Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

The Vixens of Kung-Fu Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf October 28, 2018

I’m not sure what director Bill Milling had in mind with 1975’s “The Vixens of Kung-Fu (A Tale of Yin Yang),” but I’m pretty sure he didn’t achieve most of his creative goals. Mashing together the worlds of erotica and martial arts entertainment, Milling is fairly consistent with broad ideas of conflict and faux Eastern spiritualism, but his execution of the whole thing is mangled from the very first scene. Instead of building a tribute to Asian cinema brick by brick, Milling throws everything at the screen at once, treating the endeavor like an editing project for film school, creating a jarring viewing experience that’s not as purely ridiculous as the title implies.

There’s probably a plot to “The Vixens of Kung-Fu,” but it’s never presented in a way that makes sense. There’s a young woman (Bree Anthony) who’s been assaulted in the woods, claimed and revived by a martial arts master (C.J. Laing) who hopes to channel the stranger’s rage into spiritual power. And there’s the Monk (Tony Richards), a wandering fighter who’s defeated by the master, soon returning to the teachings of Ha Tien Su (Peonies Jong) to help build his strength and erections to return to battle and crush his enemies.

Story isn’t prioritized by Milling, and he’s not terribly interested in good taste, with the adult film opening with the young women shot by an amnesia gun and gang-raped by a trio of hoodlums, with music changing from Eastern strings to hee-haw country, underlining the “fun” of the scene. It’s a dire way to commence X-rated entertainment, but “Vixens of Kung-Fu” enjoys the process of sexual assault, with the Monk dealing with his own submission around women, creating the yin yang concept of the title. The rest of the feature is filled with training sequences, watching Monk find discipline, begging for help on the floor of a strip mall Chinese restaurant, and there’s four whole minutes spotlighting the Master and her pupils meditating themselves to a point where smoke pours out of their vaginas. That’s something one doesn’t see every day, but in a 72-minute movie, it’s torturous to watch a small percentage of the effort wasted on an idea that could be sold in 30 seconds.

The Vixens of Kung-Fu Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation offers some initial roughness, with the main titles of "The Vixens of Kung-Fu" displaying a sizable amount of scratches and frame damage. The rest of the viewing experience is intermittently disrupted by jumpy reel changes and mild judder, but clarity is delivered, supplying a clean view of forest locations and training grounds. Distances are defined, and detail is also encouraging with displays of bodies, keeping close-ups appropriately graphic and textured. Costuming also maintains uniform stiffness and cultural exaggeration. Colors are bright and rich, supplying vivid greenery and bold clothing. Skintones are natural throughout. Delineation is secure. Grain is fine and filmic.

The Vixens of Kung-Fu Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 1.0 DTS-HD MA mix provides a simple listening event for "The Vixens of Kung-Fu," finding age and technical limitations slightly flattening dialogue exchanges, which are all heavily dubbed but still a bit muddied at times. Scoring is more confident, coming through with reasonable clarity to carry the martial arts mood, highlighting passable instrumentation. Sound effects are thick but understood, with cartoon whooshes and punches adding to the broadness of the feature.

The Vixens of Kung-Fu Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There is no supplementary material on this disc.

The Vixens of Kung-Fu Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"The Vixens of Kung-Fu" eventually works its way to a fight, and one that climaxes with an eruption of bloody ejaculate, because…why not? The rest of the picture has no substance or dramatics, just a random assortment of poses from actors who don't have martial arts training, playing the part of soulfully balanced killers ready to defend their kingdoms. It should be fun, but it's a little too dark for comfort, with sex scenes more about domination than pleasure. Stunts aren't strong, keeping combat to a bare minimum. And cultural representation is comedic, as Milling has no real interest in presenting the true tenets of kung fu. It's all a big goof, and one that could use 100% less rape to be taken seriously as something light.