House of Traps | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chinese name | |||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 沖霄樓 | ||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 冲霄楼 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Directed by | Chang Cheh | ||||||||||
Written by | Chang Cheh I Kuang | ||||||||||
Produced by | Mona Fong | ||||||||||
Starring | Philip Kwok Chin Siu-ho Lung Tien-hsiang Sun Chien Ngaai Fei | ||||||||||
Cinematography | Tsao Hui-chi | ||||||||||
Edited by | Chiang Hsing-lung Li Yen-hai | ||||||||||
Music by | Eddie H. Wang | ||||||||||
Release date |
| ||||||||||
Country | Hong Kong | ||||||||||
Language | Mandarin |
House of Traps is a 1982 Shaw Brothers film directed by Chang Cheh, [1] starring the Venom Mob. The story is based on the 19th-century novel The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants . [2]
The corrupt Prince Zhao is planning a revolt to get revenge on his uncle, the emperor. The prince puts together a list of his co-conspirators pledging their allegiance to his plot and keeps it locked away in the infamous House of Traps, a place where high-level individuals' most valuable items are kept safe from bandits, thieves, or their enemies. The facility consists of a system of multiple traps, with layered redundancies built in that even the most skilled martial artists would have difficulty navigating or surviving. To safely access any of the valuables stored at the top, the trap system must be deactivated outside of the house using a special key, in which case, the interested party is safely escorted to either store or retrieve their item(s). In the case that the house is infiltrated by an unauthorized individual, security personnel are alerted and the same special key is used to make the traps active. Needless to say, it is a one-way trip for whatever infiltrator breaks into the house. Several conspirators show their allegiance to the prince by bringing valuable items stolen from the emperor, and these items ultimately end up being stored in the House of Traps.
Sensing the revolt, the emperor not only sends a spy to have one of his "stolen" items placed in the House of Traps to test its security, but he sends an envoy, inspector Yan, to find out what is going on. While on his travels to confront the prince, he is met with several assassination attempts, but these are foiled by a skilled martial artist that is a member of the Five Rats, heroes that are loyal to the emperor, and is accompanied by him during his travels. When killed trying to obtain the list from the House of Traps, his brothers, the four remaining of the Five Rats get involved and become determined to avenge their brother and foil the conspiracy against the emperor. Posing as workers, acrobats, and other disguises, the surviving Rats infiltrate Prince Zhao's residence shortly before his birthday. Not only do they completely sabotage the House of Traps so it can be safely navigated, but they also engage in a final showdown between the prince and his accomplices.
Cast | Role | Description |
---|---|---|
Sun Chien | Yan Chunmin | Inspector |
Lau Fong-sai | Yumo | Yan Chunmin's servant |
Ngaai Fei | Zhao Jue | Prince of Xiangyang |
Philip Kwok | Zhi Hua | "Black Demon Fox" |
Chin Siu-ho | Bai Yutang | "Brocade-Coated Rat", 5th sworn brother |
Chu Ko | Lu Fang | "Sky-Penetrating Rat", 1st sworn brother |
Yu Tai-ping | Han Zhang | "Earth-Piercing Rat", 2nd sworn brother |
Cheng Tien-chi | Xu Qing | "Mountain-Boring Rat", 3rd sworn brother |
Chiang Sheng | Jiang Ping | "River-Overturning Rat", 4th sworn brother |
Lung Tien-hsiang | Shen Zhongyuan | "Little Zhuge" |
Yau Lee | Ai Hu | "Little Hero" |
Lu Feng | Hua Chong | "Butterfly" |
Wong Lik | Deng Che | "Sick Giant" |
House of Traps was previously considered one of the rarest Venom films, as it was only available on poor VHS and VCD formats, but was later remastered and released on DVD in September 2008 by Image Entertainment. [3] The DVD includes the original Mandarin language soundtrack with subtitles, as well as an English-dubbed soundtrack. The DVD is from the Shaw Brothers Collection series, which is distributed under the Celestial Pictures banner of Image Entertainment.
