Shaolin Martial Arts (1974), starring Fu Sheng, Chi Kuan Chun, Gordon Liu Chia Hui, Bruce Tong Yim Chaan, Irene Chan Yi Ling, Leung Kar Yan and Johnny Wang Lung Wei. Directed by Chang Cheh.

All images courtesy Celestial Pictures.

FOR anyone who likes their Shaw Brothers flicks with Shaolin kung fu, Shaolin Martial Arts will live up to its name for you adequately. The third of four Shaolin-based films made by director Chang Cheh to be released in 1974, it initially attracted moviegoers because of the pairing of rising stars Fu Sheng and Chi Kuan Chun, but it's since been rediscovered in the home video age for the early presence of popular performers Gordon Liu (not yet shaving his head), Leung Kar Yan (not yet sporting a beard) and Wang Lung Wei (not yet using a finger to make his point). With a script by Cheh and the prolific Ni Kuang that deviates some from the convention found in most of these films, it catches the viewer's attention with a low-key, moody story.

Lau Kar Wing

Long after the Shaolin Temple has been burnt down (heroes like Fang Shih-yu and Hung Tsi-qwan are mentioned in the past tense), the Qing court gets word from the province of Guangdong of the discovery of Shaolin rebels at a kung fu school run by Lin Zan Tian (Lo Dik). They arrange to have Wu Chung Ping (Kong Do) open and manage a Manchu school nearby, using it as a subterfuge for rooting out the fugitives. The Manchus finally strike at a ceremony jointly attended by the schools, killing a Shaolin student (Lau Kar Wing) in order to provoke a fight, but their strategy backfires when the agitators trounce the Manchus, including Ping. Not surprisingly, once the Qing authorities arrive, they side with the Manchus, claiming nothing more happened than a "gang fight", thus denying the Shaolin men justice for their slain brother.

left to right: Leung Kar Yan and Johnny Wang Lung Wei

Disappointed Ping and his pupils failed to defeat the rebels, a Qing general (Lee Wan Chung) offers Ping some assistance via his confidante, kung fu master He Lian (Fung Hak On). Lian has summoned his two favorite disciples to help the Manchus eradicate the Shaolin agitators: Ba Kang (Leung Kar Yan) and Yu Pi (Johnny Wang Lung Wei). Kang is highly trained at Steel Armor kung fu, which makes his skin tough and invulnerable to blows; Pi has mastered Qi Gong, which enables him to withstand a blow from an opponent and "rebound the power of the blow", injuring "the one who initiated the punch."

top, left to right: Fu Sheng and Chi Kuan Chun
below, left to right: Bruce Tong Yim Chaan,
Tino Wong Chueng and Gordon Liu Chia Hui

Soon enough, the dissidents find out Kang and Pi are forces not to be trifled with when the duo leads a group of Manchus on a visit to Tian's school; once there, they kill his two best students in brief, one-sided matches. Among those who witness the spectacle are Shaolin aspirants Li Yao (Fu Sheng), Chen Bao Rong (Chi Kuan Chun), He Zhen Gang (Gordon Liu Chia Hui) and Mai Han (Bruce Tong Yim Chaan). Knowing they're in over their heads if they fight this deadly twosome, they flee from the Manchus and report what's transpired to the ailing Tian, who lives in seclusion with his daughter, Lin Zhen Ziou (Irene Chan Yi Ling), and his niece, Ah Wai (Yuen Man Tzu).

Lo Dik

Once he's been updated, Tian knows exactly what kind of kung fu they're dealing with, and he believes the Eagle Claw and Rolling Eagle Claw styles will best take out Kang and Pi, respectively. However, he's no expert on those martial arts, so he has Gang and Han go to a reclusive sifu known as the "King of Eagle Claw" (Chiang Nan) for a few months of special training, while Yao and Rong stay with him and continue their Shaolin training.

