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SOURCE-Alpha Video DVD
As a kid I hated westerns. Mostly cause we had one Color TV in the house,yea I'm that old. And many times I would be watching something and Dad would walk in and turn the channel to usually some shitty John Wayne movie or Gunsmoke.
Over the past 20 years I have started dipping my toes into westerns. Finding ones I enjoy. And it was thanks to LCOTL over at Sleaze Fiend Magazine that I discovered this channel on YT packed with westerns.
Late one night couldn't sleep so wanted something brainless to watch. Saw on that YT channel was a martial arts/western combo. The Fighting Fists of Shanghai Joe was it's title. And I watched it and loved it. Amazing widescreen print and good sound.
Once the film was over rushed to Amazon ordered a pack of 8 westerns,with one of them being Shanghai Joe and his Fighting Fists.
Got that set and the print on there is a VHS rip. Looks like ass sounds like ass. Made a note to get a better copy one day.
That day was a few months ago. Once a week I do a circuit of the thrifts,junkstores and pawn shops locally. Buying up stuff. Found sealed at the church thrift the above pictured DVD.
The print is better than my old one. Sound is better but still not as good as what is on YT.
Shanghai Joe is a Chinese worker. He wants to find work. Ending up working for a ranch. Coming into a conflict with a gang that is enslaving latinos they get from across the border.
Basic kung Fu plot mixed with standard Western plot. The fights are what elevates this. The big bad hires a pile of assassins to kill Shanghai Joe. One of whom is the madman Klaus Kinski.
Now Any Gun can Play is odd. I had never heard of it and before the first reel was over I realized this was a satire of the popular westerns of it's era. A decently done satire. With Edd Kookie Byrnes as a greaser looking cowboy. Yes Edd Kookie Byrnes,best known to anyone under 50 as the washed up Celebrity Peg and Al met on Married with Children,the same episode with Anthrax appearing.
Any Gun Can Play is a widescreen print. With some damage but nothing major. The sound is fairly decent.
Only extras on this disc is a pile of trailers. For the 50 cents or buck I paid for this I was happy with 2 films.
Now time to continue the search for a good copy of Shanghai Joe on DVD or Blu Ray.
The Fighting Fists of Shanghai Joe gets a B. Any Gun Can Play gets a C+
