Challenge of Death (1978)

The names attached to CHALLENGE OF DEATH guarantee that it’s a good film. Next to Joseph Kuo, Lee Tso-nam was Taiwan’s greatest martial arts director while his frequent collaborator Tommy Lee always provided impressive choreography. Actors Dorian Tan, Don Wong and Chang Yi all possessed the necessary martial arts skills and prowess to enhance any film they appeared in. In this effort, the pairing of Tan and Wong proved to be a capable team and appeared side-by-side again in Lee’s classic FATAL NEEDLES VS. FATAL FISTS.

With Lee at the helm, an involved and unusually competent plot drives the film. Super kicker Dorian Tan plays Lu Sai-yen, a Dragon Fist expert and police agent sent to foil an illegal arms deal which would put guns into the hands of a rebel general and his army. The year is undetermined, but it’s likely that this story takes place in the 1930s. Sai-yen’s job is to find out who the arms dealer is and his only lead is a prostitute named Wu Chin-wa who works for him. He gets to her through her boyfriend, a gambler and Snake Fist expert named Chen Tso-lan (Don Wong) who is pressed into helping Sai-yen in exchange for having misdemeanor charges dropped.

Initially, the two form an uneasy partnership that takes them from a gambling hall dressed as an old couple where they discover that the owners are sore losers to Wu Chin-wa herself. A sub-plot involving an attempt by the lovers to steal the arms buyer’s money is foiled by Sai-yen who finally learns that the dealer is Sung Tin-pa (Chang Yi), a rare Spider Fist expert and all around nasty guy. This villain is smart enough to uncover the scheme that Wu Chin-wa attempted and she’s not long for this world. Tin-pa’s skills prove to be too much for either Tso-lan or Sai-yen alone, but together they use their skills to bring the arms dealer down for good.

Lee has a knack for creating this type of hardboiled period kung fu story where police officials are trying to bust a criminal outfit. Most of his films deal with similar plots. They can be a bit slower than straight action films, but the pay off is in a more carefully constructed story where the normally ridiculous martial arts action makes sense. In other words, his films often put the action in a real world context. Countless kung fu films portray this period in China as a frontier land where rural villages are ruled by local warlords and criminals posing as landowners and businessmen. Like in American Westerns, lawmen are basically on their own when it comes to keeping the peace so they rely on their fighting abilities to succeed.

Dorian Tan proves again why he is one of the screen’s greatest kickers in his role as the police agent. Don Wong is a talented fighter who relies more on arm work and occasionally breaks out impressive leaping attacks. There is one such stunt that appears a third of the way in the film and looks spectacular as he kicks an opponent behind while punching another in front while suspended in air. The two players make a great team and they both have skills and personality traits that compliment each other.

Less successful as a pair is Wong and his female counterpart in the film played by a Taiwanese actress that, as of this writing I am unfamiliar with. They never seem convincing as a couple. They both appear locked in their stereotypical roles which are overused in this genre and never connect. In addition, Dorian Tan doesn’t so much as acknowledge the death of his fellow police agent near the end. This all hurts the story which in most other respects is not bad.

The martial arts action is likely choreographed by Tommy Lee who also appears in the film, although some sources credit Lung Fong. Lee choreographed many of Lee’s films and deserves accolades for providing some of the best action seen outside of Hong Kong. The action incorporates a lot of classical movements, but he’s also adept at creating fantasy action too.

Chang Yi plays the lead villain and his ability is the Spider Fist, a style rarely used in film but put to good use here. His special move is to toss out elastic ropes from his sleeves that attach to tree branches and whatnot. This allows Chang to hang above his opponent and drop down at will to scoop him up. The cape and web-like embroidery is a nice Shaw Brothers-style touch.

The duel between Dorian Tan and Don Wong half way through the film is probably the best. The action appears to be only slightly under-cranked and the two really seem evenly matched. At one point, they stop to size each other up and the intensity only grows. It’s a great moment that Lee fully capitalizes on.

To break it down, this is a high quality independent effort. CHALLENGE OF DEATH is not quite as good overall as some of Lee Tso-nam’s best films, mostly due to the film’s slower pace and weak supporting actor performances. But, it’s still a lot of fun and recommended to classic kung fu fans who generally prefer old school fighting with only a touch of gimmickry.