REVIEW: ‘Ninja in Ancient China’ (1993)

Chances are, even if you’re an avid kung fu movie fanatic, you have not seen NINJA IN ANCIENT CHINA. By most accounts, this is the last film directed by legendary Chinese martial arts moviemaker Chang Cheh and it is also one of his least known and until recently, nearly impossible to find. Produced and filmed in mainland China, this old school-style martial arts actioner attempts to recapture the glory days of Chang’s Venoms Mob era with a largely unknown, yet talented cast headed up by mainland action director and future KUNG FU HUSTLE star Dong Zhihua. It’s a middling work, lacking in the vivid production design, storytelling and charismatic casting of Chang’s Shaw Brothers films. This should not deter fans in any way. It’s still packed with many of the elements that make Chang’s films great like extended and vibrant fight sequences, brotherly bonding in the tradition of China’s heroic literature and of course gruesome depictions of heroic bloodshed.

[minislides]

MEDIA
Trailer – Greenfan DVD

AKA
Ninja Invincible
Ren zhe wu di
Shen Tong
忍者无敌

GENRE
Kung Fu

ORIGIN
Hong Kong
China

LENGTH
92 minutes

FIGHT TIME
34 minutes

STUDIO
Chang Ho Film Co.
My Way Film Co.

RELEASE DATE
1993 (Hong Kong)

RATING
na

DIRECTOR
Chang Cheh

ACTION DIRECTOR
Dong Zhihua
Tu Yu-ming

WRITER
Chang Cheh

PRODUCER
Chang Cheh

CINEMATOGRAPHER
na

MUSIC
na

CAST
Dong Zhihua
(General Suen-chak)
Chen Er Gang
(Yu Ji)
Na Ta-ker
(Jiang Ping)
Cheng Ya-lin
(Ling Sheng)
Tu Yu-ming
(Huang Yao)
Wang Chang-chi
(Chen Zhen)
Mu Li Xin
(Luo Xiang)
Yang Xiong
(Zhou Zhong)
Mu Tian Yun
(Xia Lie)

At first glance, NINJA IN ANCIENT CHINA would appear to be a reworking or extension of Chang’s 1982 production, FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS (aka CHINESE SUPER NINJAS). We are once again presented with five super-powered ninjas representing the five elements. They leap from tree to tree, burrow under ground or spit fire among other distinct and thoroughly unreal abilities. These ninjas are the disciples of a Taoist priest with the aim of unseating a warlord, played by Dong Zhihua (aka the stick-fighting “Donut” from KUNG FU HUSTLE). Now dig a little deeper and it becomes apparent that, like many of Chang Cheh’s films, this one is heavily influenced by Chinese literature.

Aside from the addition of unreal ninjas, Chang’s script is loosely based on “The Yellow Turban Rebellion,” an event set during the Han Dynasty as chronicled in Luo Guanzhong’s literary classic “Romance of the Three Kingdoms.” It tells of a Taoist sect leader who rallies a populace disgruntled by poverty and famine to rise up in what ultimately amounts to an unsuccessful revolt.

The film focuses on the efforts of the Taoist master’s disciples to avenge their master’s death by assassinating the Han general responsible. The two youngest members, a boy and girl in love with each other, infiltrate the general’s household by coming to his defense during a staged assassination attempt. They subsequently become trusted bodyguards. As the remaining ninjas make several more attempts to kill the general, the two infiltrators become increasingly divided in their loyalties when they are treated well by the general and his mistress. Ultimately, they have to decide whether to honor the vows made to their dead master or embrace the warlord and enjoy a sense of family that they had never had previously as orphans.

The plot itself is well conceived but the execution is stilted, sloppy and suggestive of the low-quality films Chang directed earlier in Taiwan such as NINE DEMONS. Chang was advanced in age by this point and undoubtedly had a lot of help from his action directors. This may explain why parts of the movie feel disjointed and shallow, even within the context of a martial arts movie. There really is no good reason for super ninjas to be present, aside from the assassination theme and the hope of cannibalizing Chang’s own work for commercial interests. There is an obvious nod to former Chang Cheh action director Robert Tai and his NINJA: THE FINAL DUEL epic. According to commentary by Nick Watkins, the film’s primary investor had also backed Tai’s film. There may have been a desire by the investor to film another schlocky ninja movie for quick profit but the more literary-minded script suggests the filmmaker may have had other intentions.

What I find fascinating is how this film mirrors an increasingly common theme in China’s martial arts storytelling. Basically, it amounts to not upsetting the order of things so long as there is order. In a recent review of Wong Jing’s ROYAL TRAMP films, I pointed out that wuxia novelist Jin Yong came to the same conclusion in the work that inspired those films. Martial lore is filled with tales of rebellions and insurgencies against ruling powers, mostly based on China’s long and turbulent history. Although conflict provides the often necessary basis for martial arts action and idealistic acts of heroism to occur in books and film, I wonder if modern Chinese storytellers, particularly in their later years, tend to come to the conclusion that living under imperfect, yet peaceful rule is better than honoring the dead and fighting for ideals. On a more personal level, this seems to be the core idea that the young hero in NINJA IN ANCIENT CHINA faces when he finds himself caught between his newfound bond with the general and loyalty to his cause as exasperated by the danger his girlfriend faces when she joins in a climatic final assault on the general.

Perhaps there is such a thing as too much analysis on what is essentially a cheesy kung fu movie with cartoony ninjas. Their ultimate trick to defeating the bad guy amounts to reflecting light in his eyes through the ridiculous use of reflective metal circles previously hung in plain sight from the eves of the general’s own residence. It’s all been done before and better, especially with less wooden actors who might as well be fighting mannequins. But still, there is something poetic in the way that Chang ends this movie with layers of internal and external conflict all crashing together in a final act of desperate resolve. For a moment at least, the final moment of an entire wondrous career, we get to glimpse the Chang Cheh of old who once dazzled audiences with the graceful and emotional-charged self-sacrifice of larger-than-life heroes who fought to the last breath on their terms.

That would have been a great way to cap the review but I need to comment further on the film’s action as choreographed by Dong Zhihua and Tu Yu-ming. These two mainland Chinese stunt actors formed the nucleus of Chang’s final action team. Like many of history’s great filmmakers, Chang usually worked with a core group of cast and crew through a series of movies that generally benefited from their close working relationship. Unlike other directors, Chang went through at least four generations of filmmaking teams, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. The last crew never really had a chance to shine the way that the Venoms or other previous teams did, mostly due to the limited distribution and commercial success of the few films they worked on. They were greatly overshadowed by the elaborate wirework frenzy of films like SWORDSMAN and ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA that was emerging in Hong Kong at the time.

Dong and his team put together some terrific action sequences that bring together the old acrobatic flavor or Chang’s earlier films with the dynamic wushu weapons handling and movements that dominated mainland films such as Jet Li’s SHAOLIN TEMPLE and Lau Kar-leung’s MARTIAL ARTS OF SHAOLIN. Dong and Tu put together action for most or all of Chang’s six mainland Chinese-produced films, following the success of his all-star comeback film SHANGHAI 13. There is some obvious wire use in place for the film’s more outlandish action but much of that fades away in the second half. Most action sequences are grounded by long, complex sparring that provides a pleasant contrast to the heavily-edited Ching Siu-tung method that came to dominate Hong Kong’s martial arts action in the 1990s. Some of the stunt actors exhibit the looks and fighting ability to be true successors to the Venoms but they’re not tightly focused in their acting which is suggestive of a lapse in proper direction. Yet the fact that Chang was even directing at all at this point in his life is an impressive feat.