A Man Called Tiger (1973)

A Man Called Tiger (1973)
Chinese Title: 冷面虎
Translation: Cold-Faced Tiger

 

Starring: Jimmy Wang Yu, Okada Kawai, Maria Yi, James Tien, Tien Feng, Han Ying Chieh

Director: Lo Wei

Action Director: Han Ying Chieh

 

I miss the days of VHS and video stores. Every visit was an adventure, browsing through the titles and trying to determine what to rent via the box art, which frequently displayed more effort and creativity than the film it was trying to sell. Most Mom n’ Pop video stores and Hollywood Video had their own Martial Arts section, while Blockbuster Video lumped martial arts films into their Action/Adventure Sections. At least that’s how it was in Stockton, CA. But there was a paradox at work in my life, as I often found myself hesitant to rent martial arts/Hong Kong movies that left my so-called “comfort zone,” which is why I saw Hard Boiled a myriad of times while lesser-known movies like A Man Called Tiger and Bruce vs. Bill stared me in the face, daring me to rent them, only to be ignored by yours truly. I regret my unwillingness to take a step into the dark, which is why, for Golden Harvest Month, I shall correct one of many mistakes made in the past and review A Man Called Tiger. I owe this to Jimmy Wang Yu, and far be it from me to be a man who does not pay off his debts.

 

The story is simple, and yet unnecessarily complex. Wang Yu plays Chin Fu, a Chinese kung fu expert who heads over to Japan looking for work among the local Yakuza. After beating up an enforcer (Han Ying Chieh, who doubled as the film’s fight choreographer) at the local night club, Chin Fu is invited by Yakuza boss Shimizu to be one of his right-hand men. His job is to take back the extortion racket from the rival Yakuza gang led by Yamamoto (Tien Feng), one business at a time. One such business is a Chinese restaurant ran by a fellow kung fu student (James Tien). The two secretly meet and we learn that Chin Fu’s father had some dealing with the Yakuza, which ultimately caused him to lose his school and commit suicide. So he’s posing as a Yakuza in order to find out the truth. James Tien’s character offers to go undercover in Yamamoto’s organization to find out what he can, but the movie quickly forgets about him until the climax.

 

To be perfectly honest, the deeper into the story we go, the less everything makes sense. Subplot after subplot is added, including no less than two female characters who are looking for their fathers; an attempt by Han Ying Chieh to get back in his boss’s graces by killing Chin Fu; a love interest subplot involving a girl, Iliako (Maria Yi), who works for Yamamoto; and a climax involving high stakes gambling where no less than three new important characters are introduced. Moreover, we never find out *what* caused Chin Fu’s father to commit suicide (only who was responsible), which was the whole reason for the film to exist in the first place! In other words, there’s far too much plot for a 76-minute kung fu movie. Originally, this was supposed to be Bruce Lee’s third movie, until the Little Dragon had a falling out with director Lo Wei. With that in mind, you’ll notice a large similarity in the casts of this film and both The Big Boss and Fist of Fury. I sort of wonder how it might’ve turned out with Bruce in the lead role, and I can’t help but think that it would’ve been almost as uneven as The Big Boss, with the fight scenes being the memorable part while viewers would just ignore everything in between (at least this would’ve benefitted from having more Bruce Lee action than his Freshman effort).

 

But if you can’t get the best, then you at least try to get the…*cough*…second best. To be perfectly honest, the second best would’ve been Angela Mao Ying, but the idea of a Chinese woman going to Japan circa 1970 to become a Yakuza enforcer is rather silly, so I can see why they stuck with a male actor. Obviously, in 1973, the title of “second best” would’ve gone to Ti Lung (on contract at the Shaw Brothers), Chen Sing, or Yasuaki Kurata…so then you go to the guy whose name had the greatest marquee value, so you get Jimmy Wang Yu. Now, remember the first Austin Powers movie where Elizabeth Hurley can hardly believe that Austin Powers was a sex symbol in his day, only for her mother to explain to her that back in the 60s, you didn’t need to be handsome to be a sex symbol? Well, Hurley well could’ve been talking about Jimmy Wang Yu in this movie. The man always looked as if he had gotten beaten with the ugly stick at some point in his life, although his face hadn’t gotten pudgy at this point, and yet there are no fewer than four…FOUR…attractive women who are trying to get a piece of his wang (pun fully intended). Despite all that potential to be sleazy, there’s less exploitation of women than there was in the two Bruce Lee movies that Lo Wei directed. Wang Yu is more interested here in being a stoic bad-a** and punching people in the face, which he does handily.

 

On the subject of brawling and beating, the action here is handled by Han Ying Chieh, who had choreographed the non-Bruce Lee fights in The Big Boss and Fist of Fury. It’s typical early 70s basher stuff. Jimmy Wang Yu swings his arms so much that he threatens to up and take flight. Actually, he looks better in his fights than James Tien does, which leads me to believe that only Jackie and Sammo knew how to bring out the best in Mr. Tien. Wang Yu brings a manic energy to his fist fights which actually help us understand how Wang Yu could win so many street fights despite his lack of formal martial arts training. His kicks are generally low and uncoordinated, but there’s a nice bit at the end where he’s hopping around on one leg after taking a few blows with an axe, but is still able to perform multiple jumping front crescent kicks to his attackers’ faces. In fact, the entire final fight is Jimmy Wang Yu fighting off a contingent of thugs armed with axes, and not just your average hatchet. These dudes are wielding fire axes! He takes more licks than Bruce Lee typically would have, and I’m pretty sure if Lo Wei had gotten Lee to do this movie, they would’ve had to bring in some fighter to even up the score. Han Ying Chieh fights a little, but don’t expect a lot from him. Also, look for a young Lam Ching-Ying as one of Shimizu’s thugs in the early fight sequences and during the finale. Han Ying and Lo Wei spice up the fights with some motorcycle and car chases, plus one fight sequence set inside an aerial tramway, predating a similar sequence in Moonraker by a good six years. The fights are fun for what they are, but you’ll most likely forget them a few minutes after the movie ends. Such is the way of the basher movie.