Eventually, Gang and Han complete their training, but on the way back to see Tian, they get word four Shaolin students have been recently captured by the Manchus, prompting them to go into rescue mode. For an instant, it looks like their new abilities put them on equal footing with Kang and Pi, but they fall short of that. Gang and Han are killed, but the pupils manage to escape the Manchus' grasp and tell Tian about the bad turn of events.

left to right: Simon Yuen Sui Tien and Feng Yi 

Realizing he tragically underestimated Kang and Pi's advanced skills, Tian has Yao and Rong seek out two other sifus whose areas of expertise may be more helpful toward ending the murderers' reign of terror. Yao goes to Master Liang (Simon Yuen Sui Tien) to learn Tiger and Crane Fist (to stop Kang), while Rong locates Master Yan (Feng Yi) so he can learn Wing Chung (to stop Pi). In the beginning, the workouts are long, tiring and exasperating (Yao has to wait a whole month before Liang agrees to work with him!) to the point both consider quitting, but they quickly change their minds once Ziou and Wai disclose how Tian defiantly committed suicide when Kang, Pi and the Manchus came calling on him not long after they left. Now refocused, the young men dive into the training with a passion. Months later, Yao and Rong, eager to avenge the deaths of Tian and their many Shaolin brothers, are finally prepared for a showdown with Kang and Pi, mano-a-mano....

top, left to right: Irene Chan Yi Ling and Yuen Man Tzu
bottom, left to right: Kong Do and Funk Hak On

As a whole, Cheh and Kuang's screenplay for SMA doesn't get mired in formula because the formula is a work in progress. The narrative fares better when shown from the viewpoint of the Shaolin rebels. Vicariously, we feel their anger when their comrades are slain; their camaraderie as they hide out from the Manchus; and their disappointment and elation as they go through the rigors of learning kung fu. What doesn't come off as well are the villains. Kang and Pi are intimidating enough, but their limited screen time lessens their menace; with Ping and Lian, their roles are way underdeveloped, and a good rewrite could drop either of them without harm to the story. Some have reserved their loudest complaints for Ziou and Wai. It's possible the women were added at the suggestion of the Shaws (the romantic angle is played up in the original movie trailer, included on the IVL DVD), over the objections of director Cheh. (Did Kuang write them in?) I have no hangups about the ladies (though their girlish behavior is laid on thick), and it's to the credit of Kuang and/or Cheh they're not depicted as damsels in distress.

Despite having young ladies in his yang gang scenario, Cheh directs SMA assuredly, with as much attention given to the pensive moments as are the boisterous ones. The photography by Miyaki Yukio (Kung Mu To) helps to set the proper atmosphere, particularly with a good usage of darkness in well composed low-lit scenes. Kwok Ting Hung's editing is adroit, enhancing the grace, beauty and intensity Lau Kar Leung and Tong Gaii bring to the choreography of the training sequences and the fights. (Only the climatic battle ends with a whimper, but that's more of another script problem.)

The cast handles their parts capably. Fu Sheng and Chi Kuan Chun make a great team, both at (or near) their physical peaks, and while Chun gets his fair share of acting opportunities (and is very good), Sheng carries the picture with his winning personality and an underplayed performance, even during his comedic scenes with the winsome Yuen Man Tzu. Irene Chan Yi Ling (forever "Princess" in Cheh's Young People) shows impressive range in what time she gets to be seen as Tian's daughter (and Rong's girlfriend). Lo Dik, Feng Yi, Chiang Nan and Simon Yuen Sui Tien are great as the Shaolin sifus, with Tien a true scene stealer as the obstinate Liang, who gives Yao no mercy. Supporting player Bruce Tong Yim Chaan gets a rare weighty role as the Shaolin student fated to die at the hands of Pi; why this above average actor and fighter didn't get a chance at stardom is mystifying. As already noted, Kong Do (Ping) and Fung Hak On (Lian) are given skimpy roles, but they give enough of a spark to them they don't come across as cardboard cutouts. As always, other familiar Shaw faces are present throughout, including the likes of Tino Wong Chueng, Dang Tak Chueng, Chan Dik Hak, Li Chen Piao, Lo Wai and Lam Fai Wong.

