Arrow Video UK Blu-ray Synopsis (Book): Ho Jen, a chivalrous robber likes to squander money on female entertainers. But, one night, he discovers that Wang Tsun Hsin, a millionaire, has monopolized all the girls. Under these circumstances, the two men meet. Wang takes a liking to Ho, but knowing he is a robber of licentious character, he tries to make him turn over a new leaf by helping him avoid arrest on several occasions. Ho being so obstinate, Wang decides to teach him a lesson. He deliberately plans on getting Ho wounded. Once wounded, Ho discovers that no doctor can cure him, so he finally turns to Wang for help. In exchange for curing his wound, Wang wants him to be his apprentice and for Ho to follow him wherever he goes. Though unwilling to submit, Ho has no choice. Emperor Kangxi has fourteen sons and one of them has to be chosen as his successor. Wang Tsun Hsin happens to be his 11th son. The 4th son, however, wants to succeed to the throne and, knowing Wang is in Guangdong, specially makes General Liang responsible for getting rid of Wang. Knowing Wang's keen personal interest in wine and Chinese art, they use this knowledge to try on many occasions to have him killed. But Wang is such a well-skilled martial artist that he outsmarts them. Unfortunately, at one point he is wounded in the leg, and Ho helped him escape. Understanding later that Wang is actually the 11th son of Emperor Kangxi, and a skilful martial artist, Ho willingly accepts him as master and learns from him the technique of martial arts expertise. A big reward is offered to anyone who gets rid of Wang, and his whereabouts is known since people know of Ho. They, therefore, leave their hideout and head for the capital city. On the way, as expected, they are ambushed by General Liang's men, which they narrowly escape. When they arrive at the city, they are again hindered by General Liang and his men. Finally, they succeed in foiling the plans of the 4th son. (103 Mins)

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Views: As I've said before, there are many kung-fu movie titles that could be easily misconstrued to fit into the cinematic world of porn such as Gambling For Head, Brave Young Girls, Red Lips, Naked Weapon – heck, even Fist Of Fury could slide on in there! And then there's Dirty Ho - one of my favourite Shaw Brother films from director Lau Kar Leung that tells the tale of an endangered prince, who enlists a quick witted and talented thief to serve as his bodyguard in a bid to protect him from many assassination attempts. After a busy, but successful year in 1978 with 36th Chamber Of Shaolin, Heroes Of The East, and Shaolin Mantis, Lau went for another hat-trick in '79 with this classic, the fun Spiritual Boxer 2, and the brilliant Mad Monkey Kung Fu of which he returned for a full starring role. But it's clear that both years obviously took their toll with him as Kar Leung would only deliver one production the following year with the wonderful, Return To The 36th Chamber. Regardless, with Dirty Ho Lau was at the top of his game and managed to deliver an outstanding piece of kung-fu cinema that has now been released in a 2K restoration as part of the Shaw Scope Vol.1 collection from Arrow Video – a major upgrade from watching it on my old VHS release from Made In Hong Kong and the Thai release of the Celestial DVD that I had imported...

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The great Gordon Liu shines as the 11th Prince, Wang Chin Chen, favoured heir to the throne and undercover antique jewellery dealer. After training with Lau Kar Leung's father, Lau Cham (who himself was taught be Wong Fei Hung's infamous student Butcher Wing), Gordon was soon adopted into the family and moved into the film industry with the rest of the Lau brothers. Moving up from stuntman and extra, Liu made enough of an impression in Breakout From Oppression to bag himself a role in Chang Cheh's Shaolin Martial Arts and Five Shaolin Masters before landing his first leading role with Lau Kar Leung as a young Wong Fei Hung in Challenge Of The Masters. The pair quickly followed up with Executioners From Shaolin, but it would be Lau's classic 36th Chamber Of Shaolin (just prior to this) that would really project Gordon Liu to leading man status. Now, in high demand, Liu would go on to star in over 100 films (not including television shows), moving into modern-day action films in the late 80s with films like Tiger On The Beat 1 & 2, A Bloody Fight, Killer Angels, Cheetah On Fire, Last Hero In China, and hitting Hollywood hard with his roles in Kill Bill 1 & 2, as well as The Man With The Iron Fists in 2012. But it would be after this, that Gordon would suffer from a stroke and a bad fall that has since seen him step out of the industry for the last decade unfortunately – quite possibly destined never to return to the screen again. Wong Yu returns to work with Lau Kar Leung once again after playing the lead role in Spiritual Boxer and co-starring in Challenge Of The Masters, Executioners Of Shaolin, 36th Chamber Of Shaolin, and Spiritual Boxer 2. Wong made his feature film debut alongside Chen Kuan Tai in The Bloody Fists in 1972, a production directed by Ng See Yuen, and for the next 5 years, the pair would star together in a number of films including The Tea House, The Flying Guillotine, Big Brother Cheng, and the aforementioned Kar Leung movies. While I've never been amazed by Wong Yu, it's fair to say that he is a very talented performer and seems to be having fun in the titular role of Dirty Ho Ching – the small time thief who gets recruited by Liu. Originally named Wong Chi Kuen when he was born, the actor has been known as Wong Yue, Wang Yu, and Wong Yu respectively - renamed by one of the Shaw Brothers out of spite towards the real Jimmy Wang Yu who had left the studio to work on more independent flicks and many Golden Harvest pictures – with the latter fast becoming the Shaw Brothers biggest competitor. After starring in almost 80 feature films and a host of television shows, Wong would retire from the industry in the mid-90s with final roles in films such as Godfather's Daughter Mafia Blues, Handsome Siblings, Sleeping With Two Sisters, and the television show Legend Of The Warring States. After trying his hand in several different business opportunities in the years to come, Wong would pass in 2008 from acute pneumonia.

