Lan tou He

I am currently watching every martial arts movie made during the golden age from 1967-1984. Watching in chronological order has given me a better insight into how these movies developed.

I have not been able to establish a definite date for the original theatrical release of "Dirty Ho", other than sometime between 1976 and 1979. Recently HKMDB added 8/4/1979 as the date but I can't confirm that at a second source. Until I am certain of a date I can't say for sure if some of the creative choreography first appeared in this movie. Regardless, the use of props, the "fighting while appearing to be stumbling", fighting by making the opponent look off balance, and using Kara Hui as a weapon, all this creative choreography of fighting without fighting was never or at least rarely seen before.

The title has always raised eyebrows. To clarify in Chinese the literal translation is "rotten head Ho". Ho is the character played by Wong Yu. The "rotten head" occurs during his fight with Kara Hui. He receives a scratch to his forehead during that fight. Initially, though superficial, the wound is very painful so he seeks medical treatment. The medical treatment only makes it worse. This was planned by Gordon Liu all along to lead to the character's metamorphosis.

Funny kung fu comedy with Gordon Liu as a lover of fine antiques, good wine, and is hiding a secret. He wants to show Dirty Ho (Yue Wong) the error of his ways. I have to say, the antagonism between the two is great in the beginning and I enjoyed scenes with the two of them together. Good chemistry.

Gordon Liu has some really weird, but very cool to watch, fight scenes which include wine cups and antique vases!! His fight with Johnny Wang is definitely worth watching. Towards the end, it's all action and the double attacks of Liu and Wong work well together. So for some laughs and lots of kicks, watch this one! And Gordon with a moustache, what more could you want??

This is one of the films that sears itself into your mind forever unless kung fu films are a real turn off. Even when it was only watchable in poorly centered TV prints the brilliance of the action shined thru. Filmed towards the end of the golden age of the Shaw Brothers Studios, Dirty Ho rates as the top of the genre. The way the fights are choreographed is mesmerizing and I have spent hours rewinding the scenes to see exactly how the director orchestrated the camera and actors. It incredible how the movement progresses. I defy anyone to come up with something as subtle yet outrageous as the wine scene or the antique scene. The scenes in "House of Flying Daggers" are quite impressive but everything is computer assisted exaggeration. Here the only tricks are what could be done with editing and camera movement (O.K. maybe a few wires). You can see that most of the work is being done by the highly talented actors.

When this is re-released, buy it!

No pun intended - families can be a good and a bad thing I reckon! Also sibling rivalry can obviously go beyond just teasing and be mad at each other. That all being said, we first get to learn the two main characters. Who don't seem to keen of each other ... but we know things can change - will that happen here too? This we will have to see.

What really was interesting: most weapons looked fake in previous movies, but it seems they have used better material for some of the weapons here. Shiny metal and all that - still fake probably, but not as obvious as they were before. Another small note: I had forgotten about how they treat their hair - especially the long ones where they (s)wipe it back, either with their hand or just a small head movement - both looking cool.

The movie also introduces a lot of humor - even making fun of previous Shaw Brothers entries - the one armed series and so many more - pulling back the curtain/fourth wall and all that. You have to dig the comedy/teasing of course. There is also gender based stuff here - they really were ahead of their time in some aspects. And if you like the fighting ... well there is a lot of that too. Plus the training - where fire was away or shot in a way where it probably was not close to any of the actors ... it is different here too ... the stakes are high - the kicks are too! No pun intended.

If anyone thinks that martial arts films are unsubtle escapism, with violence and little else, then Dirty Ho is a shining example of what they can be. Even from the point of view of the fight sequences, the two 'disguised' fights whilst drinking wine and admiring antiques are as well choreographed as any fights before and since.

However, the nature of the relationship between the Prince and Ho is very deliberate and complex. The Prince, a Manchu, and thus regarded with a great deal of suspicion (if not outright hostility) by southern Chinese, is throughout the film the model of a good Confucian, knowledgeable about all manner of fine art, wine and antiques. Ho is uncouth, rude and violent towards him, yet the superior (and distinctly Chinese) virtue of the Prince ultimately convinces him to serve him.

This is not only a obvious difference from a majority of Hong Kong films, in which the Manchu dynasty tends to be portrayed in a very negative light, as foreign, barbaric invaders, Dirty Ho provides a balance, indeed in some ways in represents the way the Manchu (Qing) dynasty, initially a foreign and, to the Chinese, barbaric people, soon was assimilated to become more Chinese than the Chinese.

And besides that, it is a fantasticly crafted martial arts film, with all the usual training sequences and an absolutely brilliant stylised fight sequence during the opening credits.