Ninja Champion (1986)

Ninja Champion (1986)
Aka: Ninja Connection
Original Footage: Poisonous Rose Stripping the Night

Cast: Bruce Baron, Pierre Tremblay, Philip Ching, Jack Lam, Choe Eun-hye, Im Bong-gi, Yoon Yang-ha, Baek Hwang-ki, Dragon Lee
Director: Godfrey Ho (new footage); Kim Si-Hyun (original footage)
Action Director: Philip Ko Fei; Baek Hwang-ki (original footage?)

 

Ninja Champion doesn’t really stand out among the handful of Cut n’ Paste films that I’ve seen so far. My thoughts are that the entertainment value of these films derive less from the quality of the inserted ninja footage (and the attempts at dubbing a connection into the two sets of “films”) and more from the source film. Ninja Terminator, for example, was entertaining because Joseph Lai and Godfrey Ho chose a Korean martial arts film starring Legendary Superkicker Hwang Jang Lee and fan favorite Jack Lam to build a new movie on. This movie also chooses a Jack Lam movie, albeit one that belongs to the Rape Revenge sub-genre of exploitation film.

Original footage: a woman named Rose (Choe Eun-Hye) is out camping with her fiancé, George (Jack Lam), when they are ambushed by three assailants. George is knocked out and Rose is taken and tied to a tree. At that point, the assailants whip her and then rape her, leaving her badly injured. She’s rushed to the emergency room, where she plead with the doctors to NOT administer anesthesia, since she wants to embrace the pain. In the meantime, George ends the engagement and marries another woman, the daughter of a crimelord named Larry. Jerk-off. You couldn’t even wait a few months, buddy?

Anyway, several months later, Rose is back, posing as a diamond smuggler—we see her arrive at another crime boss’s house, where she removes her blouse to show them the “goods”. She meets up with one of boss’s men (one of the rapists) at a nightclub and takes him back to her hotel room. She laces her nipples with poison, so that when he goes in for a suckle, he gets paralyzed. Rose proceeds to drown him in a bathtub. Not quite a "Best Death Ever" situation, but it's in that ballpark.

A couple of days later, Rose and George reunite, but she’s all Miss .45 and all. Despite his pleadings for a reconciliation—what about your current wife, Mr. Heartbreak Kid?—she informs him that after she’s killed the other two rapists, she’ll kill him as well. Their meeting is broken up by the arrival of a bunch of hired goons, whom George fights off. Meanwhile, Rose is “arrested” by a shady-looking cop, who turns outs to be Rapist #2. He takes her to an abandoned building to off her—preceded by a strange scene in which she asks to put on her make-up before dying. Fake Cop Rapist responds, “Okay, but don’t do too a good a job, or I’ll have to rape you again.” A fight breaks out and Rose does all sorts of damage on the guy: beating him with her high heels and purse, slamming his fingers in the car door, and stabbing him. She finally crashes the car with him in it. He survives, but Rose shows up dressed as a nurse and puts two bullets in his head…despite the fact that there is a policeman standing guard just outside.

She sets her sights on the third rapist, who’s the second in command to Robert, the main diamond smuggler. She takes him back to her hotel to seduce him, but he’s onto her and is able to kiss a poisoned grape(!) into her mouth, seal her in a coffin, and leave her for dead. So what happens when Robert heads to the docks to make a deal and there’s a woman ready with the goods, looking just like Rose and identifying herself as Cherry?

New Footage: a ninja/Interpol agent named Donald (Dragon Force’s Bruce Baron) gets a call form his superior (Richard Harrison and his trusty Garfield telephone), telling him that he needs to keep an eye on ninja master Maurice (Pierre Tremblay, of Heroes Three and A Better Tomorrow), who’s in league with Robert. Donald starts offing Maurice’s top ninja enforcers one by one until the two meet. There we learn that Maurice wanted to supplant Robert (from the Korean film) and put Larry in charge of the diamond smuggling. He had his ninja coup d’état all planned out, but then Rose showed up and started killing Robert’s men for him. So he just sat back at let her do the work, although George’s meddling threw a wrench in that plan…

In a lot of cases, the original Korean films have been lost and only these IFD Cut ‘n Paste Films are left. I wonder if the situation is similar to the American release of Yongary, Monster from the Deep (1967) in which the studio made the mistake of sending the American distributor the original master print, which inevitably led to Korean negatives getting lost and the American version being the only existing one. I’m not sure if that’s the case of Ninja Champion, but that would be interesting.

What is especially fascinating is that Poisonous Rose Stripping the Night is a straight-faced rape revenge film—if a little goofy at times…like Rapist #3’s irrational fear of snakes—peppered with the occasionally surreal moment, like Jack Lam’s ability to teleport during his fight sequences. Oh, and at one time, one guy grabs Jack Lam’s waist to throw him, and Lam demonstrates the ability to shrink his waistline about five sizes smaller! I’m guessing that just general insanity of the original film made this a good fit for IFD’s business model, but man. Jack Lam does throw a decent kick, though. Those looking for exploitation won’t get much more than violence: the sexual aspects are muted by the odd decision to “frost” over the female nudity in several places.

The fights in the new ninja footage were choreographed by Phillip Ko, who jumped back and forth between these sorts of films and smaller roles in Sammo Hung movies before he found his new calling in the Philippines. The choreography isn’t that bad, but the ninja duels are extremely short, including the final showdown between the righteous White Ninja Donald and the evil Red Ninja Maurice. But given the general paucity of new inserted footage in this particular venture, I don’t think anyone will notice.

Ninja the Protector (1985)

Ninja the Protector (1985)
Aka: Ninja: The Story; Ninja’s Terror
Original Footage: ??? (Taiwan, 198?)

 

Starring: Richard Harrison, David Bowles, Andy Chworowsky, Clifford Allan, Phillip Ko Fei, Chiang Tao, Suen Kwok-Ming, John Ladalski, Wa Lun, Li Mu-Chen, Tian Ming
Director: Godfrey Ho
Action Director: Chiang Tao (as Donald Kong); Fred Chan

 

After looking around the internets for some time, I have been unable to identify the movie that served as the backbone for this IFD Films cut n’ paste ninja epic. It may very well be that the film, clearly a Taiwanese feature, remained unreleased in its native territory before Joseph Lai and Betty Chan scooped it up to give the ninjitsu treatment. That said, this film was a particularly peculiar choice, as the plot of the original film seems to be about a man who becomes a model, only to be whored out by his boss to her wealthy female clientele! Imagine trying to hang a ninja film off of that!

