venoms5
01-29-2008, 11:53 AM
A TASTE OF COLD STEEL 1970 Act. ***/Blood ***1/2 /Movie ****
Shu Pei Pei (Gan Sister three), Chang Yi (Hsu Chu), Chen Hung Lieh (Lu Tian Xia), Essie Lin Chia (Yanan, Gan Sister two), Yau Jing (Gan Eldest Sister) Huang Chun Hsin (Fierce Tiger), Ku Feng (One-eyed Tiger), Wu Ma (Sick Tiger), Wang Hsia (Uncle Hsu), Li Yun Chung (Lord Wu Yi)
Directed by Yueh Feng
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
The villainous Lord Wu Yi and his devious son, Lu Tian plot to steal the famous jewel of the Gan family, the Violet Light Sword. When Lu's initial plan fails, he ends up in the grip of four crude bandits. He dupes them into becoming his accomplices and the group raze the Gan homestead stealing the sword and injuring one of the three sisters and killing everyone else. Hsu Chu and third Gan sister survive and upon returning to their destroyed fort, realize that the eldest sister has vanished. Meanwhile, Yanan, the second Gan sister has went to get their uncle for help. In trying to steal the sword from the bandits, Lu incurs their wrath and is held for ransom. The Gan's then make several rescue attempts to free their kidnapped sibling and retrieve the coveted sword.
Director Yueh Feng creates an atmosphere of dread very similar to his grim and brutal BELLS OF DEATH (1968). It's not quite as uncompromisingly vicious due to some dramatic flourishes and a less personable tone than BELLS but Feng is very successful in making his villains as barbaric as possible during the films brief 78 minute running time. The film is a bit similar to SWORDSWOMEN THREE (1970) which saw release the month prior. There's three women sworn to protect the family heirloom-in SWORDSWOMEN it's the Mighty Steel Blade which acts as a magnet when unsheathed and in COLD STEEL, it's the Violet Light Sword. Also, Chang Yi is in both as is Essie Lin Chia. The one disappointing element is that unlike the Mighty Steel Blade, the Violet Light Sword is unimpressive and has no unusual properties aside from glowing when it's pulled from its scabbard.
The characters are interesting for the most part. There isn't much time given to fleshing them out but they're put through enough harrowing ordeals to keep you somewhat interested in their plight and the bad guys are so ferocious that it adds to the suspense and makes up for what little characterization is allowed. Essie Lin Chia is the most memorable and in one great scene she attacks Lord Wu Yi's stronghold alone only to find out that his son has been taken captive. Yanan (Essie) threatens to kill Lord Wu lest his men make way but then he states he'll give her 5,000 taels of silver if she'll rescue his son and let him go. She then decides to avenge her father instead and summarily kills him right there!
Chang Yi is, for the most part wasted and isn't given much to do and not that he delivers much conviction. I've never seen what his appeal was really although I did like him a lot in BELLS OF DEATH. He does have some solid action here and in one scene he is pitted against Lu Tian in a duel that takes place inside a circle encased in flame. The real stars of the show are the villains.
The Five Tigers are a nasty bunch of killers who demonstrate just how cruel they can be in one scene in which they herd all the workers of an Inn into a room and systematically slaughter them all. They take their time doing it. You don't see the carnage save for the dying silhouettes of the victims and the splattered blood as it hits the doors and their screams as the bandits slash and stab them repeatedly. Three of the five are given the bulk of the gangs screen time. Ku Feng gets to warm up for his captivatingly merciless role as the heavy in THE BLACK TAVERN (1972) in which he also used a whip. Wu Ma plays the Sick Dragon as a hunchback as is very convincing. The leader is played by Huang Chun Hsin who also played a great villain in PURSUIT (1972). Here, he chews up the screen killing and torturing people left and right as the leader of the Five Tigers. Sammo Hung has a role as one of the bandits.
Chen Hung Lieh is also his usual villainous self although at the beginning you are led to believe that he is the main bad guy but this is not the case. He uses cunning and guile to lay his hands on the sword but he is constantly undermined first by the heroes then by the Five Tigers. Wang Hsia is on hand fleetingly as a good guy this time playing the uncle to the Gan women who leads his men to rescue the remaining family members from the bandit gang. By the time he and his group show up during the final moments, justice has already been meted out save for one final bit of retribution. The fate of Lu Tian is the only aspect of the film I thought was lacking and even though it's a minor quibble, it's not enough to hinder the enjoyment of this fine but very violent Wu Xia swordplay film. And like so many countless Shaw productions, this film excels in the brutality department.
Although I find much of Yueh Feng's movies pedantic and often times dull, this is not the case here as this is the most action packed film I've seen from the man. Only a marginally lesser film than BELLS OF DEATH (1968), if you are a fan of that film, than you will most definitely enjoy this one. Also recommended for those who like their Shaw Brothers movies excessively violent.