left to right: ? and Leung Kar Yan

What about those three newcomers mentioned earlier? For Leung Kar Yan and Lang Lung Wei, SMA was their second Shaw movie (but the first to be issued), while Gordon Liu had a few more films under his belt prior to this one. So it stands Liu is the more accomplished actor and gets to show off his kung fu capabilities in a memorable fight with Yan, demonstrating his potential as star material years before he got his big break with The 36th Chamber of Shaolin. As the efficient killing machines, Yan and Wei play don't get to display any depth but they are convincingly tough. However, Yan arguably gets the meatier role as Kang, highlighted by one of the movie's best scenes where a prostitute's attempt to arouse him fails because, thanks to his Steel Armor training, he's capable of retracting his sex organs into his body cavity!

The IVL DVD is the best way to experience SMA. It boasts a remastered, anamorphic picture, the original mono Mandarin soundtrack and English subtitles. Extras consist of bios and newly made Shaw trailers by Celestial Pictures. (I first saw this years back in bootleg form with the English dub, which I didn't like much, thanks to the overly sweet voices given to Ziou and Wai. Seriously, you get a better feel for the emotional tone of the movie if you see the legit DVD. Watch that, not the bootleg.)

SMA is early in Cheh's "Shaolin Cycle", and it has the bumps in the script to prove it. Fortunately, the modest imbalance (a.k.a. the weak villainy) doesn't hurt what is an exciting and fun (even thoughtful) film. Most of all, with Fu Sheng, Chi Kuan Chun, Gordon Liu, Leung Kar Yan and Lang Lung Wei participating, it's definitely not boring.

Brother Fang cuts to the chase: "A special dose of Shaolin, featuring the ascending Fu Sheng and early looks at Gordon Liu, "Beardy" and Lang Lung Wei. Recommended!"

Keeping it trivial....

Brother Fang, Shaolin Temple.

Four Riders (1972), starring David Chiang, Ti Lung, Chen Kuan-tai and Wong Chung. Directed by Chang Cheh.

(All images courtesy of Celestial Pictures.)

MUST a movie make sense to be enjoyable? Not really, and don't believe any high-brow film critic who says different. (Once in a while, they like something a little illogical, too.) Even if there's a followable storyline, it doesn't take much from the filmmakers' side of things to unintentionally envelop the audience in a fog if they're trying to establish a particular look or style to their picture. Sometimes, the results can come back to bite them on the butt, artistically and financially; when they work out favorably, it can be a unique anomaly of cinema, if not a cult classic. That said, does the Shaw Brothers oddity Four Riders measure up with the other entertaining doses of yang gang from the formidable Chang Cheh?

Somewhere in South Korea, it's the end of the Korean War. A Chinese veteran of the conflict, Feng Xia (Ti Lung), drives to Seoul for some relaxation after collecting his pension (in American currency) and liberating a jeep from an army colonel (Lo Wai) he recently decked. Along the way, he picks up a fellow soldier, Gao Yinhan (Wong Chung), who's heading in the same direction to see Li Weishi (Chen Kuan-tai), a retired First Lieutenant recuperating at a hospital from wounds received in battle.

Not long after the two part company in the city, Xia stumbles upon some guys who've just pummeled an American GI to death; to be exact, they're members of a drug cartel run by Boss Hawkes (Andre Marquis), and they killed the man for his refusal to be a mule on his return trip to the US. Xia is overwhelmed by them before he can leave, and Hawkes' second-in-command, Lei Tai (Yasuaki Kurata), frames him for the crime. As fate goes, until a trial date is set, the injured Xia is confined by SK MPs in the prison ward of the same hospital where Yinhan's visiting Weishi. Yinhan is certain Xia is innocent, and since Weishi feels he has no chance at being found not guilty, he suggests Yinhan get a gun that his nurse, Song Hua (Ching Li), can smuggle to Xia and use for a quick escape.

