Clan of the White Lotus (1980) Review

Recently, I rediscovered a classic kung fu movie called Clan of the White Lotus. I have found that it can be under a different name, but that is what I found with it. You can find it streaming online, through DVDs on eBay or Amazon. I saw it streaming and dubbed into English, and it was not my first viewing. There are a lot of things that have been said about this movie, so I won’t try to recreate the wheel. Instead, let’s discuss 4 points of the film and review it differently than most.

First off, let’s talk about Lo Lieh’s dual role. He not only directed the movie, but he also stars as Pai Mei. He’s one of the biggest villains in the kung fu world and is known as nearly immortal. He has an exaggerated technique and a great fighting style to knock out opponents, which he exemplifies in this movie. It takes quite a bit of force and much technique to take him down.

Pai Mei vs. Hung Gar Tradition should be discussed as well. Gordon Liu’s Hung Wen-ting uses Hung Gar martial arts to counter Pai Mei’s unbeatable style. This style focuses on stance training and soft-over-hard technique, which looks great through the director’s lens. The cinematic flair here combines well with real-life martial arts philosophy.

For those who are woke, ok, maybe not, I’d like to note that there is a training element that is not usual for kung fu movies. There is a narrative angle where Hung has to adopt a more feminine style with grace, softness, and subtlety. To defeat Pai Mei, he has to be subversive and not so abrasive in his macho kung fu style. There’s a dichotomy at play here, which you don’t always see with kung fu movies.

Lastly, let’s talk about the influence that Clan of the White Lotus has. Its lasting impact can be felt in the martial arts films surrounding Pai Mei. He is in several different movies, and even shows up in Kill Bill Vol. 2, where he trains Uma Thurman’s character. He is a cemented piece of Shaw Brothers history and one of the most ruthless villains.

Overall, Clan of the White Lotus is a class bit of kung fu cinema. It goes beyond the typical revenge plot and features some engaging visuals, tone, and shift changes. I highly recommend checking it out.

Walls of Jericho “The Bound Feed The Gagged” (1999) Review

Walls of Jericho The Bound Feed The Gagged record cover

1999 a mix of hardcore and metal bands was getting much attention. One of the bands making a name for themselves by being left of center was that of Walls of Jericho. In 1999, the band would release their first studio record, “The Bound Feed The Gagged,” and they would mix genres to catch you off guard. The resulting disc is a mix of metal riffs with hardcore breakdowns and even punk rock shifting speed at times. Despite their name, the band is not religious, and pummels the listener with sing-along choruses and metallic onslaught at other times.

Production-wise, this is not the most polished of records, with the guitars feeling slightly off, but not terrible. The guitarwork is good, don’t get me wrong, but it sometimes overshadows the bass and drums, and is second only to the vocals, which are screamed. Candace’s vocals are spot on, hardcore, at times feminine, but with enough gusto that she doesn’t fit in one category, giving the band a little bit of a leg up in terms of their song structures. “The Bound Feed The Gagged” puts pressure on your brain from the opening track, “Playing Soldier Again”, through the rest of the tracks, all of which stand independently with heavy-hitting measures. “Home is where the heart is”, “Unwanted Resistance”, “Full Disclosure”, and more round out the record highs, with an onslaught of metallic music you’re going to either love or hate. Female-fronted hardcore? Well, this is certainly a good record.

Pick up this solid record from Walls of Jericho by clicking here.

Point of Recognition “The Admiration of a Son” (1999) Review

Point of Recognition the admiration of a son cd cover

There is a location east of Los Angeles, quite a ways, known as the Inland Empire. There was a time during the late 1990s and 2000s when a surge of straightedge and hardcore bands started to come through and begin to get noticed on a significant scale. It wasn’t just straightedge, however, it was also Christian bands that began to get a great deal of focus, including No Innocent Victim, As I Lay Dying, Dodgin Bullets, Cast in Stone, Torn in Two, and many others. In the mix of those bands was a band with dual singers called Point of Recognition. They would release their debut record, “The Admiration of a Son,” on Rescue Records in 1999 and hit the ground running.

The first significant thing you’ll notice about “The Admiration of a Son” is the production values. It’s an independent recording, and while Rescue Records put it out, you can tell that the budget wasn’t very high. That doesn’t matter regarding hardcore, metalcore, or even punk, and you can easily push it to the side. Once you put that aside, you get to the crux of the record: an up-and-down push through hardcore and metallic riffs.

The metalcore sound of “The Admiration of a Son” comes through with the riffs on every track, with sing-along choruses breaking up the screams from the dual singers. You’ll find a balancing act at play here, where neither one gets over the other, and while they sound similar, you can tell one has a deeper reach. Lyrically, this is an assault; it’s a tackling record of Christian themes, which may turn some off. However, if you look past that, you’ll find that “The Admiration of a Son” is a good overall example of the Southern California hardcore, metalcore sound that was alive and well in 1999 and through the 2000s. The record holds up well but is an acquired taste.

You owe it to yourself to stream or buy this masterpiece here.