FIVE DEADLY VENOMS

Ménage Á Pop is a three times a week intimate discussion between two people and a piece of pop culture.

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For many of us, practicing martial arts meant  cardboard throwing stars, swung about whiffle bats and loosing a tooth to a wayward Ked.  Somehow fantasy author Bonita Gutierrez (THE WEREWOLF WHISPERER) managed a different understanding which led to it becoming an important  practice in her day to day life.  But before she could fully utilize it, she had to first encounter it.  And that introduction came through a Saturday afternoon broadcast of the 1978 Hong Kong cult classic, FIVE DEADLY VENOMS. 

Bonita Gutierrez is the author of THE WEREWOLF WHISPERER series of novels available for purchase at www.WEREWOLFWHISPERER.com. Read more of her writing at BONITA’S GEEKY BLOG-FU! and follow her on TWITTER @BonitzMG and on INSTAGRAM @bonitamg

POP NOTES

  • FIVE DEADLY VENOMS was released on Saturday August 12th, 1978.

  • The film’s director, Chang Che, is considered the “Godfather Of Hong Kong cinema” due, in part, to his revolutionary use of sword play and Kung-Fu fighting techniques.

  • The film was produced by Shaw Brothers Studios, Hong Kong’s largest film studio operating from 1958 to 2011. Famous releases include VENGENCE IS A GOLDEN BLADE (1969) FIVE FINGERS OF DEATH (1972) and FIST OF THE WHITE LOTUS (1980). Their final release was a 2011 comedy entitled THE FORTUNE BUDDIES after which the were reconfigured into The Clear Water Bay Land Company Limited.

  • Quentin Tarantino paid homage to the Shaw Brothers Studio with his film KILL BILL VOLUME 1 (2003) by including their Shawscope logo in the opening title, utilizing their “crashing zoom” film technique and referring to a team of five assassins as The Deadly Viper Assassination Squad

  • The “Five Venoms” refer to five distinct fighting styles entitled The Centipede, The Snake, The Scorpion, the Lizard and The Toad.

  • The characters of the Five Venoms were portrayed by The Venom Mob, a group of fight choreographers that included such renown action stars as, Chiang Sheng (HOUSE OF TRAPS), Lo Mang (HARD BOILED) and Kuo Chui (TOMORROW NEVER DIES).

  • Music featured in the film’s first fight sequence was previously used as part of the score for MONTY PTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL (1975).

Tune back on Wednesday when BONTA GUITERREZ returns to discuss the career inspirations of fantasy authors KIM HARRISON & JIM BUTCHER.

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MUSIC FEATURED IN TODAY’S EPISODE:

“Three Ways To Do That” (opening theme) composed and performed by The Madeline Prior. All rights reserved with Not A Holograms podcasts.

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