Ba dao lou zi

I saw this movie as the second half of a midnight double bill more than 20 years ago and it made a lasting impression. A group of brave Chinese martial arts fighters take a stand against the Japanese invaders during WWII in an impressive display of martial arts. So why didn't the Japanese just gun them down? I guess there is no honor in defeating an enemy without firearms that way and that would have shortened the movie quite a bit. See it if you can, but as far as I know it is completely unavailable. There is not even a Hong Kong VCD release of it. This one is overdue for DVD release. 9/10

The movie starts with the helpful narrator explaining the situation with China and Japan at war. The typical big production values of Shaw Brothers is on display with scenes of hundreds of costumed extras, military equipment, and explosions.

If you like your war movies without all the messy reality of war this is for you. The glorious band of Chinese brothers goes against the evil Japanese. Bullets are sparsely used with the preferred weapon the fixed bayonet. The long run time of almost two hours uses flashbacks to get to know the brothers more personally. I was surprised the whole cliché ridden movie did not bore me as I watched it straight through. Almost every Shaw Brothers top male martial arts star appeared in this movie so, as a hard core fan, I suspect that made it watchable.

There were no magic movie moments or spectacular fight sequences to mention. You can play "Where's Waldo?" by trying to spot the great Gordon Liu in a small part as a Mongol mercenary.

I've seen this movie in 1977 when I was 13 yrs old and seeing how these 7 heroic brave Chinese soldiers resisted the Japs make me shed tears.