The Golden Lotus / To Kill A Mastermind

When it comes to music, movies and literature, just delivering more of the same tends to get a bad rap.  We applaud the heavy metal band that hits it big with a power ballad, the horror author who writes a children’s book or a director who takes on a project outside his or her comfort zone.  Put, to be honest, there’s something to be said for perfecting a formula and doing it well.  Take Shaw Brothers Studio, for example, who managed a decade long streak of kung-fu success by creating an artistic assembly line without equal.  But all streaks must come to an end and the two latest titles from 88 Films find the studio tweaking their formula, balancing traditional fare with new erotic trends to keep audiences’ attention.

Based on the notorious but influential erotic Chinese novel, The Golden Lotus (1974) looks to combine the gilded elegance of the studio’s mannered visual approach and set design with raunchy exploits on par with foreign imports like Emmanuelle.  And director Li-Han-Hsiang mostly pulls it off, crafting some kinky sex scenes interspersed amongst the machinations of several concubines at the mercy of the insatiable Ximen Qing.  While there’s a moral lesson to be learned by the time the credits roll, The Golden Lotus is mostly a crowd-pleasing dirty soap opera, gleefully staging romantic intrigue and sexual perversity in equal measure.  It’s a short-lived twist on the Shaw Brothers’ formula that shows potential.


 But 1979’s To Kill a Mastermind is a pure throwback, providing that more-of-the-same martial arts escapism that was the studio’s bread and butter. The Seven Deadly Kills, a legion of hitmen, are under attack from without and within as a traitor amongst their ranks is fueling a deadly paranoia.  The structure should be familiar: professional killers with signature moves face off until only a trio remains.  But the fun is in the details and director Chung Sun’s film adds a whodunit element by keeping the traitor and the bad guy a secret until the last moment.  The fight sequences pick up steam as things move along, staging a few against lush landscapes instead of the usual interior temples and courtyards.  It’s a colorful, inventive take on kung-fu comfort food that had all but vanished by 1979.

 

Released separately by 88 Films as part of their 88Asia Collection, these are a fascinating pair of one-offs that are easy to recommend for seasoned fans and newbies.  Both look suitably impressive with new HD transfers from the original negatives.  Extras include a still gallery, reversible sleeve, postcards and a slipcover.

  

 

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