Samurai Death Bells (1979)

Samurai Death Bells (1979)
aka: Samurai Bells of Death; Beauty Escort
Chinese Title: 護花鈴
Translation: Protect Flower Bell

 

Starring: Ling Yun, Nora Miao Ke-Hsiu, Michael Chan Wai-Man, Wang Chung, Lily Li Li-Li, Shih Chung-Tien, Tiu Man-Ming, Wong Ching, Tsai Hung, Stewart Tam Tin, Kao Chiang, Wang Lai
Director: Pao Hsueh-Li
Action Director: Chen Mu-Chuan

 

Like Dressed to Fight from the same year (and The Swordsman and the Enchantress from the year before), Samurai Death Bells is an adaptation of a wuxia novel by prolific writer Ku Long. Considering both the cast and the people behind the camera—prolific Shaw Brothers screenwriter Ni Kuang adapted the source material while Pao Hsueh-Li (Delightful Forest and Blooded Treasury Fight) took the reins as director—the film had a promising pedigree. Sadly, that potential would not be realized that the final product is a good example of why Taiwanese films tends to be looked down on even by genre fans.

The movie opens with Master Dragon (Shih Tung-Chien, of Rotary Kicks and Shanghai Lil and the Sun Luck Kid) leading his entire clan to a mountain where he plans on having a duel with the head of the all-female Phoenix Clan. Upon arrival, he learns from Phoenix’s senior student, Yi Man-Ching (Tiu Man-Ming, of The Revenger and The Manchu Boxer), that his adversary died a few years before. Yi Man-Ching takes it upon herself to fight with Master Dragon, with the caveat that the duel be in secret so as not to divulge her clan’s style to rank and file. Master Dragon accepts and, in the ensuing fight, is defeated and killed. His final will bequeaths his infamous “Dragon Sword” not to his son, Fei-Ya (the late Wong Chun, of Police Force and The Delinquent), but to his senior student, Nan Gong-Ping (Ling Yun, of Killer Clans and Clans of Intrigue).

This development causes a rift between Nan and the master’s children, albeit mainly the ambitious daughter, played by Lily Li-Li (of One Foot Crane and The Young Master). This rift widens when bandits fall upon the Dragon Clan procession and try to steal the coffin that Master Dragon had so wisely brought along, just in case he didn’t survive the duel. While fighting with the head bandit, Nan Gong-Ping discovers that the coffin is inhabited by a pretty young lady known to the Martial World as the Cold-Blooded Mistress (Nora Miao, of Fist of Fury and Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin). Inside the inscription is a request for the new clan leader to protect her, despite her unsavory reputation among the other clans. Dragon’s children do not take well to the news that their new clan leader is gallivanting around China with a pariah from the Martial World in his company.

At length, Nan Gong-Ping is separated from the Cold Blooded Mistress. The latter falls in with the bandits, led by Shaolin Avengers’ Wong Ching and The Brave Lion’s Tsai Hung. She suspects that they answer to someone else--someone who’s been pulling the strings on all the recent occurrences. Meanwhile, Gong-Ping falls joins up with Yi Man-Ching, who wants to help him protect the his family palace: Between Nan’s family and the Dragon Clan, there is a lot of wealth that the clans would like to distribute among themselves.

Of course, this being a movie based on a wuxia novel, nothing is ever that simple. There are double crosses, hidden alliances, some bouts of treachery, and a couple of other surprises in store. Sadly, Ni Kuang’s screenplay is simultaneously too much and too little at the same time. The story moves at a reasonable pace, and you’re never too far away from the next sword fight. There are a lot of flashbacks which explain some events of the story, a few of which slow things down. One of the major flaws is that the Cold Blooded Mistress’ backstory was not given enough depth to really justify the characters’ wholesale revulsion to her. It does not help that the person dubbing her did so with as little emotion as possible. Some of the villains’ motivations are also a little murky, too.

The action is pretty decent, considering that Chan Mu-Chuan was the action director. Chan rarely rose to the level of “pretty good” in his movies, with his best work being the 1977 cult classic The Iron Monkey. His work is largely uninspired, however, with films like The Crippled Masters and Lady Snake Fist represented some of the sillier moments of Chinese action choreography. The action is mainly swordplay, with a few other weapons thrown in for good measure. Shaw Brothers veteran Wong Ching wields a two-bladed spear, while Taiwanese villain supreme Tsai Hung fights with daggers. Nora Miao wields a sword whose blade can fan out into five blades, not too unlike Lee Horsley’s three-bladed sword in The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982). Michael Chan fights with a bladed fan and briefly dips into his typical Northern Eagle Claw as well. The fighting lacks the dynamism of what Ching Siu-Tung would do the following year in The Sword, but I’ve definitely seen worse from a Taiwanese film.

Nonetheless, a good cast and swordplay that does not totally suck can’t save Samurai Death Bells from mediocrity. The story needed more depth, the direction more “oomph”, the sets and costumes more money, and the choreography more elegance to reach the level of what Chor Yuan was doing for the Shaw Brothers at the same time. The final result is fair, but watchable. But in an oversaturated genre, that just not cut the mustard.