Liu A-Cai yu Huang Fei-Hong (1976)

Wong Fei-Hung (again).

So many stories have been made around this figure. A nice old Liu who was surprisingly well polished. The colors came across well and the "mass" scenes also came across well.

Otherwise, an extremely tight structure in which only the ending comes across as somewhat strangely moralistic. No clear winner this time, but a somewhat too sappy reconciliation. That’s really not what I’m looking forward to.

The more of these movies there are, the more boring the training sessions become, that's for sure. And especially when they are just training and it isn't about crazy mantis training.

Along with American slashers, those SB martial arts films are, in my opinion, the most rigid genre films you could wish for. They are entertaining, sure, but after a while, you know these kinds of films by heart.

Still a nice little role for Liu himself, and the young Gordon Liu is also fun to watch at work.

2.5*, average score for an average SB movie.

Translated from Dutch · View original

“More forgiveness, less aggression.”

Revised on Blu-ray from the Shawscope Vol. 1 box set.

Second film by Lau Kar-leung in which the theme of forgiveness takes center stage.

We follow the young and reckless Wong Fei-hung (played by Liu Chia-hui, now known as Gordon Liu) who desperately wants to learn kung fu because he wants to participate in the annual Pao competition to teach the rival bastards a lesson. His father, however, refuses. When he gets into trouble, his father's former master, Lu Ah-tsai (played by Chen Kuan-tai), accepts him as a student. Instead of immediately learning deadly techniques, Wong undergoes rigorous training that serves as a metaphor for emotional maturity and discipline.

Gordon Liu was still quite inexperienced as an actor here, but was fortunately surrounded by a star-studded cast from the Shaw world who supported him. Among them were his 'brothers' Lau Kar-Leung and Wing (whose family had adopted Gordon) and Lily Li. Musically, we hear the well-known Wong Fei-Hung theme 'Under the General's Orders'.

The film gets off to a somewhat slow start, and it is not until after 40 minutes that the first captivating fight between the brothers Lau Kar-Leung and Lau Kar-Wing in the forest takes place. Leung fights with a spear and Wing with a sword. The choreography is of a high standard, but that is to be expected from the two action directors. Other highlights include the tough training sessions, where Gordon undergoes a genuine character development from an overconfident teenager to a disciplined student, and the finale in the forest featuring the eight-diagram pole style.

Translated from Dutch · View original