Sony Max, available on channel 126 of satellite pay-TV platform DStv is running a Kung Fu Mania Festival every Saturday at 9pm until end of April. DStv subscribers will have a selection of classic martial arts films to enjoy – action blockbusters from the golden era. These include Bruce Lee & I, The Chinese Boxer and Duel of Fists.
Bruce Lee & I broadcasts on Saturday, 11 February. Betty Ting Pei, the woman in whose apartment Bruce Lee died in July 1973, stars as herself in this expose of the last days of the martial arts icon. She unpacks her relationship with Lee, stripping away the rumours to reveal what she claims to be the truth. Danny Lee (The Killer, Tiger on the Beat 2) stars as Bruce Lee in this thrill-laden flick, with kung-fu fight scenes choreographed under the guidance of esteemed instructors Tang Chia and Yuen Woo-ping. Directed by John Lo Mar (1975).
The Chinese Boxer airs on Saturday, 18 February. With the dramatic tagline “See the sweeping hand of death strike without mercy!’ viewers are in for an action-packed ride with this classic Shaw Brothers movie made in the Hong Kong martial-arts tradition. Jimmy Wang Yu (Master of the Flying Guillotine, Dragon Flies) stars as a fighter who sets out to take revenge on those who killed his family and friends. It’s all about honour, retribution and kick-ass martial arts – an entertaining mishmash of Kung-Fu and other styles. Directed by Jimmy Wang Yu (1970)
Duel of Fists broadcasts on Saturday, 25 February. One of the most popular films of 1971, this kung-fu/Thai boxing actioner stars David Chiang as a Hong Kong engineer who heads to Thailand to find his long-lost brother (Ti Lung), who happens to be a Muay Thai boxer. There, he enters a sinister world of triads and crooked fight promoters. Directed by Chang Cheh (1971)
The Kung-Fu line-up for March is:
3 March – Five Elements Ninja
10 March – The 36th Chamber of Shaolin
17 March – Disciples of the 36th Chamber
24 March – Legend of the Bat
31 March at 9pm – Opium and the Kung Fu Master
The April line-up is:
7 April – Vengeance is a Golden Blade
14 April – Dirty Ho
21 April – Killer Clans
28 April – Five Shaolin Masters
