THE ELIMINATION PURSUIT (aka THREE FAMOUS CONSTABLES) is a short and sweet little wuxia title from Taiwan that draws on a wide range of influences to create a fast-moving and stylized swordplay actioner. Its pedigree includes chambara, Italian westerns, early Chang Cheh wuxia classics like THE MAGIC BLADE, and what was at the time more recent works like Ching Siu-tung’s directorial debut DUEL TO THE DEATH, released the same year.

“I know that man in her mind’s an unmatchable robber. His kung fu of airborne leaping’s the best. Besides he’s the most famous thief the world has known. He’s made much money doing this line as a thief.”

It is one of, if not the last feature film from director Cheung San-yee (aka Chang Peng-yi), who previously scripted several of Lee Tso-nam’s kung fu hits including THE HOT, THE COOL AND THE VICIOUS before teaming with screen bootmaster John Liu for the Western-influenced kung fu classics STRUGGLE THROUGH DEATH and INCREDIBLE KUNG FU MISSION. Throughout his career in Taiwanese martial arts filmmaking, Cheung had displayed perhaps the strongest influences from Italian Westerns of any of his peers. THE ELIMINATION PURSUIT may have been his best example.

Whether or not it was intentional, the film is basically a reworking of Sergio Leone’s FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE (1965) with lesser-known genre stars Pearl Chang (FANTASY MISSION FORCE) and Tien Ho (JADE DAGGER NINJA) playing constables working independently to bring down the leader of the notorious Devil Clan. They eventually team up, while a third mute swordsman known only as the Wolf Warrior (or some variant depending on the translated subtitles) acts as a silent killing machine against the clan’s minions. He’s the Yojimbo and steely Clint Eastwood-type rolled into one and suitably played by Tien Peng, Taiwan’s leading male wuxia star next to Pai Ying. With nothing else to drive the movie forward apart from the “pursuit” of the Devil Clan’s “elimination,” Cheung relies on the elaborate action choreography and freakish gallery of villains from ninjas and evil Shaolin monks to seven warriors with unique abilities like the “heart-breaking mandolin” to be reaped by sword stroke like a scythe to wheat at harvest time.

This is one of few movies where stunt actor Peter Chang (SHAOLIN INVINCIBLE STICKS) is credited as action director. He does a great job. The fighting isn’t as technically challenging as Ching Siu-tung’s emerging wirework from this era, but it makes an excellent upgrade to the early swordplay that action directors Lau Kar-leung and Tang Chia produced at Shaw Brothers in the late 1960s and early ’70s. There is a fair amount of editing gimmickry to produce fantasy effects like flying through the air in a compacted ball of cloth or colored light. Yet the sword sparring is consistently dynamic and varied enough to keep things interesting. The way in which swordplay is portrayed is definitely more akin to kendo-styled chambara than traditional Chinese opera. Foes are cut down rather quickly and brutally while emphasis is put on dramatic flourishes rather than persistent fencing. And with a rather flimsy script that’s light on dialogue, the action easily dominates the short running time.

The production features some interesting settings including the “Sulfur Gorge,” a rocky valley where thick plumes of yellow smoke fill the air, an ethereal lair that’s home to a pipa-playing beauty, and range of more common period sets. The music is a very fitting mix of Italian western motifs mixed with traditional and modern Chinese music. Some flavorful modern vocal work is featured both in the opening credits and during the film’s recap at the end.

This recap basically is a highlight reel of previous scenes that helps to fill the movie out into a full 80 minutes. Otherwise, the movie is actually about 76 minutes long. That is perhaps one of the bigger gripes I could come up with. Wuxia pian are as much about rich plots as they are deadly swordplay and THE ELIMINATION PURSUIT is so lacking in the story department that Cheung has to resort to literal filler at the end just to extend the length. Then again, consider that his main influence is really the Italian Western, which rarely contains deep plots. Perhaps what Cheung failed to do was adopt the visual style of Leone, who would purposely draw out an otherwise simple standoff to build tension. With the exception of King Hu, that’s never been the speed at which Taiwanese and Hong Kong genre filmmakers operate.

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