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The fantastic Lo Lieh stars as General Liang Jing Cheng, a royal guard who works for a rival prince that is determined to remove Liu from the picture. Born in Indonesia to Cantonese parents, the great Lo Lieh started life in the film industry when he joined the Shaw Brothers studio in 1964. After a bit part in The Dancing Millionairess, Lo quickly climbed the ladder as an actor appearing in films such as Temple Of The Red Lotus, The Twin Swords, The Sword & The Lute, Tiger Boy, Magnificent Trio, and Golden Swallow – all alongside Jimmy Wang Yu – as well as roles in King Cat, The Thundering Sword, Dragon Swamp, and Brothers Five for director Lo Wei (which also featured choreography by Sammo Hung). More prominent roles in the aforementioned Valley Of The Fangs and The Chinese Boxer (again with Wang Yu) took him through to a busy year in 1971 where he would star in no less than 10 feature films, right through to the production of the ground-breaking King Boxer a year later. From there, Lo Lieh went on to star in (and appear in) hundreds of fantastic titles right through to the turn-of-the-century, just before his death at the end of 2002. Respectively, Lo made his own directional debut in1973 with Devil & Angel – a martial arts crime-thriller also starring Wu Ma and Chan Wai Man, which also saw him produce as part of his own film company, Lo's Film, before going on to direct a further 8 films including the highly regarded Clan Of The White Lotus, Black Magic With Buddha, and Zen Master 6. Fan-favourite Johnny Wang Lung Wei appears as Master Fan – a fellow antiques dealer who gets to trade moves with Liu over a cup of wine at an art deal. At his side is the agile and entertaining Hsiao Ho who entertains viewers with his monkey kung-fu – a little taste of what was to come when he starred alongside Lau Kar Leung in the awesome Mad Monkey Kung Fu which was also made the same year. Fight choreographer and kung-fu star Wilson Tong appears in a similar role to Wang, where he gets to trade kicks with the 11th Prince as they checkout some handmade pieces and paintings. This time though, the stakes are a little higher as Tong attacks Liu with a bladed shoe – backed by a number of his servants. It's a revealing moment for Ho when he realises that Liu can fight, but has to come to his aid when Tong lands a blade in the royal's thigh. And the lovely Kara Wai guest stars as one of the brothel girls who gets used as a weapon by Liu when in a confrontation with Ho. Interestingly enough, Wai (also known as Hui Ying Hung – and sister to movie star Austin Wai) was upgraded to the part after the lead actress of the film quit due to the strain of the stunt-work involved. And although Hui and Kar Leung had worked on many projects before for her godfather Chang Cheh – with her as a bit player and him as choreographer – Dirty Ho would mark the first time Kara would star in a Lau Kar Leung film, subsequently kicking-off their infamous personal relationship soon after that. Of course, Wai would spend many years starring in a host of Lau's works (as well as many others) with the incredible 8 Diagram Pole Fighter marking her final film for the Shaw Brothers studio. From there, Hui Ying Hung would star in a host of modern-day action comedies, dramatic thrillers, fantasy films, and any amount of titles in the girls-with-guns sub-genre, with over 150 film credits to her name right through to today.

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With high production values and hugely impressive choreography, Dirty Ho is a masterpiece of the late 70s packed with great comedy, a wonderful cast that deliver a range of wild characters, and some some gorgeous cinematography courtesy (once again) of Arthur Wong. who also shot Kar Leung's 36th Chamber Of Shaolin, Heroes Of The East, Shaolin Mantis, Spiritual Boxer 2, and Mad Monkey Kung Fu. Of course, Wong would go on to lens some of Hong Kong cinemas most memorable films including Aces Go Places 1 & 2, Wheels On Meals, My Lucky Stars, Once Upon A Time In China, Crime Story, Iron Monkey, and more modern flicks such as Bodyguards & Assassins, The Warlords, Painted Skin, and League Of Gods with Jet Li. It's also worth noting that apart from his work behind the camera and appearances in films like Viva Erotica, Beast Cops, Infernal Affairs 2, and Gangster Payday, Wong also directed The Fool Escape starring Lau Kar Wing in 1980, Cynthia Khan's In The Line Of Duty 3: Force Of The Dragon in '88, and Ulterior Motive in 2015 with Gordon Lam and Simon Yam. And while many may complain of its sudden ending or lack of explanation as to why the attacks were put upon Liu's prince, it never really bothered me as this was such a common thing with kung-fu films from this era. It's not like we don't know what is really going on to be honest, and Lau delivers enough incredible choreography and fight action to keep a smile on any viewers face from start to finish. In fact, the end battle itself is worth the ticket price alone!

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Overall: Another kung-fu classic from Lau Kar Leung, Dirty Ho is one film I can never tire of watching!

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Arrow Video Blu-ray Extras: 2K Restoration, Appreciation Film by Tony Rayns, Trailers, Image Gallery

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Celestial Thai DVD Extras: Trailers

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Watch my unboxing video of this Arrow Video release HERE