The Angry River
   
    
Director: Wong Fung
Year:  1971
Rating: 6.0
This film out of Hong Kong is historical on two different counts. It was the first film produced by Golden Harvest. In 1971 the HK film scene was totally dominated by Shaw Brothers, but in 1970 two of its top executives, Raymond Chow and Leonard Ho, broke away and set up their own film production house. They had a very different philosophy as how to go about doing business than the Shaws did. The Shaw Brothers was set up like the old Hollywood studios - even though by the 1960s that studio system had collapsed - in that they had contracts with actors and directors that were for their services for a given period of time - to a large degree these people became indentured servants - well paid ones mind you. Shaw Brothers could tell them what roles to take, they mentored them in acting, fighting, dancing, they showed them what clothes to wear, what hairstyle suited them, promoted them and their careers and in many cases the actors lived on the Shaw premises. As contracts expired some actors would jump ship though for years there wasn't really anywhere to jump to or negotiated their contact again.



But Chow and Ho took a different tack that was much closer to how it was being done in Hollywood. They generally signed actors to a certain number of films or perhaps just one film, they promoted movies more than the actors and they did co-productions often with the actors if they had set up a production company or with other financial investors - often in Taiwan or elsewhere. They spread the risk and at the same time gave actors a better say in their careers. In the same year as this film was made they struck gold in the person of Bruce Lee, who Shaw had turned down. It made the company famous and within a few years they would be doing deals with the Hui Brothers (Michael had left the Shaw's) and then really hit the jackpot with Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung who Shaw had also neglected to sign. Golden Harvest also began doing their films in Cantonese while Shaw was still doing theirs in Mandarin. By the 1980's the Shaw Brothers were getting out of film for TV and Golden Harvest was the premier film company in Hong Kong.



The second historical aspect of this film is that it was the first film (for all intents) of Angela Mao. Before Angela Mao there were certainly other female action stars - Cheng Pei Pei and Polly Shang Kwan to name two of the best - but Angela captured the imagination of HK film fans around the world unlike any other and to this day she is still held in legendary status (with a restaurant in Queens NY). She brought a charisma and an intensity to the screen that few action stars can. She was beautiful with her big wide eyes and lovely features, but never attempted to use her good looks to further her popularity. It was a rare Angela film in which the audience was able to glimpse so much as a bare arm. What she had of course was an incredible athletic prowess that enabled her to perform stunning acrobatics and fights on the screen. Her quick leg kicks and somersaults are a pleasure to watch. Her skills come from natural ability and training - lots of training. At the age of 5 she was enrolled into an Opera School in Taiwan. Some of her classmates were Judy Lee, Charlie Chin and James Tien (all future actors) and she trained for the next 14 years. In 1969 she was spotted by director Huang Feng and signed to a contract at Golden Harvest. Needless to say I am a huge fan of hers and only wish she had been in more good films with higher budgets. She was in a lot of mediocre films and only a few great ones.



This first film from both her and Golden Harvest is solid if far from inspired. It is more wuxia - ie sword fighting - than martial arts which is a shame since Angela was trained in Hapkido and other forms. The basic film is very familiar though it meanders around a bit - but Lan Feng's (Mao) father is poisoned by a dart. The physician tells Mao that the only cure for her father is the black herb which can only be found past the Merciless Pass and the Angry River (which actually explodes it is so angry) into the Soul Valley. By the time she gets there and back a whole lot of dead bodies are strewn over the land - but the film makes (in my opinion) a huge mistake when her kung fu powers are taken away midway and she becomes wimpy just like us and needs a man (Kao Yuen) to save her. Ok, back then she wasn't a star but now it seems like such a lost opportunity - though in fairness she still kills a bunch of bad guys in the finale when her powers come back - the cutting off of a head being a highlight.



The film is directed by Wong Fung who would go on to direct Angela in some of her best films - Lady Whirlwind, Hapkido, When Taekwondo Strikes and Stoner and a few other lesser ones. Doing the action choreography are two of the best - sort of an old and young generation at work. Han Ying-Chieh had such films as Come Drink with Me, Dragon Inn and soon The Big Boss to his credit - and his apprentice was Sammo Hung. There is lots of wuxia elements on hand - using trampolines and wires - but it is more of the sword swing and five guys fall down school. Both Sammo and Han also take on roles as the two top henchmen to the bad guy played by Pai Ying who had been in both Dragon Inn and A Touch of Zen. It is a solid start for Angela and it would soon be followed by three classics in a row - Hapkido, Lady Whirlwind and King Hu's The Fate of Lee Khan.