Invincible Shaolin (1978)

Invincible Shaolin (1978)

The Venoms all have really pretty smiles! I just love when they smile in their films and also in photos! It is neat how their smiles are all so different, but light up the screen.

To me, Lu Feng has one that really starts in his cheeks and then moves up to his eyes. It is very bright and exuberant. Charm practically oozes from it. Wei Pai has one that either has no teeth or he gets very toothy with it. His is gentle and displays nothing but happiness and sweetness. Sun Chien's tends to be very enthusiastic. His eyes certainly crinkle up to display true happiness. A lot of times, his eyes will twinkle in a beautiful way. Kuo Chui's smile can be described as broad and beaming since it takes up his whole face typically. He always looks so cheerful and you can see the indents in his cheeks. Lo Mang has one that I feel is dazzling because he seems to shine whenever he grins. Honestly, it does not even have to be that wide to really hit you since it's naturally vibrant. Lastly, Chaing Sheng has always had a smile that is very infectious. He is just so adorable with such a sweet look on his face whenever he flashes it at someone or something. You can tell that he was jovial, or at least that is how I feel.

I wanted to talk about Lu Feng's acting like I did with Sun Chien. I always find myself focusing on him a lot when he's on screen. I feel that he was always able to convey more complicated emotions in many of his performances. He also had a way of showing microexpressions that really shone through. One example is definitely Invincible Shaolin (1978). You can see all the feelings his character goes through, even when he's in the background of a scene or when he's been fatally injured by Lo Mang's character, because you can practically see him pause to register it. The pain and strong emotions really came through. It makes it hit so much harder. Even his villain roles can have the same impact. In Flag of Iron, his character seemed to go from surprised to confused and then a bit forceful, but a few moments later, his demeanor fell into one that was colder despite it being a tragic event. I attribute this to him getting what he wanted so he wasn't impacted by their master's death really. There are times when a lot of it seems to go down within his eyes too, imo. I think it's one reason why he's my favorite Venom. I could write an entire essay on what I love about their acting styles and portrayals.

I’m here to talk about Sun Chien’s acting. Sometimes I think I forget that Chinatown Kid was his first movie (by all accounts of the various sources I have). So, tonight I was sitting down to really take a look at his performance. I think it’s really worth keeping in mind when you watch the film because it genuinely makes his performance so much more impressive. He was able to display such a wide array of emotions throughout the whole movie. Sometimes he changed his emotions multiple times in one scene. You can really see how raw and accurate it is, especially when he gets angry. Sun Chien doesn’t really sugarcoat it or downplay it because, to me, he does display what anger can really look like at times. Even when he’s upset, the pain reflects on his face and in his eyes. The character really is like an actual person with struggles and complex emotions. I personally think it’s one of his best performances overall. That is why I decided to make these gifs!

Lu Feng in a Taiwanese Television Show from the 80′s

I don’t want to take away from these beautiful gifs! I just thought I’d put a name for the series the series. The Chinese title is 《鐵劍蘭花鷹》 ! It seems to have come out around 1984 from what I can find. It was on CTS.

Chiang Sheng in a Taiwanese Television Show from the 80′s