Between Arrow Video and 88 Films, some of the best and most exciting films in martial arts history have made their way to North American shores in these beautiful, fully-loaded special editions. Arrow recently announced the second volume of their Shawscope collection, and 88 Films has unleashed The Flying Guillotine 2, aka Palace Carnage (1978).
From directors Hua Shan and Cheng Kang, this is an insanely fast-paced follow-up to the classic The Flying Guillotine (1975). The first film is one of Quentin Tarantino’s favorites but does the sequel live up to the original’s reputation? I guess we will have to dig a little deeper to find out.
The Qing emperor Yung Cheng (Ku Feng) continues to rule with an iron fist, and the Han people are being punished in part. Life looks bleak for them until Ma Teng (Ti Lung) comes along. With the deadly guillotine weapon, Teng learns to thwart their attacks until a new version is created. The emperor enlists the help of a group of female freedom fighters to combat the resistance but is unaware that the female leader is very much out to bring him down and end his reign of terror.
What’s great about The Flying Guillotine 2 is the pacing. It’s non-stop madness and action during the entire 92-minute runtime. The fight choreography was top-notch, with some rather exhilarating sequences. As with many fight films of the era, the story is pushed to the back burner for martial arts madness.

There’s plenty of blood and severed limbs to feed the appetite, which blends in perfectly with how fast and furious the choreography is. Ti Lung is such a legend in the genre, and it’s always great seeing him in a film I’d never had the chance to experience.
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As with all the 88 Asia Collection titles, the special features are terrific. Once again, there’s new artwork from “Kung Fu Bob” O’Brien, a collector’s booklet with notes by Barry Forshaw, a double-sided poster, an HD transfer from the original negative, an English dubbed edition, a Mandarin subtitled edition, audio commentary with Asian cinema experts Arne Venema and Mike Leeder, trailer, and a reversible sleeve featuring the original Hong Kong poster artwork.
It’s always a pleasure digging into these releases, and The Flying Guillotine 2 is no exception. It’s a Ti Lung showcase, which sold this one for me.
