THE DUEL (1971) #64

THE DUEL (1971)

Released on April 21^st, THE DUEL (1971) is yet another well-loved movie produced by the elder brother Shaw: Runme Shaw. It is written by, surprise, surprise Chiu Kang-Chien, the writer of THE SINGING KILLER (1970) but not so surprisingly, also the writer of THE BELLS OF DEATH (1968). THE DUEL (1971) is a tale of intrigue set on the backdrop of the birth of The Republic of China. The great Chang Cheh is the director working once again with the action direction team of Yuen Cheung-Yan and Tang Chia putting in their most exciting work to date! Let’s get busy!

Ti Lung as Tang Ren Jia

David Chiang as Jian Nan, the Rambler  and  Cheng Kang-Yeh as Xiao Mao

On the surface of it THE DUEL (1971) is a tale of a fateful duel between two fighters. Tang Ren Jie is fighting to avenge his godfather’s death at the hands of a journeyman in the underworld (the Rambler), Jian Nan, a highly skilled fight with no ties to any one gang and as such can be persuaded to help one gang or another. In this case however, Jian Nan is deceived in killing Tang Ren Jie’s godfather, Shen Tian Hung, an elder gang boss who is actually retiring from the criminal life after taking revenge for a friend of his who was also killed recently. Jian Nan must fight Tang Ren Jie but he is sorrowful for what he feels is an unworthy kill for him since his victim was going to retire from the gang life and become a civilian. 

Tang Ren Jie saves Jian Nan's life during a battle

THE DUEL (1971) takes place during “The Warlord Era” or the period after the Qing Dynasty from 1916 to 1927. Whether they were called warlords or bandits or gangsters, these people wrecked havoc on life in Mainland China where it was a “man’s world” and if you were weak or a woman you could be forced to do whatever you were told and corruption was everywhere and justice was whatever the powerful said it was. I mention this because the more you know of China and this era the more there is for you to experience in THE DUEL (1971), it is that deep.  There are double crosses galore and everybody has deep characterization if you care to look for it. A look at life in China after the Qing Imperial government and before Communist Party rule, THE DUEL (1971) is a must have for everyone's library of Asian films.   

Chuen Yuen steals this scene but ONLY if you are paying attention to details

CAST REPORT

the “good”:  Ti Lung as Tang Ren Jie. David Chiang as Jian Nan, the Rambler. Chang Kang-Yeh as Xiao Mao. Ku Feng as Tang Jen Lin. Wang Ping as Hu Die.

the bad: Chuen Yuen as Gan Wei Bin. Hung Lau as Shiu Li. Wang Ching Ho as Jau Hai Shan. Lee Wan-Chung as Senator Fung.

HONORABLE MENTION: Chuen Yuen is absolutely repulsive as the big bad, excellent acting especially when you are not suppose to focused on him. 

FIGHT TIME: THE DUEL (1971) was choreographed by the fight team of Tang Chia and Yuen Cheung-Yan. Their design style could certainly be called “fast and furious” and it was again difficult for me to grab screen shots of action without any blur. They also like to keep multiple fights working simultaneously making for some very exciting scenes where you could get caught up in just trying to follow everything. I counted twelve (12) fight scenes making this one of the most fight filled movies to date. No wonder this one is a fan favorite!
HONORABLE MENTION: The all-star cast of henchmen used throughout the film. Including: Liu Chia-Yung, Yuen Woo Ping, Fung Hak-On, Cliff Lok, Wang Chung, Yuen Shun-Yi, Chen Kuan-Tai, Bruce Tong Yim-Chaan, and more!

RECOMMENDATION: Any Shaw Brothers, David Chiang and Ti Lung co-starring project needs no one's recommendation, especially mine. It is entertaining and collectible. It is automatically a must-see and a must-have. 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 EUNUCH (1971)

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)

SIX ASSASSINS (1971) #62

SIX ASSASSINS (1971)

KOREAN POSTER

SIX ASSASSINS (1971) released March 25th, was written and directed by Walter Chung Chang-Hwa produced by Shin Sang-Ok and Sir Run Run Shaw. Shot in Taiwan, it is a twist of THE MAGNIFICENT 7 with a splash of  CHUSHINGURA: THE 47 RONIN, wuxia movie! Let's get busy. 

Yun Il-Bong as Lord Zheng Guo Li Min

Chen Feng-Chen as Lord Ding Yuan

Lord Zheng Guo Li Ming is a feudal lord and land owner but most importantly he is the emperor's brother. Unfortunately Lord Li Ming is also a tyrant and his treatment of his servants have them running to the neighboring estate, the estate of Lord Zheng Shou Zhen Ding Yuan. 

