Director Chor Yuen was on a stunning
streak of some of the best Wuxia films ever made and for many of them Gu
Long was either the script writer or it was an adaptation of one of his books.
These would include The Magic Blade, Killer Clans, Clans of Intrigue, Death
Duel, Clan of Amazons, The Sentimental Swordsman, The Legend of the Bat,
Swordsman and Enchantress and this one - all produced between 1976 and 1978.
Quite remarkable. Chor Yuen was clearly attracted to the complex and at times
convoluted stories of Gu Long that were full of twists, traps, intrigues,
sacrifice, false identities, action and angst. None more so than this
film. Their symbiotic relationship was nearing the end though as Gu Long
set up his own production company in 1980 and Chor Yuen's period of classic
wuxia films had almost run its course. Tragically, Gu Long suffered from
depression, was an alcoholic and died in 1985 from cirrhosis of the liver
at 47-years old. Of course, his books have continued to be adapted in film
and TV up to the present.
This one isn't held in the same regard as
The Magic Blade, Killer Clans or Clans of Intrigue but it is enormously entertaining
with a plot that swirls around like a merry-go-round before finally stopping
on a note of pain, despair and enlightenment. It is Shaw Brothers and at
this point, Chor Yuen got whoever he wanted and the cast is full of Shaw
stars and familiar character actors. Some die long before you expect them
to, some later on. It is near nihilistic. It is a rivalry between two clans
that goes back so far that no one can remember why - revenge followed by
revenge by revenge for generations. But they hate each other and want to
annihilate one other - leave no one alive.
It is Zhao Wuji's (Ti Lung) wedding day
and he is dueling another swordsman (Norman Tsui) before the wedding because
that is what swordsman do. Zhao wins but allows his opponent to go - I won't
kill anyone on my wedding day. His kindness is later repaid in blood. As
the ceremony to his bride (Hsiao Yao) is about to begin, an envoy from the
hated Tang Clan shows up and makes an offer of 10,000 taels of gold to anyone
who takes the head of the leader of the Zhao clan. Not exactly the wedding
gift one might expect. A few minutes later the leader (Ching Miao) exits
the film as well as his head. One of his top men (Ku Feng) has betrayed the
clan and gone over to the Tang's. With a head in a box.
That is just the set-up for what comes next.
Zhao Wuji manages to pass himself off as a friend of a dead member of the
Tang clan - dead because he killed him. The Tang's are masters of poison
- all different kinds - some that kill you instantly - a three-day poison
- a seven-day poison - a poison for every celebration. Like Hallmark. Zhao
has two goals - kill the traitor but also discover where the poison is being
manufactured and destroy it. The leader of the Tang's is played by Lo Lieh
who we first spot cowering under a table but no one is what they seem. On
their team are also Chan Shen, a blind man whose eyeballs are miniature bombs,
Johnny Wang, Derek Yee and two of them who want to distance themselves from
their clan but cannot - Yueh Hua and Shih Szu. Zhao is on his own and keeps
being tested to check if he is really the person he says he is - one test
being ordered to kill his bride.
The message behind all this from Chor is
that violence solves nothing - revenge solves nothing - in the end it is
never worth it - the sacrifice is too much. It is all shot in the studio
with glorious colors, beautiful sunsets, nearly dreamlike at times - Chor
preferred shooting inside where everything was under his control. The action
is choreographed by Huang Pei-chih and Tong Kai. Two of the best. Tong's
long time partnership with Lau Kar-leung had come to an end and he was now
working with Huang on many of these wuxia films of Chor Yuen. The action
is very clean, graceful and plentiful with Ti Lung primarily using a spear
to fend off and kill dozens of men.
