Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

A lot of fun.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

The confusion in some of the reviews above is because the Celestial release is a different edit, including a different ending to the longer International version. The Celestial version is a nice print but confusing at times with for example the sub-plot with Alexander's saving the reluctant prostitute Kara Hui in Hong Kong cut completely. The ending is also much softer with Alexander surviving at the end and repenting the path he had chosen. But this is still a good film. Ignore the shaky reconstructions of 70's San Francisco (though it's fun to spot the mistakes) and enjoy Alexander Fu Sheng in a good role as the poor kid who ends up on the wrong path to riches (and a digital watch) playing opposite Sun Chien(in thick studious glasses) who works hard for his success. The fights are frequent but not particularly spectacular or that bloody for a Chang Cheh film. The 'bit' actors are generally poor except for the glimpses of what would become the five Venoms - Philip Kwok has a good role as the leader of the White Dragon gang and a few fights. Shirley Yu Sha Li doesn't do much but shows off the sex appeal that propelled her to immense fame in Hong Kong. An enjoyable film but pity a complete print isn't yet available (the International version apparently has different cuts according to other reviewers).

Man I just got the Celestial remastered DVD release of this classic venom film, I first saw this on channel 5 "Drive in" movies on a Saturday after noon at 3:00 o'clock in the mid 80's and it was awesome, I was and will be a Fu Sheng fan, I even have the poorly American version of this DVD...well let me tell you the version I just saw is totally different. On the TV version he dies, on the remastered version he gets arrested and lives, if you take a look at his white inner vest he has a wound that is bleeding right trough to the jacket and this is on the final fight scene, which he dies from on the American version, he gets arrested and lives...wow! Now there is something I never expected, director Chen Cheng did something I've never seen before on Hong Kong cinema (at least from that time frame) double ending.This is gonna make me take a more careful look for every Celestial release from now on, so far I got 10 releases that are remastered and beautifully cleaned, but I haven't found the other classics yet.

The Chinatown Kid (1977) is another masterpiece from Chang Cheh. Alexander Fu Sheng stars as Tang Dong, a bumpkin who illegally immigrates to Hong Kong (with the aid of his uncle) and works odd jobs whilst dreaming about becoming rich and successful. The film also tells the story of a young Taiwanese man who just did a stint in the military who works hard and aspires to become a success. His chance comes when he's offered a scholarship at U.C. Berkely. Two lives that parallel each other eventually cross paths in San Francisco's Chinatown. This film is somewhat similar to Chang Cheh's other films Boxer From Shan tung and The Delinquent. Both of them have the same theme and they're all equally excellent. Ni Kuang reworks the theme by not only modernizing it but by bringing it to "Chinatown". The future Five Deadly Venoms all have small parts in this movie. The movie is cheesy and preachy at times but it's all done in jest. Alexander Fu Sheng shows that he's a lead actor in this movie and it's sad that his life was cut short several years later. His future wife Jenny Tsang has a small part as his girlfriend (but strangely disappears after a couple of scenes) and Philip Kwok co-stars as Tan Dong benefactor. Overall Chinatown Kid is not as deep or heavy as Chang Cheh''s other films but it's good fun and nicely paced and edited.Highly recommended.There are a few things I found strange about this film. One, Chinatown in this movie is very dusty. Two, the car's driver side is on the right hand side.Three, someone forgot to convert Hong Kong Dollars into U.S. Dollars(i.e. five dollars for a hot dog in 1977?). What's even funnier is the fact the sign outside the hot dog stand says 5.00 USD for "hot dogs" and sold canned beer. (Tan Dong called them "dog sausages"). The biggest laugh was the Orange Julius that sold noodles.

Again, the 5 Deadly Venoms (and Fu Sheng and Wang Lung Wei) prove why they're the best martial artists on screen! The action is first rate, but as usual the cameraman doesn't capture the whole scene in some parts. This, however is the only real flaw in this film. The story is much better than average and Philip Kwok finally plays one of the bad guys!