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Fun fact: Kuo Chui said the scenes with the dirty water were the hardest thing he had to do while filming Marco Polo. He said being in water made it more difficult to do somersaults/flips, but he was able to get used to it eventually!

I absolutely adore this scene. I could watch it on loop.

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This is one of the films where he plays the title character!

Ricky Cheng Tien-Chi in The Dancing Warrior (1985)

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We at the Venom Mob Network would like to wish Kuo Chui a very happy birthday! He turns 71 today!

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Robert Tai, Alexander Lo Rei, and Li Hai-Hsing behind the scenes of Five Fighters from Shaolin (1984).

I read an interview with Robert Tai recently. The topic of Alexander Lo Rei's appearances in his films was brought up. They wanted to know what qualities made Alexander good in the starring roles. Robert said he was his disciple, so it was out of the question that Alexander was his first choice for the leading actor in his films.

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I thought I would provide some insight into how things worked behind the scenes on Venoms films when it came to action sequences. All of the following information was taken from interviews.

Kuo Chui, Chiang Sheng, and Lu Feng would typically meet with Chang Cheh on set to discuss things before shooting. Then, they would get to plan out the action sequences and shoot the move sets of three people together (as the interview put it). The three of them decided how many people were in the move set since there could be anywhere from 2 to 3 people or more in a sequence. Having more than 3 people was the hardest thing to complete since you had to have more maneuvers. Chang Cheh left it entirely up to them when it came to making decisions like that.

Before shooting sessions, they would meet to talk about the general direction of a sequence. Lu Feng gave these examples: how many people hit him; who was the last to get killed; or how his character died. He said the length of time given to the middle portion of the fights all takes a lot of time. Kuo Chui estimated that a large-scale fight could take 7 days minimum. When it came to final fight scenes, they could take up to 10 to 14 days total!

The pictures above are from a video that showed them filming behind the scenes of Masked Avengers (1981).

- Mod Fox

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Happy birthday to Lo Mang!! 🥳

According to the sources I have, he was born on July 23, 1956!

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Why do they use swastika in venom movies?

Thank you so much for this ask! It gives me the opportunity to clear up a common misunderstanding.

This is the symbol shown in Venoms films (this screenshot is from Shaolin Rescuers)...

...and this is the swastika associated with Nazis.

The symbol seen in Venoms films is an ancient symbol of divinity and spirituality, and predates the Nazi party by an untold number of years. The Nazi party later corrupted and bastardized the swastika and appropriated it into a symbol of hate. You'll notice that the Nazi swastika is the right facing swastika, whereas the most commonly seen spiritual sauwastika in media is left facing. Not only that, but the Nazi swastika is also on its corner, which personally gives me the sense of imbalance and unease, whereas the original swastika is steady on its base.

Here is a direct quote from the wikipedia article that also addresses the different facings. "The word swastika comes from Sanskrit: स्वस्तिक, romanized: svastika, meaning "conducive to well-being". In Hinduism, the right-facing symbol (clockwise) (卐) is called swastika, symbolizing surya ("sun"), prosperity and good luck, while the left-facing symbol (counter-clockwise) (卍) is called sauwastika, symbolising night or tantric aspects of Kali."

Regardless of which way it faces, it doesn't change the fact that the swastika was a symbol of spirituality first and foremost, and continues to serve as such in many Asian countries to this day.

Venoms films are not the only Chinese films that show the left facing sauwastika, and you'll notice it has a high chance of appearing on screen if the film's location is in a temple. Because, once again, it is a holy symbol first and foremost.

Venoms films are not the first piece of media to contain the left facing sauwastika, which has also caused confusion and offense in the West due to western people's ignorance to the fact that it is still a religious symbol held in reverence in Asia. Because of this, it has been censored multiple times, even when it was not the Nazi's swastika that was being depicted.

For examples from some Japanese anime, here is Naruto's Neji in the manga...

...and here he is in the anime.

Likewise, here is One Piece's Ace in the manga...

...and here he is in the anime.

In both of these instances, it was the left facing sauwastika that was being shown, not the right facing swastika. But, since not enough people in the west know the difference, it had to be censored regardless.

If you live in the West then it's very likely you have been ingrained with a knee jerk reaction to seeing a swastika--which is not unfounded! It can never be stressed enough the amount of horror and hatred the Nazi swastika represents, but what is unfortunate is the fact that it has managed to completely drown out the good and holy qualities of the original religious sauwastika.

Once again, thank you so much for coming to us about this, as I think it's very important that people know why they may see the swastika in pieces of media that come out of other parts of the world, and why it may not always be as bad as it at first seems. Like it said in the wikipedia article, "Reverence for the swastika symbol in Asian cultures, in contrast to the stigma attached to it in the West, has led to misinterpretations and misunderstandings." So thank you so much for giving me the chance to clear things up!

-Mod Tiger

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why has there been so much venom hate lately? Did they do something wrong?

We have not been made aware of any scandals, backlash, or negative fan comments made towards the Venoms. Since we are Westerners, it is possible there are events that simply have not been reported on in places we can access. If there is something we should know about them that you find out, however, please write to us again.

- Mod Sheep

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You spread false information

Hello!

As fans and researchers, we are always happy to learn new things, compare sources of information, and make corrections if necessary.

If you have found any issues with our posts, please feel free to send a message and we would very much like to see how we can keep our posts accurate or share knowledge that may not be common!

- Mod Sheep

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How did Luther Chu and Guo Zhui fall out?

