REVIEW #003: COME DRINK WITH ME (1966)

REVIEW #003: 

COME DRINK WITH ME (1966)

October 1965 saw the first release of Shaw Brothers’ new genre of movies "wuxia" : TEMPLE OF THE RED LOTUS and in December of the same year a sequel followed: THE TWIN SWORDS. It would not be until the spring of 1966 that Sir Run Run Shaw would produce the next Shaw Brothers’ wuxia movie: COME DRINK WITH ME.

Released on April 7^th, 1966, COME DRINK WITH ME is an adaptation of a Beijing Opera called The Drunken Beggar. In fact, the Chinese translation of the actual title of this movie is Da Zui Xia or Big Drunken Hero. It’s director, King Hu Chin-Chuan also co-wrote the screenplay with newcomer Ting Shan-Hsi (who some sources say also co-directed the film). Han Ying-Chieh served as action director and played a small role in the film. This, Shaw Brother’s third wuxia film would become so well known that it is often mistaken as their first. We shall see why the film is a bona fide classic and is so well loved. Let’s get busy!

A highly skilled and well-organized group of bandits have suffered a defeat at the hands of the provincial governor’s troops, who capture the bandit’s leader and sentence him to death. The remaining bandits kidnap the governor’s son with the intent to trade the governor’s son for the return of their leader and write a petition outlining this request along with a deadline of five days. The governor’s military commander, who also happens to be his daughter, intercepts the petition and offers the bandits another option: release her older brother and surrender in exchange for leniency from the governor –or die!

In the midst of this turmoil is a drunken beggar and a Buddhist abbot fighting over the leadership of a clan whose grand master has died. As they each choose opposing sides, this story has just gotten even more interesting, thus a classic is born!  

Yueh Hua as Fan Ta Pei aka Drunken Hero

Yuen Chi-Hing as Abbot Liao Kung

CAST REPORT:

the good: Cheng Pei Pei as Commander Chang aka Golden Swallow. Yueh Hua as Fan Ta Pei aka Drunken Hero (Drunken Cat) 

the bad: Chen Hung-Lieh as Jade-Faced Tiger. Lee Wan-Chung as Smiling Tiger Tsu Kan. Yueng Chi-Hing as Abbot Liao Kung.

 HONORABLE MENTION: Cheng Pei Pei screen presence is absolutely fascinating to behold. A true movie star!

Simon Yuen Siu-Tin

SPOTTED: Simon Yuen Siu-Tin seasoned action director and actor in independent films including Wong Fei Hung films and destined to become best known in the United States as Sam Seed, the Drunken Master.  His career spanned 325 films and 30 years (1949 to 1979) according to Hong Kong Movie Database.

Han Ying-Chieh  ACTION DIRECTOR

FIGHT TIME: All right, time for my favorite part of the movie review: the fights! Han Ying-Chieh is the fight choreographer for COME DRINK WITH ME (1966) and I counted six (6) major fight scenes pretty much evenly distributed throughout the film. However, they are not all created equal. The first fight scene is the raid on the prisoner’s procession where they kidnap the governor’s son. This fight is brutal, cruel and “economically” shows the viciousness of this group of bandits. 

Golden Swallow's "game face"!

Golden Swallow has three major fight scenes and they are masterpieces of effective double dagger combat against multiple opponents. Drunken Hero Fan Ta Pei has two major fight scenes that work when his martial arts are displayed at the level of master, however when the film tries to depict grand master level skills, the film technology of 1966 just doesn’t do it justice but it is both understandable and forgivable. 

HONORABLE MENTION: Han Ying-Chieh has a small role as a henchman but is the action director of record for COME DRINK WITH ME (1966). However, it seems to me the director King Hu Chin-Chuan gets all the credit for how great the movie is but the fight choreography is always mentioned in the reviews of this undisputed classic. I think it should be a bit more balanced but it is just my opinion. 

