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A Long-Lost Kung Fu Classic Gets The Deluxe Treatment

BILL WOOD | SEPTEMBER 6, 2026

In the mid-‘70s – just as kung fu movies were peaking in popularity – a mysterious and gruesome sub-genre (if four movies can be considered a sub-genre) popped up. It featured plenty of patented hand-to-hand combat, along with a razor-sharp weapon capable of decapitating targets from a distance. Indeed, the mere sight of this aerial doomsday device was enough to send foes into a frenzy.

Welcome to the era of the flying guillotine.

Of the four flying guillotine movies, Success Films’ The Fatal Flying Guillotine (FFG) was the third produced and definitely one of the more entertaining, with Jimmy Wang Yu’s sanguine epic Master of the Flying Guillotine (MotFG) widely considered the best of the bunch. Rankings aside, FFG was a helluva good time, as well as one of the very first VHS tapes I picked up during the kung fu tape trader craze in the ‘90s. The copy I purchased was a blurry and poorly dubbed gorefest, recorded onto a TDK videocassette via rabbit ear antennas and duped at least one generation over. In other words, it was grindhouse perfection.

Several DVD releases of FFG trickled out in the years that followed, all of them the same inferior quality as my aforementioned VHS tape (I found my DVD in a $5 bin at Frys Electronics). Finally, in the year 2026, we have a brand-new restoration courtesy of grindhouse purveyors Visual Vengeance. And while the results aren’t a flawless victory, this epic blu-ray release is still a must-own for classic kung fu fans.

FFG follows the story of the heroic Shen Ping (Carter Wong, Big Trouble in Little China), who is desperately seeking a cure for his mother’s life-threatening ailment. For a poor kid living in a hut, Shen sure has a stunning wardrobe! At the same time, an evil hermit resides in a hidden forest, more than willing to behead any trespassers who invade his sanctum with his deadly dual guillotines. Character arcs intersect, schemers scheme and betrayers betray until the film reaches a near-logical conclusion. It’s not The Shawshank Redemption, but as far as kung fu movies are concerned, FFG actually features one of the better plotlines out there.

Not gonna lie, I consider MotFG the better movie (in fact, it’s my fave kung fu flick of all time and is due for its own restoration soon!). Having said that, there are several areas where FFG clearly excels. The fight choreography is superior; the battles between Shen Ping and the Buddhists monks are particularly epic. The guillotine itself nets more screen time, not to mention a higher body count. Carter Wong wins out over the one-dimensional and overly stoic Wang Yu in the lead role. Some may disagree, but Wong’s martial arts skill set and wider acting range give him the advantage in my book*. And finally, there are not one but two flying guillotines in this movie**. How can you possibly argue with that?

* He typically played the hero role, but to see Carter Wong showing his diversity and playing a dastardly villain, be sure to check out the stellar Born Invincible.

** The dual guillotines in FFG are unique in the sense that they feature mechanical whirring internal blades. Since there is no electricity in the evil hermit's hut (in fact electricity would not be pioneered until centuries later), we can only assume they are powered via some arcane mysticism.

Now we come to the audiovisual quality, which should always be taken with a grain of salt when it comes to non-Shaws kung fu flicks, particularly those with a "technical disclaimer" at the beginning. I’m no expert, but this judging from the opening credits this release appears to be sourced from a 35mm print, along with several brief snippets that are spliced in from a VHS tape. Colors are fairly muted throughout with minor artifacting visible at the beginning, although the film does clean up early on. The overall presentation is generally decent – perfection it is not.

This is understandable. I’ve been spoiled by the archival-quality restorations coming from Shaw Brothers these days, and it’s evident that some of the smaller studios never had the same level of asset and resource management (to be fair, how could they have known these films would be marketable half a century later?). In other words, this seems to be a limitation of the source material and not the transfer itself. And even with the minor nags, this is definitely the best version of FFG that has ever existed, hands down.

Audio-wise, we have both the original Chinese and English dub, along with optional English subtitles. This is one area where FFG excels over recent Shaws releases, which typically ignore the dubs. Sure they were godawful to the point of parody, but they are also the way many Westerners first experienced the kung fu genre, myself included. For that reason alone, the English dubs have a special place in fans’ hearts. It's worth noting there are several grammatical and typographical errors in the subtitles, but nothing that ruins the experience.

The extras most certainly are a step above and beyond. In fact, Visual Vengeance (rad splash screen BTW!) has gone all out to provide fans with the ultimate version of FFG. There are a variety of collectibles, including a sticker sheet, liner notes, mini lobby cards, a reversible cover with the original VHS art, and a fold-out poster. There are also numerous featurettes, including a ‘dirty’ version of the movie which emulates the inferior quality of the tape trader days. If you’re old enough to remember watching Black Belt Theater on a UHF channel, you’ll appreciate this old-school tribute, even if you can find the same quality on YouTube these days.

All in all, Visual Vengeance’s The Fatal Flying Guillotine blu-ray comes highly recommended. Unless some miracle happens, this is the best version of the film we’re likely to get (a 4K release would be redundant considering the available source material), and the awesome extras prove just how much effort went into producing the ultimate version of this head-lopping classic.

- BW

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