The movie opens with a bunch of black-clad ninja entering their Secret Ninja Base—watch for the security camera that focuses on them, at which point the screen flashes a photo of their “alter ego”, including non-ninja characters from the original footage! The ninja all answer to the evil Red Ninja (David Bowles)—they inform him that they’ve killed the traitor. We also learn from this ninja meeting that they are not only ninja assassins, but are ninja counterfeiters, too.

Switch to an Interpol building in Hong Kong, where the Chief (Richard Harrison, Challenge of the Tiger and Ninja Thunderbolt) is telling his team about said counterfeiters. They all answer to the Big Boss—the alter-ego of the Red Ninja. The Chief tells his team that one of the counterfeiters’ front is a modeling agency run by a woman named Susan, whose business partner is Albert “Four-Eyes” Wong (Tian Ming, of Knight Errant Four Chin Kang and The Blood Flower Sword) and his girlfriend, Lily. The Chief also tells his team that he has already planted an undercover agent, Warren Lee (Wa Lun, of The Lady Avenger and The Little Hero of Shaolin Temple), to try to find evidence against Four-Eyes and Susan.

We then switch the original footage, where Warren’s brother David (Li Mu-Chen, of Lover and Killer and Thunder Cat Woman) is getting harassed by some thugs for “borrowing” one guy’s motorcycle. He’s able to fight them off and escape. The film then switches to Susan’s office, where she’s hiring Warren as a model despite his lack of experience. After a few weeks or so, he’s helped Susan win some lucrative contracts, so she awards him with sex on the beach and a new house…plus a new motorcycle for David! No more stealing from the riff-raff for him to get his motorcycle kicks, now!

A couple of scenes later, Warren is doing some work at a runway when an older lady shows up in his dressing room and starts coming onto him. She tells him to meet her at her place, after which she slips Susan a cool ten grand. It’s this moment where I’m led to believe that Susan is pimping out her talent—or to use a Brazilian term, faixa rosa (transl. “pink sash”, term used for women who work  at events and trade shows that do sexual favors on the side).

Some time later, we see Warren at a bar, drinking himself silly. I’m guessing that it might be due to his self-loathing at allowing himself to become a gigolo. Anyway, Lily happens to be at the bar, too. When some drunken barflies start harassing her, Warren steps in and protects her, getting a knife in the shoulder in the process. She takes him back to her place, patches him up, and screws his eyes blue, too.

It's at this time that we learn that Warren hasn’t been spending a lot of time with his girlfriend, Judy Chan. So little time, in fact, that the woman slits her wrists in a suicide attempt. She’s taken to the hospital by David, who’s pissed off at Warren’s treatment of her. There’s a lot of drama and Warren ultimately is able to apologize and get a reconciliation with Judy. However, Albert Wong keeps Lily on a short leash and his men photograph her having sex with warren. When he finds out, he rapes Lily and plans revenge against the Warren and David.

As expected, this story is broken up with scenes of Richard Harrison tracking down some member of the Red Ninja’s organization, like John Ladalski and Phillip Ko. Harrison will follow one of them, use magic to switch into his camo-ninja outfit, have a fight with them, and then leave them handcuffed for his men (played by Andy Chworowsky and Clifford Allan) to arrest and bring in. Sometimes, he even kills the ninja he’s fighting, like in the case of the female ninja who’s supposed to be Susan. Finally, he has a big fight with the Red Ninja that involves motorcycle jousting and swordfighting. Harrison defeats the Red Ninja, but walks off into the sunset…without even arresting the guy!

There are at least two sex scenes and a rape sequence, although there might possibly be more. The Martial Arts 50-Movie Pack version is missing a good 20 minutes or so of footage, mainly involving the initial drama between David and Warren over the latter’s philandering, then the same drama but with Judy, and the scene where Albert Wong finds out about his woman’s infidelity. There is a hard cut at a scene involving David and his motorcycle floozy, Mary, at the beach, which suggests that there might have been a sex scene there. I’m also guessing that there might have been some footage of Warren with his clientele, too.

There is also some fight action in the original Taiwanese footage, mainly involving David. It’s choreographed in that early 70s “basher” style of fighting, full of haymakers, weak and flailing kicks, and just general crudeness. I think there was a smidgen of undercranking to give the fights a bit of energy, though. You gotta love Hong Kong and Taiwan during the 1980s and 1990s: even their softcore porn had an action director!

Probably the most important thing about this film is that it establishes the well-known bit of ninja lore: “Only a ninja can defeat a ninja.” It’s spoken twice in the movie and was the film’s tagline.

City Ninja (1985)

City Ninja (1985)
Aka: Ninja Holocaust; Rocky’s Love Affairs; 108 Golden Killers
Original Footage: Hwa-Ya (South Korea, 1983)
Chinese Title: 偷情
Translation: To Have an Affair

 

Starring: Casanova Wong, Chae Eun-hui, Michael Chan Wai-Man, Bae Su-jeon, Han Ryong, Mabel Kwong Mei-Bo, Elaine Kam Yin-Ling, David Lo Dai-Wai, Hon Kwok-Choi
Director: Yeung Chun-Bong, Choi Young-Chul
Action Director: Han Ryong, Baek Hwang-ki

 

City Ninja is an interesting case among the Ninjasploitation / Cut n’ Paste movies of the 1980s in that like Ninja Terminator and Ninja Champion, the source material was a South Korean martial arts film. However, unlike those movies, which were made purely for distribution outside of East Asia, this one was retooled for a local Hong Kong release. The same actors were rehired to shoot new footage, although Casanova Wong had visibly gained weight in the ensuing years. It’s Hong Kong release, while not hugely successful, made more money locally than one might expect for this sort of movie.

The movie starts of in World War 2 with a Caucasian soldier being chased through the sticks of China by a bunch of ninja assassin. The guy is in possession of a necklace of unknown value, which will become the McGuffin of the entire film. A random Chinese peasant/martial artist comes to the white soldier’s aid and the latter gives the former the necklace, telling him that he’ll be at some point to reclaim it. Both men survive the ninja assault and go their separate ways.

Switch to modern times (i.e. the mid 80s) and we meet our main character, a kickboxer named Wang Li ( Michael Chan, The Gallants and Eight Escorts). Wang Li’s boss, played by David Lo Dai, is not just a bigwig on the fighting circuit, but he has Mafia ties too. One day, the Italian mafia shows up in David’s office and starts haranguing him about the necklace, which has found its way to South Korea.

