Master Tit-kiu Sam (Ti Lung), the leader of the Ten Tigers of Canton, is the chief coach of China's militia. At that time, the opium ban was in use, but public sale of opium was widely available. Many bureaucrats were taking opium, a trend that Tit followed. As Tit takes opium, his physical skills were declining. Seeing how Tit's skills are declining, opium store owner Wing Fung (Chen Kuan-tai) challenges Tit to a public duel. Tit struggles to fight Wing and was in serious danger until his disciple Lo Kwa-sei (Robert Mak) steps in to rescue him before dying from his injuries. Seeing his disciple killed by Wing, Tit vows to seek revenge.
Adam Tyner of DVD Talk rated the film 4 stars out of 5 and writes "Opium and the Kung-Fu Master is outstanding, bolstered by an onslaught of startling action sequences and a remarkably effective undercurrent of addiction".[2] Sylvia Rorem of Hong Kong Cinemagic gave the film a positive review and writes: "Opium and the Kung Fu Master is not simply a light piece of chop socky entertainment. While it is not a life-changing film, it is a solid, quality kung fu drama that can stand up to repeated viewings".[3]
References
^Laamann, Lars (interviewee), Robertson, Jon (filmed by) (19 December 2023). The Addiction of Empire: An interview with Chinese history academic, Professor Lars Laamann (Blu-ray). Shout Factory. Event occurs at 0:40.
