,
Lu Feng; Debut: Sun Chien and Lo Meng [a Proto-Venoms Film]
5 CRIPPLED AVENGERS (1978)-- Chen Kuan-tai, Wang Lung-wei, Lo Meng, Lu Feng,
Kuo Chui [aka Philip Kwok], Sun Chien, Chiang Sheng, Dick Wei [aka Tu
Lung] (US: MORTAL COMBAT) (aka CRIPPLED HEROES, aka RETURN OF THE 5 DEADLY
VENOMS)
o CRIPPLED HEROES: see CRIPPLED AVENGERS (1978)
5 THE DAREDEVILS (1980)-- Lo Meng, Chiang Sheng, Lu Feng, Kuo Chui, Sun Chien,
Wang Li (aka DAREDEVILS OF KUNG FU, aka SHAOLIN DAREDEVILS, aka VENOM
WARRIORS)
o DAREDEVILS OF KUNG FU: see THE DAREDEVILS (1980)
3 DEATH CHAMBER (1976) [Dir, Writer]-- Fu Sheng, David Chiang, Ti Lung, Chi Kuan
Chun, Kuo Chui, Chiang Sheng, Lu Feng; Debut: Ku Feng (aka SHAOLIN TEMPLE)
5 DESTROYERS (1979)-- Lu Feng, Lo Meng, Wang Li, Chiang Sheng, Kuo Chui, Sun
Chien, Wang Lai, Liu An Li (aka DESTROYERS OF THE FIVE DEADLY VENOMS,
aka MAGNIFICIENT RUFFIANS)
o DESTROYERS OF THE FIVE DEADLY VENOMS: see THE DESTROYERS (1979)
o THE FIVE DEADLY VENOMS: American title for FIVE VENOMS (1978)
6 THE FIVE VENOMS (1978)-- Sun Chien, Kuo Chui, Chiang Sheng, Ku Feng, Lo Meng,
Wei Pai, Wang Lung-wei, Tu Lung [aka Dick Wei], Lu Feng
(US: THE FIVE DEADLY VENOMS)
o THE FLAG OF IRON: see SPEARMEN OF DEATH (1981)
o THE GUERRILLAS: see KILLER ARMY (1980)
5 HEAVEN AND HELL (1977, released in HK in 1980)-- David Chiang, Maggie Li
Lin-lin, Li Yi-min, Kuo Chui, Lo Meng, Sun Chien, Tang Yen-tsan, Fu Sheng,
Chiang Sheng, Lu Feng (aka SHAOLIN HELLGATE) [a Proto-Venoms Film]
o THE HERO DEFEATING JAPS: see NINJA IN THE DEADLY TRAP (1983)
4 HOUSE OF TRAPS (1981)-- Lu Feng, Wang Li, Sun Chien, Kuo Chui, Hsiao Ho,
Chiang Sheng, Lung Tien Sheng, Chu Ko
3 INVINCIBLE KUNG FU BROTHERS (1976) [Dir w/ Wu Ma]-- Fu Sheng, Chi Kuan-chun,
Tang Yen-tsan, Lu Feng, Chiang Sheng, Kuo Chui (aka SHAOLIN AVENGERS)
o INVINCIBLE SHAOLIN: see THE UNBEATABLE DRAGON (1979)
6 THE KID WITH THE GOLDEN ARM (1978)-- Sun Chien, Lo Meng, Lu Feng, Chiang
Sheng, Kuo Chui, Pau Ping-chang, Wang Lung-wei, Wei Pai, Dick Wei.
