This Shaw Brothers wuxia is quite
good with well-choreographed sword action throughout but the lengthy one-on-one
fight at the end is a classic. Down and dirty with both combatants giving
no quarter in their attempt to kill each other and just when you think it
is over someone else shows up and just when you think he will get away more
guys show up to fight. It is all shot with a rickety turning wooden windmill
in the background like some old Western and eventually it comes into play
in a gruesome satisfying manner. The major male star of the film is Chao
Hsiung who I am not very familiar with. Most of his credits seem to be small
roles but perhaps director Ho Meng-hua liked him. Chao was to get the lead
role in Ho's next film, The Golden Lion. He is closing in on middle age and
not particularly handsome but he acquits himself well in the action scenes.
His female co-star is Li Ching and though she is only slightly larger than
a bread box has performed some action in other films. Sadly, not here. Strictly
the girl in distress role.
Chief Wan (Lee Pang-fei) who runs a security
company comes to his old friend Chief Fan (Yang Chi-ching) who also runs
a security company and asks to borrow a few men as he is transporting a shipload
of valuable jewels. Why do you need my men, Fan asks - I am getting old and
can't do what I could before with my Golden Sword. Ok, take these three men.
Of course, Fan sets up an ambush along with the rascal Tu Ba (Wang Hsieh)
and all the men are killed including Wan, though not till he has killed loads
of the ambushers. Some good friend. Being a minion in one of these security
companies had to rank as the most dangerous job back then. In every film
I have seen, they all get killed. I hope they have life insurance.
Wan's son Chao Fan (Hsiung) is a Constable
who investigates the ambush but he along with his father - buried and hidden
- are accused of the crime and he has to go on the run. And it is action
scene after action scene - it only slows down when the mistress (Kong Ling)
of Chief Fan tries to seduce Chao Fan with the old I am naked in your bed
ploy. And of course, Li Ching walks in and runs away crying. She does a lot
of that when she isn't screaming when she thinks she sees a ghost. The film
gets very twisty and turny with a bunch of people after the jewels - one
covered head to toe in what looks like a black burqa - and no
one is really sure who has them. Betrayals are expected all around. The choreography
from Simon Chui Yee-ngau is topnotch with some one on a group fights and
one on ones. Some fine kills included and the wire work was kept to a minimum
but I enjoyed when Chao Fan runs across lily pads in a pond. If Li Ching
at some point had picked up a sword and killed a few hundred people this
might be a classic.