Over in South Korea, Jimmy (Casanova Wong, of Warriors Two and South Shaolin vs. North Shaolin) is also a kickboxer who can only eke out a living on the underground circuit. A friend of his, Pak (Park Dong-Ryong, Hard Bastard and Girls in the Tiger Cage), convinces him to do some work for David. Pak is murdered at a strip club shortly thereafter, leaving Jimmy and the deceased’s sister, Linda (Chae Eun-Hui, of Incredible Shaolin Thunderkick) on their own. We later learn that Linda is actually a spy for the Korean redhead kingpin, taking advantage of Jimmy’s ignorance of the underworld to get him to switch sides without him realizing it.

Now that Jimmy’s gone turncoat, David wants Wang Li to go and retrieve the necklace from the Redhead. Michael responds that he’s a fighter and only a fighter. No mob enforcement duties for him. However, circumstances conspire in David’s favor. Wang Li is engaged to Jenny (Elaine Kam, of The Black Magic with Buddha), who doesn’t want to put out until after marriage That leaves him open to the sensual designs of his touch-starved manager (and David’s wife), Lisa (Mabel Kwong, of Hong Kong Superman and The Club). On the eve of Wang Li’s trip to Thailand for a tournament, Lisa shows up at Wang Li’s apartment, claiming to be pregnant with his baby. Wang Li refuses to accept responsibility, leading to Lisa pulling a gun on him. The resulting struggle leaves her dead and Wang Li with no recourse but to head to Korea and get the necklace from Jimmy.

There are obviously a lot of kung fu movies I haven’t seen with, but City Ninja as of now is probably on my top five list of movies from the genre that show off the most skin. An early scene sets the tone, in which a female fan of Wang Li takes off her top in front of everyone at a nightclub and then asks him to sign her buttocks. After that attention-getting scene, there are several explicit sex scenes, involving Michael Chan, Casanova Wong(!), and three different actresses: Mabel Kwong, Chae Eun-Hui and Wai Ka-Man (who also showed off her goods in Boxer’s Omen and Seeding of a Ghost). The female nudity mainly comes courtesy of Miss Wai, who does the full-frontal thing during a shower scene previous to her going to bed with David’s second-in-command. The other girls have their ladyparts strategically covered during their lengthy sex scenes. However, that said, these scenes aren’t particularly sexy, thanks to the unconvincing overeagerness of the male actors on the kissing front. Keep it slow and sensual, fellas! You’re lovers, not ravenous cannibals!

The plot is surprisingly coherent for a movie with this much added footage. I mean, it’s all bunk and silly, and comes apart at the end, but it’s still reasonably easy to follow. But forget about that and focus on the fight scenes. The action directors were Han Ryong (Star Zzanga Z Mazinga V Super Betaman) and Baek Hwang-Ki. The latter was a long-time veteran of Korean martial arts cinema, both in front of and behind the camera. Master Baek most notably choreographed Dragon Lee and Legendary Superkicker on Martial Monks of Shaolin Temple and 5-Pattern Dragon Claws. He did some pretty good work on those films and brings a great amount of experience to this movie, infusing the action with the 80s quickness and intensity that defined Hong Kong action at the time.

Casanova Wong dominates on the action front, fighting different Korean gangs and would-be assassins at every turn. His opening scene pits him against a Goliath-esque Thai boxer in a fight that isn’t flashy, but fast and brutal. Baek and Han’s choreography really shines when Jimmy takes on a bunch of a bald gangsters at a pool hall, with some killer choreography and creative uses of billiard balls in the sequence. There’s also a fight against another gangster at a Woman’s Mud Wrestling match and a neat scene where Casanova turns his girlfriend into a weapon, just like in Half a Loaf of Kung Fu and Romeo Must Die.

The titular ninja don’t return until the last act, when they kidnap Linda at…I dunno who’s request. Probably Redhead? Anyway, the fight scenes involving the ninja were filmed later on, which is why Casanova is suddenly a little pudgier in the face. There’s a fight scene on a bridge that leads into a forest. Expects lots of katana posturing, flying and burrowing, and and a side order of unnecessary somersaults to make things extra ninja-y. That’s followed by a nice one-on-two fight involving a martial artist who’s mastered the Iron Vest technique and a Japanese samurai villain.

Michael Chan doesn’t get as much fight time, despite playing a kickboxer. In one sequence, he takes on some Italian gangsters (including the late John Ladalski) with poles and sticks. It’s a brutal fight, although a bit early 70s in its presentation. Chan doesn’t really shine until the climax, which was taken from the original Korean film. Chan and Casanova have a long, vicious fight that is probably the best moment for Michael Chan of his post-old school career. It has the relentless energy of your best 70s basher fights, but better technique on display. Chan goes for the economical punches, kicks and knee smashes, while Casanova shines with the bootwork, as usual. Both men take inhuman amounts of punishment and show off their skills to the maximum possible. The warehouse setting, complete with the fighters getting knocked into falling boxes, is reminiscent of the finale of Dragons Forever, another classic (and manic) showdown. This is probably Korean fight choreography at its very best before their complete cinematic revolution in 1999…and it holds up even today!

The Shanghai 13 (1984)

Shanghai 13 (1984)
Aka: All the Professionals
Chinese Title: 上海灘十三太保
Translation: Shanghai Beach 13 Save

 

Starring: Chiang Ming, Jimmy Wang Yu, Ti Lung, Chiang Sheng, Chen Kuan-Tai, Danny Lee Sau-Yin, David Chiang Da-Wei, Chi Kuan-Chun, Wang Chung, Chan Sing, Lu Feng, Ricky Cheng Tien-Chi, Leung Kar-Yan, Andy Lau Tak-Wah, Wong Ching, Sonny Yue
Director: Chang Cheh
Action Directors: Ricky Cheng, Huang Kuo-Chu, Lu  Feng, Chiang Sheng

 

If Chang Cheh had ended his directing career with Shanghai 13, it would have been an appropriate send-off. The film is a synthesis of sorts of all Chang’s previous “cycles” up to that point, at least in terms of the cast. After a few false starts, Chang Cheh really kicked things off when he started making movies with Jimmy Wang Yu, a partnership that lasted about five years. The two parted ways in 1969, at which point Chan started his “Iron Triangle” phase, the other two legs being actors David Chiang and Ti Lung. That segued into his Shaolin Cycle in 1974, which defined the bulk of his output until the end of 1976, with the release of Shaolin Temple. I should point out that both Chiang and Lung played the same roles in the first and final entries in the Shaolin Cycle: Five Shaolin Masters (1974) and The Shaolin Temple (1976), even if they weren’t involved in the other films.

