The Greatest Plot

                                                      
Director: Ulysses Au-Yeung Jun
Year: 1977
Rating: 6.0
Dubbed

Aka - Eight Swordsmen in Kwong Nan

It isn't easy to the kill the Emperor. What initially looks to be a big budget (for Taiwan) martial arts period film, quickly shrinks down in size to a handful of characters. Betrayal and revenge are the main themes. Ching Prince Yung Zhen played by ex-Shaw Brother's star Yueh Hua is in line to possibly become the next Emperor after the previous one dies. He goes to his Han friends and asks them to help him and protect him. In return, he will pass laws making the Hans and the Chings equal. That sounds good to them. At the reading of the will, Yung is named the heir and the other princes are in disbelief and accuse him of forging the will. The Hans dressed as guards quickly cut them down and Yung ascends the throne. He names his good friend Marshall Nien - played by another ex-Shaw star Lo LIeh - to be his main commander.



All these good feelings don't last long - at a dinner party for his Han friends, he first tries to poison them but the one female in the group played by Hsu Feng realizes it and the fight is on against a horde of soldiers. The Emperor it turns out doesn't want his old Han friends around. Only a few of them - including Hsu - are able to escape and swear vengeance against the Emperor and the General. The Emperor slowly descends into a life of sloth and sex constantly surrounding himself with beautiful dancing girls. If he sees a woman he desires and she is married, he simply has the husband killed. Not a bad life really.



One night the drunken General insults the Emperor and in an interesting series of scenes has his positions and ranks taken away from him one step at a time until he is only a guard. On two occasions the Han rebels infiltrate the palace to assassinate the Emperor but he - ie the set designer - has built in a plethora of bizarre booby traps and sharp flying objects - as well as a moving cannister filled with spears. Quite cool. Home security. Hsu Feng - a favorite from her King Hu films - has a large action role. It is directed by Ulysses Au-Yeung Jun. The video I watched was from YouTube and though the picture is quite clear, it feels like parts have been edited out. It comes in at 85 minutes and I saw mention of an 89-minute version.