5 Lucky Stars 1983  PG-13, 102 min.
Genre: Foreign / Action
aka: Winners and Sinners
Director: Sammo Hung
Cast: Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan, John Sham, Richard Ng, Charlie Chin, Fung Shui-Fan, Cherie Chung, Philip Chan, James Tien, Lam Ching-Ying, Cecilia Yip, Paul Chang
After their release from prison, five friends try to go straight and run a cleaning business. But they just can't manage to stay out of trouble when a cop, CID 07 (Jackie Chan) arrives at a house they are cleaning, mistakenly tosses evidence into their van, and they drive off with it.
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 The Chinese Connection 1972  R, 106 min.
Genre: Action / Drama / Romance / Thriller
aka: Fist of Fury
The Iron Hand
Director: Lo Wei
Cast: Bruce Lee, Nora Miao, Maria Yi, James Tien, Tien Feng, Huang Chung-Hsin, Han Ying-Chieh, Lo Wei, Riki Hashimoto, Wei Ping-Ao, Robert Baker, Fu Ching Chen, Chin San, Jackie Chan, Corey Yuen
China in the early 1900s is the setting for this violent, but good, Bruce Lee effort. Kung fu student Chen (Bruce Lee) returns to Shanghai and becomes involved in solving his teacher's murder while dealing with racial hatred.
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The Fearless Hyena II 1983  N/R, 90 min.
Genre: Foreign / Action
Director: Chuen Chan
Cast: Jackie Chan, Hui Lau Chen, Dean Shek, James Tien, Yam Sai-kun, Austin Wai
This follow-on to "The Fearless Hyena" uses some of the leftover footage from that film. Two evil men killed many people of a Brotherhood several years ago, and now the son of one of the victims has grown up and is ready to take on the pair. Fast forward (or skip ahead) to the last half hour for the long, fun fight scene.
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Fists of Fury 1971 R, 103 min.
Genre: Foreign / Action
aka: The Big Boss
Director: Lo Wei
Cast: Bruce Lee, Maria Yi, Han Ying-chieh, Tony Liu, Malalene, James Tien, Nora Miao, Lee Quin, Chin Shan, Chen Chao
After not being too successful in Hollywood, Bruce Lee headed home to Hong Kong, and this is his first starring role. Although a low-budget and poorly acted entry, it does show Lee's talents. Cheng (Lee) is sent to live with his uncle and cousins, and he takes a job at an ice house where his cousins work. Though promising not to fight, he can't resist after finding out that the ice house is a front for a drug ring, and two of his cousins are murdered.
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 Game of Death 1978  R, 102 min.
Genre: Action / Drama / Thriller
aka: Bruce Lee's Game of Death
Director: Robert Clouse
Cast: Bruce Lee, Gig Young, Dean Jagger, Hugh O'Brian, Colleen Camp, Chuck Norris, Robert Wall, Mel Novak, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hwang Jang Lee, James Tien, Russell Cawthorne
Bruce Lee takes on the role of tracking down the mobsters in this film. (Lee died during filming in 1973, and the film was completed five years later.) Highlight: last half hour, which contains great fight scenes as Lee fights the bad guys–one by one.
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Half a Loaf of Kung Fu 1980 R, 98 min.
Genre: Foreign / Comedy
Director: Chen Chi-Hwa
Cast: Jackie Chan, James Tien, Lung Jun-Er, Wu Ma, Dean Shek
This comedic parody of the kung fu films of the 1970s follows an orphan (Jackie Chan) as he learns kung fu and then puts it to good use when he joins the team guarding a valuable gemstone. When bandits steal the gem, Jackie goes on a tear and takes care of those baddies.
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Hand of Death 1975 N/R, 95 min.
Genre: Foreign / Action
aka: Strike of Death
Director: John Woo
Cast: Tan Tao-Liang, James Tien, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yang Wei, John Woo, Yuen Wah, Yuen Biao, Chang Chung
A Shaolin student is sent to kill a powerful warrior who leads a group that terrorizes the area. On the way, he meets others who support his cause–including a young Jackie Chan. An early John Woo effort.
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Heart of Dragon 1985 R, 92 min.
Genre: Foreign / Action
aka: The First Mission
Director: Sammo Hung
Cast: Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Emily Chu, Yuen Wah, Mang Hoi, Melvin Wong, Corey Yuen, Lam Ching-Ying, Chin Kar Lok, Chan Lung, James Tien, Phillip Ko
In a change of pace for Jackie Chan, drama plays a bigger role than martial arts action–though there are good fight scenes. Fung (Jackie Chan), a police investigator, longs to become a sailor, but instead he must take care of his mentally challenged brother Dodo (Sammo Hung) with the help of Fung's wife, Jenny (Emily Chu). When Dodo is kidnapped after inadvertently getting in the middle of a gangland struggle, Fung must act.
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Magnificent Bodyguards 1978 R, 90 min.
Genre: Foreign / Action
Director: Lo Wei
Cast: Jackie Chan, Hsiao Lian, James Tien, Leung Siu Lung, Wang Ping
Originally filmed in 3-D, this Jackie Chan martial arts adventure is set in Medieval China. Ting Chung (Jackie Chan) is hired by a beautiful woman to protect her and her seriously ill brother in their trek over the mountains, through bandit-infested territory, and to a healer. He and his other bodyguards are challenged by an assortment of bad guys as they proceed, and now it appears that there may have been other motives for making the journey than that given.
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The Prodigal Son 1982 N/R, 100 min.
Genre: Foreign / Action
aka: Pull No Punches
Director: Sammo Hung
Cast: Yuen Biao, Lam Ching-Ying, Sammo Hung, Frankie Chan, Chung Fat, Dick Wei, Wei Pai, Wu Ma, Chan Lung, James Tien
After kung fu expert–undefeated after 200 fights–Leung Chang (Yuen Biao) discovers that his rich father has been bribing opponents to take a dive when they fight his son, Leung Chang sets out to prove he can, indeed, be a successful fighter. But, the road to success proves to be filled with many challenges.
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| 1. 5 Lucky Stars (1983)
aka: Winners and Sinners
2. The Chinese Connection (1972)
aka: Fist of Fury
aka: The Iron Hand
3. Dragon Fist (1979)
4. The Fearless Hyena (1979)
5. The Fearless Hyena II (1983)
6. Fists of Fury (1971)
aka: The Big Boss
7. Game of Death (1978)
aka: Bruce Lee's Game of Death
8. Half a Loaf of Kung Fu (1980)
9. Hand of Death (1975)
aka: Strike of Death
10. Heart of Dragon (1985)
aka: The First Mission
11. Magnificent Bodyguards (1978)
12. The Prodigal Son (1982)
aka: Pull No Punches
13. Spiritual Kung Fu (1978)
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