Nineteen Seventy-seven was something of a transition year, but in 1978, he entered his Venom Mob cycle, which started with the fan favorite The Five Deadly Venoms. With the Venoms—Philip Kwok, Lu Feng, Chiang Shen, Lu Feng, Lo Meng, Sun Chien and (occasionally) Wei Pai—Chang was able to make at least three or four movies per year. They kept up this pace until 1982. He left the Shaw Brothers in 1983 after the failure of The Weird Man. His final films for the studio (and next couple of Taiwanese movies) starred Taiwanese acrobatic actor Ricky Cheng, a contemporary (and classmate?) of the Venoms. And that’s where this film begins…

The movie begins with a notorious thief named Black Hat (Jimmy Wang Yu, of The Magnificent Trio and Trail of the Broken Blade) and a low-level official named Mr. Gau (Chiang Ming, of Swordsman with an Umbrella and Golden-Headed Eagle) breaking into a government office in Nanjing and stealing a letter from a safe. When Mr. Gau informs Black Hat that’s of the utmost importance for national security—we later learn that the letter reveals the plans of certain members of the Nanjing government to set up a puppet regime under the Japanese empire--the thief foregoes his usual fees and sends Mr. Gau on his way. The official flees Nanjing and heads for Shanghai, where he plans on taking a ship to Hong Kong.

Once in Shanghai, Mr. Gau goes to the house of a rich crime boss named Shin (Chen Kuan-Tai, of The Crippled Avengers and Boxer from Shantung). Shin promises to help get Gau to Hong Kong, although their initial plans to leave his estate are hampered by the arrival of a sniper (Danny Lee, of Bruce Lee & I and Super Infra Man). The sniper is a member of the “13 Rascals of Shanghai,” a group of hitmen, mob enforcers, fighters, etc. who are usually in the employ of Mr. Shin. However, the head traitor in the Nanjing government (Chang Feng, of The Beautiful Swordswoman and The Bride from Hell), has arrived in Shanghai and purchased the services of some of the 13 Rascals, although nobody knows which.

With the help of another member of the 13, Ping An (Chiang Sheng, of The Five Deadly Venoms and The Magnificent Ruffians), Mr. Gau is able to escape to a hotel. There, he’ll be transported to the house of “Millionaire” (Leung Kar-Yan, of Shaolin Martial Arts and Shaolin Avengers), another rascal who has enough money and clout to get Mr. Gau across town. However, the traitor and his killers are on Gau’s tail every step of the way. Once a fight breaks out at the hotel between Ping An and the killers, led by Cheung Tai-Lun (The Naval Commandos and Death Ring), the film basically goes into non-stop action mode as one rascal after another tries to protect Mr. Gau from an army of killers, including the other rascals.

This is less of an exploration of Chang Cheh’s usual themes of brotherhood, honor, Patriotism and more of a celebration of his career and the concept of heroic bloodshed in general. The opening scene sets up the conflict and there are a few scenes—at Shin’s estate, at the hotel, and at the table of a casino run by David Chiang (The New One-Armed Swordsman and Vengeance!)—that are meant to build up suspense, but the movie on the whole is just one big fight fest. This is also a celebration of the work of some of the best fight choreographers to come out of Taiwan, at least three of whom—Lu Feng, Chiang Sheng and Ricky Cheng—had been collaborators with Chang Cheh. Only Huang Kuo-Chu hadn’t previously worked with Chang, although he had a solid pedigree: Five Pretty Young Ladies; Moonlight Sword and Jade Lion; and Lung Wei Village.

The action kicks off with a fight between Chiang Sheng and a bunch of killers, which gives the former a chance to show off some of his legendary acrobatics and some decent kicks. The first showstopper, however, comes when one of the rascals, Tiger (Lu Feng, of Shaolin Rescuers and Invincible Shaolin), storms Millionaire’s mansion with an army of machete-wielding goons. The following fight between Leung Kar-Yan and the Tiger’s men is simply phenomenal, with Leung’s natural athleticism getting its best work out (arguably) since 1980’s The Victim. It’s just a great sequence all around. It’s immediately followed by a second slaughter at the mansion, this time involving the beau of Millionaire’s sister, played by a young Andy Lau. Lau’s martial arts experience was limited to studio training at that point, so you can tell he’s a little stiff. But like Keanu Reeves in the chateau fight of The Matrix Reloaded, he feels a lot more at home once he whips out a pair of sai-like weapons (probably a nunte) to counter Tiger’s “super” butterfly swords.

After a tense sequence at a casino, a huge fight breaks out involving three killers—Chi Kuan-Chun (of Men from the Monastery and Disciples of Shaolin), Wong Ching (All Men are Brothers and Heroes Two), and Taiwanese actor Chia Kai (Kung Fu of Seven Steps and Of Cooks and Kung Fu)—and two more “good” rascals, played by the aforementioned David Chiang and Lee Chung-Yat (of Attack of the Joyful Goddess). David Chiang shows that he wasn’t the best martial artist when compared to his contemporaries, but at least busts out some interesting “scarf-fu.” Chi Kuan-Chun, who usually played the hero in these movies, gets to play the bad guy named Panther. True to his name, he uses the actual Panther (or Leopard) style, complete with a fake claw of his hand for extra scratchin’.

The finale is a bonkers, 15-minute fest of fisticuffs set inside a warehouse at the pier. On the villains’ side is a returning Cheung Tai-Lun and a bulking karate bruiser played by Chan Sing (the sniper in Vengeance!). On the heroes’ side is the head of the docks, played by Ti Lung (Have Sword, Will Travel and Duel of Fists) and several dockworkers, including Taiwanese newcomer Sonny Yue (Raiders of the Shaolin Temple­—the one with the mechanical horses). Ti Lung gives probably the best wing chun display of his career, while Sonny Yue proves to be a good kicker. Chan Sing doesn’t do much more than look buff and throw people around, judo style, but at least gets involved in a complex three-way duel involving Cheung Tai-Lung and a pole-wielding Ti Lung. The wildcard of the fight is Ricky Cheng, an acrobatic fellow who’s a monster with the dagger, of which he has a few dozen stashed in his coat. There’s just so much martial excellence in this sequence that’s the perfect way to finish out a film that’s been one sequence of martial superiority after another.

