The Sleepless Film Festival Presents – Grindhouse Lotus Venoms: A Shaw Brothers Double Feature

Hola bueno.

Ok,

so,

It is SPRINGTIME in The Old South. This means I am strolling through a wonderland of tulips and other flowers I don’t know the names of. There are these sorta droopy ones that come in both yellow and purple. They are also pretty – however – they lack the stately architecture of the simple, sensual tulip.

Another thing that the SPRINGTIME has wrought is a delightful Westerly breeze that I engineer into an Easterly one to discourage my neighbor’s cigarette smoke from creeping through my kitchen window. This yangitty-yang flow also invests my daily SUN SALUTATIONS with that extra level of CHI that my ardent, firey posturings demand.

However, I’ve slacked off today, as SPRINGTIME has also brought allergy season. I have terrible allergies. They are so bad that I am never sure if I have a cold or just allergies when I feel this way. My head is so crazy stuffed and dizzy it is almost making me feel rather giddy…almost. In addition, my body aches badly enough that it requires effort to turn a key in a lock. Seriously. Those of you who know me well know that I am usually the type who’d be more likely to absent-mindedly pull the knob off a door, so you see the depth of my suffering.

Yes you can send chicken soup via PayPal…

Anyway, needless to say, I am down and out and just trying to rest and stay full of liquids. I caught up on all my NetFlix today and decided to share the wealth. Regardless of whether you are sick or not, you may be in need of a Grindhouse-style Kung Fu double feature.

While I was a kid in Michigan, I would watch “Martial Arts Theatre” late at night on Saturdays. I remember flipping back and forth between MAT and SNL. The late nights and bad dubbing served me well. Years later – when Shaw Brothers/Golden Harvest titles became a badge of hip – I was thoroughly educated and well-prepared to speak in great depth about “Pei Mei’s vital nerve” the “animal styles of the Five Deadly Venoms” and that “kid with the Golden Arms”.

Here are two Shaw Brothers classics for you to enjoy. If you’ve never seen these, I am jealous of the joy you are about to experience. If you’re an old veteran, enjoy this trip down memory lane.

The Fist of the White Lotus

Originally titled Clan of the White Lotus, this 1980 Shaw Brothers classic was released as Fist of the White Lotus in the West. In Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill films, the character of Pei Mei appears as Kiddo’s instructor. Pei Mei is played by Lo Lieh in Fist’, but Lieh’s Fist’ co-star – Gordon Liu – reprised the role for the Tarantino revenge tale.

Five Deadly Venoms

Five Deadly Venoms is another Shaw Brothers Kung Fu Classic. Released in 1978, The’ Venoms rather convoluted plot involves 5 warriors – each with a different animal-style of Kung Fu – who may or may not be attempting to steal a fortune from the former colleague of their dying teacher. The flick is referenced by the Wu-Tang Clan and World of Warcraft. Kill Bill’s Deadly Viper Assassination squad is also a not-so-veiled reference.