The work of a prolific filmmaker associated with the martial arts genre received a strong endorsement from Quentin Tarantino for his approach to brutal action sequences. Tarantino has long been known as a huge fan of old-school kung fu movies, a fact that was plainly on display in his Kill Bill movies.
In both Uma Thurman-led films, not to mention some of his non-martial arts movies like The Hateful Eight, it’s apparent that Quentin Tarantino has a fondness for employing a heavy dose of violence. For that reason, it’s no surprise that he has a similar appreciation for that sort of style in the movies that he watches as well.
In an episode of the Pure Cinema Podcast, Tarantino shared his opinions on a slew of martial arts movies, their stars, and their directors, and distanced Lee Tso-Nam from the crowd in regards to his approach to the action.
Quentin Tarantino Says Lee Tso-Nam Has The Best “Death Blows” In Martial Arts Movies
Lee Tso-Nam was a martial arts film director responsible for a long list of 1970s and 1980s old-school kung fu movies that have since become cult classics. During a conversation about the director’s work, Tarantino talked about what made Lee’s movies so special to him, praising the “fastness” of his fight scenes.
Tarantino compared this to how all the filmmakers in the genre speed up the camera for their action sequences and argued that Lee was probably the only one to utilize this extremely common filming technique in an “artistic” way. According to him, the sped-up action assists in selling how “painful” the attacks are, and that ultimately, that high level of “ferocity” that it creates is what he brings to the medium.
They’re fast, they’re ferocious, they’re brutal, they are, in every way, of all the directors that we’ve mentioned, the most painful death blows in the history of the genre are Lee Tso-Nam movies. The death blows are amazing! They hurt!
Lee Tso-Nam Was Behind Several Fan-Favorite Martial Arts Movies
Among the movies that provided the basis for Tarantino’s comments were Fatal Fists vs. Fatal Needles, The Green Jade Statuette, and The Hot, the Cool, and the Vicious, a movie the Hollywood director separately referred to as “one of the most entertaining movies ever.” He also helmed a highly underrated sequel to Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury, Fist of Fury Part II.
Well over a dozen of Lee Tso-Nam’s films, including the movies mentioned above, plus Shaolin vs. Lama, Challenge of the Lady Ninja, and Kung Fu Wonder Child are available to stream for free on Tubi.
Fast-paced action sequences built around brutal death blows were consistently the primary appeal in his kung fu movies. Menacing and intriguing villains also being a clear priority for the filmmakers, as evidenced by the antagonists in The Hot, the Cool, and the Vicious and Fist of Fury Part II.
Being adept at handling two of the most important facets of the martial arts genre, it’s no wonder Lee Tso-Nam is both a favorite of Quentin Tarantino and the force behind so many great hidden gems in the Hong Kong film industry.