RECOMMENDATION: “Mama told me there’d be days like this…” There will be movies such as this that are undisputed classics and as such no recommendations are necessary. Whether you are a collector or casual viewer of films, COME DRINK WITH ME (1966) is a "must see" and "must have". 'Nuff said!

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NEXT UP: KNIGHT OF KNIGHTS (1966)

THE EUNUCH (1971) #65

THE EUNUCH (1971)

Released May 12^th, THE EUNUCH (1971) is the creative work of prolific screenwriter Lo Wei who surprisingly did NOT direct this movie himself but instead works with brand new director Teddy Yip Wing-Cho. The action director is Simon Chui Yee-Ang and the man that put it all together is the great producer Runme Shaw. This is a very straightforward story of treachery and revenge somewhat based on historical fact. All right, let’s get busy!

Pai Ying is THE EUNUCH

From the middle of the Zhou Dynasty (6^th century B.C.) to the end of Imperial China in the Qing Dynasty (1912 A.D.) the Emperors of China did not trust men and their carnal desires and so used Eunuchs to work in the palace close to their concubines so there was no chance of sexual impropriety in the court. Unfortunately the Eunuchs found other ways to betray the trust and misuse the emperor’s power that was uniquely theirs. The eunuchs were hated with a passion that is often reserved for those that are "different" and so there are many such stories in Chinese history about their misdeeds. This is just one of them that is also one of revenge. Please enjoy it,... if you can. 

Chung Wah as the Imperial Crown Prince Zhu Jin

Yeung Chi-Hing as Prince Jin's teacher

CAST REPORT

the good: Lisa Chiao Chiao as Yan Yan. Chung Wah as Crown Prince Zhu Jin. Yeung Chi-Hing as Old man, Man Gongsun, Zhu Jin’s teacher. Yung Yuk-Yi as Old woman master, Yan Yan’s teacher.

the bad: Pai Ying as The Eunuch, Gui Dehai. Wang Hsieh as General Ye Zicong. James Tien as General’s guard. Yeung Chak-Lam as General’s guard. Little Unicorn as General’s guard.  

HONORABLE MENTION: Sammo Hung as first challenger in contest. 

Lisa Chiao Chiao as Yan Yan

Yung Yuk-Yi as Yan Yan's teacher

FIGHT TIME: THE EUNUCH (1971) was choreographed by Simon Chui Yee-Ang by himself (he often shares the chores with Sammo Hung) the last time he choreographed by himself was on A Taste Of Cold Steel (1970) and he once again does a great job and even improves on his previous work. I counted six (6) fight scenes including the extra long finale but I never felt bored at any time during the film. I loved his work most notably with the pole and Lisa Chiao Chiao’s solo fight at the temple was fierce!

HONORABLE MENTION: Not only was Simon Chui Yee-Ang’s choreography top quality but Lisa Chiao Chiao’s performance during her solo fight at the temple equally exceptional. I totally believed each killing technique and I also believed her taking on such a large number of men at one time with a combination of skill and rage!! Bravo!

Lisa Chiao Chiao after she realizes she has been played...

RECOMMENDATION: THE EUNUCH (1971) is an emotionally charged journey of Chinese history that is well worth watching. In addition, it is Teddy Yip Wing-Cho’s first directed movie and since he goes on to direct (and write) THE THUNDER KICK (1974), (direct only) SLEEPING FIST (1979) and (direct only) THE THUNDERING MANTIS (1980) it is, at least in my opinion a collectible conversation piece for kung fu flick lovers of all ages. So, overall I’m going to say it is a must-have and certainly a must-see as an interesting part of Shaw Brothers and karate / kung fu movie history. See you next time!

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NEXT UP: THE GOLDEN SEAL (1971)

VENGEANCE! (1970) #049

VENGEANCE! (1970)

Chang Cheh is back and he is once again turning the new wuxia genre on its head with his creativity. Producer Runme Shaw presents VENGEANCE! (1970), released on May 14th it was directed by Chang Cheh, written by Chang Cheh and frequent co-writer I Kuang. The action is directed by Tang Chia and Yuen Cheung-Yan, two of the best in the business working together once again. Let's get busy!

