Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

oversig My all time favorite Kung-Fu movie! Why someone has not made a remake of this classic is mind boggling to me. I hated they chose Toad-Style to die because he was the best all around character. He was good, Innocent, trusting & almost invincible. They could make five movies based on each one's life then culminating in an epic final movie just a thought. The other style that I mostly liked was of course Snake-Style. The overall look of the actor made the character awesome. Also the fact he helped the good side in the end was most honorable & inspiring. The fight scenes are awesome even with old school sound effects. This movie has one of the best story lines of any Martial arts movie ever made. It will leave you wanting more as the ending is abrupt. If anyone knows how to get a director/producer on board for remaking this classic then please do so. Peace...

Brian T. Whitlock (GOWBTW) This martial art film is a classic. A storytelling that is very profound, exact, and to the point. " Five Deadly Venoms" makes actual sense. You have a dying instructor who teaches his final student about the five students before him a special kung fu style. The five students were known as the poison clan: The Five Deadly Venoms. They were The Centipede, the Snake, the Lizard, the Scorpion, and the Toad. The Centipede was known for his speed and striking power of that animal. The Snake was known for his agility The Scorpion was known for his pincer grips The Lizard was known for his wall-climbing ability The Toad was known for his near- invulnerability. Three of them are known for committing atrocities against society. Only two of them, aren't so bad. But which ones? So far, the least evil ones are the Lizard and the Toad. The other three haven't seen one or the other after the teaching. The choreography was unbelievable, the action was so profound, it was a shame that the Toad fighter was killed, and they double-crossed the eyewitness they forced to lie, and one of the guards as well. The ending fight scene was amazing, I couldn't have enjoyed it more. This movie got a lot of worth, compared to the others I have seen. A collectible item, and a movie must have and see! 5 stars!

ebiros2 There's no romance or other side plot to this movie, it's action and intrigue all the way, making it a real man's kung-fu movie.An aging master dispatches his last disciple Yan Tieh to stop his five former pupils who's styles represents five venomous animals centipede,snake, scorpion, lizard and the toad. Despite the word "Venom" in the title, none of these pupil uses venoms to kill their opponents. Yan Tieh told by his teacher that he's no match for the five former pupil, must find one he can form an alliance with to defeat the other four. How Yan Tieh and the others find each other is the intrigue to the story, with good kung-fu action spread out throughout the story.Recognized as a cult classic, this movie has already established itself in the annals of kung- fu action movies. It's known well enough that other movies make reference to the five styles depicted in this story.It's no artistic masterpiece, with the usual bad dubbing, and corny acting, but the movie is one of the best of its kind, because its so focused on the all the ingredients of kung-fu action movie of its time, and gives an extra concentrated dose of them.One movie you must watch if you are a kung-fu movie fan.

Don Bendell "In the world of old-school kung fu movies, where revenge pictures came a dime a dozen, it took a lot for a film to stand out -- and even more to make it a fan favorite after all these years. What is arguably Chang Cheh's finest movie continues to hold influence over the Hong Kong movie industry, from the themes of loyalty, brotherhood and revenge as explored by John Woo (who got his start in the HK movie industry working for Chang) during the heyday of heroic bloodshed during the late 1980's, to more modern movies like A Man Called Hero, which sports a character in a costume inspired by this film. The influence has also carried into other areas as well, from music such as the Wu-Tang Clan, TV commercials for Sprite and video games such as "Mortal Kombat." So what makes this movie so special? The plot -- on the surface -- is pretty simple. It deals with members of a rogue group known as the "Poison Clan" who are searching for a treasure hidden by their sifu. All of the members of the clan have extraordinary kung fu abilities, denoted by their animal styles, or "venoms" (the lizard can climb walls, the scorpion has a deadly strike, etc.). The twist is that since the clan always wears masks, not all of them known who the others are. Thus a simple plot becomes almost a suspense thriller. We're not talking The Usual Suspects here, but it's far above many other kung fu movies of the time. Supposedly, Golden Harvest was not too happy with Chang's script -- like most of his movies, they felt it was too dark and violent -- and they actually wanted him to add broad comic relief to it. Thankfully, Chang stuck to his guns and stayed with his original script, which has since has become revered as one of the best for the films of its time, if not ever, completing an almost perfect dramatic arc and providing the perfect backbone for the extraordinary action sequences.But what really solidifies the movie are the venoms themselves. Chang Cheh hit upon a magical formula with the cast -- not only did he gain talented martial artists (whose moves, competed without the aid of wires or other special effects, put most modern martial artists to shame) but great actors as well. The formula proved so popular that Chang usually had one or more of the venoms in his later movies. Getting back to matters at hand, in most old-school movies, the actors seem to playing out cardboard cutouts, but here the actors actually create characters. It seems that everyone has a favorite venom (mine is Philip Kwok -- best known to many as Mad Dog from Hard-Boiled -- as Lizard) and it is this personal connection to the characters that The Five Deadly Venoms generates which makes it a true classic of the genre. Even if you're normally not a fan of old-school movies, you need to check The Five Deadly Venoms out, if for nothing else to see where modern movies got their inspiration from."