Meanwhile, when Xia's army buddy, Jin Yi (David Chiang), reads of his plight in a newspaper, he knows something fishy's going on, too; based on all the time he's spent visiting lovely hostess Wensi (Lily Li) at the Hello John Club owned by Hawkes, he knows of the illegal activities going on. He calls out Tai about what's being done to Xia, but he's soon beaten up by him and Hawkes' other flunkies. Only Hawkes' brassy girlfriend, Yinhua (Tina Chin Fei) saves him from a premature demise; after a night of sex with her, he sneaks off.

After a few leads that go nowhere, Yinhan finally gets lucky when he's offered a gun...by Tai; Hawkes wants Xia dead immediately, and he says he'll pay anyone who'll do the task. (I'm guessing the payment consists of hot lead.) Shrewdly, Yinhan pretends to accept the offer, and before too long, Xia breaks out of the hospital with Weishi and Yinhan. Tragically, Song Hua is shot by Hawkes' men as she flees with them, to the horror of Weishi.

Eventually, Yi joins up with the three fugitives. On the run from the SK army (while keeping one step ahead of Hawkes' confederates), they devise a plan to bring down Hawkes' operation and exonerate themselves in the eyes of SK military justice. While Yi returns to the Hello John to look for incriminating paperwork, the other three confront Tai and Hawkes' other men in a free-for-all at a gymnasium. There's only one complication to all of this; unknown to the four, the SKs are now on their way to the gym, and they believe the Chinese are part of Hawkes' gang....

The title Four Riders (re-titled as Strike 4 Revenge in the US) comes from a scene when Weishi reads aloud his favorite piece of Biblical scripture to his nurse; it's the only time this reference shows up in the entire film. In turn, the only things these four heroes ride are jeeps, and they're more concerned with saving their own hides than unleashing an apocalypse on the world. It's their urgency to rescue Xia, along with the need for all of them to survive long enough to stop Hawkes and have their names cleared, which propels this testosterone-drenched melodrama (with a hint of swagger) that could've only been directed by Chang Cheh.

The kick I've gotten out of watching FR all the times I have (over a dozen, so far) does not distract me from the fact that some-where between the completion of the script (by Cheh and Ni Kuang) and the wrap-up of filming, the setting of South Korea in July, 1953, was forgotten in the process. Money appears to have been the main reason why, and if Cheh had a few movies in various stages of production at the time, it might also explain why the story never got reworked. Getting down to basics, with all the '70s hair, wardrobe and other trap-pings on the screen, the lapse of historical accuracy in FR doesn't detract from its entertainment value, and it shouldn't bother you, either. (Imagine it's one of those dramatizations on America's Most Wanted or the History Channel.)

The film shot on location in SK by Kung Mu To is wonderful and fascinating to see, be it snow-covered ground or the narrow streets within Seoul. The scenery is so unique and refreshing (especially if you're not familiar with SK), when the movie cuts to a tell tale Shaw location (indoors or out), the contrast is great enough you feel cheated by this budgetary consideration because the SK footage makes the stuff shot at the studio look like crap. Anybody who gets easily bored with any studio-bound Shaw picture will relish this change of pace.

Each of the main players contributes good performances. Ti Lung exudes machismo as Xia, and the opening where he belts his former superior is a brilliant, dark-humored vignette that plays like an outtake from M*A*S*H. David Chiang is low-key and smooth as Yi, the brains of the quartet, though one of his early bits at the club (fine as they are) could've been dropped so he could join up with his comrades sooner to jumpstart the plot. As Yenshi, Chen Kuan-tai believably goes from the young guy in love with Song Hua to an anguished man who wants payback for her death. As Yinhan, Wong Chung (in his biggest role prior to being cast in The Deliquent) manages to avoid being the "fifth wheel" of the group with his athleticism and likeability, best illustrated by his first scene where he plays with some children. Only Lily Li (as Wensi) and Ching Li (as Song Hua) get short shrift with the usual type of parts Cheh often limited them to, but they elevate their minor contributions to another level through their acting.

