Arts Movie Reviews

The service in receiving this DVD was excellent! Prompt and in excellent condition. The DVD is very clear and with very clear instruction. You are shown the actual move, slow motion, and clear instruction throughout each move.

I'm a student and part time instructor of Special Forces oriented Martial Arts. Effective ability in Grappling (in my opinion) is by far the most important aspect of a self defense situation. The techniques presented within these 4 courses are first rate. 1-3 introduces and expands primary techniques and multitudes of applications, however there are plenty of techniques that go from novice to expert in one demonstration. Once you see the series, you'll understand the wisdom of the formatting. Very Smart, and very generous as you progress... Course 4 begins the next phase of learning Shaolin Chin Na at it's finest.

Instruction and narration by Dr. Yang is perfect. You could'nt hope for better. He indeed takes every opportunity to demonstrate, explain, and share even more "tricks" even after the assailant is easily twisted into a human pretzel incapable of doing anything except what you want. Learning curve is near elementary yet the techniques are all simply brilliant and some actually mesmerizing in how it looks to watch and practice them. Make no mistake though, Chin Na is hardcore, way too easily capable of causing permanent damage. Practice very safely, apply it only as far as you have to. Luckily, it's so easy to maneuver an assailaint due to the nature of the locks and extraordinary pain, it's rare that you'd have rip out someone's shoulder virtually effortlessly, for example.

Eagerly looking for the rest (12 courses total) to come out on DVD which I am told is soon.

Anything with Dr. Yang teaching Chin Na is as good as gold in terms of Martial Arts knowledge. His courses and his instruction will realistically enable you to use Chin Na to defend yourself remarkably quickly. Many moves, immediately. You'll see.

Both the quality of the instruction by Dr. Yang and the quality of the production of this DVD are unsurpassed. There are so many joint locks on this DVD, I will be training them for years! (Especially if my partner keeps quitting on me)

The DVD has four entire VHS programs on it, an interactive catalog with video previews of a couple dozen other health and martial arts videos, sections about Yang's Martial Arts Association seminars and background, and a bio of Dr. Yang. The DVD layout is top-notch, with selections for every Chin Na technique.

The English subtitles are actually really helpful too, although you can always understand Dr. Yang's English instruction. He has a humble, funny and thorough teaching style which makes this video easy to watch over and over again.

This DVD goes further into Dr. Yang's catalog of Chin Na techniques. Following the same great format, you see the techniques done slowly, and also quickly, and with several variations when available, takedowns and applications. Dr. Yang also shows students trying the Chin Na and corrects their posture and technique, which is incredibly helpful.

The amount of information on this DVD is staggering, and provides enough for years of practice. A cool feature of the DVD is the Previews for all of the other YMAA videos, where you can see Dr. Yang performing kung fu, tai chi, qigong, and all kinds of things.

This DVD has the last four courses of this excellent series, which contain dozens of the most diverse hand, arm and leg joint locks. The leg Chin Na in Courses 10 and 11 is really cool, with some serious takedowns, and great wrestling technques. Very practical, powerful stuff for any fighting system. Course 12 has Chin Na counterattacks, where you learn how to avoid and get out of some of the most common joint locks, and apply a lock to your opponent in return. Very cool!

These three DVDs have enough Chin Na on to prepare someone for any type of fighting situation, in competition, or on the street.

Chinese Connection 2 (released as Fist of Fury 2 in many parts of the world) is a sequel to Bruce Lee's memorable film The Chinese Connection (Fist of Fury), taking up the story immediately following the death of Chen Chen, who was killed in a most memorable ending after avenging the murder of his Teacher. The Ching Wu school is, to put it mildly, in disarray, and this condition quickly begins to spread to the other Chinese martial arts schools in Shanghai. The Japanese, for their part, are more cruel and contemptible than ever, continuing to take out Ching Wu students and eventually, under the leadership of a new martial arts master named Miyamoto, taking over the Ching Wu school itself. It's actually rather hard to watch at times, as the defeated and demoralized Chinese fighters turn into weak cowards, and those who do stand up and fight back prove vastly unequal to the task. The Ching Wu teacher, believing he has failed his Teacher and his students, has become an alcoholic and a thoroughly broken man. At this point, Chen Chen's brother Chen Shan (Bruce Li) arrives in Shanghai determined to avenge his brother's killing. He alone shows no fear of the Japanese, delivering a number of up close and personal instruction sessions with those who try to get in his way. The Chinese actually berate the man and urge him to leave town so that the Japanese won't come after them, but Chen Shan refuses to stand down.

