A 1980 Hong Kong Martial Arts Action Drama written and directed by Chang Cheh that follows two stories of the original ten Tigers and their students. It was produced by the Shaw Brothers.
The movie stars Ti Lung, Fu Sheng, Wei Pai, Dick Wei, Sun Chien, Lu Feng, Philip Kwok, Yeung Hung, Chiang Sheng, and Lo Mang. Including the director, it is a reunion of all seven founding members of the Venom Mob, a Production Posse who formed during the making of the legendary kung fu film Five Deadly Venoms.
Tropes for the film:
- Bare-Handed Blade Block: General Liang gets his sword halted by a blade block before getting snapped. He then responds after losing his sword by using his secondary weapon, a golden club... shaped like a nude woman.
- Big Good: Li Jien Chao is the level-headed, good-hearted leader of the Tigers.
- Carry a Big Stick: A strange example with Liang using a golden club... modelled after a nude woman. Like an Oscar bust, but weaponized. A very similiar weapon (possibly the same prop) would reappear six years later in The Seventh Curse.
- Homeless Hero: Beggar Su is initially a homeless guy doing kung fu tricks on the street for cash before getting recruited into Iron Finger Chung's crew.
- Hot-Blooded: Every time Tan Ming is sent to recruit another martial artist into his brother's gang, he ends up picking a fight with them.
- Foregone Conclusion: The Framing Device's villains are talking about getting revenge on the Tigers for killing General Liang, so when the movie flashes back to the formation of the Tigers, we already know that Liang is going to die.
- Framing Device: Most of the movie is told in flashback, years later, as General Liang's brother and son team up to get revenge on the Tigers' disciples. The movie opens with these guys, then flashes back to the story of the Tigers' struggle against Liang, then moves back to the second generation to wrap up the story about his brother, which can make it a little disorienting for people who aren't familiar with the story.
- Foreign Ruling Class: General Liang is an agent of the hated Qings, a Manchu dynasty who have conquered China. The Qings are depicted as villains in a lot of kung fu movies.
- Let's You and Him Fight: The Tigers are initially split into two rival crews, one lead by Li Jien Chao and the other by Iron Finger Chung, who don't really like each other. General Liang's agents are able to escalate this into a full-blown feud to keep Li Jien Chao occupied. However, when the other crew realize they've been lied to, they team up with Li Jien Chao to defeat Liang and his men.
- Off with His Head!: The movie ends with the main villain's head being kicked clean off his shoulders. Said villain is hanging from the ceiling by the legs, so when his head goes off it predictably comes with a waterfall of blood.
- Tagline: "The odds on excitement are ten to one".
- Tiger Versus Dragon: The Qing Dynasty's flag was a dragon, and the warriors opposing them in this film are called the Tigers.