Let's now give praise to the featured villain. Bypassing the laughable pastiness of Andre Marquis as Hawkes, Yasuaki Kurata is an inspired choice as Tai. During 1972, Kurata was relatively early into his career at Shaw, so his acting was still evolving, but the aura of suaveness he projected into performing "heavies" is already prominent. His martial arts moves are equally dynamic; he's into Lau Kar Leung and Tong Gaai's fight choreography with an intensity that threatens to overwhelm the abilities of the four leads. While his efforts only lose steam with his hilarious English dubbed voice (used when he talks to Hawke) and being (unconvincingly) clobbered by Chiang in one sequence, the man can successfully convey nastiness without overacting, which makes his work here (and in other movies) engrossing to watch.

For all the unevenness of FR, the picture doesn't lack in thrills and drama. Would FR be a better movie if Cheh had the money to make the production appear more authentic for the time period depicted? That notion can be debated, and Cheh's later historical epics like 7 Man Army, The Boxer Rebellion and The Naval Commandos are (for some) three good arguments that giving him bigger budgets didn't always yield better motion pictures.

Anyhow, I finished with trying to understand why Cheh let this film veer off course like he did a long time ago. I decided to stop making sense of FR and just enjoy it.

Brother Fang says: "Another 'sleeper' from Chang Cheh that's been nearly forgotten by people and shouldn't be! Warts and all, Cheh delivers the violence and suspense more than capably!"

Keeping it trivial....

Fang Shih-yu, Shaolin Temple.

P.S. - While you still can, purchase it at PlayAsia by clicking here.

Police Force (1973), starring Wong Chung, Lily Li, and Fu Sheng. Directed by Chang Cheh and Tsai Yang-ming.

(All images courtesy Celestial Pictures.)

ALLOW me to make a statement that can be considered a lesser form of heresy: if there were no Fu Sheng in Police Force, this Shaw Brothers movie would be no less watchable than it is now. Anyone could've been cast in his part, and fortunately for Sheng, Chang Cheh saw something in this newcomer and gave him those fabled fourteen-plus minutes at the beginning. Whether he was intentionally offering a taste of Sheng to pique the interest of HK moviegoers or hedging his bets by limiting Sheng's involvement in the film, that's unknown, but we certainly have an idea what happened to Sheng after its release (eventually). For now, Cheh's goal was trying to establish Wong Chung as a star, and months after audiences watched him play a juvenile delinquent, they now got to see him in the mature role of a cop (his first of many) in this "slice-of-the-'70s" crime drama, filmed with the cooperation of the (then) Royal Hong Kong Police Force.

The plot of PF is an uncomplicated one. When Liang Guan (Fu Sheng) is murdered while protecting his girlfrend, Shen Yan (Lily Li), from harm during a robbery gone awry, his best friend, Huang Guodong (Wong Chung), decides to join the HK Police Force, vowing to Yan he will track down the perpetrator and kill him in an act of revenge.

In five years, Guodong goes from being a cadet to Inspector, and when he discovers a recent police sketch of a man spotted dumping a body matches the one made of Guan's murderer, his most important manhunt begins in earnest.

The suspect, Gao Tu (Wong Kuong Yue), is soon found out to be connected with one Sun Zuozhong (Wang Hsieh), and the last thing the counterfeiter needs is the police bugging him because of this association. Soon, Tu's a marked man, and it's Guodong who saves him from being killed by some of Zuozhong's men. When Yan (with Guodong at the time, coincidentally) confirms Tu's ID, Guodong's moment to avenge Guan's death has arrived, but he realizes he can't do it because he is a policeman; Tu must be used to help bring down Zuozhong's criminal organization. Yan's disappointed in Guodong, but when she gets a chance to shoot Tu dead, she's unable to follow through, knowing Guodong is right.

