Date changes for some films

[J.J.Hayden]

Hello all

I'd always planned to question the dates of two films that I've done research on, but I'd never got round to it until a topic questioning another film's date came up on KFF. So I'm planning to change these dates unless someone can give me compelling evidence otherwise, here we go:

https://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=9395&display_set=eng
Sheng Tiao Hero [1982] – I believe this is actually from 1983, firstly we have the KMDB listing the film as 1983 and the release date in Korea being 01Feb1984, but I've not seen anything official saying 1982. Then there is also a behind the scenes photo I have of Won Jin with Meng Fei who is in the costume he wears in this film, I can't see the date myself on the pic, but in the caption, Won Jin said it was taken in July 1983. Finally is a less solid piece of evidence (but worth mentioning because if I'm right about the next film, it pieces together nicely), that being I believe this and Legend Of Peach Blossom were filmed at the same time or one after the other, many of the cast and crew are the same and it would make sense to film as much as possible with all that talent together. Actually I've just remembered that when trying to find this film it was a nightmare due to several other film and TV projects sharing the same or similar names and release dates, which might help explain a date being mixed up.

https://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=19523&display_set=eng
Legend Of Peach Blossom [1980] – I believe this film is also from 1983, firstly there's the fact the KMDB shows the year as 1983 and the release date in Korea being 10Dec1983, like above I've not seen anything official saying it's from 1980. Then as stated above, there's the very similar cast and crew (particularly among the Koreans), but something I spotted through my research of these people is that they look older than they did in 1980, some quite noticeably including one who put on some weight (which would continue throughout his career).

https://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=10063&display_set=eng
Challenge Of The Tiger [1980] – I've not done the research on this one myself, it was others on KFF who then asked me if I'd bring it up, but I find their research quite compelling so decided I would. Firstly there's a sign in the film for the Macau Jockey Club, the sign shows it's the Macau Trotting Club 2nd Anniversary, the first harness race was held at the (then called) Trotting Club was in September 1980. 1982 was also the year Bruce Le appeared in 2 other films for Dick Randall, Bruce Strikes Back and Pieces, so it'd make sense for them to have been shot back to back especially as (similar to the films I researched above) they share similar cast and crew. The original trailer mentions leading lady Nadiuska appearing in Conan The Barbarian, which was released in 1982 and apparently there are also references in the films dialogue to the year being 1982.


Well that's that, I'd be interested to see any counter evidence. If not, I'll change them shortly.

Cheers

[yukabacera]

Sheng Tiao Hero - based on the Korean release date I agree with a change to 1984. Taiwanese records also list it as a 1984 release.

Challenge of the Tiger - I took the opportunity to research this one a bit. According to reports in the HK press the movie was announced at a press conference in early September 1982, at which point it had already been shooting for two weeks in Spain and was scheduled to go on to shoot in Hong Kong and Macau. Photography was said to be about one-third finished. The title was 滅絕七七. I wasn't able to dig up any evidence of a Hong Kong release, but it was planned. It was then listed as a 1983 release in Taiwanese records and was also released in Singapore in 1984. (both with the title 威龍神探) So I would support a year change to 1983 as the earliest verifiable release.

As for The Legend of Peach Blossom, surprisingly, I couldn't find it in any Taiwanese source. Based on your observations I think a change to 1983 is alright.

[J.J.Hayden]

Thanks @yukabacera for the input and taking the time to research. It's quite interesting that you found a Taiwanese release date for Sheng Tiao Hero, but a bit odd that there wasn't for Legend Of Peach Blossom. Curious. And you're right about the date for Sheng Tiao Hero should be 1984, it's been a while since I checked the rules about dates stuff and that it should be the release date rather than production date

Thanks for the research you did for Challenge Of The Tiger, you did some great work. Do you mind if I share the information you gathered with the KFF members, I'm sure they'd be very interested to see it?

I'll give it a bit more time to see if there's any counter-evidence (though due to the new evidence here, I severely doubt it) before I make the changes. Maybe another week or so should do.

Cheers

[J.J.Hayden]

Well, since there doesn't seem to be any evidence against making the above changes, I've gone ahead with the update. But after doing the update for Challenge Of The Tiger, I noticed that putting in the Taiwanese release date as “1983” was displaying as 01/01/1983. I don't want people to think that it was released on that exact date, so I've moved the info down below the synopsis with the Singapore release year.

I was going to post this yesterday but I noticed more date related stuff (I'll post about it soon) so got a bit distracted, as usual.

