The weapon of choice for those who grew up in the martial-artsploitation era of the '70s was the flying guillotine. Compact and original, it could decapitate any shithead from the three point arc. All it took was a flip of the wrist (like throwing a Frisbee), a quick tug on the tethered chain (like a yo-yo), and snap! The blades would lock up and the head became compost. Meanwhile, you were stuck with a bloody mess-all hinging on the fact that you flicked the guillotine right onto the buttlip's dome. The Master of the Flying Guillotine, sometimes called The One-Armed Boxer vs. Flying Guillotine by the underground illegal tape-duping mafia, is maybe one of the greatest or most influential martial arts flicks ever. Made in 1974, at the forefront of Hong Kong's quickly produced kung-fu flick heyday, the story revolves around two physically challenged martial arts masters-a good guy with one arm and a bad guy who can't see.

The story line is a typical "you killed my brother, and now I'm gonna hunt you across the country-side to smack your ass" tale. During that movie-making era, plot lines were simple: gain honor for the temple, the martial arts school, your animal-style fighting technique, and the master, and everything will be fine. But what makes the flying guillotine rise above? It's easy. First, the good guy known as the One-Armed Boxer, was played by legendary director and star, Jimmy Wang Yu. A master of his own school, he could punch with his solo limb like Tyson, walk up walls, and creep upside-down on ceilings. The Garanimal-wearing suburban kids talked about him as being the hero at school. But the kids sporting Toughskins dug the enemy-the antagonistic old blind man who's the true star of the film. In typical kung fu style, the old man is a monk with thick, white eyebrows and a white running-water beard. He's clothed in the typical Tibetan red monk outfit complete with a Nazi swastika on the front. You might be thinking in your whiny know-it-all tone, "That's an historical Buddhist symbol." Nope, this guy is Hitler's grandfather. The symbol is backwards for Buddha and forward for frying Jews. His Black Sabbath-style guitar lick intro is dark rock and would make a great 7" single. Although not a character, the flying guillotine weapon made audiences feel unworthy. With every throw, it made a gun ricochet sound. It was red, with the outside looking like a Skilsaw blade and teeth on the inside, like an octopus' snatch. This tool alone is historically significant enough to merit the title of the film. If it existed, it should be sitting in a fighting flick hall of fame.

The story line and subplot elevate this film even higher. The one-armed boxer killed two of the monk's students in a previous battle-a flick that needs to be made, like the backtracking Star Wars saga. Angry at the deaths, the blind master is out for revenge. Along the way, there's a fighting tournament which definitely went on to inspire other tournament martial-artsploitation flicks to the Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat arcade games. There's an Indian yoga master (like Dhalsim) whose limbs stretch far to kick or choke on command, a Chun Li female, a Japanese rice-picking-hat-wearing God of Thunder (like Raiden), and a Thai kickboxer. The parallels are real and the ending fight scene epic. The original release of the film in the U.S. is a kung-fu flick historical moment. Master of the Flying Guillotine in November 1977 was documented in Variety as being number 14 in grossing films falling just below Pete's Dragon and Carrie but notches higher than Naughty Stewardesses. It was widely believed that the original negatives were lost and only a lone dubbed print floated around art houses a few years ago. But after a lot of detective work, a negative was found among a sea of celluloid in some Hong Kong alley. Greg Hatanaka, negative tracker and owner of the rights to the film for the next 12 years proclaims, "Officially, the subtitled version has never been seen before in the U.S. It's going to be smokin'!" So Hatanaka is re-releasing a brand new print scheduled sometime in 2000. Perfect fuel for more in-school violence and out-of-shape martial artists' egos.