GreenCine Staff Pick: The Five Deadly Venoms, a.k.a., Wu Du, is not an Animal Planet show, but instead one of the great, and unsung, martial arts films of the 70s - or any era. The film has an almost perfectly simple set-up: five disciples, "The Centipede," "The Snake," "The Scorpion," "The Lizard," and "The Toad," are summoned by their former teacher, who is worried that his pupils are using their talents for evil. The dying master sends out his young pupil Yang De (Chiang Sheng) to investigate. To reveal more of the plot intricacies would be unfair, but with elements of mystery and suspense - along with a bit of wuxia (fantasy/swords and sorcery) - expertly mixed in with the masterful fight sequences, that aspect of the film ranks well above the stereotypically mindless martial arts film. Wei Pai, as the Snake (in a role originally intended for a woman), is a particular standout and will make one wish he'd been able to have a longer career after this. If you've never seen a Shaw Brothers film before - the incredibly prolific producers of Hong Kong entertainment for three decades, who left an astonishing legacy of cinematic spectacles - The Five Deadly Venoms will serve as a fine introduction. -- Tamara Lees