Die Bande des gelben Drachen

"The Killer" is the original and proper title for this movie. This is an unusual case where additional titles became helpful as a search for "The Killer" would leave a list a mile long.

It begins with a dimly lit fight on the waterfront. The customs inspector seizes then burns the opium. The smugglers decide to hire a killer to solve all their problems. They call for Tsung Hua, an unlikely assassin.

Tsung Hua plays the most naïve martial arts hero in movie history. The opium smugglers totally convince him that they are the good guys and everyone else is a criminal. Despite opportunity after opportunity for him to just shut up and listen to any number of people he blows them off and continues on his blind path.

I found the plot beyond my ability to suspend disbelief. I settled back to mindlessly watch some good fights. All the while I kept hoping someone would slap some sense into that idiot.

Somehow even the "evil Japanese" get dragged into this mess.

The copy I bought appeared to be a legitimate Shaw Brothers release but once I spun it in the DVD player the deception was obvious. It plays as widescreen on a HDTV but is just a stretched out VHS size video. It is dubbed in English with no subtitles. The "extras" are just a tab to select but nothing happens when clicked on. Caveat emptor. Anyway, I could watch it.

I will not be looking for a better or legitimate copy of this movie as I watched it once and made some notes about four years ago and I watched it again for this review. I rate it as a below average mess that even the good fights cannot overcome.

Hero one sided, japanese bad, all cliches welcome. This is probably why this was not the usual star vehicle, and employs a number of lesser known faces. Note that some can be lesser known but align several hundreds roles during their careers.

However it seems to have left Chor Yuen with time to explore acrobatics and choreographies and camera moves a little further than usual.

So probably not the movie i'd select to acquaint someone with the genre, but interesting enough for the aficionado.

This begins slowly, no different than any other martial arts film of the time. It gradually becomes a wild anti-Japanese tome not unlike "Hammer of God". It also becomes a precursor to "Game of Death", as the two heroes enter a fortress containing ever-increasing dangers. Give this a chance, it contains some of the wildest fighting sequences of the time.