KUNG FU ESCAPISM OF 'MASTER OF THE FLYING GUILLOTINE'

Master of the Flying Guillotine Year: 1976 Rating: ****

About the only downside is there's not enough of that radical red beanie taking off heads, but in its place is tons of Kung Fu in a Kung Fu contest: one-on-one bouts much like ENTER THE DRAGON, only here more lethal and mystical, including a scene-stealing villain with elongated arms...

And the plot centers on a one-armed karate teacher being sought out by an old blind bearded assassin —the Master of the Flying Guillotine — who wants him dead for killing two of his friends, and he twirls his blade-cap at anyone else with a single limb. There's an uneven, sporadic mix between English subtitles and the classic mismatched dubbing, flickery lighting and other such technical "flaws" that only add to the overall cult appeal. The music is pretty fantastic, revving-up the ultra-violent exploitation, and a pretty nifty plot making this one of the coolest martial arts fantasies ever produced, directed, choreographed.