The South Shaolin Master (1984)

The South Shaolin Master (1984)
Aka: Red Dragons of Shaolin
Chinese Title: 南拳王
Translation: Southern Boxing Champion (South Fist King)

 

Starring: Yau Gin-Gwok, Zhong Xiao-Zhen, Li Yan-Long, Suen Gen-Fa, Xu Xue-Yi, Xu Li, Li Zhong-Ru, Pan Wei-Xing, Ku Guo-Xing, Xu Qi-Cheng, Zhang Ke-Jian
Director: Siao Lung
Action Director: Yeung Wah, Brand Yuan Bo-Nan

 

When I was planning this review, my original angle was to discuss the general crudeness of Mainland Chinese fight choreography in the early 1980s and how the presence of imported Hong Kong talent would often raise the overall quality of the film. The South Shaolin Master was to be exhibit A, as a lot of sources pointed out that the fight choreographer was none other than Brandy Yuen of the Yuen Clan. I think that idea was perpetuated by the opening credits who mention “Brand Yuan” as one of the two action directors. After all, “Brandy” isn’t exactly a common anglicized name in Hong Kong, and typos in names are rather common in these things, so it’d make sense to associate the two.

However, the HKMDB has Brandy Yuen and Brand Yuan listed as two separate individuals. This is supported by the fact that they have different Chinese names. The more famous Brandy’s Chinese name is Yuen Jan-Yeung, while this movie’s choreographer is Yuan Bo-Nam. So, if they really are different people, then my angle is ruined, right? Well, not quite.

The other choreographer is a fellow named Yeung Wah, whose name probably won’t be recognizable even to many hardcore fans. Sifu Yeung, however, was a very busy stuntman throughout the 1970s, showing up as a thug in movies for both major studios (Golden Harvest and Shaw Brothers) and indie productions, too. His career as a fight choreographer was a lot more limited, but his credits as Assistant Martial Arts Director on beloved kung fu comedies like Snake Deadly Act and Daggers 8 suggest that he picked up a few good pointers during his career. So, maybe my original point is saved.

The film is set in the Qing Dynasty during the Taiping Rebellion (1850 – 1864). A circus troupe is travelling through China and stop in a province for a performance financed by a local nobleman. The troupe’s martial arts instructor, Su (Ku Guo-Xing), has some debts with the nephew of the local magistrate. So when their boat arrives in town, the prince’s men show up to shake Su up for money and inform the troupe leader, Master Liang (Pan Wei-Xing), that he has to perform for their lord instead. This leads to a fight between the nephew’s men and Master Liang’s son, Liang Shao-Jia (Li Yan-Yong). Shao-Jia is no match for the two men and their monkey fist skills, but he receives help from a Good Samaritan named Lin Hai-Nan (Yau Gin-Gwok, of Once Upon a Time in China and Don’t Fool Me). Lin Hai-Nan is the Shaolin master of the title and helps make short work of the flunkies.

Lin Hai-Nan is later on his way to a Buddhist temple somewhere on the Yangtze River (I assume), where he’s supposed to hand over the Chinese equivalent of a money order to the abbot to finance the Taiping movement. That is a little strange, considering that the Taiping Rebellion was a Christian movement, so why would the Buddhists be involved? They probably just liked the idea of new nation separate from the Manchus. Whatever. Turns out that all the monks (including the Abbot) are Qing agents in disguise. Lin Hai-Nan is wounded in the ensuing battle, but is able to escape with his life.

Meanwhile, the troupe is holding their planned performance when the magistrate’s nephew, Lord Zhao (Xu Li, of Ninjas and Dragons), shows up with his men to make a mess. A big fight breaks out (this happens on a regular basis in this film) and the troupe’s benefactors call off the whole thing for fear of their own safety. However, rather than perform for Prince Zhao, the opera troupe just packs up shop and leaves. Before setting out on the river again, they find a wounded Lin Hai-Nan and decide to take him with them.

While initially reluctant to house a fugitive, the troupe warms up to him when he saves them from another ambush by Lord Zhao and his men. He becomes more respected as martial artist than their current instructor, the weasly Su. That drives Su insane with envy, especially now that the troupe leader’s daughter, Liang Yu-Qing (Zhong Xia-Zheng, of The Magic Legs), has set her sights on Lin.  He gets so jealous, in fact, that he ends up ratting Lin out to the magistrate, Cui Zuo-Bang (Xu Xue-Yi). This has two consequences: first, Magistrate Cui send his soldiers to apprehend Lin and the troupe at a performance. Second, Prince Ha Er-Ci (Suen Gen-Fa, of Secret Imperial Edict and Ninjas and Dragons), who’s investigating the Taiping movement has his men slaughter the members of the troupe who had stayed behind on their boat. Lin Hai-Nan and Liang Shao-Jia confront Prince Ha, but are defeated and Shao-Jia is murdered.

So, what do you do when The Man keeps you down, murders your friends, and is too strong for you to defeat head-to-head? You go to Shaolin and refine your skills, that’s what! Lin Hai-Nan and several surviving members of the opera group head to the Shaolin temple to improve their skills for a final showdown.

For the most part, The South Shaolin Master is a solid tale of patriotism (well, sorta) and good martial artists teaming up to defeat the Qings. I guess you can call it patriotism: the Chinese Communist Party in recent years has declared the Taiping Rebels to be patriots who fought against a corrupt empire (i.e. the Qing Dynasty). Despite the Taiping angle, not much is really done with that premise. You could have switched “Taiping Rebel” with “Sun and Moon Sect member” or “White Lotus Society member” and the resulting film would have been exactly the same.

My main problem with the story is that some characters just disappear from the narrative. That weaselly bastard Su is never heard from again after he betrays the opera trope. I was hoping that he would show up at the climax to get the sound thrashing that he so much deserved, but no. The same goes for the arrogant Lord Zhao: after losing a fight to Lin Hai-Nan in the first half hour or so, you’d think he’d be waiting for a rematch at the climax, too. Nope. He’s no longer mentioned after his two big scenes. That makes the climax less cathartic than it should have been.

That said, the action direction of the film is top notch, especially Mainland Chinese standards. Even if Brand Yuan and Brandy Yuen are not one and the same, the former did show a lot of aptitude for this sort of work. It helped that a veteran like Yeung Wah was involved. The action is a lot more hard-hitting than a lot of wushu films of that era, complete with some devastating breaks and dislocations, plus a lot more blood spitting than usual. The finale between Lin Hai-Nan and Prince Ha Er-Ci is especially intense, add things like flying knee smashes and hard-hitting tumbling and falls to the usual fisticuffs.

