We've certainly been exposed to quite an eclectic selection of Shaw Bros films so far at this years Philly Film Festival They've all had their virtues and most were much more artistic than I had anticipated as well. It was with great enthusiasm that I approached our screening of Vengeance! the other day. I was about ready to get back to basics and experience a barrage of non-stop fights and blood. I don't mean any of this to sound shallow mind you, but a break is always good and I was looking forward to just having a good time with the flick.

At its heart, Vengeance! Relays the simple story of Kuan Yu-Lou a 20's Opera performer who is brutally murdered after having words with his boss. This scene is particularly outrageous as Long fights for most of the scene with a hatchet in his stomach and both eyes poked out! Needless to say he doesn't survive the scuffle and the whole thing infuriates his brother Kuan Hsiao Lou just enough to send him on a blood drenched murderous revenge spree.

Kuan Hsiao Lou fights his way through the baddies in quite a few extended fight scenes. He battles the enemy making it look like cake, and at one point even joins with a gang to help defeat their rivals only to be double-crossed in the end (the audience is in on it by the way, so it's no shocker)! It all leads up to a spectacular and mostly gruesome finale.

I guess the first thing I should mention here is the fact that Vengeance! is the only Shaw Bros film we've seen at the festival thus far that has NOT been remastered. This was kind of a bummer, because the difference between the older prints and the newly remastered editions is clearly night and day. This was even evident before the film even started, all I had to see was that Shaw Bros logo to know that we weren't in Kansas anymore. Sound and subtitles suffered as well on this print though none of this actually hampered my enjoyment of the film itself, just of note is the disappointment. As the film moved along, colors started to improve, but the difference was still evident.

Vengeance! while my least favorite of the Shaw's I've seen in the festival so far, is definitely still worth a look. Rather than playing off as pure camp Kung fu, the film almost works itself in as an extremely violent crime drama. The fight scenes feature less hand to hand and more knife action than I had expected as well. Kuan Hsiao Lou spends much of his onscreen time throwing knives at his victims like there's no tomorrow (and for his victims, there won't be).

Vengeance! is an extremely bloody and downright violent film and the bright red Shaw splatter (it always looks more like paint, it's that Herschell Gordon Lewis syndrome) is always a pleasure to see especially on the big screen. As I mentioned earlier, the opening fight scene is extremely bloody with hatchets flying and blood flowing from nearly every orifice. Besides, how bad can a film be that has the opening title that cartoon morphs into dripping blood?

The strongest aspect of Vengeance! would have to be David Chiang as the relentless Kuan Hsiao Lou. He's a super cool bad ass prancing around in his white suit and he's not afraid to get any blood on it. He casually enters each fight scenario and sets out to do exactly what he knows he has to do, seemingly without any effort. If there's any reason to seek out a screening of Vengeance! It's because of this man because without him, the film wouldn't have been half as effective.

I was a little disappointed in the claustrophobic feel that the film gave off even with the wide-open framing. If it was done for effect, it didn't effect me in a positive way, because I found all of the zoom ins and close ups to be quite disorienting and a bit annoying. If you're going to go through the trouble of filming in scope, you should at least try to make proper use of the frame. This could just be an example of me being picky, but I just didn't get the feeling of grand scale filmmaking like I have with the other Shaw's. The other films that we've seen in the series look as if their worth far exceeds their actual budgets, where as Vengeance! comes across as a cheapie martial arts flick.

Despite its flaws, it's easy to see how Vengeance! can be viewed as a major influence on the genre. For a film that was released in the early 70's Vengeance! Is quite brave in its depiction of onscreen violence and its dedication to the subject matter at hand. Delirious plot twists and a hero that you simply love to hate give Vengeance! its upper hand.

Vengeance! Is not a total loss, not by a long shot. Compared to the other Shaw's we've seen this week, I definitely feel it's the least accomplished and effective of the bunch. Still, the film does feature some interesting characters and solid performances. Not to mention the heaps of blood and gore, bright red Shaw style. I'd wager that a remastered print would really do this film justice, either way, there's still plenty of action for your movie going dollar in here.

Thumbs Up.