Director: Al Adamson
Year: 1976
Rating: 5.0
As I watched the opening credits roll by I saw with some surprise that this
film was directed by Al Adamson, the Master of Horror Schlock during the
1960's and 70's. His films were low budget and full of enough gore and violence
to make them ready fodder for Drive-Ins and the Grindhouse Circuit. I hadn't
realized that he did martial arts action films as well. Horror was more his
thing all the way to his death as he was murdered in 1995 and buried beneath
the floor. A part of him if alive might have appreciated that. Still, knowing
this was his film prepared me for what came next.
It has a lot of American 70's style low budget action where every hit gets
a loud whack sound and most of the hits are clearly not hitting the person.
In the 70's most Americans were OK with that but once you have seen a bunch
of Hong Kong martial arts films it seems a little silly. That silliness is
only increased by a stuffed killer attack vulture, a midget with a bullwhip,
a roomful of comatose snakes, two African bush people who come out of nowhere,
a Black Magic Mamba Dance and a couple dozen minions who can't fight a lick
and may be the only bad guys in America not to carry guns. All this is reasonably
entertaining up to a point.
The only legitimate thing about the film is Jim Kelly who was the real deal.
He was well-trained in martial arts and he won a few top level karate championships.
He is of course most famous for appearing with Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon
but was in a few other action films as well. Though he is clearly missing
people in his kicks and punches and doesn't do much in terms of gymnastics,
his form and speed are worth watching. In the film he has to save an old
girlfriend who has been kidnapped by a Warlock. The old girlfriend was none
other than Essie Lin Chia, who had been in a number of Shaw Brothers films.
Here she is a lot sexier than I recall ever seeing her in one of those. Also
in the cast is the lovely Marilyn Joi as a seductive villainess and who appeared
in a number of trashy films.
Black Samurai is based on a series of eight Black Samurai books written by
Marc Olden in the 1970's. They are available on Kindle.