The movie excels in the weapons choreography, which is not only expertly staged, but astonishingly varied as well. During the second big fight between the Opera troupe and Lord Zhao’s men, the latter’s flunkies arm themselves with all sorts of weapons: three-pronged forks, three-section staves, the Tiger’s Head Hooks, and best of all: a rare weapon called the chan zi dao, or Cicada’s Wing Blade. It looks like a short pole with two curved blades at both ends, plus crescent-shaped blades for handguards. I think this is the only film I’ve seen this particular weapon in, so kudos to the action directors for being so creative. The finale features no fewer than five pretty girls busting out the Tai Chi Sword forms against the villains, plus villain Suen Gen-Fa giving the audience a nice demonstration of the rope-dart. At that’s in addition to the usual poles, three-section staves, and sabers that show up in most kung fu movie group battles.

I suspect that this isn’t the best film to watch if you want a showcase for Southern Chinese Martial Arts. I mean, we know that the Communist Party diluted Chinese martial arts into a flowery performance art so that rank and file wouldn’t know how to fight for themselves—the martial arts with real combat applications were reserved for policemen and soldiers. So, it could be that a lot these actors in this particular film did study Southern martial arts, but they were the diluted version with more acrobatics and flashy kicks thrown in. Action director Yeung Wah worked frequently with Lau Kar-Leung, a grandmaster of Southern styles (specifically Hung Gar), so he probably knew a bit how to balance out their training with The Real Deal. And you can see it in a lot of lead actor Yau Gin-Gwok’s handwork: short, fast bursts of power, often with the intent to break bones and disable the opponent. But if you want a true showcase for Southern Kung Fu styles in a Mainland film, watch Martial Arts of Shaolin (1986) instead. But if you want lots of great choreography in a Mainland wushu film, look no further than The South Shaolin Master.

The Lady Assassin (1983)

The Lady Assassin (1983)
Aka: Assassin’s Revenge
Chinese Title: 清宮啟示錄
Translation: Apocalypse of the Qing Palace

 

Starring: Lau Wing, Leanne Lau Suet-Wah, Max Mok Siu-Chung, Norman Tsui Siu-Keung, Jason Pai Piao, Ku Feng, Daisy Cheung King-Yu, Yuen Tak, Yeung Ching-Ching, Kwan Fung, Wong Mei-Mei, Johnny Wang Lung-Wei, Tony Lou Chun-Ku, Sun Chien
Director: Tony Lou
Action Director: Yuen Tak, Poon Kin-Kwan, Choi Chung-Wing

 

The Lady Assassin is a bit misleading for this late-period Shaw Brothers action extravaganza. There is technically a female assassin in the film, but she’s not the main character, nor does she even earn that moniker until the last 10 minutes of the movie. Instead, this movie is a more ambitious (if unfocused) account of the Yongzheng Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, who ruled China from 1722 to 1735. For a while, I thought this might make for a good prequel to the Flying Guillotine films, and then you get to the final scene and you’re like, “Uhh…maybe not.”

The Kangxi Emperor (Ching Miao, of The Sword and the Lute and Golden Swallow) is dying and is looking for a successor among the numerous princes. One test that he has given his sons is to give them some pet mice and ask them to care for them. The only one who has passed the test is the 14^th Prince (Max Mok, of Holy Flame of the Martial World and Once Upon a Time in China 2); the other princes have let their mice die because…well…they’re too important to care for rodents or something. That is, except for the 4^th Prince (Lau Wing, of Way of the Dragon and Enter the Dragon), who hasn’t been around. In any case, the Kangxi Emperor thinks that the 14^th Prince will be a good emperor and gentle to his subjects.

Unfortunately, the 4^th Prince covets the throne and starts sending assassins after his brother. Fortunately for the 14^th Prince, hid bodyguard is a super-talented swordsman named Tsang Jing (Norman Tsui Siu-Keung, of Duel to the Death and Wing Chun), who is more than a match for the 4^th Prince’s guards and servants. When the 4^th Prince is unable to buy Tsang’s collaboration, he gets himself a super-powerful martial arts bodyguard of his own, Min Geng-Yiu (Jason Pai Piao, of Demon Strike and Action Tae Kwon Do). Min is both arrogant and ambitious, and together he and the prince forge a partnership to guarantee the latter’s ascension to the throne.

Shortly before the death of the Emperor, Min Geng-Yiu employs the services of a famous scholar named Lui Liu-Liang (Ku Feng, of Dynamo and Vengeance!), who is known for writing about the mistreatment of the Han People by the Manchus. The 4^th Prince promises Lui that he will decree better treatment of the Hans by the Qing nobles if he helps out. So Lui has his niece, Lui Si-Niang (Leanne Lau, of Bastard Swordsman and Little Dragon Maiden), steal the Royal Decree naming the next emperor so that her uncle can change the lettering, so that the 4^th Prince is named instead of the 14^th Prince. All goes according to the plan, at least at first.

Some time goes by—the film isn’t very good at establishing time jumps—and Lui Liu-Liang is upset that the new Yongzheng Emperor hasn’t made good on his promise to decree better treatment of the Han Chinese. Although the Emperor has tried, his advisors have convinced him that equal treatment of the Hans will inevitably lead to rebellion, so he reneged on his word. At about the same time, Tsang Jing tries to assassinate the Yongzheng Emperor, but fails. This ultimately leads to the 14^th Prince getting sent into exile, where he is eventually executed. Min Geng-Yiu takes the deposed prince’s place as the Royal General.

Ultimately, Lui Liu-Liang and his cohorts try to plan a rebellion (or at least another assassination attempt) against the emperor, but thanks to the Emperor’s new ninja secret service, that will only end in tragedy…

Despite the fact that the climax hinges on an assassination attempt that probably never occurred, in which Japanese ninja used all sorts of trickery and sleight-of-hand to defend the Qing Emperor, there is a lot of historical material here, probably more than the Flying Guillotine films. For example, there really was a tight race between the 4^th Prince and the 14^th Prince (and two other princes) to succeed the Kangxi Emperor. As it happens in the film, the 14^th Prince, Yinti, was indeed promoted to the rank of General and sent to fight in NW China. That rank was also stripped from him and subsequently given to Nian Gengyao (Jason Pai Piao’s character), as happens in the movie.

