Drunken Monk
11-07-2007, 08:33 PM
Director: Lau Kar Leung
Released: 1978
Synopsis: Ah To played by Gordon Liu is married to his Japanese bride. In the aftermath of the marriage he realizes his new wife still practices many of her Japanese rituals and traditions. Tempers flare over whether Chinese or Japanese martial arts are better and results in his wife fleeing back to Japan. Ah To tries to goad her into returning by issuing her a challenge. The challenge turns into wrong hands in the form of a ninja master and he travels to China with a number of martial arts masters to battle Ah To. From there on it's an all out kung fu battle for honor.
Review: The first noticeable thing about "Heroes Of The East" (besides Gordon Liu's full head of hair) is that the production value just seems better than many standard kung fu affairs. The sets may have painted on clouds and such but they just seem crisper and more colorful. Even the cinematography has some very interesting shots including long, wide fight angles.
The movie itself is superb. The tale, while simple, really tends to delve into Chinese versus Japanese sensibilities. What begins as an arrogant testament to Chinese kung fu becomes a compelling story of virtue and honor.
Liu shines as Ah to, a man recently married to a Japanese woman. They go head to head when he finds she still holds dear some of her Japanese traditions including the practicing of martial arts.
The film's pace is perfect. The quarrels between the newlyweds serve as some light hearted banter between some of the more ferocious exchanges. Of course once the challenge is issued and the Japanese martial arts masters travel to China to fight Ah To things simply get better.
What more do you want from a movie than sword, spear, sai, tonfa, nunchaku and three sectioned staff fighting as well as judo, ninja skills, crane fist and drunken boxing? Could you really want more? You could? Well how about a fleeting performance by Yuen Siu Tien and a cameo by director Lau Kar Leung as Siu Tien's usual character of the drunken beggar?
By no means is this film meant to degrade the Japanese as each fighter holds their own when fighting. Of course Shoji Kurata puts in an excellent turn as the "ninja master" and the final duel is incredibly versatile. Even the ridiculous looking Japanese crab fist is something to behold.
"Shaolin Challenges Ninja" is much celebrated and I understand why. Where many have tried, none have reached the heights of its ambition. A Shaw Brothers classic at the top of many a list, it diverts from traditional revenge-centered plot lines and even updates the era. The fight choreography, while not as mind numbingly insane as some kung fu classics, is both stylish and relatively true to the forms it portrays. Viewing Liu's superb Wudan sword skills, drunken boxing and crane fists (not to mention his superb control of the three section staff) is what makes this an action classic. It may not be brutal, bloody action like many of Chang Cheh's outings and it may not be as slapstick and ballistic as Yuen Woo Ping's efforts but Lau Kar Leung pulled in the reins and directed a tight, hard hitting gem in this Shaw Brothers masterpiece.
5 out of 5
Released: 1978
Synopsis: Ah To played by Gordon Liu is married to his Japanese bride. In the aftermath of the marriage he realizes his new wife still practices many of her Japanese rituals and traditions. Tempers flare over whether Chinese or Japanese martial arts are better and results in his wife fleeing back to Japan. Ah To tries to goad her into returning by issuing her a challenge. The challenge turns into wrong hands in the form of a ninja master and he travels to China with a number of martial arts masters to battle Ah To. From there on it's an all out kung fu battle for honor.
Review: The first noticeable thing about "Heroes Of The East" (besides Gordon Liu's full head of hair) is that the production value just seems better than many standard kung fu affairs. The sets may have painted on clouds and such but they just seem crisper and more colorful. Even the cinematography has some very interesting shots including long, wide fight angles.
The movie itself is superb. The tale, while simple, really tends to delve into Chinese versus Japanese sensibilities. What begins as an arrogant testament to Chinese kung fu becomes a compelling story of virtue and honor.
Liu shines as Ah to, a man recently married to a Japanese woman. They go head to head when he finds she still holds dear some of her Japanese traditions including the practicing of martial arts.
The film's pace is perfect. The quarrels between the newlyweds serve as some light hearted banter between some of the more ferocious exchanges. Of course once the challenge is issued and the Japanese martial arts masters travel to China to fight Ah To things simply get better.
What more do you want from a movie than sword, spear, sai, tonfa, nunchaku and three sectioned staff fighting as well as judo, ninja skills, crane fist and drunken boxing? Could you really want more? You could? Well how about a fleeting performance by Yuen Siu Tien and a cameo by director Lau Kar Leung as Siu Tien's usual character of the drunken beggar?
By no means is this film meant to degrade the Japanese as each fighter holds their own when fighting. Of course Shoji Kurata puts in an excellent turn as the "ninja master" and the final duel is incredibly versatile. Even the ridiculous looking Japanese crab fist is something to behold.
"Shaolin Challenges Ninja" is much celebrated and I understand why. Where many have tried, none have reached the heights of its ambition. A Shaw Brothers classic at the top of many a list, it diverts from traditional revenge-centered plot lines and even updates the era. The fight choreography, while not as mind numbingly insane as some kung fu classics, is both stylish and relatively true to the forms it portrays. Viewing Liu's superb Wudan sword skills, drunken boxing and crane fists (not to mention his superb control of the three section staff) is what makes this an action classic. It may not be brutal, bloody action like many of Chang Cheh's outings and it may not be as slapstick and ballistic as Yuen Woo Ping's efforts but Lau Kar Leung pulled in the reins and directed a tight, hard hitting gem in this Shaw Brothers masterpiece.
5 out of 5