US poster art

Strike of Death


Strike of Death

AKA: Countdown in Kung Fu, Hand of Death, Shaolin Men and Countdown in Death

Golden Harvest, 1975, 91 min.

Director: John Woo
Stars: Dorian Tan, Jackie Chan, Samno Hung, Yuen Biao, John Woo
Producer: Raymond Chow
Writer: John Woo
Cinematographer: Yung-Chi Lian
Editor: Chang Yao-Chen
Action Coordinator: Sammo Hung

Available on video (full frame and dubbed or subtitled) from Arena Video


strike of Death

A group of rebels (led by Tan) must band together to protect a courier (Woo) carrying a top-secret message that may change the fate of China.

Sure, it's a standard plot, but remember that this is Golden Harvest (the king of kung-fu quickies in the 70's) that we're talking about here. Strike of Death is by no means an Enter the Dragon, but it's still fairly entertaining to watch, especially if you're a fan of Jackie Chan or John Woo. The plot moves along a bit sluggishly at times and is full of cliches, but the fights are staged compentently, and the finale is a set of three pretty good fights. If you want to see an early look into the careers of future Hong Kong superstars (or just want to check out Sammo Hung with ridiculously cheesy fake buck teeth), you should see Strike of Death.

RATING: 5

Interesting trivia:

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