Lord Li Ming refuses to accept this defiance from lowly peasants and personally travels to the Ding Yuan estate to confront one such family and robs and murders them. He then orders the boundary marker to be moved to expand his estate but Lord Ding Yuan arrives to confront him and demands he move the marker back and leave his land. This enrages the emperor's brother and he murders Lord Ding Yuan right on the spot. As Lord Ding Yuan lies dying though, he orders his men to not do anything. 

Shum Lo as Minister Cui Yin

The case lands before Minister Cui Yin by virtue of written petitions and before hearing from either estate representative in person he decides in favor of the emperor's brother Lord Li Ming. Minister Cui decides that Lord Zheng Shou Zhen Ding Yuan was in the wrong and his son will not inherit his title and will forfeit his father's estate. When Minister Ruan Yi-Cheng arrives at the capital representing the Ding Yuan estate, the edit against them has been drafted already but Minister Ruan Yi-Cheng begs Minister Cui to delay the issuing of the edit for one month so he may prepare the people of Wei City for the outcome and avoid any unrest. Under the conditions laid out by Minister Ruan Yi-Cheng, Minister Cui agrees to the one month delay BUT Minister Ruan has lied! 

Fang Mian as Ruan Yi-Cheng

Minister Ruan Yi-Cheng's real intention for the one month delay is to plan and execute the assassination of the emperor's brother hoping that with his brother dead, the emperor  would withdraw the edit and allow Lord Ding Yuan's son to keep his inheritance. To this cause, he has enlisted the help of Hero Mu Jun-Jie to help with the planning because the murder must not take place on either lord's estate for it to work. Adding further to the danger is not only Lord Li Ming's two personal body guards but his protector is none other than Captain of the Imperial Guard, Qiu Zhang-Sheng! Ladies and gentlemen -- get your popcorn ready!

CAST REPORT

the good: Ling Yun as Hero Mun Jun-Jie. James Nam Gung-Fan as Fu Cheng. Lily Li as Sun Mei-Zhen.

the bad: Yun Il-Bong as Lord Zheng Guo Li Ming. Kao Ming as Captain Qiu Zhang-Sheng. Tong Tin-Hei as Lord Li-Ming personal body guard.

HONORABLE MENTION: Introducing in his very first movie: Chan Shen as Yu Li-De, Lord Li-Ming personal body guard. Bruce Tong Yim-Chaan, Luk Chuen, Sammo Hung, Someno Yukio and Lam Ching-Ying have small roles as fighters. 

Introducing: Chan Shen 

FIGHT TIME: SIX ASSASSINS (1971) is credited by HKMD (Hong Kong Movie Database) as directed by Walter Chung Chang-Hwa with no credit given to any action director. I must say, under these circumstances, the action is top notch and state of the art for 1971.  The techniques are clear, easy to follow, realistic and entertaining. Each participant has their own flavor about their fight style and I am hard to imagine anyone being disappointed with the five (5) actions scenes I counted. This is not action-packed, but never-the-less, the movie is still well paced. There are both weapons and empty handed combat on display. Well done!

HONORABLE MENTION: James Nam Gung-Fan's fight scenes are very flashy and suitable for his character which is a parallel to Robert Vaughn's character from the Magnificent Seven.

Lily Li

RECOMMENDATION: SIX ASSASSINS (1971) is a nice eastern western romp for any slow Saturday afternoon when one has a touch of kung fu fever that needs a fix. In addition it is collectible as the character actor, Chan Shen's first movie. He is well used in almost every classic Shaw Brother's movie whether action or comedy. Well, that's my review, 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 JADE FACED ASSASSIN (1971)

THE NEW ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN (1971) #60

THE NEW ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN (1971)

Shaw Brothers Studios' history speaks for itself. It successes in the film industry are legend and it's one of the few movie companies that can get you sick and tired of hearing someone say the word "classic" after hearing the title of a movie produced by that very studio. But still (I always wanted to say that!) they were not perfect in every decision and, so --a lack of belief and insufficient monetary reward caused them to lose one of their biggest stars after 1970. In 1971 Shaw Brothers decided to re-launch one of their biggest hits without its original star. 

"The king is dead, all hail the king!" Jimmy Wang Yu is gone and producer Runme Shaw has a new sheriff in town and his name is David Chiang in the form of THE NEW ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN (1971) released February 7th. The brand new script is written by wuxia specialist I Kuang and directed by frequent collaborator Chang Cheh. The action direction is by the team of Liu Chia-Liang and Tang Chia and as in the original also features a brand new weapon. Let's get busy!

