THE JADE FACED ASSASSIN (1971) #63

THE JADE FACED ASSASSIN (1971)

Released April 9th, THE JADE FACED ASSASSIN (1971) is the first movie adaptation of (pen name) Gu Long’s extremely popular wuxia novel: Jue Dai Shuang Jiao which has been called in English: The Proud Twins, Two Peerless Heroes, The Legendary Siblings, etc. It was produced by Sir Run Run Shaw, scripted by Wong Fung [The Golden Knight (1970)], and directed by Yan Jun [The Iron Buddha (1970)] who, this time, does not use or at least does not credit an action director which is surprising considering the popularity of this stand-alone novel from Gu Long but we shall see what we shall see, eh? Let me point out from the outset that the twins are both male in the novel but Sir Run Run Shaw went for the female lead as is his usual choice so one twin is female and the other is male. Okay, let’s get busy!

The Chang Chuen Clan Creed

The head master of the Chang Chuen Clan had bestowed the Clan leadership to his most senior male student, Chang Chun on his deathbed. This is done in the Jiang Hu by handing over a badge known as the Headmaster's Creed. Unfortunately Chang Chun was not the most skillful of his pupils. That honor went to the older of his three daughters. While the second daughter feel in love with Chang Chun, he had an affair and twin children with the youngest daughter and he had no choice after their master’s death but to take his family and run for their lives. But before he left, he sent a message to his foster brother the hero, Lian Lan Yan informing him of his plight and asking for help.

Chang Chun, his wife and twin infants had only gone a short way when The Weird Four of Lao Shan ambushed them, taking the Chang Chuen Clan Creed in their possession and were intent on murdering them all. Suddenly, the second elder sister appeared and struck down the whole gang saving them. But when the eldest sister came everything changed. She was the big sister and the highest skilled and by right she should be the clan headmaster so she killed her youngest sister and her husband and grabbed a sword intent on o murdering the twin babies. 

Second Sister (Er Jie)

Eldest Sister (Jie Jie)

However the second sister could not bear the murder of the two infants so she convinced her older sister that they should instead, separate the two siblings and create a situation where they would end up killing each other making for an exquisite revenge. The eldest sister agreed and they went back to their mansion taking the male sibling. Over a period of eighteen years, she raised the child (Hua Yu Chun) as a member of the Chang Chuen Clan and made him vow to find Lian Lan Yan and kill him and any of his family members as sworn enemies of the clan.  

When the Hero Lian Lan Yan finally comes across the scene of the bloodied bodies he finds two survivors: the female infant and Black Face, one of The Weird Four of Lan Shan. Black Face tells Lian Lan Yan that Chang Zhai set him up as a fall guy and is waiting at Happy Valley. Hero Lian leaves Black Face right where he is to die while taking the female infant with him and goes off to Happy Valley to find Chang Zhai.

When Hero Lian gets to Happy Valley he finds a haven for villains and the evil people there promptly trick him and beat him nearly to death. But Lan Cun Xiu, the Poison Scholar has come to Happy Valley to turn over a new leaf, so he deceives the other residents of Happy Valley into letting him keep Hero Lian to use as a human guinea pig while the villains decide to keep the female infant with the intention of raising her and training her to be a champion of evil. However over the course of eighteen years she (Xiao Lu Er) learns her true identity from Lan Cun Xiu and is told to find Chang Zhai and revenge her father's death.

Lily Ho as Xiao Lu Er

Kao Yuen as Hua Yu Chun

Now they both walk the Jiang Hu on a collision course with destiny. I am not going to keep it from you, this is an epic tale, and an adaptation worthy of the original novel and is a must see!

CAST REPORT

the good: Lily Ho Li-Li as Xiao Lu Er. Kao Yuen as Hua Yu Chun. Ku Feng as Lian Lan Yan. Fan Mei-Sheng as Yu Chi Zhou Guang. Violet Pan Ying-Zi as Tse Xin Chan. 

the bad: Chang Pei-Shan as Chang Zhai / Chang Ting Le. Essie Lin Chia as Jie Jie. Chia No as Black Face. Kwok Chuk-Hing as Er Jie

HONORABLE MENTION: Lily Ho Li-Li has captured the spirit of the character Xiao Lu Er from Gu Long's novel and draws us in enough to enjoy the movie. Good acting! 

FIGHT TIME: THE JADE FACED ASSASSIN (1971) is directed by Yan Jun who (according to the credits) doubles as the action director. I counted ten (10) fight scenes including the finale and there is plenty of action here to entertain us along with a great story. I must say though, the action has a low-tech, old fashioned feel (not as slick as say, Tang Chia’s work). Funny thing is, the choreography is very well suited for the feel of the movie and complements the background music and overall style of the film. Good job overall 

HONORABLE MENTION: Liu Chia-Yung has a minor cameo, and I spotted Wang Chung and Yuen Cheung-Yan as extras / stuntmen.

RECOMMENDATION: THE JADE FACED ASSASSIN (1971) is a “must see” and opportunity to experience popular Chinese modern literature without learning to read the most difficult written language (imo) on earth.  As the first adaptation of Gu Long’s very popular novel it should have some collector’s value as well. Get this movie at all cost, don’t say I didn’t tell ya! See you next time!

