Strife for Mastery (1982)

Tired of killing, knightly swordsman Wong Sau-ying (David Chiang) elopes with a woman shortly after his father, the clan leader is murdered. Deceptions mount as Sau-yung’s marked for death while swordsmen vie for control of the clan.

The independently produced Strife for Mastery puts former Shaw Brothers star David Chiang in his last old school martial arts film. It’s a standard wuxia tale with dueling swordsmen, big hair, and plot twists. It lacks the distinctive art direction of SB films and does nothing to improve on the genre or Chiang’s image, but it possesses plenty of quality swordplay and the English-dubbed version is loaded with wonderfully idiotic dialogue.

Despite the inclusion of mystery elements meant to keep the viewer off-balance, Strife for Mastery’s story is almost juvenile in its execution. This is aided by really dumb lines that are hilarious at times. No better example can be found then after a fight between Chiang and two one-armed swordsmen who are defeated but left alive. In their shame, they decide to stab each other in the gut and then immediately regret it as they talk about how beautiful life is for the first time. But that’s not enough! Then a black-hooded swordsman leaps in between them and rams the sword hilts even further into the pair before continuing to pursue Chiang. Even veteran kung fu movie viewers will be amazed by the verbal and situational nonsense spewing before their eyes and ears. This alone makes the film worth seeing!

The supremely contrived and heavily layered plot doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but is stitched together well enough to follow into each fight. Chiang plays a top knight in a clan whose members police the martial world. He’s sent out on a mission to kill a skilled robber, but he gets sidetracked by his pretty daughter, decides to spare the old man’s life and runs off with the girl. Although she’s only known him for a few hours, she’s more than happy to take the plunge. I mean, who wouldn’t after seeing Chiang’s sword handling! In the meantime, Chiang’s father who remains unseen finds out and orders his own son to be killed. Chiang battles his father’s top swordsmen, including those two wacky one-armed dudes, and then continues on his way. But wait, Chiang’s younger brother emerges from the shadows dressed like his father and declares the old man murdered by Chiang. Four clan leaders who have been summoned don’t believe this and suspect the younger brother. Or maybe, the four each have their own plans! Yes, the plot thickens into a simmering stew of new revelations. Chiang ends up trailed by a hooded-swordsman, takes on a hired killer played by Jason Pai Piao, and eventually confronts the real killer of his father with some help from some unlikely allies.

Putting the wacky storyline aside, Strife for Mastery features surprisingly good swordplay. David Chiang is not a great screen fighter, but performs well in what turns out to be his last major action film role. His best work remains under the direction of Chang Cheh. There isn’t much of the elaborate wire fu or extensive bloodletting of bigger budget efforts like Duel to the Death (1984). Instead, camera tricks and old school trampolines are favored. Jason Pai Piao has a cool cameo as a hired killer in a dashing outfit who battles with Chiang in one of the best duels. It gets even better when one of Chiang’s comrades leaps into the fray with a pair of saw blades. There’s a lot of night fighting that isn’t so cool as details become obscured, particularly when the print you’re watching is in poor condition.

If not for the English dubbing and ridiculous situations, Strife for Mastery would be just another average wuxia film with decent swordplay, a kung fu star who is past his prime, and an unnecessarily confusing plot. But this ranks up there with Godfrey Ho’s The Deadly Sword (1978) for inane dubbing and the action is definitely superior.