Ci Ma

SPOILER: Chinese martial arts movies have a history of strong female martial artists as lead characters. Josephine Siao, Connie Chan, and Betty Lo Tieh took many lead roles in the 1960s going against male villains such as Sek Kin. Chang Cheh directed "One-Armed Swordsman" in 1967 and starting there, let me just say he had a different opinion about women in martial arts movies. I consider this movie his masterpiece. The life blood of a good movie is conflict. Conflict is to the fourth power in this movie. The male leads despite being blood brothers are always in conflict. Then there's that troublesome woman. I love when a movie starts by giving away the ending. David Chiang will be executed without doubt from scene one. Telling the story from his point of view is the best choice. He is the moderator, the peace keeper, he sees everything going on and he tries to stop it all from going to hell. Also unusual is the fact that there is no villain in this movie. In a way each lead character's fatal flaw is the villain. There is no overcoming of fatal flaws so in a sense all four villains win in this tragedy. I would love to see the movie expanded to one of those 80 episode dramas like Heavenly Sword and Dragon Saber.

DYNASTY OF BLOOD (aka BLOOD BROTHERS, 1973) is one of a group of near-epic historical adventures produced by Shaw Bros., directed by Chang Cheh, and starring David Chiang and Ti Lung. (The others include THE HEROIC ONES, THE NEW ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN, DEADLY DUO, and SEVEN BLOWS OF THE DRAGON.) The star pair is joined here by then-rising kung fu star Chen Kuan Tai (BOXER FROM SHANTUNG) and the three portray bandits who join the army to suppress a rebel movement in old China. One of the trio, Ti Lung, rises to the rank of general and gradually turns against his buddies, particularly after he begins an affair with the wife (Li Ching) of one of them. The action culminates in a tragic series of deaths and a drawn-out downbeat ending. The film is two hours long and would have benefited, perhaps, from a little cutting.

Shot at outdoor locations and large fortress sets, the film offers plenty of swordplay and battle action as well as a handful of kung fu bouts, all staged by action director Lau Kar Leung. It's colorful, exciting, beautifully shot, and features the three leads in more multi-faceted roles than they were normally given. The interplay of three friends involved in a violent business and the gradual onset of betrayal foreshadows similar themes found some 15 years later in the Hong Kong films of John Woo (who was assistant director on this film), most notably A BETTER TOMORROW and BULLET IN THE HEAD.

ADDENDUM (6/18/08): Since I did the above review, a Region 3 DVD of the film, in Mandarin with English subtitles, has come out from Celestial Pictures as part of their line of restored and remastered Shaw Bros. releases. The widescreen picture is beautiful, but the "restoration" does have a problem. The remixed soundtrack includes extraneous added sound effects, including constant bird chirping, enough to nearly ruin the climactic action sequences. When it comes out on R1, that problem should be eliminated.

Also of note is a 2007 remake of BLOOD BROTHERS, called THE WARLORDS, a China/Hong Kong co-production directed by Peter Chan and starring Jet Li, Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro in the roles played by Ti Lung, Chen Kuan Tai and David Chiang, respectively. It's not a martial arts film, but is instead a big-budget epic war drama with battle scenes featuring hundreds of extras. The love triangle is there but is downplayed in favor of the moral conflicts between the brothers that arise over the conduct of war. The actors are all superb, with Jet Li proving what a great dramatic actor he is. It's a very different kind of film from BLOOD BROTHERS and is highly recommended.

Another classic from the ultimate Shaw Brothers team-up of director Chang Cheh with stars David Chiang and Ti Lung, and you get Chen Kuan Tai added to the mix too. This one's an epic outdoorsy adventure that tells of the friendship between the three titular 'blood brothers' as they start out as bandits before rising through the ranks, becoming government officers and eventually falling out. Not as action packed as some, nonetheless this works well thanks to the intense performances and high melodrama, leading to the classic Shaw climax.

THE BLOOD BROTHERS is not only one of the best movies Shaw brothers ever produced, it's also one of the greatest martial arts films ever, full stop.

The story follows three men--Chang, Huang and Ma. The former two are good friends and partners in crime, who make a living stealing from travellers, but Ma is a refined man with great ambition and a desire for power and fame. Chang and Huang, despite having different goals to Ma, become his close friends and join forces with him to conquer a rebel outpost, receiving the surrender of a small army of warriors. All seems to be going well, until an affair starts between Ma and Huang's wife, but is cut short by his decision to join the army, where he can finally make a name for himself. Ma's success in battle leads him to fame and he requests the aid of his two good friends, Huang and Chang, in crushing rebels. But power proves more important to Ma than friendship...

The fight choreography is consistently outstanding, from the lighthearted opening fight scene to the stunning, emotionally charged finale. Weapons are put to good use, Chang's use of the three-section staff stands out in particular. Slow motion is also used well, especially in the last battle.

Production values seem surprisingly high, with thousands of extras, weapons and costumes on display. The sets are well made, although some outdoor scenes are obviously filmed inside a studio.

Despite some minor flaws, THE BLOOD BROTHERS stands out as a highly memorable martial arts epic, with a more involved plot than the usual kung fu movie. Chang Cheh was a talented director and the THE BLOOD BROTHERS is one of his classics.