Cheers

[J.J.Hayden]

I thought someone else had done a post recently about changing dates, but I couldn't find it, so I'm sticking these on this older thread that is also appropriate.
Added South Korean release dates to some Korean co-productions, some are the same date as what was listed as the HK release, since this might have been used before the "initial release date" became an available option on the HKMDB. In some cases I changed the "Year of Release" if it was the earliest release date I found evidence of. It's not all of the Korean films, just for those that were part of previous updates I've done, as I used that to work off of. Some had later release dates than other regions, in those cases I've added the SK date in the notes section. If anyone finds evidence of earlier release dates (for HK or Taiwan) for these films, feel free to update them:

Returned Single-legged Man
Kill The Ninja
A Blow Of Fury
Aloha Little Vampire Story --- (changed "Year of Release" from 88 to 89)
Blazing Fists
Bruce Lee Fights Back From The Grave
Legend Of The Mountain
The Secret Rivals
The Shaolin Plot
Shaolin Water Seller
Postman Strikes Back
Shaolin And Taichi
The Skyhawk
Black Guide --- (changed "Year of Release" from 73 to 74)
The Rival
Duel To The Death --- (changed "Year of Release" from 83 to 82 + I added Korean poster too)
Shaolin Drunk Fighter
The Killer Meteors
To Kill With Intrigue
The Wonderman From Shaolin
The Dragon's Snake Fist --- (changed "Year of Release" from 81 to 82)
Seven Men Of Kung-Fu
The Hand Of Death --- (changed "Year of Release" from 76 to 75)
Secret Ninja, Roaring Tiger
The 18 Amazones
Twelve Gates To Hell --- (added origin: South Korea)
Duel Of The Tough --- (changed "Year of Release" from 81 to 79)
10 Shaolin Disciples --- (changed "Year of Release" from 81 to 82)
Deadly Shaolin Longfist
Invincible Obsessed Fighter
7-Star Grand Mantis
Duel Of Ultimate Weapons
Kwangdong Viper
Sandong Chinese Restaurant
Blue Butterfly The Amazon --- (changed "Year of Release" from 83 to 84)
The Undertaker In Sohwa Province --- (changed "Year of Release" from 83 to 84)
Ninja Hunter --- (changed "Year of Release" from 84 to 87)
Incredible Shaolin Thunderkick
Dreadnaught Rivals
The Shaolin Fighters
The Divine Martial Arts Of Dharma
The Dynamite Shaolin Heroes
My Name Is 'Twin Legs'
Special Mission
Magnificent Fist --- (changed "Year of Release" from 78 to 79)
The Mark Of The Black Dragon
Rivals Of The Silver Fox
The Story Of Murim Wicked Man
The Snake Strikes Back
Warriors Of Kung Fu --- (changed "Year of Release" from 82 to 79)
Dragon Against Vampire
Ling Tong Qian Nu
Left Foot Of Wrath
Kill The Shogun
The Ring Of Death --- (changed "Year of Release" from 80 to 82)
Return Of The Scorpion
Eagle Vs. Silver Fox
Heroine Of Tribulation --- (changed "Year of Release" from 81 to 82)
Buddhist Fist And Tiger Claws
Hard Bastard --- (changed "Year of Release" from 81 to 82)
Secret Executioners
Martial Monks Of Shaolin Temple
Shaolin - The Blood Mission
Revenge Of Drunken Master
Magnificent Natural Fist
Dragon Lee Fights Again
Jackie And Bruce To The Rescue --- (changed "Year of Release" from 81 to 82)
Dragon From Shaolin
Enter The Game Of Death
Kung Fu Fever
Rage Of The Dragon
Dragon Bruce Lee, Part II
Enter The Invincible Hero --- (added origin: South Korea)
The Drunken Monk
Fury In Shaolin Temple
Great Escape From Women's Prison
Black Dragon River
Secret Agent
Dragon Claws
South Shaolin Vs North Shaolin
Sword Of Evil Power
Return To The 36th Chamber
Raiders Of Buddhist Kung Fu
Deadly Angels
Masters Of Tiger Crane
Shaolin Vs. Black Magic
School For Vampires
Monkey War
The Challenge Of The Lady Ninja
The Undefeatable Sword And Martial Arts --- (changed "Year of Release" from 80 to 81)
Killing In The Nude
My Name Called Bruce
Blood Of The Dragon Peril
Killer Constable
Rendea-vous Of Japanese Kanto --- (changed "Year of Release" from 93 to 92)
Saviour Of The Soul II
China Strike Force
Born Wild
Seoul Raiders