With Tu in custody and ready to help police investigators, Zuozhong decides it's time to get out of HK, and he begins to flee on his yacht, hoping to escape to international waters. Guodong sends his four detectives off on a fast boat to pursue him (taking Tu along to help identify the yacht), while he gets on a police helicopter and flies off after them to provide backup....

After an intense release like The Delinquent, PF seems subdued, by comparison, but considering the movie was made with the blessing of the HKPF, there's little doubt they had final script approval. This is why parts of the screenplay by Cheh and Ni Kuang feel like a recruiting ad, but it's the HKPF's participation that gives authenticity to the police procedures we see within an hour and 41 minutes, as well as make the film look like it cost more to make than what it actually did. Cheh used his access to police buildings, equipment and personnel to positive results.

As for straight drama, while a lot of it is familiar stuff, the movie's pacing never lags, so the cliches don't get to hang around. The exception is Yan; Lily Li makes the most of what's written for her (and models a cool '70s wardrobe), but her character lacks real depth. Only when Yan stops obsessing over her boyfriend's killer to assist Guodong during his investigation does she get to be interesting, but it's too little, too late. To top it all off, she has to go into the old bit of getting cold feet when a choice moment to kill the murderer herself arises, which is the only serious lapse in an otherwise decent story. (What? Not even a flesh wound?) Her departure from the film after Tu's apprehension is abrupt as it is anticlimatic; what a waste of talent.

On PF, Cheh works with another co-director, Tsai Yang-ming, whose first film was the '72 independent production The Prodigal Boxer (a telling of the story of Fang Shih-yu that predates Heroes Two by two years). Cheh's style is so dominant throughout, Yang-ming's contributions are hard to decipher, so it's best to consider it more as a Cheh film. At any rate, he's on top of his craft here, with stylish location shooting in HK and involved action sequences, with fight choreography overseen by Lau Kar Leung and Tong Gaai. Save for a few continuity errors (like a "quick dry" Guodong after a dip in the ocean), this is one of the more slicker Cheh movies set in contemporary (1973) times.

There's a lot of good acting to enjoy here. Wong Chung is is ideal as Guodong, a guy who can smack a felon around along with the best of HK's lawmen. Wang Hsieh (The Lady Hermit) as Zuozhong is menacing like a bulldog, and Tung Lin (The Delinquent) looks properly authoritative as Chung's boss, a senior inspector. Among the many other supporting players, watch out for Fung Ngai (Fist of Fury), Bruce Tong, Teung Tak-cheung and Lee Yung-git. In the offbeat casting category, regular "heavy" Fung Hak-on is fun to watch as Guodong's partner (seen in this screencap with the obligatory ugly jacket).

As for Fu Sheng, he handles his screen debut better than expected. He manages to convey his acting range in what little screentime he has as Guan, and his performance is a natural one. He handles his action scenes equally well; his skills are sharp and focused during his scene at a karate tournament, where he takes on Lau Kar Wing (who appears later in two other minor roles). Guan's established quickly enough as a likeable fellow (and loving boyfriend) that when his death comes at the hands of Tu, it is poignant as he expires in a modern version of "heroic bloodshed", and the nasty nature of hs demise makes the desire for revenge Guodong and Yan share all the more potent.

PF is a transitionary film in the genre of crime dramas, HK style; it's a "last gasp" of an era where characters and situations were defined in terms of "black and white", and it's one of the earlier attempts to bring an audience realism through blood, urban grittiness and antiheroes. Guodong's initial motivation for joining the police force (vengeance) is as emotionally complex as the film gets, and for all the violence there is, it's not elaborately staged and meticulously edited. It's still years away from anything like Police Story or Hard Boiled, so anyone who sees PF on the merit it's a Cheh film should expect an "old school" movie and nothing more. In summary, Wong Chung as a '70s "Supercop" is one hell of an experience worth undertaking.

Brother Fang says..."Chang Cheh, Wong Chung and Fu Sheng: three good reasons to check ths out!"

Keeping it trivial....

Fang Shih-yu, Shaolin Temple.

P.S. - While you still can, purchase it at PlayAsia by clicking here.