I must say that Bruce Li really impressed me in this film with both his acting and his martial arts skills. The other Bruce Li films I have seen left me rather noncommittal as far he was concerned, but he really gives the Japanese what for in this surprisingly good sequel to the original film of Bruce Lee's. I keep wishing Li would break out the numchuks at some point, but he definitely lets his hands and feet do the talking here.

Even on DVD, the film quality of Chinese Connection 2 leaves a little something to be desired; I believe that, among other things, the full screen presentation of the film causes viewers to miss a good bit of the visual information afforded by the original presentation aspect ratio. Unquestionably, this Hong Kong production is of an obviously inferior film type than that of the original Chinese Connection starring Bruce Lee. Still, this is one of the best Bruceploitation films I've seen, and fans of Bruce Lee should not be afraid to test the waters of this Chinese Connection sequel; it is much better than I expected it to be.

_The Chinese Connection_ is the American title of Bruce Lee's 2nd feature film, "Fists of Fury." _Fists of Fury_ is also the American title of Lee's first feature, "The Big Boss," one year earlier-- both directed by Lo Wei. _The Chinese Connection_ is a step up from Lee's first film in a number of ways. Lee is onscreen much of the time, has more fight scenes, and plays a cunning, steely character who even goes into disguise several times in the film. However, the main reason for the jump in quality is Lee's role in his character's development. He not only choreographed all his own fight scenes, he even insisted on the film's semi-surprise ending. Playing a student avenging his teacher's murder, Lee shakes off the questionable mores and self-doubt of his _Fists of Fury_ character and becomes in _The Chinese Connection_ a deadly and fearsome martial arts nemesis.

Unfortunately, despite these advances the film as a whole suffers for the same reason the older film did: a poorly written plot. The story, set in 1908 China, follows the escalating racial violence of two rival fight schools, one Japanese, the other Chinese. I'm sure there was something lost in translation-- shame on 20th Century Fox for once again not providing the original audio with proper English subtitles, though in a way the atrocious dubbing has come to be expected of this genre of film. However, this doesn't explain the terrible vagueness in plot throughout. From the very first scene, nothing is explained about *why* other than race these two schools are fighting. Lee's jumpkicking of the "No Chinese allowed" sign is a powerful moment, but it doesn't make up for what we do not know about him, about his teacher, or about his relationship to the rest of the school; which is to say, nothing. There aren't even any details given about Lee's relationship with his fiance, and it forms another instance of a place in the film where the viewer is asked to care about something with little justification why.

Lee was reportedly unhappy with Lo Wei's script and it was to be the star's last film with him. However, for its awesome display of Lee's physical prowess and as a document of his own unique brand of incredible martial arts skills, _The Chinese Connection_ is a worthy viewing.

"The Big Boss" made Bruce Lee known, but "Chinese Connection" is the film that truly made the Chinese audience love him and worship him. Rightfully so, for this is Lee's best movie. He plays Chen, the top disciple of a revered kung fu master, recently killed under mysterious circumstances. Chen's spirit burns with a sense of duty, a desire for vengeance and an indomitable will to uphold the pride and rights of his people in a time where they are treated as second class citizens in their own land. Lee truly showcases his talent as an actor by bringing his character to life with such a wide range of emotion and depth. It totally overshadows his role in Enter the Dragon, where his character is little more than a subdued killer who gets to spout a few lines of philosophy. As for the fight sequences, Lee's characteristic fury is never as intense as it is here. This is also the first time Lee breaks out his infamous nunchakus. The storyline is somewhat simplistic (as is characteristic with all films of the genre) but it is still extremely heartfelt and symbolic if you understand the feelings and sentiments of Chinese people at the time. But even if you don't, the raw power of Bruce's performance along with the gritty, unorthodox fighting should win over any fan of the genre. In character and creativity, the only other Lee film that could match this one is Return of the Dragon. These two films represent Lee's best and overshadow the overrated Enter the Dragon.