If you liked this review please comment on the blog, become a follower of the blog, join me on my Facebook account by sending me a message first and then a friend request so I know who I am "friending" (  https://www.facebook.com/Michael529P   ) and like my Facebook page: SHAW Brothers Kung Fu Movies 1965-1986. I thank you and would appreciate it very much!

NEXT UP: THE DUEL (1971)

SWORDSWOMEN THREE (1970) #050

SWORDSWOMEN THREE (1970)

Runme Shaw produced SWORDSWOMEN THREE (1970), released August 5th, written and directed by San Kong (Shen Chiang) with action scenes arranged by Tang Chia and Liu Chia-Liang. The story revolves around a person determined to be the number one swordsman and the head of all the clans in the Jiang Hu even if it means ruining two families to do so. Let's get busy!

In the Jiang Hu there is a martial arts competition held every ten years among the top clans. Should one person win every challenge, then that person is awarded with a plaque from the top clans that reads "Head of Martial Arts". The latest winner of this honor was Xiude Martial Arts Academy's Master Xu Mu Liang. 

A young upstart and founder of the new group called The Green Dragon Clan, Zhu Tian Xiang, wishes to lead the martial world so he challenged Xiude Martial Arts Academy for its position and the plaque. But Master Xu Mu Liang was not at the fort but Zhu Tian Xiang (with a betrayal and insults) forced the master's son, Xu Jin Wu to accept his challenge. Fortunately, young Xu Jin Wu won the match but allowed Zhu Tian Xiang to leave with nothing but a scar for his trouble. 

ZHU TIAN XIANG

XU JIN WU

The Mighty Steel Sword is a legendary weapon used by the great hero Master Han all over the Jiang Hu for the cause of justice. Besides being a sword of the finest quality it has two unique attributes, one for each side of the sword. On one side, the entire surface of the sword allows blood to drain down from the blade making it a self cleaning sword. On the other side is a powerful magnet powered by the users own chi (life-force) allowing the user to disarm his opponent. Unfortunately, the great hero Master Han has died having fallen victim to an unknown illness. He is survived only by his three daughters.

After his defeat, it is suggested to Zhu Tian Xiang by his betrayal accomplice, Li Chi Liang to steal the legendary weapon, The Mighty Steel Sword from his fiance's family. It turns out Zhu Tian Xiang is betrothed to Master Han's eldest daughter Han Rou Lan. The sisters are vulnerable because although the family would still be in mourning and still on guard, they would trust Zhu Tian Xiang as family.  Zhu Tian Xiang gets Han Rou Lan to trust him with The Mighty Steel Sword and runs off with it, hoping to use it to defeat Xu Mu Liang.  

Please don't steal it, please don't steal it, please...

Ha!

Ashamed on how badly Zhu Tian Xiang trick her into giving him the Mighty Steel Sword, Han Rou Lan left a note for her two sisters telling them what happened and promising to bring the sword back home. Han Rou Mei and Han Xiao Lian quickly go after their older sister and meet Xu Jin Wu along the way. Xu Jin Wu was on his way to see the three sisters to warn them about Zhu Tian Xiang and is determined to help them retrieve the sword. A chess game of cat and mice plays to an ultimate bloody ending, who do you bet on? 

CAST REPORT

the good: Essie Lin Chia as Han Rou Lan. Shen Yi as Han Rou Mei. Chang Yi as Xu Jin Wu. Pan Ying-Zi as Han Xiao Lan. Yeung Chi-Hing as Xu Mu Xiang.

the bad: Lo Lieh as Zhu Tian Xiang. Lee Wan-Chung as Li Ji-Liang.

HONORABLE MENTION: Fang Mian as Huang Flying Panther. Huang Chung-Hsin as Zhong Pa-Tien of The Three Bullies.

FIGHT TIME: SWORDSWOMEN THREE (1970) has eight (8) fight scenes choreographed by the great team of Tang Chia and the legendary Liu Chia-Liang and it is the quality of these fight scenes that are the most telling of this production (the casting of extras supports this as well e.g. Wu Ma and David Chiang). Although released in 1970 anyone familiar with the work of these two masters can tell this project was completed well before 1970 and released afterwards. So I am justified in giving it a pass on analytical comparison to work actually of this time period. Suffice it to say it is still worthy of the names Tang Chia and Liu Chia-Liang.

HONORABLE MENTION: Essie Lin Chia does a fantastic job in her one on one fight scenes, I was very pleased.

In researching SWORDSWOMEN THREE (1970) I was alerted to some problems viewers had with the narrative. When watching the movie, I also experienced the jolting manner in which the story moved and I attributed this to a lack of smooth transition scenes or segues. When moving the story ahead in time and location, San Kong's characters just appear there without any forewarning. Is it a bad job of editing or did some parts of the story make the cutting room floor because of length -- I don't know. The movie suffers from it though and that's a shame. What we have here is a "mission impossible" style story of suspense with some "interesting" character choices and a real sleazy villain in Lo Lieh's character. Alas, all we can do is bemoan what could have been another Shaw Brothers' classic and encourage casual viewers, if they are to watch this particular movie to watch out for lack of the transitions of plots so the movie will be less jolting. There is no need for collectors to spend money to own this one unless they "gotta have 'em all". See you next time!

