Invincible Shaolin - Tumblr Posts
Chaing Sheng showing off his acrobatics in Invincible Shaolin (1978)
Hi everyone! I’d like to get serious today and really talk about Wei Pai (韋白) since I’ve seen a lot of things that really made me sad. Recently I visited several websites about him, and I see people dismissing him as the “decorative pretty boy” of the Venoms, who didn’t seem to have any talent, and I just feel that we need to appreciate him more. Unfortunately, there are some people out there who also sadly comment that he looks like a snake and that he is creepy. @venomous-five and I planned to address this topic on our podcast but I thought it should be noted here. While Wei Pai is pretty, I feel that we don’t recognize his talents enough so I am here to talk about his wonderful acting! I made these gifs to show off a few of his various characters that I believe shows his range. The first pair is Chang San / Cheung Sam from Last Hurrah for Chivalry (1979) who is a protagonist and this character goes through a vary of emotions throughout the film from what clips I got to watch. He has such a great expression of this character and all of the various feelings you’d expect a more realistic person to go through. It is one of my favorite examples because it is Wei Pai’s first film away from Shaw Brothers but it looks like such a solid performance. I gave more of a rougher, dominant aura of the character and then a clip where he briefly smiles but you can see it begin to alter into a look of concern.
The next set of gifs is Ma San Fan from The Cheeky Chap (1980) which looks like one of his best movie performances! This character is more of a comedic and adorable persona which I love. He’s cheeky like it says in the title but you also get to see some badass fights. When I tell you Wei Pai went HARD it is no exaggeration. I adore that he gets to show off such a fun side when he’s taking on a lot of guys at once. He even had a mouth full of food and laughed/grinned while he was trying to talk to them. That was something that I feel is overlooked since a lot of people don’t seem to have seen that movie. The first gif is when he’s staring up at Candy Wen Xue-Er as if he’s deep in thought after she abruptly startled him up from a pile of hay. The second gif is when he was sprawled out waiting for some men to come outside and he flashes them a smile as he hops up to speak to them.
Thirdly, we have Mai Feng from Invincible Shaolin (1978) and I feel this was perfectly suited for him. He has said in an interview I discovered that he practiced martial arts since he was a child and even put wooden dummies in his house which his character uses during training. Wei Pai’s character is very thoughtful but he does want to do the right thing in the film. It’s just that they were all deceived. So this character is a mix of precious, determined, intelligent, and prevails through his many challenges. So the gifs are one of his training scenes. The first one shows off his forms which look similar to the martial arts that Wei Pai said he learned which is why it feels so natural to me! The next was when he lost his balance and fell off into a flowerbed. I find it to be great acting when he starts to flail and attempt to regain his balance before he fell. Then the sweet look when he gazes up as if he’s embarrassed by what happened. Having things stuck to his face only makes it better. His fight scenes in this movie were incredible and I thought he did an amazing job displaying the emotions of pain, regret, then realization after later events took place. Mai Feng had only done what was right but he was very honorable. They even tried to help each other in the end so there was a change of heart.
I wanted to make some posts about the friendships some of the Venoms had with each other in real life so I thought I’d start here! I will be sharing a story Lu Feng told in an interview about how close he was to Chiang Sheng:
Lu Feng mentioned he lived right next to Chiang Sheng while they worked at Shaw Brothers. Chiang Sheng loved beer and Lu Feng has always loved Coca Cola. So after dinner, the two of them would meet up with their six packs. Chiang Sheng would drink his beer and Lu Feng would drink his Coca Cola. Both of them would just spend time together and chat with each other throughout the night. He said they had a lot of laughs while they sat around. It sounded like they had a lot of fun!
Lo Mang in Invincible Shaolin (1978)
Happy birthday Sun Chien!!
He was born today in Taiwan on December 5, 1955. He became an expert in taekwondo and soon became one of director Chang Cheh's favorite actors. He was a valuable member of the Venom Mob with a dazzling personality! Not to mention his beautiful kicking skills. He is incredible.
