This
is basically 80-minutes of Chang Cheh wuxia action. There is a plot if you
look closely enough but it could have been written on the back of an envelope.
Considering the script came from Ni Kuang who has hundreds of writer credits
to his name, it just might have been. But sometimes in wuxia films, simple
is good. Instead of a plot dealing with multiple confusing clans all with
hard to remember names, this centers around only one clan with multiple Chiefs
who all have their own power base. They are numbered through eight so they
are easy to remember. So, an easy-to-follow story packed with action and
a fine cast. I will always be up for that. I worry about the day when I have
watched all the Shaw Brothers wuxia films. But I am far from that.
The film could have been named How to Destroy
Your Own Clan without Really Trying. There is betrayal, ambition and deceit
within the Tien Yi Tong Clan. It has always been known as a Clan with a good
reputation for helping people and not doing the evil things clans often do
in these films. No stealing from the poor or pillaging towns. No maniacal
laughs or evil ambitions to be Top of the Martial World. The kind of Clan
I would like to work for. But there is a worm inside the apple and it wants
to change all that. It begins with the Head of the Clan (Lee Sau-kei) meeting
up with his number two man Hung Sing-tien (Chang Pei-shan) for a report.
Hung brings out his flute and says it is inside my flute and unleashes a
barrage of deadly needles into the Head's chest. Dying, he staggers back
to his abode and tells one of his men that he has been betrayed. Go tell
the other Chiefs. Off he goes with the men of Hung in close pursuit. They
find him and kill him. But not before he passes the message on to a man passing
by carrying a dead deer for dinner.
But the man wants nothing to do with the
politics of a Clan. He just wants to be left alone. A solitary man. Until
he gets to his friend's place for a deer dinner and finds them dead. Killed
by Hung and his men. That annoys him and he kills them all. He then goes
home to find Hung waiting for him. Along with the Fifth Chief (Chan Sing)
and the eighth Chief An Bing-e (Li Ching). Little Li Ching at her most evil,
ready to kill at any perceived insult. She tells this man "I am the greatest
beauty in the Martial World". He replies, not for me. Kill him! But of course,
this is no ordinary man. He is Hero Jin (Ti Lung), known to his friends as
King Eagle - a famous martial artist but one who just minds his own business.
He tries but he is pulled in as they send assassins after him. He is saved
by Chief No. Seven Yu-lien, also played by Li Ching - the older sister of
the first Li Ching. If nothing else, this is an equal opportunity Clan -
one of the Chief's is even handicapped with only one arm.
The Clan is divided between those wanting
to take power and those looking for the killer of the Head, not knowing they
are standing in front of them. King Eagle and Yu-lien bond over wounds that
need mending and a little sweet romance is brewing but then it is time to
go to the meeting of the Clan where more death awaits them. Ti Lung looks
so young and handsome here. His acting debut had only been the year before
but he already had five films under his belt - all directed by Chang Cheh.
Chang had found his man and when teamed up with David Chiang, they were very
popular. Li Ching who I have seen in many films as the good girl is wonderful
here as a vicious backstabbing killer - even towards her sister who plays
the good girl. This isn't ranked high up on the Chang Cheh filmography but
I thought it delivered on the action by Tong Kai and Yuen Cheung-yan with
various weapons and unsavory characters. Ching Miao as Deadly Fingers also
was out of his typical role as an older character and very much involved
in the action with his scissor fingers. It has the usual slew of familiar
Shaw faces in small roles.