5 KILLER ARMY (1980)-- Kuo Chui, Lo Meng, Chiang Sheng, Sun Chien, Lu Feng,
Wang Li (aka THE GUERRILLAS, aka REBEL INTRUDERS)
o KUNG FU WARLORDS: American title for THE BRAVE ARCHER (1977)
o KUNG FU WARLORDS, PART II: Amer. title for THE BRAVE ARCHER, PART II (1978)
o KUNG FU WARLORDS, PART III: Amer. title for THE BRAVE ARCHER, PART III (1981)
o KUNG FU WARLORDS, PART IV: Amer. title for BRAVE ARCHER AND HIS MATE (1981)
3 LEGEND OF THE FOX (1979)-- Kuo Chui, Lu Feng, Chiang Sheng, Chien Hsiao-hao
5 LIFE GAMBLE (1978)-- Kuo Chui, Fu Sheng, Lo Meng, Lu Feng, Wang Lung Wei, Hui
Ying Hung, Chiang Sheng, Sun Chien (aka LIFE COMBAT)
o LIFE COMBAT: see LIFE GAMBLE (1978)
o MAGNIFICENT RUFFIANS: see THE DESTROYERS (1979)
o MORTAL COMBAT: American title for CRIPPLED AVENGERS (1978)
3 MASKED AVENGERS (1981)-- Chiang Sheng, Hsiao Ho, Kuo Chui, Wang Li, Lu Feng,
Lhien Siu Hao, Chu Ko
o MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (1982)-- see BRAVE ARCHER AND HIS MATE (1981)
? THE NAVAL COMMANDOES (1976) [Made in Taiwan]-- Fu Sheng, Chi Kuan-chun,
Ti Lung, David Chiang, Kuo Chui, Chiang Sheng (and maybe Lu Feng)
3 NINJA IN THE DEADLY TRAP (1983) [Dir Kuo Chui, not Chang Cheh]-- Ti Lung,
Kuo Chui, Lu Feng, Chiang Sheng, Yasuaki Kurata [aka Shoji Kurata]
(aka THE HERO DEFEATING JAPS, aka NINJA KUNG FU)
o NINJA KUNG FU: see NINJA IN THE DEADLY TRAP (1983)
3 ODE TO GALLANTRY (1981)-- Kuo Chui in 2 roles, Sun Chien, Wang Li, Chiang
Sheng, Chu Ko and Cheng Tien-chi.
o REBEL INTRUDERS: see KILLER ARMY (1980)
o RETURN OF THE 5 DEADLY VENOMS: 1998 retitling of CRIPPLED AVENGERS (1978)
o SHAOLIN AVENGERS: see INVINCIBLE KUNG FU BROTHERS (1976)
o SHAOLIN DAREDEVILS: see THE DAREDEVILS (1980)
o SHAOLIN HELLGATE: see HEAVEN AND HELL (1977, released in HK in 1980)
o SHAOLIN RESCUERS: see AVENGING WARRIORS OF SHAOLIN (1978)
o SHAOLIN TEMPLE: see DEATH CHAMBER (1976)
o THE SPEARMAN: see THE SPEARMEN OF DEATH (1981)
3 THE SPEARMEN OF DEATH (1981)-- Kuo Chiu, Chiang Sheng, Lung Tien Sheng,
Lu Feng, Wang Li (aka THE FLAG OF IRON, aka THE SPEARMAN)
3 SWORD STAINED WITH ROYAL BLOOD (1980)-- Kuo Chui, Lu Feng, Chiang Sheng, Ching
Li, Shan Shen, Lung Tien Sheng, Wang Li
6 TEN TIGERS OF KUANGTUNG (1978-80) [Dir w/ Chiang Sheng and Chen Yu-wen]-- Ti
Lung, Fu Sheng, Wang Lung-wei, Ku Feng, Chiang Sheng, Lu Feng, Lo Meng,
Kuo Chui, Sun Chien, Lung Tien Sheng, Hsiao Ho, Wei Pai, Wang Li
4 TWO CHAMPIONS OF DEATH (1980)-- Lo Meng, Chiang Sheng, Sun Chien, Yang Tsing-
tsing, Lu Feng, Wang Li, Wen Hsueh Erh Intro: Chien Hsiao-hao
(aka TWO CHAMPIONS OF SHAOLIN)
o TWO CHAMPIONS OF SHAOLIN: see TWO CHAMPIONS OF DEATH)
6 THE UNBEATABLE DRAGON (1979)-- Wang Lung-wei, Chiang Sheng, Adam Cheng, Sun
Chien, Lu Feng, Lo Meng, Kuo Chui, Hui Ying-hung, Tu Lung [aka Dick Wei],
Wei Pai (aka INVINCIBLE SHAOLIN, aka NORTH SHAOLIN VS. SOUTH SHAOLIN)
o VENOM WARRIORS: see THE DAREDEVILS (1980) |
The five men referred to as Venoms are Sun Chien, Kuo Chui, Lu Feng,
Lo Meng, and Chiang Sheng, because the five of them appeared in fourteen
films together, their first two being 1977's The Chinatown Kid and Heaven
and Hell (aka Shaolin Hellgate). It was not until one year later,