Do you have a favorite Venom?
Hello! I would like to begin by saying that I love and respect every member of the Venom Mob because they are all such talented individuals who light up the screen. However, Lu Feng was the first one to grab my attention and left me in awe when I saw him on screen.
Like @venomous-five, the first film I saw was Crippled Avengers (1978), where Lu Feng appears very early on. I remember being struck by his powerful presence. One thing I love about him is how expressive he is, especially when he is fighting or just doing a sequence of moves by himself. I really feel that it adds to the scenes because you can see the intensity. Not to say that the other members of the Venom Mob are not expressive, I just tend to notice that Lu Feng often makes a lot of facial expressions, especially when he is fighting. He tends to make use of his eyebrows a lot as well. It is like he is immersed in the characters since his personality in real life is extremely different from the characters he portrays. You can practically see the focus on his face. Here are some shots from Crippled Avengers and Kid with the Golden Arm!
My jaw dropped each time I saw his weapons work and acrobatic skills. It is absolutely beautiful, and he can use a variety of different weapons. I later found out from an interview that he could use almost anything. It amazed me how swiftly he could use them in a fight but still make it look graceful. I can tell that he is passionate about what he does since he often talks about his love for weapons or the characters that he portrayed. He had done things that I had never seen before, which captivated me. I found myself really wanting to watch more Venoms films. The second film that I saw was Masked Avengers (1981), which is when I realized that Lu Feng had such a regal presence and he was so graceful. Then he pulls out his weapons and it is such a spectacular sight because he typically adjusts how he fights different people based on their skill set. Everything he does is with such precision that it’s hard not to be entertained. Just watch how he performs with Chin Siu-Ho and Chiang Sheng.
Truthfully, he will never cease to amaze me with his skills. I was very impressed with the other Venoms, but I think Lu Feng’s performances and dynamic with the members are one reason why I originally dove deeper into the Venom Mob. It left such an impression on me that I wanted to know more about them. Like if they knew martial arts, and even just to learn their names. It quickly turned into me searching for a lot of information about them, along with photos, since I wanted to see what they were like in real life. Thanks to Lu Feng, I found a group of actors and films that I have become passionate about. No group has ever interested me this much before! I have now been a fan for almost three years, but I do not think I’ll ever get tired of them. That is why I created this blog in the first place.
In addition, Lu Feng is such a lovely person in real life. He is so jovial and it seems like he is always in a good mood. It is so different from the villains he portrayed, which he played so well. He is very handsome, but I really enjoy his personality and skills. I could talk about him all day but I will leave it here.
Sun Chien’s beautiful smile in Invincible Shaolin (1978)
Sun Chien in Invincible Shaolin (1978)
I feel like I post a lot of gifs highlighting Lu Feng's weapons skills or fight skills. So, I wanted to make this set to show off some of his other talents!
Kuo Chui enjoying some fruit in 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 like making video edits, so I decided to make some gifs out of effects that I was trying out! These are what each of them say:
Kuo Chui ( 郭追 )
Born in Taiwan (生於台灣)
Born on October 21, 1951
I might make these for the other Venoms if you all like them!
Invincible Shaolin (1978)
I feel like this scene isn't talked about enough. Invincible Shaolin was always a Venoms film that had a very impactful ending for me. It was so sad, and I really think all of the actors portrayed the heartbreak very well. It genuinely made me tear up the first few times I saw it. I wanted to appreciate how Kara Hui, Niu Niu, and Yau Chui-Ling reacted to each of the characters' deaths, as they were their husbands. Each was a bit different, but you could still see that they were all upset to various degrees. In my opinion, Sun Chien, Lu Feng, and Chiang Sheng also did a really good job of staying true to each of their characters' personalities. Their final moments were just so upsetting. Especially when all the wives ran to them :(