Guan Xiao Lou is a man on fire as he sets out to kill everyone involved with the murder of his older brother over their desire for his older brother's unfaithful wife. 

CAST REPORT

the good: Ti Lung as Guan Yu Lou. David Chiang as Guan Xiao Lou. Wang Ping as Hua Zheng Fang. 

the bad: Alice Au Yin-Ching as Hua Zheng Fen. Ku Feng as Feng Kai Shan. Yeung Chi-Hing as Jin Zhi Quan. Chuen Yuen as Adjutant Gao Hong Tu. Hoh Ban as Generalissimo Hu Hu Cheng. Wong Ching-Ho as Yin Nan Ting. Chen Sing as Li Qi.

HONORABLE MENTION: This is Chen Kuan-Tai first appearance in a Shaw Brothers movie. Wang Kuang-Yu, Cheng Lui, Wang Chung, Cliff Lok, Yuen Woo-Ping, and Jason Pai Piao also have small roles as henchmen.

CHEN KUAN-TAI

WANG KUANG-YU

CHENG LUI

WANG CHUNG

CHEN SING

FIGHT TIME: VENGEANCE (1970) starts a new sub-genre in the category of wuxia films: namely modern kung fu. The movie takes place in the twentieth century, so the weapons and techniques used are more up to date than those wuxia tales of the dynasties of ancient China. Tang Chia and Yuen Cheung-Yan do the action direction that mostly involve hatchets, small throwing knives and huge bowie like knives. I counted four (4) fight scenes but there is still plenty of action throughout the movie. Excellent work!

HONORABLE MENTION: Ti Lung's athleticism in his youth is showcased in his opera performance, don't miss this! 

Chang Cheh has done it again! VENGEANCE (1970) is another Shaw Brothers classic movie that is truly deserving of the designation "classic". There are so many firsts and guest stars and cameos of future stars in this movie it is an instant collectors item. As far as the movie watching experience, it is a rather grim but entertaining and thought provoking showcase that no one should miss! See you next time!

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THE SWORDMATES (1969)

THE SWORDMATES (1969)

THE SWORDMATES (1969) is a short uncomplicated film that was probably intended as the second film of a double feature. Runme Shaw produced this movie that has two directors (Cheung Ying and Poon Fan) and two Script writers (Poon Fan and Chin Ko) but no action directors. Let's get busy.

There's not much work for me here as the producers have provided a plot summary for the audience on screen but, for the sake of convenience, I will reproduce it here.

"In the dawn of the 15th century during the reign of the Ming Emperor Zheng De, the ambitious King An Hua of Ning Xia province conspired with the neighboring Ai Xin Jue Luo Tribe to overthrow the reign of the Ming. The details of their scheme were hidden in a jade statue of the goddess of mercy: Guan Yin for information transmission. 

Governor Lin intercepted the statue en route and commissioned a dexterous swordmate named Yan-Niang to deliver it to the capitol. Panic stricken, the plotters use all their resources in a desperate attempt to recover the statue. It is against this background that our story is set. " 

CAST REPORT:

The good : Chin Ping as Li Yan-Niang, for sure, the star of the show, with only one other cast member seeming to be having as much fun as she was. Chung Wah as Chao Ying-Chieh, Huang Chung-Hsin as Li Fei-Lung,

The bad : Wang Hsieh as Wang Tian-Piao, Yeung Chi-Hing as Iron Claws Wang Ying, eating up the screen, having a lot of fun this time around as, once again, the great big bad guy! Chiu Hung as Second Brother, Wang Kuang-Yu as Third Brother, Law Hon as Fat Jin-Gang

HONORABLE MENTION: James Tien Chuen and Sammo Hung Kam-Bo as stuntmen / extras

FIGHT TIME: THE SWORDMATES (1969) has no action director credited but is action-packed with eight (8) fight scenes by my count. The fights are surprisingly smooth and easy to follow so one of the directors may have martial arts experience. The quality of the fights are state of the art for 1969 which leaves no reason for them to not be enjoyed.