Despite the DVD release, the film falls under WTO regulations for fair-use and free distribution. Celestial's release is approximately 20 minutes shorter than the VHS and VCD versions, as many of the most damaged frames were cut entirely. The Celestial version of the film, under Chinese law, is materially different enough to be classified as a new work and is copyrighted as such. Only a handful of VHS originals are known to exist.
Year 180 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Luscus and Piso/Flaccus. The denomination 180 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Emperor Zhao of Han, born Liu Fuling (劉弗陵), was the eighth emperor of the Han dynasty from 87 to 74 BC. Emperor Zhao was the youngest son of Emperor Wu.
Cao Mao, courtesy name Yanshi, was the fourth emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was a grandson of Cao Pi, the first emperor of Wei. Described as intelligent and studious, Cao Mao made repeated attempts to seize back state power from the regent Sima Zhao but failed. He was killed in an abortive coup d'état against Sima Zhao.
Concealment devices or diversion safes are used to hide things for the purpose of secrecy or security. They are made from an ordinary household object such as a book, a soda can, a candle, a can, or something as small as a coin. The idea is that such an inconspicuous object would not be expected to contain anything of worth.
Emperor Taizu of Song, personal name Zhao Kuangyin, courtesy name Yuanlang, was the founding emperor of the Song dynasty of China. He reigned from 960 until his death in 976. Formerly a distinguished military general of the Later Zhou dynasty, Emperor Taizu came to power after staging a coup d'état and forcing Emperor Gong, the last Later Zhou ruler, to abdicate the throne in his favor.
Huo Guang, courtesy name Zimeng (子孟), was a Chinese military general and politician who served as the dominant state official of the Western Han dynasty from 87 BCE until his death in April 68 BCE. The younger half-brother of the renowned general Huo Qubing, Huo was a palace aide to Emperor Wu and secured power in his own right at the emperor's death, when he became principal co-regent for Emperor Zhao. Huo outmaneuvered his colleagues in the regency and assumed personal control over state affairs, consolidating his power by installing family members and other loyalists in key offices. Following Emperor Zhao's death in June 74 BCE, Huo engineered the succession and deposition of Liu He within a mere 27 days. Huo next facilitated the accession of Emperor Xuan and retained control of the Han government until his death.
The Lü Clan disturbance refers to a political upheaval after the death of Empress Lü Zhi of the early Han dynasty. In the aftermath, her clan of Lü (呂) were deposed from their seats of power and exterminated, Emperor Houshao was deposed and Emperor Wen acceded the throne. Lü Clan disturbance also sometimes encompasses the prior period of total domination of the political scene by all-powerful Empress Lü Zhi and her family after the death of her son Emperor Hui.
Liu Ju, formally known as Crown Prince Wei (衛太子) and posthumously as Crown Prince Li was a Western Han dynasty crown prince. He was the eldest son and the heir apparent to his father, Emperor Wu of Han, until his death at age 38 during the political turmoil that occurred during 91 BC.
A Step into the Past is a 2001 Hong Kong television series produced by TVB and based on Huang Yi's novel of the same Chinese title. The series tells the story of a 21st-century Hong Kong VIPPU Inspector who travels back in time to the Warring States period of ancient China. He is involved in a number of important historical events that leads to the first unification of China under the Qin dynasty. The series' first original broadcast ran from 15 October to 7 December 2001 on the TVB Jade network in Hong Kong.
Inspector Gadget 2 is a 2003 American superhero comedy film released direct-to-video on VHS and DVD on March 11, 2003 as a standalone sequel to the 1999 film Inspector Gadget. It was based on the 1983 cartoon series created by DIC Entertainment.
Aberration is a 1997 horror film directed by Tim Boxell. It was set in the United States and shot in New Zealand, and stars Pamela Gidley as a woman who moves to her old childhood cabin in the woods, only to discover that it is overrun by a pack of murderous lizards.
