Leofwine_draca Probably one of the oddest sub-genres in cinema is the kung fu spaghetti western. THE FIGHTING FISTS OF SHANGHAI JOE is one of the best and most popular of this genre, which saw Italian producers deciding to combine the then-popular martial arts film with the spaghetti western, which like the peplum ten years previously, was crying out for fresh ideas and imagination. The result was about half-a-dozen productions which mixed chop-socky action with grizzly cowboys and desert town locations to unique effect. THE FIGHTING FISTS OF SHANGHAI JOE is actually a very well-made movie, benefiting from strong direction from Mario Caiano, a rather overlooked genre personality from the period, who could usually be relied upon to deliver a watchable movie. The plot is simple and straightforward and a basis for the never-ending scenes of action which are hard-hitting and often violent.Although the premise is silly and could be played for laughs, this is actually a very dark film in which the hard-edged action is often punctuated by merciless violence and surprising gore effects. The main themes that the film explores are racism and oppression; our hero Shanghai Joe must suffer both of these throughout the film. First come the expected encounters with racist cowboys, whose vocabulary usually seems to contain only racist taunts, before Joe teaches them a lesson in manners. Later, he defeats a gang of slave labourers quite happy using Mexican peasants to do their dirty work, thus invoking the wrath of a criminal boss and setting the latter half of the film in motion.Whereas the first half of the movie spends a fair amount of time developing Joe's character and the new landscape in which he finds himself, also exploring his relationships with other people, the second half loses all exposition in favour of a series of fight sequences against increasingly difficult opponents (thus reminding one of a computer game). The first baddie for Joe to fight is a guy named Cannibal! The second villain is Italian regular Gordon Mitchell in a blond wig. The third villain is all brains and no brawn, as played by Giacomo Rossi-Stuart. The final villain is a scalp-hunter played by the inimitably sleazy Klaus Kinski at his manic best.The final battle of the film is the only one with any memorable choreography, seeing as Shanghai Joe gets to fight a fellow martial artist instead of an unskilled cowboy. Caiano throws in some good use of slow-motion leaping (not as silly as it sounds), some creepy music which comes as a surprise after the rest of the jolly Morricone-style score, and a wonderful 360 sweep around Joe as he searches for his opponent. The film's hero is played by Chen Lee, who is pretty decent in the part and succeeds because he's actually an actor as well as a martial artist, and seems charismatic in his role. Tons of action, arm-lopping gore, memorably deranged characters, and steadfast direction combine to make this one a whole lotta fun.

JohnWelles "The Fight Fists of Shanghai Joe" (1973) sounds like one of those awful genre bending films that repeatedly crop up over the years; however this kung-fu Spaghetti Western is actually pretty decent and has certain similarities with the television series "Kung Fu" with David Carradine. It is directed by Mario Caiano, who made a number of Spaghetti Westerns, and stars Chen Lee as the eponymous Shanghai Joe.The story is straightforward, almost verging on the simplistic. Joe is a recent immigrant from China to San Francisco, where, in search of work, he heads to Texas. Here he gets on the wrong side of a powerful, racist rancher, Stanley Spencer (Piero Lulli), after he witnesses the massacre of Mexican slave labourers.This Western tries to say some interesting things about the West, and how Chinese immigrants helped do a lot of the "dirty" jobs that Whites wouldn't do. Sadly, most of this is drowned under its comic book style and some pretty bad kung-fu. Yet it does have some good parts: most of the action scenes come with Peckinpah-esque slow motion and exploding, bloody squids. Some of the violence is pretty strong too, with Lee pulling a bad guy's eyes out on screen. But due to its light-hearted mode, it never feels dark or repellent. In fact, it is all rather comic, lacking the seriousness as "Django Kill, If You Live, Shoot!" (1967) has from its strong violence.Acting wise, Chen Lee is probably as wooden as his martial arts, but Piero Lulli makes a fine villain and Klaus Kinski's virtually cameo-like role is memorable. The scene where the Mexicans are killed is well-directed, as are a number of other action scenes, sufficient enough to make sure that the Western is at least fast paced.It isn't a brilliant piece of cinema, but as the Spaghetti Western genre went down the drains, it is refreshingly old fashioned in a way, occasionally recalling the past Golden Era of the late sixties that makes it worth checking out for the Spaghetti Western enthusiast.

Michael_Elliott Fighting Fist of Shangai Joe, The (1972) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Extremely weird blend of the Spaghetti Western and Martial Arts genres has a Chinese immigrant (Chen Lee) showing up in Texas where he receives all sorts of racial slurs as well as people trying to mistreat him. He breaks up a slave ring but then finds himself being hunted by professional killers including one played by Klaus Kinski. I'm rather new to both of these genres but I must say I really enjoyed this film for the most part even though you can never really take it too seriously. This movie seems to get a lot of mixed reviews, which is understandable because if someone comes into this movie expecting a serious western then they're going to be disappointed because there's more camp than anything else. The film is strange on so many levels but we can start with the violence, which starts off rather weak and standard but quickly turns violent and over the top. There's one sequence where a man has his hand blown off and this here leads to some really graphic violence as an eyeball is ripped out as well as a heart. Lee is pretty good in his role as is Kinski but for some reason he's only in the film for less than five minutes so if you're tuning in to see him then you're going to be disappointed. The American version I watched had some very bad dubbing, which included a white man doing the voice of Shangai Joe but this did deliver a few laughs. Caiano is best known for his Italian horror film Nightmare Castle but he does a good job with the material here and delivers a memorable if quite silly film.

bensonmum2 The Fighting Fists of Shanghai Joe is easily one of the best Spaghetti Western / Kung Fu movies I've ever seen. Wait a minute . . . it's the only Spaghetti Western / Kung Fu movie I've ever seen. It's a strange mix of genres that actually works.Joe is a Chinese immigrant in the Old West. All Joe wants is a job and a chance to make a new life for himself. He faces continual racial prejudices and injustice. Being a peace loving man, he takes it all in stride. But when pushed too far, he turns into a butt-kicking machine. When Joe sets a group of Mexican slaves free, the local "Big Man" hires four killers to get Joe. Can Joe's Kung Fu skills save him from these gun-toting, knife-throwing bounty hunters? The Fighting Fists of Shanghai Joe has a lot of things working against it. Chen Lee, in the title role, isn't the most engaging sort of actor. He's actually rather bland. Klaus Kinski, who gets top billing, is on screen for less than 10 minutes. Mario Caiano brings nothing inventive of note to the direction. And the score by Bruno Nicolai, while entertaining, is not very original. But none of that really matters. This isn't art - it's about having a good time. And on that level, The Fighting Fists of Shanghai Joe works. Watching Joe kick the crap out of a bunch of cowboys is a real blast. The fight scene between Lee and Kinski is the highlight. If you've ever wanted to see a Kung Fu master fight after being shot in both legs, this is your movie.