HONORABLE MENTION: Both Chin Ping and Yeung Chi-Hing performed their techniques with the appropriate enthusiasm for maximum enjoyment. Yeah.   

For what it is, THE SWORDMATES (1969) is fine entertainment for casual viewers of Shaw Brothers and wuxia movies and may be of interest for people collecting the complete works of Sammo Hung Kam-Bo as he is used at least two different times as two different extras in this film. See you next time!

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NEXT UP: THE GOLDEN SWORD (1969)

THE FLYING DAGGER (1969)

THE FLYING DAGGER (1969)

Ladies and gentlemen, the man himself is back, the great Sir Run Run Shaw produces from the "throw back" vault (hence the black and white opening) his trusted director Chang Cheh who writes the script with pal Lee Chi-Sin as they all watch action director team Tang Chia and Liu Chia-Liang slash together the classic film THE FLYING DAGGER (1969). And if you had as much fun reading the preceding bit as I had writing it we might be blood related, let's get busy!

Did you ever have a thought to do something that, while you were thinking it, seemed like a great idea at the time. So you did it. And then, all of this crap comes down after it and you realize you really didn't think it through? You too, huh? Cool, so Yu Ying of the Qiankun Sword Clan (who just happens to be the  daughter of the clan's chief) decides to kill the son of the Green Dragon Clan's Chief who just happens to be Jiao Lei the Flying Dagger...oops! Never mind that his son was a killing, raping and then killing again type of a son-of-a-gun. Parents just don't see their children in that kind of light. 

Chief of the Green Dragon Clan, Jiao Lei the Flying Dagger gets all mad and revengey and starts killing everybody just to get to Yu Ying and for good measure clearly intends to kill her father, Yu Yuan, Chief of the Qiankun Sword Clan as well. So, after killing the legendary Luo Tong and Song Jingang and his four sons, while killing the Song's servants and children a real badass guy shows up with a similar skill set as The Flying Dagger. His name? Yang Qing, badass, mystery man extraodinaire. Ready, set --begin story!

THE FLYING DAGGER (1969) stars Cheng Pei Pei as Yu Ying the well intentioned pursued damsel of our story. Yeung Chi-Hing is the revengey pursuer and father Jiao Lei the Flying Dagger, the mad cap murderer. Lo Lieh is Mr. Badass extraordinaire man of mystery who sometimes seems to help and other times not so much.

HONORABLE MENTION: There are a lot of recognizable faces here: Cheng Miu as Yu Yuan the father of the pursued, Ku Feng as Song Jingang, and even Liu Chia-Liang, Cliff Lok, David Chiang Dai-Wei and Liu Chia-Yung have small cameos. 

FIGHT TIME: The incredible action direction team of Tang Chia and Liu Chia-Liang are responsible for what action we see here as I counted six (6) fight scenes including the rather tame finale. Everybody's fight scenes are well done but I would have liked a bit more in the way of technique in the scenes. However, I found in my research that THE FLYING DAGGER (1969) was actually filmed years earlier and its released delayed but no reason for the delay was given. This helps me to be a bit more forgiving of the relatively sedate nature of the fights as the truth of the matter is we could always use "more".

HONORABLE MENTION: none

THE FLYING DAGGER (1969) at its core is a straight forward pursuit film. It is due to the talents of its co-writers Chang Cheh and Lee Chi-Sin through characterization that we hold our interest throughout the film. In addition, if the film had been released years earlier then I certainly would be making a bigger deal of the use of the Jiang Hu Chivalry and male dominate subplot which at this point (1969) we have already seen at least a couple of times already. That said, I certainly enjoyed THE FLYING DAGGER (1969) and wholly recommend it to viewers and complete collectors alike. See you next time!

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NEXT UP: THE INVINCIBLE FIST (1969)