The Chinese Connection may well be Bruce Lee's best film. It certainly showcases the full range of his acting and martial arts skills. His character displays a number of intense emotions as this story unfolds, but most importantly Bruce Lee gives us a number of impressive fight scenes. Lee's performance here is perhaps most memorable, though, for the disguises that Lee's character adopts in the second half of the film. His appearance as an old man selling newspapers is impressive, but who can ever forget his portrayal of a goofy, bespectacled telephone repairman? There are just all kinds of great and quite memorable aspects to this film.

The story takes place in Shanghai around the beginning of the twentieth century, with plenty of tension to go around between the occupying Japanese authorities and the Chinese citizens. As the film opens, we learn that the venerated "Teacher" of a Chinese martial arts school has been poisoned. Chen Zhen (Bruce Lee) arrives just in time to see Teacher's body laid to rest, and this throws Chen into such an emotional maelstrom of grief that he jumps onto the coffin and struggles to bring Teacher back. At the memorial service, a delegation of folks from the local Japanese martial arts school come to disrespect Teacher, his students, the school, and China in general. Chen, out of respect for Teacher, manages to hold himself back from giving these guys the beating they deserve, but he soon decides to make his way to the Japanese school and prove just how wrong their charges of cowardice were. A series of increasingly violent reprisals then takes place between the two schools. While Chen works to personally avenge the death of Teacher, the Japanese demand his arrest and threaten to shut down the Chinese school. With both parties resorting to increasingly extreme measures, no one comes out of this conflict unscathed.

The Chinese Connection really starts out like gangbusters. The emotional drama is intense from the very beginning, and it is quickly followed by two impressive panoramic fight scenes. The scene wherein Chen takes on the whole Japanese school single-handed is just incredible; Bruce breaks out the numchuks for this one, and he really puts on a show with them. The big fight between the students of both schools isn't quite as impressive, lacking Bruce's presence, but there's still something exhilarating about watching dozens of men and women going at it tooth and nail. Aside from a few murders, the martial arts action takes a backseat during the middle parts of the film, but of course no Bruce Lee movie can end without a conclusive fight between the big boys. Chen has to take on not only the Japanese ace but Russia's most capable martial artist as well. At times, decisive moments in the fights are shown in slow motion, which works effectively to make the action even more impressive. At one point toward the end, we see the classic shot of Lee's hands moving so quickly that he appears to have sprouted the extra appendages of a Buddhist icon.

As is the case with Fists of Fury, the conclusion of this film is not the stuff fairy tales are made of. Many tragic events take place in the latter half of the film, and the whole thing ends on a rather sad note, yet the conclusion strikes me as both noble and just. If you've never seen a Bruce Lee movie, I really think The Chinese Connection is the best place to start. The movie grabs you by the throat at the very beginning, showcases Lee's incredible talents for both martial arts and fight choreography early on, and sustains your abiding interest until the story ends.

The wrapping on this dvd and disc label is printed on a home printer. The DVD did not work on my Sony DVD player, desk computer, or laptop. I would not recommend putting down money for this product.
I was unable to watch the product, however the back label states, "the question of successorship is discussed without bias or prejudice to a logical conclusion based on the facts." Sounds like a biased statement in and of itself.

I received a copy of this dvd that didn't work either. I contacted the company and they said that they had just started putting this on dvd and were adding it to their list of products, but they had a problem with there distributor, so they
had made some preliminary copies to fill the orders. They have since then fixed the problems. They sent me a replacement (very
quickly) that had been professionally packaged and worked great. The video itself is some great historical footage of a martial arts legend. It's well done and well produced. In my opinion, it's the best documentary on Chojun Miyagi I have ever seen. If you have bought one and it didn't work, call them and they will replace it free of charge. 1-800-299-YAMA