Lung Yi  Zhi had long been a hero of the Jiang Hu and a defender of the underdog at least in the public eye. But "Big Hero Lung" as he was known had a dirty little secret (or two or three). Once Lung Yi Zhi had come up a bit in age he became insecure about his reputation as top fighter in the Jiang Hu. Among the young and up-coming fighters were the users of the two-sword fighting technique that seemed quite popular among the other young fighters. Lung Yi Zhi carefully constructed a weapon (a three-sectioned staff) and counter techniques to defeat this new style of swordplay but the problem still remained how to keep his name as top fighter valid and his reputation as defender intact all at the same time. He could hardly start challenging the younger swordsmen without being considered a bully. 

Sadly, he began to fabricate situations  revolving around these young fighters, and then swoop in "to the rescue" and defeat them. Rather than kill his young opponents he would "punish" them by having them chop off their own right arms and swear to retire from the Jiang Hu forever. He would often rob a security escort's cargo and use his men to blame the targeted swordsman. He would then return the cargo after "punishing" the young swordsman even further raising his status as a hero. The punished swordsmen would never speak of the incident to anyone out of their very own shame. Over the years it has added up to quite a number of young swordsmen. Soon it would be the young hero Lei Li's turn. Lei Li used a long saber and a shorter companion knife. However his reputation for his arrogance almost outmatched his reputation for his swords skills. Our story begins as the hero Lei Li falls into Lung Yi Zhi's web of deceit.

CAST REPORT

the good: David Chiang as Lei Li. Ti Lung as Hero Fung. Li Ching as Ba Jiao.

the bad: Ku Feng as Lung Yi Zhi. Chen Sing as Chief Chan Chun Nam.

 HONORABLE MENTION: Wang Chung, Lau Gong, Huang Pei-Chih, Wang Kuang-Yu, Cheng Lui, Bruce Tong Yim-Chaan, Yau Ming, Liu Chia Yung and Cheng Kang-Yeh.

Replacing Jimmy Wang Yu as the new one-armed swordsman is David Chang as Lei Li going with a different type of character for the lead this time. Ti Lung is very much a co-star replacing Lisa Chiao Chiao's character as the influential person in the one-armed swordsman's life. Ti Lung's character is named Fung Jun Jie and is a rash young swordsman also inexperienced as was Lei Li. The two characters immediately relate to one another and the strong chemistry between the two actors makes this an old school bro-mance and communicates the necessary emotions as we move along in the story. Li Ching is Ba Jiao: the love interest and is the only woman in the movie so I guess she serves so we "don't get the wrong idea --not that there's anything wrong with that" as to the hero's preference.  She is also, along with the eatery keeper, responsible for an unintentional laugh when he suggests the ruffians only wanted "to have some harmless fun" with her. Yeah right! 

For the "bad guys" Ku Feng is fantastic as the very complex Lung Yi Zhi the aging hero swordsman who keeps crossing the line to keep his status in the Jiang Hu but always wanting to jump back over to the side of righteous. A slippery slope indeed. Roles such as this usually go to Tien Feng or more veteran actors but Ku Feng was excellent casting as history has shown us. Chen Sing is also a villain of note being the Chief of Tiger Mansion where a lot of the action takes place. 

FIGHT TIME!: Liu Chia Liang and Tang Chia (Tong Gaai) are back as the action choreographers. I counted six (6) full fight scenes not including little short scrimmages, so there is plenty of action but is it me or was there an attempt to tone down the carnage compared to the last version? but having just seen RETURN OF THE ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN (1969) last week as opposed to seeing them two years apart, the carnage was a bit more vicious and varied in Return Of Then One-Armed Swordsman than in THE NEW ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN (1971). Well as least to me. However the techniques were a bit more sophisticated in The New One-armed Swordsman, but then, all of the players this time around were much more martially inclined than Mr. Wang Yu, no offence of course. Over all, the techniques and combinations were now much more difficult in their execution and so the action is starting to favor a more knowledgeable fan base as it pertains to martial arts and as history shows, the trend continued. Also of note neither Liu Chia Liang nor Tang Chia made an on-screen appearance. They both usually do at least an cameo in a martial capacity of some sort. I don't know if this means anything, though. 

RECOMMENDATION

Chang Cheh directed and I Kuang (Ni Kuang) was the lone script writer this time around. Over-all after the much much more of "The Return",  "The New" just seems like much much less. But by no means does "much much less " mean bad. By no stretch of the imagination is this a bad movie. Nor have I read any review or heard any fan say anything of the sort. So, what happened? Why no sequel? Why no continuation of the franchise with the new stars?

For my money they should have at least done one more sequel with everything amped up. Alas they did not. Does anybody know why? What ever the reception was of THE NEW ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN (1971), TRIPLE IRONS (1973) clearly cemented the kung fu craze of the seventies in the United States.Movies theaters started specializing in kung fu double and triple features. We demanded more and we got it. I recommend THE NEW ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN (1971) without hesitation or reservation. 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: MISSION IMPOSSIBLE (1971)