|
Post by hman on Sept 3, 2007 15:41:09 GMT -8
Starring:
Kuo Chi (Philip Kwok) Candy Wen Lu Feng Chiang Sheng
Director: Chang Cheh
Action Directors: Kuo Chi, Lu Feng, Chiang Sheng
Commentaries:
One of the "wuxia" films that Chang Cheh directed the Venoms mob during the latter part of their Shaw Bros. period. Based on a story by Jin Yong (Louis Cha), this movie tells the story of the orphaned son of a Ming patriot general who is raised in a secluded martial arts school. As a young adult, he discovers a cave that houses the remains of an unknown fighter, his Golden Snake Sword, a martial arts manual, and a treasure map. The map tells the finder to seek out a person living in another city. He goes looking for the said person and finds himself involved with a noble family of martial artists and their dark family secrets.
Although the film takes nearly an hour to really get going, I thought the plot was good enough to sustain itself during the first half. When the film does pick up, it offers us some of the Venom Mob's best weapons work, especially in the finale when Kuo Chi takes on various armed fighters simultaneously. It is probably the pinnacle of the Venoms' choreography.
The sad thing is that Lo Meng and Sun Chien are nowhere to be seen. It's said that they didn't participate in some of these films because they weren't trained in weapons, but I think that's baloney. Lo Meng did a good job with the trident in "Avenging Warriors of Shaolin" and Sun Chien did a more-than-adequate job with the fan in "Brave Archer 3". What a waste of opportunity.
|
|