The Venom Mob is a colloquial title given to a group of actors from the Shaw Brothers Studio who attained international prominence for their lead roles in the 1978 film, Five Deadly Venoms. Its members consisted of Lu Feng, Chiang Sheng, Philip Kwok, Sun Chien, Lo Mang, and Wai Pak. Although the main cast have never referred to themselves as the Venom Mob, they have continued to be referred to as such in English-speaking media while English DVD versions of their films often introduced them collectively as The Venoms.
Prince of Qin is a 2002 action role-playing game developed by Object Software and published by Strategy First. The story is set in China in the final years of the Qin dynasty, with Fusu – the heir apparent to the first Qin emperor, Qin Shi Huang – as the protagonist. Although the game has a historical basis, its setting is purely fictitious because the historical Fusu died in 210 BC.
Havoc in Heaven, also translated as Uproar in Heaven, is a 1961 Chinese donghua feature film directed by Wan Laiming and produced by all four of the Wan brothers. The film was created at the height of the Chinese animation industry in the 1960s, and received numerous awards, earning the brothers domestic and international recognition. The story is an adaptation of the earlier episodes of the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West.
The Snow Queen is a 1995 British children's animated film co-written, directed and produced by Martin Gates and inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's 1844 fairy tale The Snow Queen, featuring Helen Mirren in the title role. In the film, the evil Snow Queen plans to use an enormous magic mirror to so that it will plunge the world into an eternal winter so she can rule it, but when the mirror shatters and one piece enters the young Tom's body, she kidnaps him to have all the pieces. Tom's sister Ellie and her friend, Peeps the sparrow, set out to rescue him before it is too late. A direct sequel, The Snow Queen's Revenge, was released the following year.
Xiagu Danxin is a wuxia novel by Liang Yusheng first published as a serial between 5 October 1967 and 20 June 1969 in the Hong Kong newspaper Sin Wan Pao (新晚報). Considered the tenth part of the Tianshan series of novels by Liang Yusheng, it serves as a sequel to Yunhai Yugong Yuan and is closely related to two other novels – Binghe Xijian Lu and Fenglei Zhen Jiuzhou – in the series.
Mr. Vampire II, also known as Mr. Vampire Part 2, is a 1986 Hong Kong comedy horror film directed by Ricky Lau, starring Yuen Biao, Moon Lee and Lam Ching-ying, and produced by Sammo Hung. The film is the second of a series of five films directed by Ricky Lau in the Mr. Vampire franchise. Mr. Vampire and its sequels were released as part of the jiangshi cinematic boom in Hong Kong during the 1980s. The Chinese title of the film literally translates to "Vampire Family".
Mr. Vampire IV, also known as Mr. Vampire Saga Four is a 1988 Hong Kong comedy horror film directed by Ricky Lau and produced by Sammo Hung and Jessica Chan. The film is the fourth of a series of five films directed by Ricky Lau in the Mr. Vampire franchise. Mr. Vampire and its sequels were released as part of the jiangshi cinematic boom in Hong Kong during the 1980s. The Chinese title of the film literally translates to Uncle Vampire.
Bai Yutang, nicknamed "Sleek Rat" or "Brocade-Coated Rat" (錦毛鼠), is a fictional Song dynasty knight-errant from the 19th-century Chinese novel The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants.
Knull is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with Venom and Carnage. He was later retroactively established as an unseen enemy of Thor and the Silver Surfer, as he was behind Gorr the God Butcher's mission to hunt down and kill various deities, in addition to having come into conflict with the Silver Surfer via a temporal black hole through time. The character is depicted as an evil deity who created the weapon known as All-Black the Necrosword and the alien races known as the Klyntar/Symbiotes and Exolons. The character would go on to play a more important role in the Marvel Universe.
This article needs additional citations for verification .(October 2023) |