Supelice
Dreadfully Boring
Hattie
I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.
Aryana
Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.
BA_Harrison
Yang Tieh of the Poison Clan (Sheng Chiang) is instructed by his dying master to seek out the venoms—five former pupils known for their particular styles of kung fu—to see if they have turned bad. Yang is also instructed to find wealthy ex-Poison Clan teacher Mr. Yuen to try and convince him to donate his money to good causes. Unfortunately, Yuen falls victim to two of the five venoms, Snake and Centipede, who are keen to get their hands on his fortune. What follows is a tale of deception, betrayal, torture, and murder, with Yang caught in the middle. But not much fighting.Directed by the legendary Chang Cheh, The Five Venoms is often cited as one of Shaw Brothers' best martial arts films by those in the know, which made it rather disappointing for me to discover that there is actually very little kung fu until the inevitable final battle between the heroes and the bad guys, intrigue and suspense taking precedence over punching, kicking, jumping and flipping. This mightn't have been so bad if the mystery had been utterly compelling, but to be honest, I just wasn't gripped by the whole 'who are the venoms and what has happened to the money?' storyline.The aforementioned showdown between the goodies, Yang and Lizard, and the baddies, Snake, Centipede and Scorpion, is certainly a lot of fun, each fighters signature move allowing for some creative choreography, but getting there… not so much.4.5 out of 10, rounded up to 5 for the 'iron coat' torture scene. Nasty!
Leofwine_draca
I admit, I'm a huge fan of the Shaw Brothers studio; alongside Hammer, it's my favourite film production house. Most of their films seem to be bright, action-packed and thoroughly entertaining, and THE FIVE VENOMS (aka FIVE DEADLY VENOMS) is one of their most influential outings.Here's the good news: the director is Chang Cheh, one of Shaw's most prolific and best, so you can rest assured that the film is a visual treat. The cast is decent, featuring the five famous Venom kung fu actors in their most memorable roles (Lo Meng is particularly good as the tough Toad, forced to undergo a number of strenuous trials). Production values are exemplary, as you'd expect.What about the martial arts? Well, it's plentiful, as you'd expect, but not quite up there with the best of the Shaw Brothers. Oh, it's good, you can be assured of that, but it's not on a level with the frenetic action of, say, FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS or CRIPPLED AVENGERS. The complex, angst-filled mystery-cum-kung-fu story is actually better than the action. Still, it's all good, and THE FIVE VENOMS is a classic for a reason; there's little to dislike here.
bob the moo
A dying martial arts master and teacher regrets the reputation his school has obtained through the bad things they have done in the past. His final wish is that the legacy be cleaned up and he charges his student Yang Tieh to round out his skills with a little from all of the 5 styles taught and seek out the 5 former students. He doesn't know what any of the 5 look like, indeed some of the 5 students did not see each other, but they each have mastered a different style – toad, snake, lizard, scorpion and centipede. Yang task is to find each of them, observe whether they are good men or not, and if their deeds are bad then finish them with the help of the good ones. Luckily for Yang, it seems that most if not all of the 5 are in the same area seeking out a treasure – but can he identify them and deal with them if he has to?I have sen quite a few Shaw Brothers films recently with strong female roles and also seen some where romantic subplots were well used within the plots, but with Five Venoms there is really none of that – indeed I am not sure if there is even a single female role in the whole film and for sure there is no romantic thread to the narrative. Instead what we have is a nicely told mystery with unknown characters, unknown motives and, even as they become clear to the viewer, they continue to work behind the scenes against one another, all while Yang stays in the background. In fact this is what his character does for most of the film and it is for the better than he sets it up as a device, steps back but returns towards the end as a force – in the meantime he is nicely comic in his delivery. The plot isn't perfect but it is more than enough to hold the interest and engage which provides a frame for the action.The fight sequences are great. I am not a big fan of excessive wire work so some of lizard's moves didn't appeal to me, but otherwise the styles are great to watch and the film gives us plenty of sequences of competing movements and skills which are great to watch. Some of the events are quite violent in their delivery – not gore so much as the brutality of the idea, but otherwise it is easy to enjoy. The cast are very good – work well with the material and very physically impressive. Sheng Chiang is good value as he lightens the tone at times. Meng Lo and Philip Kwok work well together while Pai Wei and Feng Lu are perhaps a little bit more obviously sinister but they work. Others including Chien Sun, Feng Ku provide good support but it is the color and presence of the main characters and their skills which make the most impact. As is usually the case, sets and costumes are of a high quality and help set the stage well.A very enjoyable Shaw Brothers film then – having seen some recently with very few votes on the IMDb page, I can understand why this one is more popular as it is particularly strong and well worth seeing.
londonscot2003
Shaw Brothers Movie Studios director, Chang Cheh's 1978 tour-de-force Kung Fu extravaganza. This film set the stage for nearly 20+ more movies starring the 'Venoms' to follow in an attempt to quench the world-wide thirst of fans of this, the first 'Venoms' movie. Long out of print and only found in the possession of private Kung-Fu film collectors, the current commercially available VHS of 'The 5 Deadly Venoms' by EPI, is struck from a good quality master print, and is uncut and formatted in LBX (letterbox), which is a real treat to Kung Fu movie fans. The story centers around the last student of the dying master of 'The Poison Clan', who is sent out to find the last 5 secret members of the clan, all of whom have trained in a special 'Poison' technique. Some of the clan members have gone bad, and the student must locate and destroy them with the help of good members, if he can find them! The script, acting, choreography, costumes, and sets are fantastic. This film combines bare-chested Kung-Fu supermen back-flipping through the air while wielding exotic Chinese weapons and performing unbelievable feats of physical strength, skill, and speed, with a twisting plot of deceit, revenge, and corruption; all against a fantastic & deadly 14th century background. The 5 Deadly Venoms stars Kuo Chui (Lizard), Sun Chien (Scorpion), Lo Meng (Toad), Wei Pai (Snake), Lu Feng (Centipede), and Chiang Sheng as 'Yan Tieh', the last disciple of the Poison Clan master. A 'Must Have' for any Kung Fu movie fan as The 5 Deadly Venoms is truly an all time classic.
