Der Boxer von Shantung

BOXER FROM SHANTUNG (aka KILLER FROM SHANTUNG, 1972) successfully combines gangster and kung fu genres to create a compelling two-hour rags-to-riches tale of a poor drifter in early 20th century Shanghai who rises up in the local mob by virtue of his kung fu skills. Ma Yung Chen (played by Chen Kuan-Tai) so impresses the local bosses that he is quickly given his own teahouse and protection racket, yet he remains loyal to his friends, including a hapless little sidekick, and friendly to the poor. He has a run-in with another local gangster, Tan (David Chiang in an extended cameo), but they soon develop mutual respect.

The kung fu comes in when Ma is confronted by rival gangster Yang, whose henchmen consist of the Four Champions. When Ma beats three of the Champions in their very first encounter, an enmity develops that finally culminates in a massive brawl at a neutral teahouse where Ma takes on dozens of Yang's thugs. In this remarkable fight scene, Ma is hit with an ax but continues to fight up and down the two stories of the building with the ax imbedded in his stomach. It's all shot in the Shaw Bros. studio and backlot in Hong Kong, with some additional work on HK locations familiar to kung fu fans.

Chen Kuan-Tai (EXECUTIONERS FROM SHAOLIN) was bigger and stronger-looking than most Shaw Bros. kung fu stars and carries the right air of brute force and intimidation in what is essentially the role of a petty gangster. Yet his broad smile, outgoing manner and protective nature give his rough-hewn character a likability that attracts audience sympathy. Ma is not just a standard vengeance-seeking kung fu student forced to learn new styles to beat a more powerful opponent. He is more at loose ends, trying to find his way in the world and not necessarily on the straight and narrow path.

Aside from Chen and David Chiang, the few familiar kung fu faces in the cast include Cheng Kay Yeh (as Chen's sidekick), Ku Feng (as one of the champions) and Wang Ching. Top-billed actress Ching Li co-stars as Chen's love interest, a singer in the restaurant he runs, although her role is less significant than the billing would indicate. The film was directed by kung fu specialist Chang Cheh, with Pao Hsueh Li given a co-directing credit. The action directors are an impressive lot and include Tang Chia, Liu Chia Liang (Lau Kar Leung), and Liu Chia Yung.

ADDENDUM: A follow-up of sorts is the similarly-styled MAN OF IRON (1972), also reviewed on this site, which also co-stars Chen Kuan Tai and Ching Li, but gives Ms. Ching a larger, more interesting role. QUEEN BOXER (1974), also reviewed on this site, is an unofficial non-Shaw sequel to SHANTUNG and focuses on the sister of Ma Yung Chen as she arrives in Shanghai and begins a quest for vengeance. She is played by the phenomenal kung fu diva, Chia Ling (billed as Judy Lee).

In December 2003, Celestial/IVL released a restored, remastered, letter-boxed, subtitled Region 3 DVD of BOXER FROM SHANTUNG. That's the one to see.

Pre-Venom Mob martial arts film from director Cheh Chang finds the film's hero working his way out of poverty by traveling to Shanghai, only to find himself drawn into the criminal underworld. The Shanghai underworld looks pretty much like every other Shaw Brothers backlot set and the story and characters are not particularly compelling, but the fight sequences are excellent, particularly a wildly bloody finale, where the hero battles the main villain's minions with a hatchet lodged in his side!

Occasionally too gluey Eastern about the rising of Ma Yongzhen [ Chen Kuan Tai, in the German title he's giving a pirate, not a boxer ] , who hast to recognize later, the air up there is quite thin. The formal data's of the movie are quite impressing: John Woo as assistant director, Chen Kuan Tai became one the Top Actors thru it, it's with KING BOXER and FIST OF FURY one of THE influential movies of the time, followed by a somehow sequel [ IRON MAN ] and a remake [ Corey Yuen Kwai's HERO, with Takeshi Kaneshiro and the then-comeback of Yuen Biao ].

