This new release from Eureka is a real gem for fans of classic martial arts films from the golden era of the early 1970s as it stars the incredible Angela Mao, who will be remembered for her role in Enter the Dragon as Bruce Lee’s sister. In 1972, Lee visited the set of When Taekwondo Strikes and witnessed for himself her dynamic fighting techniques in the art of Hapkido, which are demonstrated plentifully in this genuinely action-packed movie.
The story is set in Japanese-occupied Korea, where a resistance freedom fighter, played by Jhoon Rhee, is captured by the enemy, and his followers enlist the aid of a plucky Hapkido fighter (Mao) to help rescue him and a series of spectacular hand-to-hand battles take place to achieve this objective and also conveniently fill almost the entire running time of this 95-minute movie.
Co-star Jhoon Rhee was considered at the time to be the “father” of American Taekwondo, and his fighting skills add to the impact of this movie, which was to be his only on-screen appearance – he was hardly a matinee idol it has to be said, although two other cast members, Chinese Carter Wong and American Anne Winton {this was her only screen role, too) are no slouches when it comes to foot and fist action.
This release comes with the addition of the excellent 91-minute documentary The Best of the Martial Arts Films from 1990 and a commentary from movie historian Sam Deighan and is the first Blu-ray release of When Taekwondo Strikes in the UK. Highly recommended.
WHEN TAEKWONDO STRIKES is available on Blu-ray now from Eureka Entertainment.
