Wow! Such a good movie.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

A.k.a. SECRET OF THE DRAGON (on DVD), SNAKE CRANE SECRET (vhs) boasts some interesting (and sometimes hilarious) touches: whenever Er Lang (Meng Fei) uses his crane style of kung fu, we hear a crane whoop; when Tai Kung Liang (Tan Dao-ling, a.k.a. "Dorian Tan") uses his snake fist, we hear the hissing of a snake. It would be interesting to find out if this was director Wu Ma's idea, or something thrown in by the people doing the dubbing. The dubbing overall is unusual in this film (the music choices are particularly fun). This is a classic scenario, with Er Lang being raised in a kung fu temple and Tai Kung growing up to become an Imperial soldier. When soldier Kung arrives at the temple looking for the secret kung fu manual safeguarded by Er Lang, Er Lang slips away with it. In town, the Sun and Moon group is hunted by the Chings. Er Lang and Kung meet and scrap, but the manual doesn't change hands. Er Lang moves in with a local pickpocket and gives the beggar a manual- just not the one everyone's after. Hung Kung-shan (You Tian-long), who killed the parents of Er Lang and Kung, kills the beggar. The Sun and Moon group is ambushed by soldiers (led by the scar-faced Shao Tin-san- Dean Shek), but are saved by Hu Quay, Er Lang and Kung's uncle, who, years earlier, had betrayed their father. (To his everlasting credit, he didn't know that the family was to be murdered.) There are some solid action sequences in SNAKE CRANE SECRET and, as already stated, the direction is interesting. Well worth a look.

This film is for the English dub of SNAKE CRANE SECRET--and in this case, the dubbing is rather poor. Keep this in mind, as the original Chinese movie might differ or be significantly better or worse.I think I've finally seen so many martial arts films that many of them are starting to merge into one. Now this isn't to say I am tired of the genre, as I love one of these films if it has something new and unusual that sets it apart. But SNAKE CRANE SECRET is so full of derivative plot elements and clichés that I couldn't help but repeatedly think that I'd seen it all before. For example, the films begins with (what else?) a betrayal. And, of course, family members of the betrayed (two boys) are somehow spared and eventually grow up to vow revenge for their father's death (in many other films, it's their sensei or clan leader). Along the way, they meet a couple of kick-butt lady kung fu experts and the film is filled with celery-snapping special effects every time a kick or punch is delivered--even if it doesn't connect. And, in the end, there are also no surprises--NONE! About the only real positive for the film is that the martial arts are decent. While very few of their punches and kicks really connect, at least they generally come close (unlike some really BAD martial arts films). And, while it may get some getting used to compared to Japanese karate films and those of Bruce Lee, the ballet-style choreography of the fighting sequences is impressive. In other words, instead of looking like a real all-out fight, the scenes are extremely planned out and choreographed so it looks almost like a dance or work of art. It's a style I've seen in many other films and while not exactly realistic, I appreciate the care and effort going into the fights.If you've seen only a few martial arts films, this one is well worth seeing. If you want something innovative or unique, I suggest you look elsewhere.

Version: English dub 'Snake & Crane Secret' is on the better old-school kung-fu movies I've seen. It may still only be worthy of a 5/10, but for essentially $2.50, it is worth it.The plot is fairly simple - two brothers are separated as children after their father is killed protecting the secret Snake & Crane kung-fu book from a bad guy. Twenty years later, the same bad guy is a top man within the Ching-dynasty leadership. A group of rebels (good-guys) need the brothers and their kung-fu skills to stop the bad-guy and free their people.The dubbed dialog is great, and some of the fights (especially the final one) are enjoyable, otherwise it is still pretty still pretty silly: good-guys and bad-guys alike randomly turn up halfway through a fight and join in, and watch out the bad-guy's weakness at the end.5/10

i have seen this movie many times, and each time i watch it, it gets better and better. if you have the opportunity to purchase this movie, i highly suggest it. the plot is very simple to follow, the kung fu is great, and the end fight seen is bad ace.