however, that a film named The Five Deadly Venoms came along to headline
them and make them famous. Curiously, one of the Venoms in this film was
played by an actor named Wei Pai, while the central protagonist, Chiang
Sheng, played a non-Venom (or a hybrid-Venom, if you will) trained by the
Venoms' teacher. Wei Pai, however, was not regularly utilized in the
Venoms cycle of films. He actually appeared in only four of them -- The Five
Deadly Venoms, The Kid with the Golden Arm, The Unbeatable Dragon, and
Ten Tigers of Kuangtung -- whereas Chiang Sheng appeared in each and every
one.
Incredibly, if you add up all the Chang Cheh-directed movies from
1977 to 1981 in which three or more Venoms appeared, it amounts to
twenty-five films, which averages out to five movies per year for five
years! I have chosen to not consider a movie with only two Venoms in it
to be a "Venoms film." Some people disagree with this decision, but I
find that it makes things easier, since very little is known about
two-Venoms films made after 1981 such as Fight Among the Supers.
There was another actor, by the name of Yu Tai Ping, who appeared in
all (!) the Venoms films, but since he almost exclusively played lackies,
junior bad guys, and other underlings (his role in Super Ninjas being the
major exception), he is even less recognized as a Venom than Wei Pai.
What's more, Yu Tai Ping, like Kuo Chui, Lu Feng, and Chiang Sheng, had a
Peking Opera background, but one supposes that while most of the regular
Venoms were not exactly the most handsome of men, Yu Tai Ping was just
plain unattractive. He had a long, pointy nose and his eyes seemed to
grow right into it. Still, he managed to be the sole figure on the cover
of the 1986 Vista Home Video release of Super Ninjas that was marketed in
the USA, so somebody must have liked him quite a bit.
For fans of Wei Pai who would like to see more of him, he starred -- as the
good guy! -- in an excellent film directed by John Woo called Last Hurrah for
Chivalry. In 1972 and 1973, John Woo was an assistant to Chang Cheh (he
assistant-directed Boxer from Shantung, The Water Margin, and The
Blood Brothers), and from 1975 to 1978, he directed four kung fu films of
his own, the first three of which were Dragon Tamers, The Young Dragons,
and Hand of Death (aka Countdown in Kung Fu, aka Strike of Death).
The fourth and best was Last Hurrah for Chivalry, known for foreshadowing
elements that appear in such "heroic bloodshed" gangster classics as
A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Hardboiled.
The film starts off with tepid martial arts, but by the time it gets to the second
half, the choreography (by longtime Sammo Hung associate Fong Hak On, who plays the
swordsman in white and is famous for playing the bad guy in both The
Magnificent Butcher and Warriors Two) is quite good. Wei Pai plays a
highly ingratiating character in this film, on a par with Sun Chien's
portrayal in The Chinatown Kid and Kuo Chui and Lo Meng's portrayals in
Avenging Warriors of Shaolin. Even for those who aren't particularly
fond of Wei Pai, Last Hurrah for Chivalry is well worth your time. It is
available subtitled on Asian DVD and VCD.