Moreover, there has indeed been a dispute as whether or not the Royal Decree actually named the 4^th or the 14^th Prince as the new emperor. Some legends suggest that the Yongzheng emperor had indeed altered the Decree, as does happen in this movie. The legend is that the Chinese character for “ten” (十), was changed to 于, which means “to”. That would have left the character 四 (“Four”) by itself and referred to the Fourth Prince. That is exactly what happens in this film.

The film also tells of the fall from grace that the Yongzheng’s bodyguard, General Nian Gengyao suffered. In the film, Nian is relieved of his post when the Emperor is dismayed to learn that his soldiers don’t answer to Imperial decrees, but to General’s orders and his orders only. In both the film and real life, Nian’s demotion was met by no actual penitence on the former general’s part. In the film, Nian is demoted to a guard at the city gates, at which point he just disappears from the film. In real life, he was forced to commit suicide.

Not based on fact was the relationship between the Yongzheng Emperor and Lui Liuliang, a real-life scholar known for his anti-Qing rhetoric. The real Liuliang had been born at the end of the Ming Dynasty and lived to see its fall to the Manchus. But that was long before the Yongzheng emperor was even born. When Lui Liuliang passed away, the 4^th Prince was only five years old! Nonetheless, there is an interesting story in which a man tried to start a revolutionary movement based on Lui’s writings. After the failed revolution, the Yongzheng ordered the desecration of Liuliang’s corpse, the execution of one of his sons, and the enslavement of his female relatives. That said, it’s the rocky relationship between these two historical figures that ultimately gives this film it’s title.

Despite kung fu movies and traditional wuxia being a little passé in 1983, the Shaw Brothers still had lots of talent working for it in the action department. Here we have choreography from a young Yuen Tak, one of the Seven Fortunes who studied at the same school as Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung. Joining him is Poon Kin-Kwan (best known for his work on Stephen Chow movies like God of Cookery) and Choi Chung-Wing (The Long Road to Gallantry and The Master). Their work here feels like a transition between the wuxia choreography of Tong Gaai of that same period, and the wired-up hijinks that would become popular in the 1990s. In fact, Yuen Tak was a pioneer in wire-fu when he worked on Dragon from Russia (1990).

There are a lot of fights in the movie, with a number of epic two-on-one and one-on-one duels. The action comes early with a crazy assassination attempt on the 14^th Prince, broken up the arrival of Tseng Jing, who takes on the two masked assassins by himself. That is followed shortly afterward by an insane one-vs-many fight as Tseng Jing fights off an entire courtyard full of soldiers. Not long afterward, there is a long hand-to-hand fight between the 4^th Prince and Nin Gengyiu, which features some fantastic open-handed shapes combat from both Lau Wing and Jason Pai Piao. A later assassination attempt on the Yongzheng Emperor has Norman Tsui fighting Lau Wing (both are armed with swords), who’s joined by Johnny Wang Lung-Wei, who’s wielding a kwan do. There are several other fights that I won’t mention…

…except the finale, because it’s so crazy and insane. The titular assassin and her cohorts, played by Sun Chien (of The 5 Deadly Venoms) and Yuen Tak, make an attempt on the Emperor’s life, but have to deal with a Japanese ninja warrior (the director himself) and his entourage, who are decked out in shiny gold ninja outfits. They fight with swords and fabrics and shuriken and giant boomerang shuriken and all sorts of craziness ensues. By the of the fight, at least two people get sliced in half, one longitudinally and the other latitudinally. It’s pretty crazy.

All of the actors do a great job with the action, which is mainly swordplay. Even Sun Chien, who was mainly a tae kwon do expert, fights with a pair of hook swords (and a few of his famous kicks). Leanne Lau (or her stunt double) stuns in her fight scenes and she puts on a great display with the sword, as does the always dependable Norman Tsui. There is a lot of wire assistance, prefiguring the revolution that the 1990s would bring to Hong Kong martial arts. People who don’t like “unrealistic” action might be turned off by this, not to mention some undercranking which is present in a number of the set pieces. The choreography on the whole, however, is just phenomenal.

There are some fundamental flaws to the story. Both Max Mok’s and Jason Pai Piao’s characters disappear from the film with little fanfare. And Tseng Jing is constantly flocked by a pair of attractive female fighters. I was expecting them to participate in the climax, too, given the circumstances leading up to it. They just disappear from the film with no explanation, too. Nonetheless, the story itself is intriguing enough and the action thrilling enough to merit this a recommendation.

Yao's Young Warriors (1983)

Yao’s Young Warriors (1983)
Aka: Wu Tang Death Squad
Chinese Title: 岳家小將
Translation: Young General of the Yue Family

 

Starring: Xun Feng, Zhang Xi-Ling, Zhang An-Chi, Wei Wei, Huang Jun, Chen Wei, Sun Hua-Man, Zhang Yue-Ning, Wong Chan-Tin, Song Wen-Hua
Director: Wang Zhiyu
Action Director: Wang Jin-Bao

 

The Song Dynasty in China lasted for a little more than three hundred years. Starting in A.D. 960, it saw its fall in 1279, when the Mongols conquered China under Kublai Khan and the Yuan Dynasty began. However, for the all the cultural advancements that this dynasty enjoyed, it was a complicated era in the geopolitical sense. It had been preceded by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, a turbulent period in which Northern/Central/Eastern China had undergone no fewer than five dynasty changes in a 70-year period, while Southern China was fractured into ten small kingdoms. At the end of the fifth dynasty, the Later Zhou, General Zhao Kuangyin staged a coup, overthrew the Zhou emperor, and installed himself as the emperor. He then conquered the lower ten kingdoms and unified China.

Only not so much. You see, the Tang Dynasty, which had ruled prior to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, had extended all the way to the west into what is now known as the Xinjiang region (also once known as the Uighur Autonomous Region) in Western China. In fact, the territory controlled by the Tang empire was similar to modern China, sans the Tibetan Plateau and Manchuria. However, once the Tang empire collapsed, that region was taken over by a Tibetan people known as the Tanguts. At the same time, a “proto-Mongol” tribe known as the Khitans had established their own dynasty, known as the Liao Dynasty, in what is now Mongolia. There was a complicated power play for Western China between the Song and Liao peoples, but the Tanguts resisted and ultimately declared their own empire, known as the Western Xia. For a long time, there were continuous border disputes and territory raids by these three neighboring empires, plus tributes and alliances to maintain peace, at least for a while.

