The Hand of Death (1976)

The Hand of Death (1976)
AKA: Strike of Death, Countdown in Kung Fu
Chinese Title: 少林門
Translation: Shaolin Gate

 

Starring: Dorian Tan Tao-Liang, Jackie Chan, James Tien, Sammo Hung, Chu Ching, Yeung Wai, Kim Ki-Ju, Wilson Tong
Director: John Woo 
Action Director: Sammo Hung 

Looking at the credits listed above, it's easy to see that this movie is a special experience. Watching this film gives the viewer a chance to see three of the greatest names in action cinema at the start of their careers. Those three are Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and John Woo. And while it's pretty evident that these three would continue honing and refining their respective skills in the next decade or so, the movie itself isn't a bad effort. 

Looking at the three individually, Jackie Chan has been a sort of jack-of-all-trades. As an actor, he has built for him a legacy of quality action films for nearly three decades and is definitely one of the greatest action stars of all time. His ability to mix stuntwork, martial arts, and slapstick comedy is legendary. In addition to acting, Jackie Chan has worked behind the camera occasionally as a director and more often as a choreographer. 

Sammo Hung, who studied at the Chinese Opera Institute with Jackie Chan, has too built up a career for himself as a director, choreographer, and actor. His level of fame hasn't always reflected his superior talents, but fans of Hong Kong cinema know that Sammo Hung's presence in a film, especially in the choreographer's chair, is a very good sign. The man weighs over 200 lbs. and yet at one time was one of the best screen martial artists the genre had to offer. I talked about this in other reviews, but he is my favorite choreographer and has been in the game for over thirty years now. He really knows how to get the best moves out of his performers, the which we can begin to see in this movie. 

Finally there's John Woo, the creator (or at least the man who popularized) of the "Heroic Bloodshed" genre of action films. He reached fame in 1986 with his triad film A Better Tomorrow that launched him and actor Chow Yun-Fat to stardom. His movies are the ultra-violent gunplay ("bullet ballet" to some) movies that have influenced a lot of Hollywood action films, especially the popular Matrix films. The style is easily recognizable: slo-mo, two-fisted gunplay, dove shots, etc. 

Hand of Death was made in 1976. It would be about 2 more years before Jackie made a name for himself with his Yuen Woo-Ping collaborations and 10 years before John Woo made A Better Tomorrow. At this time, the classic kung fu film ("chopsockey" if you will) was the norm of the day. In the absolute sense, the movie isn't too much different from many of the other films of its era. 

The begins with Manchus ransacking the Shaolin temple. The leader of the Manchus is Shi Xiao-Feng (James Tien), a traitorous commander who once had studied at Shaolin. At the end of the attack, the abbot and many of the laymen are murdered and the rest of Shaolin is scattered. 

Several years later, we find out that the survivors have banded into separate groups and are planning a large-scale rebellion against the Manchus, especial Commander Shi. Yun Fei (Dorian Tan) is sent a mission by a Shaolin reverend to find and help a rebel, Chang Yi (I think) make it across Commander Shi's territory to meet with other rebels. Chang Yi is supposed to have a map of the Manchu's strong and weak points, information vital to the intended revolt. 

On his way, Yun Fei meets with Tan (Jackie Chan) who gathers wood for Commander Shi. Tan helps Yun Fei make it past some guards, but refuses to help him in his quest. Yun Fei continues on his journey and arrives at a town shortly before a group of rebels is ambushed by Shi's bodyguards and right-hand man, Tu Ching (Sammo Hung). Yun Fei hides in a tavern and helps nurse a survivor back to health. At the tavern he also meets Zorro (no, I'm not making that up), an ex-swordfighter/lady's man who just kind of goes around drinking. 

Yun Fei and the survivor hatch a plan to assassiante Shi, which is kind of what one would expect. Yun Fei acts like he has captured the rebel and brings him to Shi in order win his confidence, but (expectedly), everything goes awry and Yun Fei is bested by Shi AND his eight bodyguards. Luckily, Yun Fei is spared and just beated and tied up, rather than killed. 

Luckily, Tan rescues Yun Fei and we discover that he once was a rebel too. He's just been biding his time for the right moment to act. The two team up, get Zorro on their side, find Chang Yi, and hatch a plan to get Chang Yi to the other side of the river before Commander Shi and his minions can stop them. What does that mean? Will everything go smoothly as planned? Pick the answer that'll result in more fight scenes and you have an idea what to expect. 

It's a pretty standard movie. We've seen the anti-Manchu angle done enough times in various ways that it's really hard to set yourself apart with such a storyline unless you really do something strange (New Legend of Shaolin is a good example) or different. The movie was made before Jackie Chan and Yuen Woo-Ping successfully combined martial arts and comedy, so the general tone is pretty serious. It's actually refreshing to see Jackie Chan as a serious hero, even if his role is a supporting one. We're treated to a few flashbacks which give the main characters some degree of depth, or at least explain why they're so dead-set against the Manchus. 

The principal actor of the movie is Dorian Tan Tao-Liang, also known as "Flash Legs" Tan. Whatever the name is, Dorian Tan is considered to be one of the best kickers of the old school, right up there with John Liu and Hwang Jang-Lee. Tan's Yun Fei character isn't all that interesting as far as personality is concerned (it's not uncommon in these movies for the supporting cast to be more memorable than the main good guy), but luckily he gives a great physical performance in this movie. 

At the time Jackie Chan was in this movie, he was only 22 years old* and was still rising as an actor. Jackie Chan fans may be disappointed in knowing that Jackie's role is secondary and that he doesn't fight until the end. Be of good cheer, for his character is indeed likeable and when he finally gets his two fights scenes at the end, you'll find yourself rooting for him. Jackie's fight scenes are impressive, as he takes on several Manchu soldiers and four of the eight bodyguards single-handedly with a spear. 

The other performers are alright. James Tien is pretty good as Shi, whose character is dubbed to sound really calm and not over-the-top evil. Tien fights well enough in this one, although he looked a lot better in Jackie Chan's later Spiritual Kung Fu. The Zorro character really disappointed me. In his earlier scenes, he comes across as a Musashi/Zatoichi calibre swordsman and a good fighter, but his scenes in the climax aren't that great. Far better is Sammo Hung as Tu Ching, Shi's buck-toothed second-in-command. As goofy as his character is, there are times when he really just dishes out the punishment and looks good doing it. 

Sammo was probably still refining his choreography skills in this movie. There are a lot of weapons fighting in this movie and we get to see swords, spears, poles, rope/chain darts, etc. in action. The weapons fight is really good, especially in Jackie Chan's duels with the bodyguards. The hand-to-hand varies from being too slow to be quite good. Sammo's ability to bring out the best in his performers is most seen with Dorian Tan and Jackie Chan. Tan gets a great showcase for his kicking skills, especially in the finale against James Tien. He even gets to do his hop kicks (which Donnie Yen did as a "homage" in Legend of the Wolf). 

One interesting thing about this movie is the violence. It's not that violent, or better put, it's just as violent as any other kung fu movie. There are a few brutal moments at the end, but nothing I found all that offensive. I say this because John Woo films have traditionally been known for being incredibly bloody affairs, especially his Hong Kong movies (his American movies tend to be a bit more watered down, much like anyone from Hong Kong who does movies in America). This one is pretty tame by most standards. 

The action is pretty good and the movie's a good showcase for Dorian Tan's good kicking skills (previous to this I'd only seen him in Unforgiven of Shaolin with Ti Lung) and some early, serious work from Jackie Chan. The promise of those two things drew me in and I liked the film well enough, maybe it'll do the same for you.