Flying Fists: The Definitive Guide to Western Martial Arts Films of the 1970s

£14.99

Flying Fists: The Definitive Guide to Western Martial Arts Films of the 1970s

£14.99

Written by John Beckett

The Definitive Guide to Western Martial Arts Films of the 1970s.

280pp approx. 6×9 format paperback book.
ISBN 978-1-84583-198-1 (pb)
Published 15 April 2022

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It all began in 1973. A television series called Kung Fu was transmitted, and a film called Enter the Dragon was released. Together they revitalised a genre!

This book concerns itself mainly with what occurred after those two events, and how interest in martial arts cinema left Asia and exploded across the Western world throughout the 1970’s, inspiring offerings from countries as far-flung as Italy, the USA, Turkey, Mexico and Australia.

From Wonder Women in April 1973 to The Deadly Art of Survival in 1979, John Beckett has donned his tightest pair of bell-bottomed trousers, and teased his remaining hair into the most impressive of bouffants in order to watch and comment on every Western film featuring martial arts to be released in the decade. Join him as he meets characters like Ron van Clief and Bolo Yeung, faces Golden Vampires as well as Golden Needles, discovers not one but two martial arts versions of The Three Musketeers, and watches more planes flying over Hong Kong Harbour than you can shake a pair of nunchuks at.

Encounter a variety of suave action heroes, a ninja or two and at least one kung-fu fighting ape and prepare to endure the best, and the absolute worst, that martial arts cinema has to offer.

Get ready for the irreverent adventure of a lifetime …

‘John Beckett’s exhaustive tome documents onscreen martial-arts cinema from Enter the Dragon and TV’s Kung Fu onwards, while taking in locales from Turkey to South Africa and Australia. Flaunting a passion for the genre, Beckett adopts a chummy, conversational tone. For those whose own knowledge of the topic begins and ends with Bruce Lee, the book acts as a veritable shopping list of movies, shared with wit, verve and infectious enthusiasm.’ Total Film

‘Well written … deserves the word “definitive” … Check it out if you like martial arts … Great job!’ ramboraph4life Youtube Channel

‘Just finished reading this definitive guide to some very obscure martial arts movies, which I absolutely loved! Mr Beckett does a fine job of comprehensively going through the movies of a long gone era, with some very amusing anecdotes. He had me laughing out loud on numerous occasions. Some of these movies will have been long forgotten but they live again in the pages of this book. It really is unique as this is a guide to Western, as opposed to Eastern martial arts movies. There really is no other guide out there with a similar subject matter. Oh and tribute is given to the great Bolo Yeung who deserves far more recognition than he gets. 5 stars 🌟’ ‘Suze’, Amazon review

‘There’s so many gems in here, so many breakdowns and reviews … pretty damn entertaining. Make sure you check out this book …’  Viking Samurai, Youtube Channel

‘A very entertaining and frequently informative memoir or commentary on a decade of non-Asian martial arts films … a great beginning to what hopefully will be a companionable series.’ David A McIntee, SciFiBulletin

280pp approx. 6×9 format paperback book.
ISBN 978-1-84583-198-1 (pb)
Published 15 April 2022

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JOHN BECKETT

John lives in County Durham, England, with his partner Susie, his daughter Ellen and their two cats Toby and Leeloo.

When he’s not watching 40-year old action films, he works as a diagnostic radiographer.

He’s dabbled in various martial arts through the years, such as ninjutsu and muay thai and firmly believes, without irony, that Jean Claude Van Damme is a better actor than Robert De Niro. Many attempts to convince him otherwise have proven fruitless.

And don’t even get him started on whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie or not …

This is his first book. He is currently waiting patiently by his letterbox for the literary awards to come pouring in.

Additional information

Weight .001 kg
Dimensions .01 × .01 × .01 cm

3 reviews for Flying Fists: The Definitive Guide to Western Martial Arts Films of the 1970s

  1. ramboraph4life

    https://youtu.be/HRV8eEQRs4s

    ‘Well written … deserves the word “definitive” … Check it out if you like Martial Arts … Great job!’ ramboraph4life Youtube Channel

  2. Viking Samurai

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8R5VheN92Ng
    ‘There’s so many gems in here, so many breakdowns and reviews … pretty damn entertaining. Make sure you check out this book …’  Viking Samurai, Youtube Channel

  3. David A McIntee

    ‘A very entertaining and frequently informative memoir or commentary on a decade of non-Asian martial arts films … a great beginning to what hopefully will be a companionable series.’ David A McIntee, SciFiBulletin
    https://scifibulletin.com/books/non-fiction/review-flying-fists/

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