That all came to halt when the Liao Dynasty collapsed. The cause? An uprising by a proto-Manchurian tribe known as the Jurchen people. They overthrew the Khitans and established the Jin Dynasty around A.D. 1115. However, they also noted the military weakness of the neighboring Song empire and exploited that, despite having established diplomatic relations a few years earlier. They invaded China and conquered the northern half of the empire, forcing the Song royal family to flee southward and establish a new capital at Lin’an. The new boundaries held for about 150 years, until the Mongols rose to power, conquered both the Han Chinese and Jurchen peoples, and simply committed genocide on the Tanguts.

Yao’s Young Warriors is set in the final days of the Northern Song period, around A.D. 1126. The infamous General Yue Fei[1] has been fighting the Jin forces in the North. Yue Fei has been chased to Ox Head Mountain, where he’s set up fort and fought the Jurchens to a standstill. The Jin forces have come up with a plan to smoke Yue Fei out of his hiding place, so to speak. They send Second Prince Jin Tanzi (Zhang Chengzhong), Third Princess Ying Lingzi (Zhang Xiling, of Murky Shadows Over the Gorges and The Queen of Tibet), and General Zhang Zhaonu (Zhang Yuening) to Yue Fei’s massive estate with the intention of kidnapping his wife and mother. That will take the fight out of him!

Their plot is discovered by a young man named Niu Tong (Liu Weiming), who happens to the be the son of Yue Fei’s subordinate general, as the subs say. The Jurchens were smart enough to dress many of their soldiers in Song armor so as to get close to the Yue’s villa. However, that brought Niu Tong over to them and he accidentally stumbles upon a conversation about their plot to kidnap the Yue matriarch. Niu Tong flees to the Yue estate, where he informs the family about the plot.

Now, Yue Fei has five sons, all of whom are talented martial artists. And despite the menfolk being gone, they have trained the army’s children in the art of war, too. The oldest of these sons is Yue Yun (Xun Fung, of Shaolin Temple and Kung Fu Hero Wang Wu), who is a master at both the family spear technique and the double melon hammers. Yue Yun is desperate to go to Ox Head Mountain to fight alongside dad, but hearing about the plot, he stays behind to defend his grandmother instead. The first encounter between the Jin Army and the titular young warriors results in the retreat of the latter, but it establishes two things: Yue Yun is a better fighter than Prince Jin Tanzi, but not as good as Princess Ying Lingzi (who’s a demon with the hook swords).

Following their defeat, the Jin forces sneak into the Yue Villa under the cover of night, expecting to come across a bunch of kids drunken with victory (and wine). Nope. The Yue family and their retainers are waiting for the Jurchens, and another big fight breaks out. However, this melee ends in a stalemate with both sides taking hostages: the Yue family captures Princess Ying, while the Jurchens capture the youngest Yue son, Yue Ting (Wei Wei, who did stuntwork in Kung Fu Hustle). And when Prince Jin Tanzi brings in the four best fighters in the kingdom, things will really get tense…

Yao’s Young Warriors is a small(ish) story told against the backdrop of a greater historical series of events. The conclusion feels especially small in scope, involving only the top Jin fighters and not the entire army, which sort deflates the build-up of the previous set pieces. That said, the film is a pretty solid tale of heroism, mercy, honor and filial piety, which are all important topics in these sorts of films. There is a marked contrast in how the two hostages are treated, as heroism (and its principles) guides Yue Yun in all of his decisions. His brothers (and Niu Tong) are often headstrong and itching for battle, but once Yue Yun decides to remain at the villa, he is archetype of the East Asian hero.

Being an 80s kung fu film from the PRC, you can expect that the filmmakers simply employed entire wushu schools to play the roles: many of these actors only made this film, or a couple of others. That also means that all of the action is authentic wushu, which most purists should like. The action was staged by Wang Jin-Bao, a former Monkey Fist stylist and Wushu champion, whose talents included the Monkey Stick technique and swordsmanship. Previous to this, Wang had staged the fights in an obscure PRC martial arts film called Mysterious Buddha (1980). Now I really want to see that.

Now, there is a certain acquired taste when it comes to Chinese wushu films, especially those that aren’t choreographed by imported Hong Kong talent, like Lau Kar-Leung, Brandy Yuen, or Tsui Siu-Ming. The fights are very stagy, even more so than the over-elaborate “shapes” choreography of late 70s Hong Kong and Taiwanese films. A younger me once observed to my brother that it looked like the characters were performing kung fu sets on each other. The moves are authentic, the forms are real, and there is minimum wire and trampoline use. But they have a definite stagy feeling to them that turns some viewers off. I’m not one of those people.

The long-defunct website “The Martial Artist’s Guide to Hong Kong Films” said of this: “The quality of the MA is established immediately…Very high quality wu shu and some of the best weapons work you'll ever see. Spear, staff, sword, rope dart and empty hand[2].” I’m not sure if the weapons action quite reaches the heights of films like Legendary Weapons of China and The Odd Couple, but there is a lot of it. Several characters wield exotic weapons, like hook swords, melon hammers, Sun and Moon blades, rope darts and the Meteor Hammer. We even get to see one of the Yue children practicing with the elusive Emei Piercer, also seen in The Secret Rivals II and Knife of Devil’s Roaring and Souls Missing. Sadly, some of those weapons don’t much of a showcase, because so much is going on in the fights.

The finale, however, is quite strong with the heroes demonstrating some great spear work while facing off with a quartet of villains. One of the villains uses the meteor hammer, which is like the rope-dart, but with a round metal weight instead of a dart at the end. The guy does some great work with that. Another villain uses the Eagle Claw style, which doesn’t make sense if you consider that Yue Fei was the legendary founder of said style. But then again, in these 80s wushu films, the weapons and styles displayed have more to do with whatever was in the troupe’s curriculum, as opposed to what would have been used according to the time period. The choreography reaches its apex here, although from a storytelling point of view, I wish that the Jin army could have been involved, too. That would have been SUPER EPIC. As it stands, Yao’s Young Warriors will have to settle for “Pretty good.”

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[1] - In addition to being a famous patriot, Yue Fei has been considered the Father of both Xingyi Quan (hsing-i chuan) and Ying Jow Pai (Eagle Claw style), although that has a lot to do with the tendency for proponents of different styles to attach their names to historical personages.

[2] - http://www.magthkf.ronlim.com/martial6.html#anchor487693