All Men are Brothers (1973)

No title is likely more appropriate for a Chang Cheh film than ALL MEN ARE BROTHERS as it accurately describes the theme of most of his films. This sequel to THE WATER MARGIN is based on portions of a 14th-century Chinese novel entitled OUTLAWS OF THE MARSH and picks up right where the previous film left off. Because of this and the lack of any opening explanation to bring audiences up to speed, it is highly recommended that viewers first watch THE WATER MARGIN, which also happens to be a superior film.

David Chiang is once again the leading figure among a host of Shaw Brothers’ top stars. He plays Yen Ching, a peerless wrestler and musician who has joined the Liang Shun heroes along with his master. After Yen Ching meets with the Sung Emperor in a brothel and vows that the 108 men of Liang Shun will fight and die for the defense of the Emperor against rebels, the film bursts into a montage of grandiose battles as the heroes take on the rebels at various locations.

Their main target is Fang La (Zhu Mu), the leader of the rebels. They manage to kill off some of his top lieutenants, but lose many men of their own. The struggle finally settles on Fang La’s last remaining stronghold, the city of Yongjinmen. The city is well protected by high walls, with its only weak point being a waterway with a large gate and armed guards defending it. An initial assault by water fails when the Liang Shun men are trapped. Their remaining brethren decide to infiltrate the city by sending several of the best heroes including Yen Chiang and the zealous Black Whirlwind Li Kui (Fan Mei-shing). Their mission is to find a way to force the gate open to allow their forces to enter the city. Along the way, they kidnap Fang La’s successor and fight their way through hundreds of the city’s defenders as they attempt to evade capture.

If THE WATER MARGIN was epic, ALL MEN ARE BROTHERS should have been monolithic in scope. It is to a degree, but as a war film the resources of Shaw Brothers studios are stretched to the limit and their house style shows its faults. The primary trouble comes down to some sloppy storytelling and logistics. The focus of the story is on breaking through the waterway and this is where the film really came up short. After dazzling viewers with wonderful large scale battles on land, they depict swimmers getting caught is a ridiculous trap. An underwater gate made of metal netting is closed around them with only a few wooden spikes protruding above water. They are all amazingly unable to climb over this water-level obstruction, except for the one guy who is tasked with bringing the sad news of their failure to the Liang Shun men.

After this, the focus shifts to a series of bumbling escapades within the city by some of the heroes who are supposed to be keeping a low profile. Fat chance of that happening with the simple-minded Black Whirlwind Li along for the ride. Fan Mei-sheng is wonderful as the brash, duel-axe wielding fighter whose enthusiasm constantly gets the better of him. Unfortunately, the film depicts Li and his fellow fighters seemingly running about the city at will, clashing with soldiers who seem unable or unwilling to give chase beyond twenty feet. The whole set-up is a little too artificial to buy, especially since it seems to happen repeatedly. Chang Cheh is not known for subtlety in the story or action scenes of his films and this is an example of a failed attempt at it.

Now putting aside gripes about Chang’s adaptation being less than perfect, as a kung fu movie, ALL MEN ARE BROTHERS delivers plenty of wonderfully bloody violence and weapons combat. His dream team of action directors are in top form, as is the guy in charge of the fake blood. Chang’s heroic bloodshed motif is geared to the max in a series of over-the-top last stands by our heroes. Wong Chung has a great, limb-cleaving swordfight. David Chiang and the massive Bolo Yeung have a terrific re-match after going at each other in THE HEROIC ONES. As the best wrestler in the story, Chiang dishes out an endless supply of throws and grabbling moves to thwart his stronger and larger adversary. Next up, its Chen Kuan-tai’s turn to show off his skills as he takes on multiple adversaries with a tree log, a tea bench, a spear, and anything else he can get his hands on. This is one of the film’s better fights and really shows off Chen’s tremendous abilities as a screen fighter.

Now the real action hero of this film is Fan Mei-shing. He plays a robust wild man who engages in a clash of titans with the equally bulky Bolo Yeung in an example of more Chinese wrestling. It’s hard to imagine Fan in a better role. He’s the only hero you have any empathy for because of his unabashed sincerity, whereas the remaining cast are stuck in either dispassionate reserve or cocky modes. But he also fights very well for a guy of his girth. What he lacks in Sammo Hung’s dexterity and skill with weapons, he makes up for in strength and ferocity, which he dishes out in ample amounts.

The choice end battle is reserved for David Chiang and a surprise entry by Ti Lung, who remains mostly unseen throughout the film. Expect the usual excess from Chang as he brings his favorite screen duo together yet again. This does seem like a half-hearted marketing effort to bill the film as another David Chiang-Ti Lung pairing when in fact its not.

When compared to THE WATER MARGIN, ALL MEN ARE BROTHERS does suffer from “sequelitis.” The action is more constant and bloody, but it’s more contrived, the music is not as distinctive, the war-faring story is not as carefully constructed, and the film is just not as good overall. Everything Chang Cheh relies on to sell his films just isn’t enough for a story that deserves more attention to detail and plausibility. Yet for sheer screen carnage, Chang maintains his standards here and for many that will be good enough.