Hi there! Thank you for sending in this ask. Before we begin, I would like to clarify that Kuo Chui and Lu Feng patched things up a long time ago. All the information below comes from a 1995 interview with Kuo Chui, who confirmed that their relationship is good!

Sometime after The Rebel Intruders (1980), Lu Feng and Kuo Chui fell out. The reason for this was a disagreement over who would be the primary choreographer for Two Champions of Shaolin (1980). He did not specify if it was the two of them that had the disagreement or if it involved others, so I cannot speak on that part. Kuo Chui admitted that he got so frustrated that he didn’t appear in the movie. He thinks it’s funny now because Chang Cheh decided to smooth things out by cutting Lu Feng from Ode to Gallantry (1982). Chang Cheh wanted it to be even. However, the two made up after that occurred, and they are still friends!

- Mod Fox

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If you could see 1 member of the mob back on screen, who would it be?

Mod Sheep 🐑: Not to be obvious, but I would pick Tong Yen-Tsan. I have always admired both his movement and his acting ability, and I have been trying to hunt down every single one of his films for the past few years. I would love to see him come back to the screen and bring his singular energy to modern films.

Mod Tiger 🐯: Unfortunately, the one I would most want to see again is the one that will never perform again--which is, of course, Chiang Sheng. He was my favorite of the venoms to watch, and I’ll always mourn his loss and the years we could have had with him. That being said, the next one I would want to see most would probably be Sun Chien, specifically if he had a fighting role. Since I practice taekwondo like he does, I would love to see how his skills have developed over the years, or if he still practices the art. My own teacher is about the same age as Sun Chien, and my teacher is far and away the most powerful person in a room at any given time, so my assumption is that Sun Chien would be capable of maintaining his martial arts strength in his old age as well.

Mod Fox 🦊: If I had to pick one member of the Venom Mob that I would like to see again, it would certainly be Wei Pai! I have recently been watching movies where he is on his own and the ones with the Venoms. It has made me miss seeing him on screen. He had a different acting style from some of the other members, but it was really charming and he was so charismatic on screen. I feel like it would be a joy to see him again. Not only to see his face, but because I genuinely loved his characters and I feel like he could really bring something vibrant to newer audiences. There is no doubt in my mind that he is likely as talented as he used to be. I have always adored and admired him ever since I first saw him. He has a special place in my heart.

[venom-mob-network]

Were any venoms assistant directors?

Hi! We appreciate you sending us an ask. Several of the Venoms have added "assistant director" to their list of credits. Since you specifically asked about assistant directing, I will not be including other credits like co-director, executive director, and director.

Chiang Sheng worked with Chang Cheh as an assistant director on 22 Venoms films in total!

Lu Feng worked on Shanghai Thirteen (1984) and Death Ring (1984) as an assistant director.

Sun Chien's only assistant director credit (to our knowledge) is Angry Ranger (1991)!

As far as I am aware, Wei Pai, Kuo Chui, and Lo Mang never worked as assistant directors. If anyone has information to the contrary, then please feel free to send it to us!

-Mod Fox

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I like making video edits, so I decided to make some gifs out of effects that I was trying out! These are what each of them say:

Kuo Chui ( 郭追 )

Born in Taiwan (生於台灣)

Born on October 21, 1951

I might make these for the other Venoms if you all like them!

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What inspired you to make this blog? It’s phenomenal.

We are so glad to hear that you enjoy our blog! One of the biggest reasons we created this blog was because of our adoration for the Venom Mob. We wanted to highlight their lives, share photos, and provide factual information with our fellow fans! It is our way of showing our appreciation for the actors, including all of their films together. All of us thought it would be a great idea to share a blog since the three of us have become friends and share a lot of content revolved around the Venom Mob as we find it.

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How old are the venoms?

There seems to be some confusion regarding some Venoms’ birthdays, and therefore we cannot guarantee these are 100% accurate, but we can give fairly accurate guesses based on various sources.

In order, from oldest to youngest:

• Chiang Sheng is often cited as being born in 1951, which would make him 71. Tragically, Chiang Sheng died in 1991, so this is instead the 31st anniversary of his passing away. Kuo Chui confirmed in an interview that his own birth year was 1951, so he will be turning 71 on October 21.

• Sun Chien is said to have been born in 1955, putting him at 67 years old.

• Lu Feng often surprises fans with the fact that he is the third-youngest of the Venoms, being born in 1956. He just turned 66 on April 3rd if our sources are correct.

• According to our sources, Lo Mang was also born in 1956 but three months after Lu Feng, so this would make him the second youngest!

• Wai Pai is by many accounts the youngest Venom, born in 1957. This makes him 65 as of this year.

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How many of the mob we’re from taiwan?

If we're talking about the main six, then four of them were! Sun Chien, Lu Feng, Kuo Chui, and Chiang Sheng were all from Taiwan. Lo Mang is from Hong Kong, and it is unknown where Wei Pai is from exactly.

But if we're talking about the whole mob, then there were still quite a few of them from Taiwan! For example, b-tiers Yu Tai-Ping, Yang Hsiung, Robert Tai, Ricky Cheng Tien-Chi, Li Yi-Min, and Chu Ko all came from there.

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How did the weapons in Spearman of Death originate?

This is a wonderful question! Initially, Lu Feng, Chiang Sheng, Kuo Chui, and Chang Cheh witnessed flags being used in a Peking opera performance. Each of them was struck by its beauty when the flag was spinning around. The only problem was that flags are unable to attack people or be used in the manner they were in Flag of Iron. This led to them adding a spearhead onto the tip of the flag, which is how they created the weapons! It was all of their idea to use them.