Shu Pei Pei (Gan Sister three), Chang Yi (Hsu Chu), Chen Hung Lieh (Lu Tian Xia), Essie Lin Chia (Yanan, Gan Sister two), Yau Jing (Gan Eldest Sister) Huang Chun Hsin (Fierce Tiger), Ku Feng (One-eyed Tiger), Wu Ma (Sick Tiger), Wang Hsia (Uncle Hsu), Li Yun Chung (Lord Wu Yi)
Directed by Yueh Feng
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
The villainous Lord Wu Yi and his devious son, Lu Tian plot to steal the famous jewel of the Gan family, the Violet Light Sword. When Lu's initial plan fails, he ends up in the grip of four crude bandits. He dupes them into becoming his accomplices and the group raze the Gan homestead stealing the sword and injuring one of the three sisters and killing everyone else. Hsu Chu and third Gan sister survive and upon returning to their destroyed fort, realize that the eldest sister has vanished. Meanwhile, Yanan, the second Gan sister has went to get their uncle for help. In trying to steal the sword from the bandits, Lu incurs their wrath and is held for ransom. The Gan's then make several rescue attempts to free their kidnapped sibling and retrieve the coveted sword.
Director Yueh Feng creates an atmosphere of dread very similar to his grim and brutal BELLS OF DEATH (1968). It's not quite as uncompromisingly vicious due to some dramatic flourishes and a less personable tone than BELLS but Feng is very successful in making his villains as barbaric as possible during the films brief 78 minute running time. The film is a bit similar to SWORDSWOMEN THREE (1970) which saw release the month prior. There's three women sworn to protect the family heirloom-in SWORDSWOMEN it's the Mighty Steel Blade which acts as a magnet when unsheathed and in COLD STEEL, it's the Violet Light Sword. Also, Chang Yi is in both as is Essie Lin Chia. The one disappointing element is that unlike the Mighty Steel Blade, the Violet Light Sword is unimpressive and has no unusual properties aside from glowing when it's pulled from its scabbard.
The characters are interesting for the most part. There isn't much time given to fleshing them out but they're put through enough harrowing ordeals to keep you somewhat interested in their plight and the bad guys are so ferocious that it adds to the suspense and makes up for what little characterization is allowed. Essie Lin Chia is the most memorable and in one great scene she attacks Lord Wu Yi's stronghold alone only to find out that his son has been taken captive. Yanan (Essie) threatens to kill Lord Wu lest his men make way but then he states he'll give her 5,000 taels of silver if she'll rescue his son and let him go. She then decides to avenge her father instead and summarily kills him right there!
Chang Yi is, for the most part wasted and isn't given much to do and not that he delivers much conviction. I've never seen what his appeal was really although I did like him a lot in BELLS OF DEATH. He does have some solid action here and in one scene he is pitted against Lu Tian in a duel that takes place inside a circle encased in flame. The real stars of the show are the villains.
The Five Tigers are a nasty bunch of killers who demonstrate just how cruel they can be in one scene in which they herd all the workers of an Inn into a room and systematically slaughter them all. They take their time doing it. You don't see the carnage save for the dying silhouettes of the victims and the splattered blood as it hits the doors and their screams as the bandits slash and stab them repeatedly. Three of the five are given the bulk of the gangs screen time. Ku Feng gets to warm up for his captivatingly merciless role as the heavy in THE BLACK TAVERN (1972) in which he also used a whip. Wu Ma plays the Sick Dragon as a hunchback as is very convincing. The leader is played by Huang Chun Hsin who also played a great villain in PURSUIT (1972). Here, he chews up the screen killing and torturing people left and right as the leader of the Five Tigers. Sammo Hung has a role as one of the bandits.
Chen Hung Lieh is also his usual villainous self although at the beginning you are led to believe that he is the main bad guy but this is not the case. He uses cunning and guile to lay his hands on the sword but he is constantly undermined first by the heroes then by the Five Tigers. Wang Hsia is on hand fleetingly as a good guy this time playing the uncle to the Gan women who leads his men to rescue the remaining family members from the bandit gang. By the time he and his group show up during the final moments, justice has already been meted out save for one final bit of retribution. The fate of Lu Tian is the only aspect of the film I thought was lacking and even though it's a minor quibble, it's not enough to hinder the enjoyment of this fine but very violent Wu Xia swordplay film. And like so many countless Shaw productions, this film excels in the brutality department.
Although I find much of Yueh Feng's movies pedantic and often times dull, this is not the case here as this is the most action packed film I've seen from the man. Only a marginally lesser film than BELLS OF DEATH (1968), if you are a fan of that film, than you will most definitely enjoy this one. Also recommended for those who like their Shaw Brothers movies excessively violent.