Five Deadly Venoms
All Time Kung Fu Cult Classic
Also known as... Pick Your Poison and Five Venoms - The dying master of the powerful Poison Clan dispatches his last pupil on a crucial mission. Worried that the skills he has taught are being used to evil ends, he orders the Yan Tieh to trace a retired colleague and warn him that the fortune he amassed from the clan activities is under threat from five of his former pupils. Each an expert in his own lethal combat style, The Centipede, The Snake, The Scorpion, The Lizard and The Toad comprise a truly invincible force. Yan must discover the whereabouts and true identities of these deadly masked warriors, and decide which, if any, he can trust to join him in his perilous mission. A blindingly choreographed blend of intrigue and violence, Five Deadly Venoms adds a truly original dimension to the kung fu genre.
Member Reviews
Classic kung fu - immortal
1978 Shaw Brothers Kung Fu Classic. The film has actually very few action sequences, substituted by a complex Machiavellian whodonuit plotting the murderer's identity and theft of the secret treasure map. The fighting is pretty good. The story is okay so overall an enjoyable movie to watch.One of the best Shaw classics - Mawa
Don't be fooled by appearances; this is, in fact, a 1978 release, not 1998, so know what to expect. It passes for cheesy today, I admit, but its exhilirating fight scenes, creative styles, well-crafted mystery, and surprising seriousness when dealing with serious matters make it one of the best of its kind, and certainly worthwhile.
It has enough camp to be humorous fun when watching with a group friends, but also enough intrigue (and a tight enough runtime) to be a blast to watch more seriously, too. Don't miss this one, and even if it is dubbed, I'd recommend it. Personally, I tracked down a subbed copy after much effort, but the subs aren't much better, to be completely honest.Poison Clan rocks the world - dmarks36
OK. Saturday afternoon martial arts matinees in the 1970s. Everybody is kung-fu fighting on the way home. It just doesn't get better than this Shaw production in terms of story, fights and general silliness. But it also works, even in the dubbed (especially the dubbed!). This is the Hong Kong grassroots in development, giving us eventually House of the Flying Dragons and so forth. But it starts here. Rent, enjoy, chuckle and don't forget on the way home to kung-fu fight!
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Classic kung fu - immortal
1978 Shaw Brothers Kung Fu Classic. The film has actually very few action sequences, substituted by a complex Machiavellian whodonuit plotting the murderer's identity and theft of the secret treasure map. The fighting is pretty good. The story is okay so overall ...One of the best Shaw classics - Mawa
Don't be fooled by appearances; this is, in fact, a 1978 release, not 1998, so know what to expect. It passes for cheesy today, I admit, but its exhilirating fight scenes, creative styles, well-crafted mystery, and surprising seriousness when dealing with ...Poison Clan rocks the world - dmarks36
OK. Saturday afternoon martial arts matinees in the 1970s. Everybody is kung-fu fighting on the way home. It just doesn't get better than this Shaw production in terms of story, fights and general silliness. But it also works, even in the dubbed (especially ...