The Shrine of Ultimate Bliss (1974)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

That was an excellent one.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Rugged Australian cop Stoner (smoothly essayed with considerable two-fisted macho swagger by George Lazenby) goes to Hong Kong to put the fix on evil billionaire Mr. Chin (a pleasingly ruthless portrayal by Joji Takagi), who runs a drug ring that has created a powerful and addictive aphrodisiac new drug which makes women extra horny. Shrewd undercover Taiwanese officer Angela Li Shou-Hua (Angela Mao-Ying in fine fierce'n'feisty form) helps Stoner out. Director Feng Huang, who also co-wrote the wild script with Kuang Ni, relates the outrageous premise at a swift pace, maintains a blithely lurid tone throughout, and stages the plentiful rough'n'tumble fights with rip-roaring aplomb. Lazenby might not be the most adept martial artist, but what he lacks in fluidness and agility he compensates for in sheer brute force. Naturally, Angela as usual pulls off her fights with trademark beautifully balletic grace and breathtaking precision. Sultry Betty Ting Pei makes for a wickedly enticing femme fatale as Chin's main hench wench Agnes. Sammo Hung has a sizable secondary part as a chubby lackey who Lazenby beats the living snot out of. The smattering of tasty female nudity adds a nice dash of sizzling sleaze while such gnarly locations as a seedy nightclub and a dangerous back alley provide a tangy exotic flavor. Yu-tang Li's splashy widescreen cinematography gives the picture a heady psychedelic vibe thanks to all those gaudy loud colors. The funky-chillin' score by Tony Orchez and Tsao Hua Lai hits the get-down groovy spot. A really fun flick.

If a movie studio can be corrupted by its own success, this movie must be the proof. Golden Harvest made really good movies in its first 3 years of existence. They made lot of money, but the success must have gone to their heads, because this movie is an absolutely the bottom of the barrel.First off, the actors in this movie is terrible (except Angela Mao and Betty Tin Pei). The usually high production quality and attention to detail Golden Harvest gives to its production isn't seen here. Story is pretty unintriguing as well.You can't make a horrible movie like this even if you tried, but I guess they've succeeded in doing this. It's not a bad movie in a sense that there are badly made movies that has utterly nothing going for it. This movie is not bad, it's HORRIBLE in the way things are depicted. So there you have it, one of the worst movie done by Golden Harvest. This one is it.

A lot of people say that George Lazenby was the worst Bond. I thought he actually did a decent job, albeit a bit hard to fill in the shoes of Mr. Connery. However, I think majority of previously stated people said that after having seen Stoner.This is a good time capsule piece for the 70s. Psychedelic design, funky lapels and moon dresses, and of course drugs galore. Kind of like a precursor for E? Plus, the main boss knows how to throw a party: check out those cocktail uniforms! A cop named Stoner (HA HA HA, get it?) goes around asking questions and gets beat up a lot for it. You do have to admire his tenacity though. Lazenby's fight skills are more brawling than kung fu with him mainly slapping someone's face with a backfist. Also, credit Sammo with working on the fight scenes. Although he gets his butt whooped by Lazenby (yeah RIGHT!), Sammo takes a beating well and helps make others look great.Ah, Angela. The true femme fatale of action cinema. She was the real deal and could probably beat the crap out of you if you looked her the wrong way. But with that pretty face and sweet smile, who would ever do that? Angela's movements are so fluid that it's almost like a dance. She hits with force and I love seeing her busting heads or sending guys sprawling with her swift kicks. She's so good that even the main baddie gives a flirty smile her way. It would've been great to see her fight Betty Ting Pei, but it would've been no contest. My favorite scene has to be the cage where a lesson is learned: when Angela says no, she means NO!!The action comes every now and then, but the finale is so awesome that you don't want it to stop. Who knew a rotating desk could be so practical? Seeing Angela fighting thugs in a room set ablaze is all you could ask for.

How does one dare to describe the pure majestic brilliance of this outlandish chunk of cinematic history in just one essay? Holy smokes, I'll give it a shot. Superlative, majestic, confronting, heart renching and above all really good and stuff are just some of the adjectives I will use to describe this emotional rollercoaster of a 35mm brilliance. I was so excited when I first saw Stoner, that I punched my elderly neighbour in the back of the head. Move over Steven, step aside Martin and go home Quentin, Feng Huang is here and he means business. From go to whoa this film packs non stop underpant exploding action that'll have you begging your best mate's auntie for more. Apparently this film was so popular in Amsterdam, that men started shaving off their eyebrows and colouring their armpits with lipstick in a effort to emulate Lazenby's modern-day Hamlet, Detective Stoner. Thank god Jack Palance turned down the role of Stoner or we would not have been treated to such a enigmatic foray into the world of contemporary cinema from The Georgie Lazmeistser. All in do you self a favour, buy yourself some cheetos and a bottle of Distilled Water and treat yourself to a night-in of hard-core provocative entertainment. 3 thumbs up, Cheers George, thanks for the good times. Keep on trucking you crazy cat.