An epic is aimed, the premise is well, but due to the missing pace and the lacking dramatic and elaboration it isn't reached. The action scenes are either rigid or way too exaggerated, and some sequences could have been cut; a running time of 2hrs is too much for that. For example the Wrestling episode, which is terribly long, but also some sections with Ching Li as eye-catcher and secret love interest of Ma Yongzhen, which adds nothing at all to the film. So there's only struggle to the next, the opponents are always increasing, Ma himself is little impressed by that. At the end he runs around a tea house, collapsing it and beating the sh*t out of estimated 200 thugs, and already has an Axe cut in his belly. Thats too silly.

Movie has sure his strengths, production values is as high as the body count, Chen Kuan Tai does very well in his first leading role, there's an expanded cameo of David Chiang and the gangster story is something new, compared to the usual revenge - plot. The prologue and epilogue are quite fine, between them is a good film, but not an outstanding one.

The Boxer From Shan Tung (1972) is a rags to riches story about a country bumpkin who aspires to become the greatest gangster of his era. Ma Yong Zhen makes a name for himself from the ground up by getting the poor and the down trodden to become a part of his "empire". But like all fast rising gangsters they have to fall sometime. The battle in the Tea House has to be the single greatest piece of action film-making I have ever seen. The usual Shaw Brothers players can be found in this two hour plus epic of bloodletting proportions. Kuan Tai Chen stars as Ma Yong Zhen. As usual he makes a great lead actor. He always sports a smile and never let his personal situations bring him down. Kuan also makes a credible butt kicking fighter. David Chiang has an extended cameo as Tan Si, a fellow gangster who becomes a mentor/friend to Ma. Feng Ku co-stars as one of the 4 Champions of Shan Tung, Wang Chung and Hark-On Fung have small roles as Tan Si's henchmen. Ching Li co-stars as the Tea House singer who falls for the mack-daddy charm of Ma Yong Zhen.

Check out the remastered print from Celestial Films. Not only is the film restored to it's original running time but the picture is in pristine condition and the English subs are excellent. Get ready for some action packed, bone crunching excitement!! Another winner from Chang Cheh and the Shaw Brothers!

Highest recommendation possible.

Before the advent of DVD media, films such as Cheng Cheh's "Boxer From Shantung" could only be seen in severely butchered form, complete with laughable and awful dubbing, fair to poor picture quality, always in "pan and scan" format with a percentage of the picture chopped out, and in most cases, with the harder violence removed as well. Finally "Ma Yong Zhen" can be seen the way director Cheh envisioned his passionate "rags to riches" epic, with "epic" being a suitable word as this film is quite big in scope, and surpasses the 2 hour mark. The tale itself is a familiar one to be sure; a young, ambitious street urchin uses his unique boxing skills and mental cunning to climb the bloody ladder of success, and fortune. But this tale has rarely been filmed so eloquently. There is so much to praise here, beginning with cinematography; forget comparing this film with the endless and uninspired kung-fu pictures made through the 60's to 70's. For the look of "Ma Yong Zhen" is that of a mostly beautiful art-house style production. This can finally be seen in it's original aspect ratio of 2,35 widescreen, and the difference is hardly describable. For years apparently, this was only released widely with a running time of just over 90 minutes, but the wonderful DVD from "Celestial Pictures" restores the feature to it's 124 minute running time. The lead character, played by Chen Kuan-tai, is really superb in his role as the ambitious 'Ma'. He possesses a strange, utterly unique physical beauty which somehow elicits sympathy from the viewer. The film reminded me a bit of 1983's "Scarface", as the stories, as well as the extreme violence are similar themes within both pictures. However Chen's character never loses touch with his own humanity, unlike Tony Montana, who became a monster. And I must agree with another poster who described the feeling of "sadness" that envelops the film. Much of it is quiet, subdued, featuring some haunting, and totally unobtrusive musical score. Of course this is misleading, as the film explodes with a brand of violence hard to describe, for the films breathtaking climax. That new DVD also features the original Mandarin language audio track, and hearing the original language is the only way to see this. There are English subtitles as well. Recommended viewing for anyone curious to see a how a traditional kung-fu film can be transformed into a work of art.