REVIEW: Duel, The (1971)

Released theatrically in the U.S. in 1973 as DUEL OF THE IRON FISTS, this “kung fu” basher from Shaw Brothers studios originally came out in Hong Kong in 1971, right in the middle of the Iron Triangle’s dominance of the local box office. The Iron Triangle was made up of actors Ti Lung, David Chiang and filmmaker Chang Cheh who made the two stars his leads in a string of martial arts and action blockbusters beginning with the wuxia classic HAVE SWORD, WILL TRAVEL in 1969 and ending with the all-star epic SHAOLIN TEMPLE in 1976. In all, the trio worked together on at least 27 films in seven years which actually leaves out a number of films they worked on independently.

In theme, THE DUEL falls somewhere between the Iron Triangle’s VENGEANCE! and Chang’s THE BOXER FROM SHANTUNG. While it isn’t quite the masterpiece that those two films are it’s still a highly enjoyable feature that continues the filmmaker’s highly romanticized depiction of violent gang life in Republican-era Shanghai.

Despite having a lot of fighting action, the plot is more sophisticated than typical kung fu movie convention. There is a fair amount of criminal intrigue and twists to follow, although anyone familiar with Chang’s usual story structure will easily be able to predict the film’s dramatic end.

Lau Kar-leung was not involved in the fight choreography of this film as he usually was on many of Chang Cheh’s early films. Instead, Tang Chia was joined by Yuen Clan member Yuen Cheung-yan. The two had worked together before on HAVE SWORD, WILL TRAVEL, VENGEANCE! and several other Chang Cheh productions. As such, Yuen Clan members are prominently represented among the film’s many fighting extras. This includes Cheung-yan, Yuen Shun-yee and Yuen Woo-ping, all of whom can be seen repeatedly in different non-speaking fighting roles. Shun-yee gets killed off at least three different times which is kind of amusing. Of course, genre fans know well that these folks went on to create their own successful kung fu movies in the late ’70s and early ’80s while Woo-ping enjoyed arguably the greatest success of any Hong Kong action director by choreographing action for international blockbuster hits like DRUNKEN MASTER, THE MATRIX, KILL BILL, and KUNG FU HUSTLE.

The fight choreography in THE DUEL is somewhat unique in the kung fu movie genre. I’m not even sure it should be classified as a kung fu movie. Giving it the sub-genre classification of basher is perhaps most appropriate. The film is essentially a knife-fighting movie with most characters using long-bladed knives and relatively simple slashing and stabbing attacks, accented by basic kicks and heroic flourishes from Ti and Chiang. It’s clear that Chang was going for a bloody yet stylized, street-level fighting style in contrast to the traditional kung fu forms of the WONG FEI HUNG series or the exaggerated fantasy fighting of wuxia films.

Since this was released in April of 1971, THE DUEL came out before shapes kung fu made a comeback with the introduction of Lau Kar-leung’s Hung Fist forms in HEROES TWO (1974), the first of Chang’s Shaolin Cycle. It also predates Bruce Lee’s FIST OF FURY and THE BIG BOSS, the latter premiering six months later. Looking at this film, there is a sense that had Lee and director Lo Wei not made Wing Chun and Hapkido-inspired kung fu movies at Golden Harvest, Chang’s street fighting action may have remained popular longer than it did. It certainly looked good here and was becoming more elaborate than previously seen in past movies.

Most impressive are the large group fights that Tang arranged. I would argue that the simple knife-fighting movements actually compliment these large-scale battles better than the complex shapes sparring of late-’70s kung fu movies as it allows the director to focus audience attention and emphasize drama. Also, Ti and Chiang were exceptionally good at using clean, dramatic motions to play to the camera. The image of their final moments together onscreen, although directed a bit over the top by Chang, are still powerful and likely to stay with you for a long time.

My only complaint with the action is that the knife fighting goes on too long in places with too little variation in the choreography. One thing about Chang’s late Venoms-era films is that the action was a lot more diverse and colorful thanks to the Taiwanese opera influence of the Venoms Mob members.

By the time Chang decided to tackle another Shanghai gangster story with THE BOXER FROM SHANTUNG the following year, he was already beginning to move away from the ferocious brawler style he so masterfully highlighted in VENGEANCE!, THE ANONYMOUS HEROES and THE DUEL. He had a kung fu-trained lead in Chen Kuan-tai, Lau Kar-leung adding his Hung Fist influence and more defined forms.

Production on THE DUEL is first-rate by Hong Kong movie standards of the day. The only noteworthy “budget” limitation is the obvious painted backdrop that scrolls by outside the windows of a train interior set and even that can be favorably likened to the stylized projector backdrops that Alfred Hitchcock so prominently employed in films like NORTH BY NORTHWEST. The ample blood effects, of course, look fake due to the studios’ use of an unnaturally bright red color and thickness. Yet this, along with the colorful and brightly lit sets, was part of the Shaw Brothers house style that fans have come to expect and appreciate over the years.

The original soundtrack is an interesting mix of licensed stock music, highlighted by the opening fanfare to Richard Strauss’s “Also sprach Zarathustra” that was famously featured in Stanley Kubrick’s film 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY.

David Chiang’s character is given an odd, reoccurring thematic musical riff that sounds like intentionally out of tune harp strings being plucked. This highlights that Chang clearly had a very specific vision of the Rambler character who was further distinguished by a chronic cough suggesting tuberculosis (like Doc Holliday), use of throwing knives and a rebellious streak. Chang used variations of this same character in many of his movies. They were usually played by specific actors who fit the role of rebellious and sometimes flawed heroes like Jimmy Wang Yu, David Chiang and Alexander Fu Sheng.

THE DUEL was released on DVD in the U.S. from Funimation on August 3rd, 2010. This release contains original two-channel Mandarin and English audio tracks and a 16:9 widescreen presentation with a progressive scan video mode. Special features includes trailers for other live-action Asian action titles from Funimation.