Artivels Undescribable Perfection

SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Suman Roberson It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Leofwine_draca As an action-packed kung fu offering which works as a visual spectacle and nothing else, FATAL FLYING GUILLOTINE is a perfect's evening entertainment. From the opening fight scene against a horde of martial arts monks to the nihilistic finale against the guillotine-slinging master of evil, this film is all about action, action, and more action, with little in the way of plot or character to get in its way. The basic storyline involves some rival emperors cheating each other and a mad old man living in a field who wields a mean pair of flying guillotines and those fool enough to challenge him. Yes, the old plot contrivance is back in the air again, although sadly not so colourful or over-the-top here.Carter Wong is the square-jawed hero who begins the film seeking a cure for his dying mother. Said cure is written inside a holy book belonging to a horde of secretive monks - to borrow the book, he must defeat the leader in unarmed combat. I'm glad I don't have to go through that routine at my local library! After plenty of well-choreographed martial arts action, Wong secures the book only to discover that it has been swapped by a nefarious baddie, resulting in the death of his mother. He goes on a rampage of revenge to find the man responsible.Meanwhile, a couple of armies keep sending their best men into the "Valley of Doom", where the Guillotine Master resides. Before reaching him they must traverse a cave labyrinth beset with hidden traps and killer evils. Finally after tons more fighting, where everybody ends up killing everyone else, Wong finds himself up against the guillotine master himself in a finale that tops everything that has come before it. Utilising some cheap but highly imaginative - not to mention effective - forms of camera trickery, we see close-ups of the guillotines as they circle through the air, only to clamp down and slice the heads off the unsuspecting victims. Forget SLEEPY HOLLOW - for a real frenzy of decapitation and bouncing bonces, check out this movie first.The wooden Wong has always made for a strangely appealing hero character and he acquits himself well with the material here. His fighting is strong and very physical and he doesn't have to say much, either. Chen Sing gloats evilly and wears a fake wig and beard as the vengeful bad guy, also proving his worth in the kung fu field with some very fierce fighting. The fights are colourful and well-choreographed, there are flying people for no reason (great stuff) and the film as a whole is well-directed and entertaining. Just don't go in expecting a classic, because you won't get one. Instead this is old-school period action as it was meant to be.

MartinHafer 1975's MASTER OF THE FLYING GUILLOTINE is an amazing and wonderful film to watch. This isn't because the fighting is particularly inspired or because the film makes any sense at all. It's because the film is so silly and so over-the-top that it is a camp classic--bad, but enjoyably bad. The film stars a blind guy who has a Frisbee-like device on a chain that chops off people's heads as he expertly throws this at his foes! Who cares that the physics are impossible or that the film features such silly things as fighters with 12 foot long papier-mache arms or that the guy was blind! It's just a ball to watch from start to finish--and one of my favorite "bad" films and great to see with friends.Because of this film, I was eager to see THE FATAL FLYING GUILLOTINES (1977), though sadly it turned out NOT to be a sequel but a bit of a knock-off--taking many of the ideas from the original but neglecting to make the film as coherent or watchable. Sure, it's silly fun, but it never comes close to MASTER OF THE FLYING GUILLOTINE in entertainment value. Like the original film, there are these weird flying devices that sever heads, but they are quite different--with circular saw blades and almost a mind of their own. There also is no blind guy but instead are a bunch of baddies who really have no depth nor does the audience understand exactly what's occurring in this English-dubbed version, as the plot is completely incomprehensible. However, at the same time, some of the martial arts action is very good. While not up to the high standards of most Bruce Lee or Sonny Chiba films, the action is worthwhile despite the ludicrous and often confusing plot.Overall, this is a film that martial arts fans may like (despite its many, many, many, many shortcomings), but also one that others will probably turn off or laugh hysterically at instead of enjoying the action because the film is just so ludicrous. BUT, most importantly, it never comes close to being as funny or watchable as MASTER OF THE FLYING GUILLOTINE. Too bad.

EvilBunnee This movie had such a good concept to start with, however, in the end, it all falls apart. Between the evil prince trying to take over China, the son who wants to avenge his mothers death, and the Buddhist temple Monks wanting to stop the evil Shen, this story got very confusing. Believe me when I say that this movie has a few great fight scenes, however, they do NOT make up for the fact that it has such a terrible ending!

InzyWimzy Carter Wong plays a noble hero on a quest for a book of healing which leads him seeking ultimate vengeance! The pacing is good in this film and there are a lot of fight scenes to keep the movie going. The flying guillotines look wicked and the main villain has no problems using them. Although the story isn't strong, the action is fun and draws you to the very end (which I felt could've had a sequel).Campy and dark, this is great ol skool kung fu!!