L'homme à la lance contre Shaolin

FLAG OF IRON (1980, aka SPEARMAN OF DEATH) is a historical kung fu adventure starring three of the five actors-martial artists collectively known as the Five Venoms. The most versatile of the Venoms, Kuo Chui (aka Philip Kwok), plays a clan member who volunteers to go into exile to take the heat off his group after a fight with a rival gang. When he returns he finds that his old boss (played by Lu Feng, another Venom), for whom he took the rap, has merged with the rival gang and sent a group of ten killers after Kuo, who outfights all of them, sometimes with the help of another Venom, Chiang Sheng. He also finds an ally in the notorious Spearman, who had originally been hired by the corrupt gang boss. Eventually the three heroes take on their old boss in an extended battle involving flag-draped spears which the combatants twirl about in virtuoso displays of skill.

The plot is basically a variation on the old gangster plot about a gangster sent into hiding or to prison as a scapegoat for his gang who finds, upon returning, that things have either fallen apart or his old boss has turned on him. In kung fu films, we saw this before in DUEL OF THE SHAOLIN FIST (1971, aka DUEL OF THE IRON FIST), an excellent early kung fu work by director Chang Cheh, who also directed FLAG OF IRON and all the Venoms films.

FLAG OF IRON is a well-mounted production with lots of exciting fighting action shot amidst sprawling Shaw Bros. studio sets. It's not as intricate as other Venoms films and suffers from the absence of one key Venom, Lo Meng, but it's a worthy entry nonetheless. Beware the 85-minute cut version currently in distribution. The original running time is 113 minutes.

Talky and moderately convoluted, this lesser "Venom" film has moments that will make a Shaw fan reasonably happy.

Phillip Kuo once again carries another Chang Cheh production with his charm and remarkable acrobatic expertise. This time he plays a cocky martial art clan member, Iron Panther who along with his training brother Iron Monkey (Sheng Chiang) delights in tormenting members of the rival clan who indulge in immoral things like running a gambling parlor and brothel. His trouble making leads to an ambush where his clan master is killed. To protect the clan his elder brother, played by Lu Feng, bribes the police and sends Iron Panther far away until the furor dies down. In the middle of this is a mysterious stranger, the White Robed Rambler (say that fast), who wields a curious set of short spears. This being a rather typical kung fu drama, there are a number of betrayals that lead to the final showdown with flags.

Very talky at times but unfortunately without a really interesting set of characters. The White Robed Rambler is very blandly played. Someone like David Chiang would have been perfect in the part. The betrayals are unsurprising and if you have seen this type of film before, very predictable. The fights are well done and the finale is unusual but really a way to show off the Venoms acrobatic training. Flag stunts are typical in Chinese acrobatic troupes.

OK but too long at 2 hours.

When the Iron Flag Clan are ambushed by the Eagle Clan, and their leader is assassinated by a paid killer called the Spearman or Rambler or Yan Xiu (depending on who you ask). The eldest brother Chao Feng (Iron Tiger) steps up to be the head of the clan, however the two new leaders of the Eagle clan (Gao and Chen) go to the police about the death of their leader – forcing the police to at least appear to take action. To save the clan, brother Lo Xin (The Iron Panther) takes the fall and agrees to go into exile, during which time the clan will send him money until he is free to return. However, no money comes to Luo – instead only hired killers. Saved by the intervention of the Rambler, Lo learns that Chao Feng may not be the leader he claims to be, since he is now working with the Eagles and allowing all their amoral actions to continue. Along with loyal brother Iron Money, Rambler and Lo head back to the town to get to the bottom of it all.

Although there are quite a lot of characters in this film, and it runs to almost 2 hours, it is pretty easy to follow and has a solid narrative throughout. Each plot twist and turn seems to be accompanied by a good fight sequence and these and the narrative work well to keep the film moving and interesting. I wasn't sure about the practicality of the flags as weapons, nor of the interest in the spear that fires a little bit of spear, but while the latter remained a bit 'meh' as a tool in the fights, the flags are very well used and make for some very impressive acrobatics. I also enjoyed the ten assassins coming in the middle of the film, bringing different characters and styles.

Although we only have some of the venom mob here, they are some good ones and well used. In particular I like the presence of Kuo Chui (Kwok) in the lead, and the comedic support of Sheng Chiang. Feng Lu makes for a good villain as the piece goes on, but I was not so sure of Tien Hsiang Lung's Spearman – either as a character or as a performance; he didn't have the charisma or presence of many of the others. The fight sequences are well choreographed and very energetically delivered – okay death sequences are a bit hammy and the blood excessively red and gushing, but such things come with the territory.

Overall, some reservations aside, a very enjoyable film with impressive choreography delivering engaging action sequences supporting a pretty good narrative.