This 1980 Martial Arts Film Is The "Avengers" Of Old-School Kung Fu Movies

Ten Tigers of Kwangtung is the old-school kung fu movie equivalent of 2012's The Avengers. Released in 1980, the film was made by Shaw Brothers, the top studio in Hong Kong's martial arts film industry. Today, it's far from a well-known movie, which is actaully surprising when considering the sheer scale of the project.

During the 1970s and 1980s, studios like Shaw Brothers pumped out a long list of kung fu movies, many of which being films that went on to become some of the greatest martial arts movies of all time, including The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, Eight Diagram Pole Fighter, The Five Deadly Venoms.

Much of the success those films found wouldn't have been feasible without Shaw Brothers' strong stable of actors. Several of their stars got to headline dozens of movies each, and in turn, create incredible legacies for themselves. For Ten Tigers of Kwangtung, though, Shaw Brothers was much more ambitious, bringing together an all-star cast for this particular outing.

Ten Tigers Of Kwangtung Had An Incredible Cast Of Martial Arts Stars

Few martial arts movies have a cast as impressive as that of Ten Tigers of Kwantung. Receiving top billing was Ti Lung, an actor whose notably long stay with the studio allowed him to star in a multitude of successful martial arts movies, including Avenging Eagle and Opium and the Kung Fu Master.

Right behind him in the cast list was Alexander Fu Sheng, a younger star whose profile was still growing at the time. Despite a short-lived career, Fu Sheng played a heavy hand in several films now counted among the genre's best, from Shaolin Temple to Five Shaolin Masters. With his comedic skills, he was often seen as the studio's answer to Jackie Chan.

Also on hand were Wang Lung Wei and Ku Feng. Ku Feng was a high-profile star who held a wide variety of roles in Shaw Brothers' movies. Wang Lung Wei, on the other hand, was one of its most recognizable villain actors.

What really stars Ten Tigers of Kwangtung apart from most Shaw Brothers movies was the inclusion of the Venom Mob. Borrowing their name from most famous film (The Five Deadly Venoms), the Venom Mob was a team of five actors who were tapped to star in a slew of Shaw Brothers movies.

In the late 1970s and 1980s, they served as the go-to leads for Chang Cheh, the studio's chief director. Instead of making Ten Tigers of Kwangtung just another vehicle for the Venom Mob, Chang made the surprising decision to combine them with Ti Lung, Ku Feng, and Fu Sheng, who generally appeared independently of the Venom Mob.

Ten Tigers Of Kwangtung Was An Avengers-Like Team-Up Movie

The plot and characters make sense of why such a star-studded cast was necessary for Ten Tigers of Kwangtung. The title refers to the Ten Tigers of Canton, a name given to ten famous martial artists who lived in 19th-century China. Each has been portrayed in live-action on multiple occasions, typically with entire movies built around their life stories and folk tales about their exploits.

As promised by the title, Ten Tigers of Kwangtung brought all of them together for one adventure, rather than focus on one of the ten fighters. With each being a key figure in Chinese folklore, it made sense to recognize their status through the casting of a high-profile star - even if it meant incorporating ten major actors from the Shaw Brothers pool.