the mermaid (1965)

AKA Yu mei ren.
"I've tasted the fickleness of human nature."
Poor scholar Chang Chen (Ivy Ling Po) comes to live with a rich relative whose daughter Peony (Li Ching) he was promised in an arranged marrage. He is smitten with Peony, though she isn't as taken with him or the idea. Into this steps a Carp spirit who loves Chang and takes the form of his fiancée to get close to him leading to the inevitable conflicts and confusion...
A classic Huangmei Opera that intertwines fantasy and romance and a beautiful look.

the butterfly chalice (1963)

AKA Hu die bei.
"Hopefully Heaven will help a good man."
Set in the Ming Dynasty, a magistrate's son (Chin Feng) and a fisherman's daughter (Pat Ting Hung) come together after he has accidentally kills the Govenor's son who beat her father to death. The magistrate ubsequently fights for justice whilst his son is no the run from the Govenor's bodyguards.
A Huangmei Opera enlivened with some martial arts action.

the killer (1971)

AKA Sacred Knives of Vengeance
"Trustworthiness is most important."
Swordsman Hsieh Chun (Hua Tsung) is mislead into getting involved in the revenge scheme of the leader of the Black Dragon gang. But despite being told many times he is being used Chun refuses to see the deception and turns against an old friend who is a Govt officer Wang Hsing-tien (Miao Ching). Then to complicate things old rivalries resurface, when Yu Chiao (Ping Wang) enters the scene as she is loved by both men...
Forget the plot and marvel at the fight scenes.

the flying guillotine (1975)

the flying guillotine (1975) aka Xue di zi
"their kung-fu cannot save them from death."
Ma Teng (Kuan Tai Chen), one of 12 assassins trained in the use of the guillotine, a weapon that can behead victims at a distance, but he soon realises his team are being used to kill dissidents, and becomes a fugitive hunted by his former comrades.
A martial arts film, that is more plot driven than most.

blood money (1974)

aka Le Brute, Le Colt, Et Le Karate. El kárate, el Colt y el impostor. The Stranger and the Gunfighter.
"So they are going to hang me for finding four stupid pictures of naked women."
Safe Cracker Dakota (Lee Van Cleef), is about to hang for the death of Chinese banker Wang. Fortunately he is saved when Ho Chiang (Lieh Lo), Wang's nephew, frees Dakota, in order to hunt down his uncle's missing fortune.
Buddy comedy collaboration between Italian and Hong Kong producers, produces an interesting hybrid.

return to the 36th chamber (1980)

aka Shao Lin da peng da shi.
"I knew when you first entered this place you were phoney."
The boss of a dye works hires some Manchu to bully his Han workforce and cuts their wages for the privilege. The workforce hire a con artist to play a Shaolin priest, who tricks the Manchu into restoring their wages, but the boss then humiliates Chao (Chia Hui Liu) and dejected Chao determines to actually learn Shaolin kung fu, the only way he knows how, by conning his way into the temple.
Martial arts comedy, that provides some fine set piece fight scenes along the way.

the 36th chamber of shaolin (1978)

aka Shaolin Master Killer. The Master Killer.
"If I could fight, I might have stopped them!"
In the midst of a brutal civil war anti-Ching rebels have established a base in Canton disguised as a school. Following its discovery by the Manchu government, San Te (Gordon Liu) manages to escape, whilst all others are massacred. He flees to the Shaolin Temple, determined to learn kung fu, in order one day to exact revenge.
Having been name checked by everyone from Quentin Tarantino, to the Wu-Tang Clan, this is a must see film for martial arts fans. A well written story drives the action, thought the centre of the story lies not in the revenge motif, but in the journey.

the legend of the seven golden vampires (1974)

aka 7 Brothers Versus Dracula. 7 Brothers and a Sister Meet Dracula. 7 Brothers of Dracula. 7 Golden Vampires. Dracula and the Seven Golden Vampires. Seven Golden Vampires: The Last Warning. The Last Warning. The Seven Brothers Meer Dracula.
Count Dracula reincarnates in a remote Chinese village with six vampires terrorising the locals. Professor Van Helsing, who is in Chung King on a lecture tour, is persuaded to help a family of martial arts experts to rid the village of the seven vampires and their zombie minions.
Hammer Films teamed up with the Shaw Brothers to mix vampires with martial arts. Again a film that seems to divide people, me I like it for it's interesting new take on the formula. As someone who likes both genre's its great to see the two melded in this way.