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John Liu | |
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| Born | Liu Chungliang 劉忠良 May 20, 1944 |
| Occupation | actor |
| Years active | 1972–2006 |
Liu Chungliang (Commonly credited as John Liu) is a Taiwanese actor and martial artist. He mostly appeared in low-budget Taiwanese action/martial art movies and never appeared in the higher budget Hong Kong martial arts movies from the Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest.
When Liu was young, he learned martial arts from his grandfather who taught him Japanese Karate and Chinese kung fu. In the 1960s, he met Tan Tao-liang who was working as a martial arts instructor at the National Taiwan University. Tan taught Lui Taekwondo. According to Tan, Liu was not really flexible with his kicking when they first met. But through Tan's teaching, Liu was able to greatly improve the flexibility of his legs and his kicking would be featured in all his martial arts movies. Liu is often cited as being one of the best kickers in 1970s and 1980s martial arts films along with his teacher Tan Tao-liang, who also became an actor, Bruce Lee, Sun Chien of the Venom Mob, Casanova Wong, and Hwang Jang-lee who Liu would co-star in 5 films with Hwang often playing the villain to Liu's hero.
Liu made his debut in 1972 movie Great Boxer as the character Yanoryu Karateka, although it flopped at the box office. His real success came from the movie Secret Rivals , alongside Hwang Jang-lee and Don Wong Tao. Director Ng See-yuen furthermore brought Liu to the attention, with the likes of films such as Snuff Bottle Connection and Secret Rivals 2 . Combined with amazing choreography from the likes of Yuen Woo-ping, Corey Yuen and Alan Chui Chung-San, Liu's kicking made him famous. [1]
In 1981, Liu set up his own production company under the name John Liu's (H.K.) Film Corp, initially directing 3 low budget action movies that are all based in Paris and Mexico. Liu made a total of 3 films, including Zen Kwan Do Strikes Paris (1981), In the Claws of CIA (1981) and Dragon Blood (1982).
Ever since the downfall of his directed films, he retired from the film business and start to develop his own martial art form, known as Zen Kwan Do, named after his teacher Liu Zen. Liu's martial art form is based on Lau Gar kung fu, with a mixture of Taekwondo and Karate. The form spread through the 80s in Paris while Liu was shooting Zen Kwan Do Strikes Paris . While the form itself is generally unknown by many other martial art fans and students, Zen Kwan Do has maintained a following in France.
In 1984, Liu directed a film titled New York Ninja , shot in New York City. While the film was shot, it was never edited and the footage remained dormant in a film lab for several decades. In 2020, home video distributor Vinegar Syndrome acquired the footage, and—without access to any audio, storyboards, or scripts from the original production—edited a reconstructed version of the film, with new dialogue recorded and dubbed by such actors as Don Wilson, Cynthia Rothrock, Michael Berryman, and Matt Mitler. [2] The new hybrid production was eventually released in November 2021.
Liu has returned to the big screen in Robert Tai's Trinity Goes East in 1998 and once more in Il giorno + bello (Any Reason Not To Get Married?) as a cameo appearance in 2006.
Drunken Master is a 1978 Hong Kong martial arts comedy film directed by Yuen Woo-ping, and starring Jackie Chan, Yuen Siu-tien, and Hwang Jang-lee. It was a success at the Hong Kong box office, earning two and a half times the amount of Yuen's and Chan's previous film, Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, which was also considered a hit.
Snake in the Eagle's Shadow is a 1978 Hong Kong martial arts action comedy film directed by Yuen Woo-ping in his directorial debut. It stars Jackie Chan, Hwang Jang-lee, and Yuen Woo-ping's real life father, Yuen Siu-tien. The film's plot is about Chien Fu, an orphan who is bullied at a kung fu school, meeting an old beggar, Pai Cheng-tien, who becomes his sifu (teacher) and trains him in Snake Kung Fu.
Heroes of the East, also known as Challenge of the Ninja, Shaolin vs. Ninja and Shaolin Challenges Ninja is a martial arts film produced in 1978. It starred Gordon Liu and was directed by Lau Kar-Leung. Lau Kar-Leung has a cameo role as So Chan, a master of Zui Quan. It's notable for portraying Japanese martial arts alongside the more typical kung fu used in most Hong Kong martial arts films.
Shek Wing-cheung, better known by his stage name Shih Kien, Sek Kin, or Sek Gin or Shek Kin(Chinese: 石堅; pinyin: Shí Jiān; Jyutping: Sek6 Gin1), was a Hong Kong–based Chinese actor. Shih is best known for playing antagonists and villains in several early Hong Kong wuxia and martial arts films that dated back to the black-and-white period, and is most familiar to Western audiences for his portrayal of the primary villain, Han, in the 1973 martial arts film Enter the Dragon, which starred Bruce Lee.
Angela Mao Ying is a Taiwanese actress and martial artist who appeared in martial arts films in the 1970s. One of the most prominent martial artist actresses of her time, she is nicknamed "Lady Whirlwind" and "Lady Kung Fu". She was positioned as a female version of Bruce Lee.
