Though the 1970s remain one of my favorite decades in filmmaking, it also produced a massive amount of truly crappy films, many of which exhibit a particularly ugly visual style (a combination of low-budget lighting styles and film stocks) which was unique to the period. Even the best of 1970s films have a visual style and tone not seen in any other decade. EAST MEETS WEST will never be confused with that latter group, of course. Originally titled DYNAMITE BROTHERS, its exploitational intent was and is clear under either name. Its recipe: rip off the plot of one socially-provocative film, mash up the pieces with two '70s Grindhouse genres (Blaxploitation and martial arts), and serve on the cheap with heaping doses of racism. Some movies simply deserve to be dismantled by comedic commentary, and only the comedic geniuses of Cinematic Titanic could make this mess palatable, not to mention hilarious viewing fun! The Titans show no mercy from the opening credit on, as they say making fun of the production company logo: "We hold these crappy movies to be self-evident!"

Ostensibly, EAST MEETS WATTS pairs a Chinese stowaway just landed in San Francisco with a sharply-dressed soul brother when the two are arrested and handcuffed together by a corrupt, racist cop. Alan Tang plays the Bruce Lee-wannabe stowaway, and his martial arts skills certainly offer more than the terrible script allows beyond speaking with his furious fists. Timothy Brown plays Stud Brown as the street-wise tough guy nabbed by Aldo Ray as the crooked detective Burke. Otherwise excellent character actor James Hong gets mired in this low-rent exploitation flick as a drug king pin attempting to muscle out the black gangs in town with police complicity.

EAST MEETS WATTS is a terrible time capsule of 1970s-era racial tensions and stereotypes magnified (and comically deflated) through the lens of exploitation low-budget indie filmmaking — all material ripe for the picking by our Cinematic Titans. They riff endlessly on the outrageous parade of Disco-tacky costumes and silly street slang dialogue, taking well-deserved comic swipes at the flim's population of Kung Fu-happy Asians, cruelly ignorant rednecks, corrupt cops and slick black brothers.

Fortunately the social inequality overshadowed by even more offensively inept direction by Adamson who brings out the worst in his film by padding it with monotonous scenes running scenes with Stud and Larry during their escape, ethnic gang fights on empty backlot sets, and ridiculous stunt work by fighters who get 'killed' in one battle only to reappear in the next fists-of-phoney rumble.

Not that the film deserves it, but EAST MEETS WATTS looks quite good on the screen considering its age and low-budget film stock. If you appreciate and respect '70s cinema both good and bad, Adamson's flick is a delightfully dreary example of the latter: chock full of badly-lit underexposed shots and color-drained cinematography, its DVD appearance here faithfully preserves every awful, ugly aspect of this hilariously underachieving effort.

The audio is equally dodgy throughout, with long passages of running scenes, chases and fights which get minimal sound effects added over these silent shots. During the opening fight, Mary Jo Pehl notes, "It sounds like they're hitting each other with bags of groceries."One fantastically funny blooper is a somber moment with Larry visiting his brother's grave: listen for the eerie wind blowing through the 'Chinese Cemetery' even though not one leaf stirs in the trees or grass around the actors!

As typical but expected with these Cinematic Titanic DVDs, the menu features are sparse and simple, in this case offering options to play the movie, pick chapters or view seven other CT titles now available on disc. As always, it's the stage performance riffing of the Titans which remains the only special feature fans need to enjoy these satirical send-ups: Joel, Trace, Frank, Mary Jo and J. Elvis do not disappoint with their laugh-earning mistreatment of EAST MEETS WATTS, which richly deserves every barb, insult and punchline dagger thrown its way. In this first "LIVE" DVD release, their split-screen presentation on either side of the 4:3 ratio film shown between the Titans fits 16x9 widescreen TVs perfectly, allowing viewers a good look at the Titans' expressions and jocular interactions (including a six-way spit take!) during the film without overshadowing its presentation. With film image skillfully balanced with on-stage performance, truly the best of both CT worlds are enjoyed in this format. Fans will likely want to focus on the movie and listen to the Titans' commentary upon first viewing, then reverse their attention on a second screening to laugh along with the Titans themselves as they riff, ad-lib and react with their live audience.

This DVD release of EAST MEETS WATTS retains its guffaw-inducing wit and charm after multiple spins in your player, making it one of Cinematic Titanic's best efforts to date. FilmEdge only deducts half-a-star in our review rating thanks to Al Adamson's dreadfully shallow and slimy direction in this martial arts mess — otherwise we write here to praise the Titans, not to blame them! Don't miss out on this comedic gem, it deserves a place in any comedy-lover's library.

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