Magnificent Fist
Average customer rating: Not rated
    Magnificent Fist

    Manufacturer: Tai Seng
    ProductGroup: DVD
    Binding: DVD

    GeneralGeneral | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video
    GeneralGeneral | Martial Arts | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video
    GeneralGeneral | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video
    Wong, CarterWong, Carter | ( W ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    4-for-3 All DVDs4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video
    GeneralGeneral | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
    DVDs Under $7.49DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
    Martial ArtsMartial Arts | Action & Adventure | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
    All DealsAll Deals | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
    ( M )( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
    ASIN: B00004Y7EJ
    Release Date: 2000-11-14
    Black Belt Theatre, Vol. 14: 8 Diagram Fighter/Magnificent Natural Fist
    Average customer rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    • Relavence of "8 Diagram" Uncertain/"Natural Fist" very Poor
    Black Belt Theatre, Vol. 14: 8 Diagram Fighter/Magnificent Natural Fist
    Starring: Black Belt Theatre 2
    Manufacturer: Ground Zero
    ProductGroup: DVD
    Binding: DVD

    GeneralGeneral | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video
    GeneralGeneral | Martial Arts | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video
    GeneralGeneral | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video
    JapaneseJapanese | By Original Language | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video
    DVDs Under $9.99DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
    Martial ArtsMartial Arts | Action & Adventure | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
    All DealsAll Deals | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
    ( B )( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
    4-for-3 All DVDs4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video
    GeneralGeneral | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
    JapaneseJapanese | By Original Language | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
    ASIN: B0000694XE
    Release Date: 2002-07-16

    Customer Reviews:

    2 out of 5 stars Relavence of "8 Diagram" Uncertain/"Natural Fist" very Poor.......2003-02-13

    Overall, this was an interesting and entertaining film, with a pretty good plot and fight scenes. It follows the path of the "5th Son" of the Yiang family after his father and the rest of his brothers (except 6th Son), loyal to the emperor, are defeated in battle by Mongol rebels. 5th Son is wounded. He and 6th Son escape from the battle, but in different directions.

    5th Son is helped by priests at a Buddhist monastery, where he hides and where his wounds are cared for. 5th Son is allowed to train with the monks, melding his family's unique Yiang Spear style with Shaolin pole style.

    Eventually, the rage of the Mongol rebels disrupts the monastery, drawing 5th Son--who in the course of the story is reunited with his brother and sister--the monks and priests into a final showdown.

    What I found bizarre, and what I felt the movie could have done without, making the film better as the result, were these amateurish special effects; for example: people appearing out of thin air, darts of light thrown from the hand, hokey electromagnetic-looking fields surrounding a person's body, and the like, during many of the fight scenes. In addition, the "8 Diagrams" amounted to nothing more than the 8 trigrams of the I-Ching superimposed on the screen during a training sequence, but otherwise having no apparent connection with the plot, script or storyline. (Well, maybe it had to do with the "completeness" of the fighting style that evolved from combining Yiang and Shaolin.) All-in-all, these unnecessary and poorly executed effects gave a decidedly (and annoyingly) 1970's flavor to the film which, frankly, I think the viewer could do without. Also, the final fight scene seemed hurried, and the wire work too fantastic and incongruent with earlier scenes in the film. For these reasons, I deducted 1 star from the rating.

    Aside from these chief gripes, I really liked the thoughful character of 5th Son, his interaction with the Buddhist monks and priests, and the ultimate decision he makes at the end of the film (which I won't spoil for you).

    The prospective buyer should note that this film, 8 Diagram Fighter, which shares similarities with The Invincible Pole Fighters (starring Gordon Liu) is NOT the same film.

    In summary, second shelf entertainment.

    As for "Magnificent Natural Fist," in a word: Terrible. The video transfer is extremely poor. The movie seems to be spliced together with no rhyme nor reason. The fight scenes are low-grade and sped up. The make up on the nose of the main character is hideous. In general, a regretable concoction. I have yet to sit through the film in its entirety, and I normally have a cast iron stomach for bad kung-fu films.

    From what I have seen so far on the "Black Belt" double feature series, the second film is pure filler, and the pictures on the front cover often have little, if anything, to do with what is on the DVD itself.

    1 star.

    Average for the two films=(1+3)/2=2

    DVD:

    1. Mandragora
    2. Marooned in Iraq
    3. Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 4 (Girl in Gold Boots / Hamlet [1961] / Overdrawn at the Memory Bank / Space Mutiny)
    4. No Escape/Turbulence
    5. Okinawan Karate Kobudo World Event - d
    6. Our Good Dog, 7 Weeks to an Exceptional Pet
    7. Rambo Trilogy (Ultimate Edition DVD Collection) (3-Disc Collector Set) - (First Blood/Rambo: First Blood Part II/Rambo III)
    8. Rebel Without a Cause (Two-Disc Special Edition)
    9. Return to Lonesome Dove
    10. Revengers Tragedy

    DVD

    DVD