Yuen Siu-tien was a Hong Kong actor and martial artist. in the late 1970s, Yuen is perhaps best known as Beggar So in three films: Drunken Master, Story of Drunken Master and his final film Dance of the Drunk Mantis. He starred in several films with film actors like Jackie Chan and under the direction of his real-life son Yuen Woo-ping.
Kung fu film is a subgenre of martial arts films and Hong Kong action cinema set in the contemporary period and featuring realistic martial arts. It lacks the fantasy elements seen in wuxia, a related martial arts genre that uses historical settings based on ancient China. Swordplay is also less common in kung-fu films than in wuxia and fighting is done through unarmed combat.
Hell's Wind Staff is a 1979 Hong Kong martial arts film directed by Lu Chin-ku, and also written, produced, storied and directed by Tony Wong based in edition of a comic book 龍虎門 made in hong kong, starring Hwang Jang Lee, Meng Yuen-man, Mang Hoi and Kwan Yung-moon.
Secret Rivals a.k.a. Northern Leg, Southern Fist aka Silver Fox Rivals is a 1976 kung fu film directed by James Nam and Ng See Yuen and starring Hwang Jang-lee, John Liu and Wong Tao. The film was shot on location in South Korea and Hong Kong.
Bastard Swordsman, also known as Reincarnate Swordsman, is a 1983 Hong Kong wuxia film produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio.
Filmography for the Indo-Chinese Hong Kong film actor and martial artist Lo Lieh:
Tan Tao-liang is a Chinese-Korean martial artist and former film actor. He has used numerous pseudonyms throughout his career, most frequently Delon Tam, Dorian Tan Tao-liang, Tan Tao-liang, Delon Tan, Dorian Tan, and Delon Tanners. Noted for his leg holding and hopping skills, Tan was nicknamed "Flash Legs".
The Incredible Kung Fu Master, also known as The Kung Fu Master is a 1979 martial arts action comedy film directed by Joe Cheung in his directorial debut and starring Sammo Hung and Stephen Tung, the latter in his first leading role. This film features an action direction from a number of famous action directors including Sammo Hung Stunt Team, Lam Ching-ying, Billy Chan, Bryan Leung and Yuen Biao.
Carter Wong is a Chinese actor and martial artist, who is mainly known for roles in Kung Fu action movies. The biggest movies he was featured in are Big Trouble in Little China (1986), and Yong zheng ming zhang Shao Lin men (1977). As an actor, he contributed to more than seventy martial arts films. He also worked as a stuntman in films, and was the fighting instructor for the movie Rambo III. Wong is still active in martial arts.
Phillip Ko-Fei was a Hong Kong filmmaker.
Death Duel of Kung Fu is 1979 martial art movie, directed by William Cheung Ki and starring John Liu, Don Wong Tao and Eagle Han-ying. It is also known as Showdown of the Master Warriors and Return of the Secret Rivals as an alternate title. With in say, the movie has no relationship with the Secret Rivals trilogy but most of the filming locations took places in South Korea although the story is set in China, which makes the result that it makes a similar storyline as Secret Rivals. It is also Eagle Han-ying`s first Hong Kong movie debut.
The Magnificent Kick is a 1980 Hong Kong martial arts biography film. The film is a flashback story of the life of Wong Fei Hung, the Chinese martial arts master and folk hero of Cantonese ethnicity, and is named after his trademark move- a kick too fast to be countered, known as 'the shadowless kick'. The director is Daniel Lau Tan-Ching, and the producer is Ng Why. The film stars Kwan Tak-hing, Jason Pai-piao, Cecilla Wong Hang-sau and Han Ying-chieh. The production company is Friendship Films (H.K.) Co, Hsu Tang is the production manager, the screenplay is by Sze-To On, and the script supervisor is Wong Mei Ling. The martial art used in the film by Kwan Tak-hing is Hung Ga / Hung Gar.
Chui Chung-San was a Hong Kong actor, director, choreographer, martial artist and stuntman. He was known for being an action director and stuntman. Chui was known for films such as The Rebellious Reign, Kung Fu Vs. Yoga, Two Fists Against the Law and 7 Grandmasters; as well as other various Taiwanese television shows.
Seasonal Film Corporation was an independent film company from Hong Kong, originally founded by the ex-assistant Shaw Brothers movie director Ng See-yuen in 1974. One of their first films was Call Me Dragon in 1974, starring Bruce Liang, Kurata Yasuaki and Mang Hoi. Seasonal Film Corporation was one of the well known independent filming company in Hong Kong and who was also responsible with likes of martial arts stars such as Jackie Chan, Hwang Jang-lee, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Yuen Woo Ping, Bruce Liang, Alan Chui Chung-San and Corey Yuen.
Duel of Karate, also known as To Subdue Evil and To Subdue the Devil, is a 1971 Hong Kong martial arts film produced by and directed by Fu Ching-hua and starring Chan Hung-lit and Tien Peng as twin brothers who were separated at a young age after their parents were murdered by the chief antagonist.
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