Qing guan

The movie starts near a waterfall with two guys practicing sword techniques that are physically impossible. Their master then gives them a long lecture. Next are some scenes of refugees. An old guy says something to a young girl that brings her to tears.

Our two guys enter the town at night. Bullies interrupt their meal at a tea house. A fight escalates to rape and murder. Tearful girl leaves town in a carriage. The bully gang attacks. Our guys defeat them. Tearful girl changes to flirty girl.

My copy is a digital file that plays on a HDTV as a square shaped video similar in size and shape to an old VHS tape. The subtitles and audio are Chines and I do not speak Chinese. I have watched many old martial arts movies without translation. Sometimes I can figure out what's going on and continue to watch the movie. This time I could not understand the story.

The fights are standard for 1968 martial arts movies. The actors have no real martial arts experience. The stunt men do their best "to sell" punches and kicks but the actors are often slow and off target. At times an actor could continue a fight sequence by going as many as ten moves without a cut in the action.

Today, only a hard core fan of martial arts movies of the golden age from 1967 to 1984 would take notice of this movie. It's always special when such a fan, like me, manages to find an old movie like this. Otherwise, watching it and everything else just adds up as average for the year and genre.