If you liked this review please comment on the blog, become a follower of the blog, join me on my Facebook account by sending me a message first and then a friend request so I know who I am friending (  https://www.facebook.com/Michael529P   ) and like my Facebook page: SHAW Brothers Kung Fu Movies 1965-1986. I thank you and would appreciate it very much!

NEXT UP:  THE HEROIC ONES (1970)

ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN (1967)

ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN (1967)

This is how it should be done! I noted in my last review the absence of both Jimmy Wang Yu and Chang Cheh in THE THUNDERING SWORD (1967), the Shaw Brothers' adaptation of Jin Yong's Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber. Well now Shaw Brothers is right back with another Jin Yong adaptation. This time, of the even more popular Return of the Condor Heroes  (which is the novel before or prequel to Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber) and they're doing it "Chang Cheh Style"!

Let me be precise about what they are adapting. In Return of the Condor Heroes the main protagonist Yang Guo is adopted by his father's (Yang Kang) blood brother Guo Jing and taken to Peach Blossom Island to live with Guo Jing and his wife and learn kung fu. Guo Jing has three other students one of them being his own daughter: Guo Fu. She loves and hates Yang Guo (it's complicated) and after they become young adults, eventually cuts off his right arm because he slaps her. They go no further than this. 

And now, the movie... Qi Ru Feng is getting old and is feeling it. known as The Magic Swordsman he is the Grand-master of the Golden Sword School and famous throughout the Jiang Hu as a master of his sword technique and teacher to scores of pupils --some of them quite good, but still he has decided to retire. So he has come face to face with the task of choosing a successor to his school and is deciding that the son of an old servant of his, Gang Kang, whose father had saved his life and was killed for his trouble has more than repaid him by being the most promising young student currently at his school. He is also hoping Gang Kang is willing to marry his daughter, Qi Pei-Er, who is not only not skillful enough to take over for him running the school but is in fact, very spoiled and quite willful. He is planning to make his intentions known at his fifty-fifth birthday party. His family, friends and beloved students will all be there to hear him say it is time to him to hang up his sword and no longer travel the Jiang Hu. It was time.

"You may not fight again but there's many things you could learn. To farm, to fish, great many things --it's just a matter of will. You'll learn if you want to."

What a woman, what a woman. She found Gang Kang having fallen in her boat one cold winter's night. His right arm missing and a bloody mess was where his right arm should have been. Instead of being frightened she took him to her village and then to her home and nursed him back to health. She stayed by his side, silently vowing to always be together, if he would have her. 

This is the story of the One-armed swordsman. A time honored classic about people who learn to become something greater than themselves and those of us who fail. 

This fan favorite wuxia novel of Jin Yong was adapted for the silver screen by non other than Chang Cheh himself along with Ni Huang (later spelled I Huang). Ni Huang a respected wuxia novelist himself is also a respected authority on Jin Yong's works and even wrote a list of Jin Yong's novels in the order of his perceived greatness which again and at the risk of being redundant is very well respected. Obviously they did not disappoint. The all-star-cast head by Jimmy Wang Yu does a great job but Wang Yu really out does himself in capturing what a person raised the way Gang Kang was would react to certain stimuli. (For instance the only time he laughs is after he physically humiliates Gou Fu knowing full well he had no intention of harming her but had been wanting to knock her about for some time and yet, the first time he ever calls her "sister" is only after she cuts off his arm!) Chang Cheh perfectly cast his favorite actor in this movie. Well done all!

Future Star Gazing : I really considered skipping this section all together because it would be easier to name the three stars not in this movie than all the rest of the stars that are in it. Suffice it to say everybody is here!

Fight Time! : The fight choreography in ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN (1967) was done by the superb team of Tong Gaai and Liu Chia-Liang and is so much a part of the story that it should get co-star status. In fact Tong Gaai and Liu Chia-Liang also deserve to be named co-stars for the parts they play in the movie. I countedseven (7) full fight scenes in this movie and they are in half of them. The mirror images of the fighters because the enemy had studied the other's fighting style so perfectly was not lost on me and I understood how the students were at a loss at what to do when they first faced these opponents but the grand-master was not. Great job!

ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN (1967) is historically significant in being the first million dollar grossing film in Hong Kong. It is also considered by many to mark the style of casting a "anti -hero" in martial arts movies as can be seen in Clint Eastwood type westerns. It is the first film in my collection of Shaw Brothers martial arts movies that has the male lead getting top billing over the women stars! The story line is very strong, it is action packed and the martial art techniques figure into the story as well as the character of both the protagonists and antagonists. This is clearly a must see movie for fans and collectors! It gets my most enthusiastic recommendation! See you next time!

NEXT UP:

 RETURN OF THE ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN (1969)