| Five Deadly Venoms | |||||||||||
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 Hong Kong theatrical release poster | |||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 五毒 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 五毒 | ||||||||||
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| Directed by | Chang Cheh | ||||||||||
| Written by | Ni Kuang Chang Cheh | ||||||||||
| Produced by | Runme Shaw | ||||||||||
| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Cho Wai Kei Kung Mu To | ||||||||||
| Edited by | Chiang Hsing Lung | ||||||||||
| Music by | Frankie Chan | ||||||||||
Production company | |||||||||||
| Distributed by | Shaw Brothers Studio | ||||||||||
Release date |
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Running time | 98 minutes | ||||||||||
| Country | Hong Kong | ||||||||||
| Languages | Mandarin Cantonese | ||||||||||
| Box office | HK$1,814,610 | ||||||||||
Five Deadly Venoms (Chinese: 五毒), also known as The Five Venoms, is a 1978 Hong Kong martial arts mystery film directed and co-written by Chang Cheh and produced by Runme Shaw for the Shaw Brothers Studio. It stars Chiang Shieng as Yang Tieh, a martial arts pupil who aims to follow his master's dying wish: to find the new identities of the master's five previous pupils, and kill them if they have turned towards evil. While doing so, Yang stumbles onto a web of murders and investigations involving all five pupils. Each of the master's previous pupils (the titular "Five Deadly Venoms") practices a unique animal-themed style, with the animals being based on the Five Poisonous Creatures of Chinese folklore.
Five Deadly Venoms is considered one of the most popular martial arts films of its era, and has gone on to be considered a cult film.[1][2] For their roles, Shieng, along with Lu Feng, Sun Chien, Philip Kwok, Wai Pak, and Lo Mang (who portrayed the five fighters), would become collectively dubbed by international audiences as the Venom Mob.
- ^ "The Top 50 Cult Movies". Filmsite.org. 23 May 2003. Archived from the original on 31 March 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ Havis, Richard James (11 July 2021). "How Chang Cheh's Venom Mob martial arts films, starting with 1978's The Five Venoms, became cult favourites in the West". South China Morning Post.