Master of the Flying Guillotine

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Reception

Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 90% of 20 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating was 6.9/10. [4] Metacritic rated the film 57/100 based on eleven reviews. [5] Elvis Mitchell of The New York Times called it "near-great" and "a venerable example of the kung fu genre". [6] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Master of the Flying Guillotine has been called the Holy Grail of the Hong Kong martial arts movies of the '70s, and now that it has been lovingly restored and given a regular theatrical release, it's easy to see why." [3] Joey O'Bryan of The Austin Chronicle rated it 2/5 stars and called it "a mess" that fails to live up to the epic brawl promised by the alternate title. [7] Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club called it "a delirious kung-fu saga" that is "wild even by the genre's lenient standards". Rabin concludes, "Goofy Z-movie fun of the highest order, Master Of The Flying Guillotine needs to be seen to be believed, and even then defies belief." [8] Phil Hall of Film Threat rated it 1.5/5 stars and wrote, "[T]his silly production stands as a dinky reminder of why martial arts film fell out of favor during the mid-1970s". [9] J. Doyle Wallis of DVD Talk rated it 4/5 stars and called it "a complete guilty pleasure that leaves you feeling high off its empty b-movie fun". [10] Mike Pinsky of DVD Verdict wrote that the film toys with and subverts many martial arts film cliches, which makes it surprising and entertaining. [11]

Soundtrack

Most of the music in the film is taken from Krautrock bands, [10] and includes: "Super" (Opening theme) and "Super 16" (Master Fung's theme) from Neu!'s second studio album, Neu! 2 ; "Rubycon, Part One" (The One-Armed Boxer's theme) from Tangerine Dream's sixth studio album, Rubycon , and "Mitternacht" (Suspense theme), "Morgenspaziergang" (courtyard music) and "Kometenmelodie 2" (End credits) from Kraftwerk's fourth studio album, Autobahn.

The soundtrack has been referenced and sampled extensively, including the use of "Super 16" in Tarantino's Kill Bill . [6]

Legacy

Quentin Tarantino has cited the film as "one of my favorite movies of all time." [12] The character Dhalsim from the Street Fighter video game series has been compared to the Indian assassin in the film. [13] In The Boondocks episode "Stinkmeaner 3: The Hateocracy", the Hateocracy member, Lord Rufus Crabmiser, used a flying guillotine disguised as a lobster trap to attack the Freeman family and ultimately kill Bushido Brown. [14]

Prequel

In 1977, a prequel titled Fatal Flying Guillotine was made by Hong Kong director Raymond Liu. [15]

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References

  1. ↑ "Master of the Flying Guillotine". hkmdb.com. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  2. ↑ "Master of the Flying Guillotine Production Companies". hkmdb.com. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  3. 1 2 Thomas, Kevin (24 May 2002). "A 'Master' of Style in Martial Arts". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  4. ↑ "Master of the Flying Guillotine". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  5. ↑ "Master of the Flying Guillotine (re-release)". Metacritic . Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  6. 1 2 Mitchell, Elvis (31 May 2002). "FILM REVIEW; An Avenger Rampages, and Chop! Chop! Heads Roll (or Rather, Fly)". The New York Times . Retrieved 31 January 2011.
  7. ↑ O'Bryan, Joey (20 October 1995). "Master of the Flying Guillotine". The Austin Chronicle . Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  8. ↑ Rabin, Nathan (16 September 2002). "Master Of The Flying Guillotine". The A.V. Club . Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  9. ↑ Hall, Phil (6 June 2001). "MASTER OF THE FLYING GUILLOTINE | Film Threat". Film Threat . Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  10. 1 2 Wallis, J. Doyle (15 September 2002). "Master of the Flying Guillotine". DVD Talk . Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  11. ↑ Pinsky, Mike (27 January 2005). "Master Of The Flying Guillotine: Two-Disc Anniversary Deluxe Edition". DVD Verdict . Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  12. ↑ Gibalevich, Don (1998). Peary, Gerald (ed.). Quentin Tarantino: Interviews. University Press of Mississippi. p. 176. ISBN   9781578060511.
  13. ↑ Ciolek, Todd; Bricken, Rob (30 April 2008). "The 10 Most Ridiculously Stereotyped Fighting Game Characters". Topless Robot. The Village Voice . Retrieved 11 March 2010.
  14. ↑ Pierce, Leonard (31 May 2010). "The Boondocks: "Stinkmeaner 3: The Hateocracy"". The A.V. Club . Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  15. ↑ "Fatal Flying Guillotine". The Portland Mercury . Retrieved 14 July 2014.
Master of the Flying Guillotine
Traditional Chinese 獨臂拳王大破血滴子
Simplified Chinese 独臂拳王大破血滴子
Films directed by Jimmy Wang Yu
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