Dung fong tuk ying

In the early 90s, after reading a glowing review of the film in a fanzine, I shelled out mucho dinero for a pirated un-subtitled VHS copy of Eastern Condors. And even though I didn't have a clue what was being said, the movie blew me away with its OTT gung-ho action, bullet-riddled battle scenes and unbelievable martial arts madness.

These days the film is available on DVD remastered, fully restored and subtitled, so fans of fantastic fight action have no excuse for not checking out this marvellous movie.

Director and star Sammo Hung takes the basic plot of The Dirty Dozen (a group of criminals take part in a dangerous mission with the promise of freedom if they succeed), adds a touch of The Deer Hunter and Rambo, and throws in a ton of amazing kung fu to deliver one of the best Hong Kong flicks of the 80s.

Joining Sammo on his dangerous mission (into Vietnam, to destroy a hidden US munitions dump) are the brilliant Yuen Baio (as a Vietnamese profiteer dealing in smuggled goods), Oscar winner Haing S. Ngor, Lam Ching Ying, Yuen Woo-ping, Corey Yuen, Charlie Chin, and Sammo's real-life wife, the gorgeous Joyce Godenzi. Playing nasty bad-guys out to foil the mission are Billy Chow and the fantastic Yuen Wah. With a line up like that, and Hung calling the shots, excellence is almost guaranteed.

From the moment our 'heroes' parachute into a Vietcong infested jungle, Eastern Condors is non stop brutal action and unmissable fare for those who enjoy their war films violent and unfettered by serious political comment. The bad guys are pure evil (Wah's sniggering fan-waving general is as despicable as they come) and deserve to die. End of story.

And die they do: blasted by machine guns, knifed to death in guerrilla attacks, hacked by machetes, and even killed by imaginative use of jungle flora! In a blistering finale in an underground, missile laden bunker, the surviving good-guys take on the enemy in a vicious showdown that will leave you breathless. Yuen Baio and Sammo take the spotlight in the final fight against Wah and Chow, and the result is some of the best martial arts action ever committed to film. Baio's acrobatic skills are well showcased, whilst Hung, who slimmed down in order to be able to perform more incredible stunts, is on particularly fine form.

Only the occasional 'silly' moment (such as the death of a stuttering character who dies when he fails to reach twenty before opening his parachute), and the rather strange nutter played by Haing S. Ngor (I'm still not sure what the point of his character was) stop me from giving this top marks.

But 9/10 is nothing to be sniffed at, and any fan of the genre should definitely check this one out.

Eastern Condors has few equals in the action genre. Directed and starring Sammo Hung, Sammo turns the action to eleven in this hybrid of modern action and kung fu. Also appearing is Yuen Biao and Yuen Wah as the ever reliable villain. E.C. is Hong Kong's answer to The Dirty Dozen where a group of Chinese/American criminals go on a suicide mission to destroy a missile ammunition dump left behind by Marines in Vietnam. The tone is lighter than John Woo's Bullet In The Head, but is taken serious enough to care about the characters, move along the story and sell the abundant and insane action scenes. There is enough bonebreaking martial arts, crazy stunts, as well as a barrage of machine gunfire and explosions to please the most jaded of action fans. Overall, Eastern Condors more than delivers and I always enjoy re watching this action classic.

Eastern Condors (1986) is an awesome movie from Hong Kong Cinema legend Sammo Hung. Hung, along with his crew of usual actors remake the classic Dirty Dozen along with Full Metal Jacket. The end results is one of the best action movies ever made. From the beginning until the end, this action packed film doesn't disappoint it's intended audience and will make converts out of the non-believers.

A group of Chinese-American soldiers are given a second chance at redemption. If they complete this dangerous assignment they'll receive a full pardon and compensation money. They have to take out a cache of weapons left behind by the U.S. Army in Viet-Nam. Can this bunch destroy the weapons depot and avoid detection from the local Vietnamese military?

Lam Ching-Ying is appointed by the government to lead the rag tag soldiers into combat. Sammo Hung is second in command. Yuen Biao is a local Vietnamese resident who joins the soldiers, Yuen Wah co-stars as the ruthless Vietnamese officer who purses the soldiers to no end. Joyce Godenzi also co-stars as the leader of a small unit of freedom fighters.

Like I said before, this is a no nonsense action packed film from beginning to end. The fight scenes are amazing and the direction from Sammo Hung is pretty solid. If you enjoy action films by all means grab this one immediately.

Highest recommendation possible.

I broke it down: Why I think Eastern Condors in the greatest film ever made - here it goes (keep in mind this is a very personal break down):

1- 100 years of film-making (give or take a few years) = Dozens and dozens of different film genres.

2- Dozens and dozens of different film genres = The action genre being the greatest of all genres.

3- The action genre being the greatest of all genres = Hong Kong being the greatest of all countries to make action films.

4- Hong Kong being the greatest of all countries to make action films Sammo Hung being the greatest Hong Kong Action Director.

5- Sammo Hung being the greatest Hong Kong Action Director = Eastern Condors being Sammo's greatest achievement.

Think about this: John Woo created some of the greatest Gun-Fu moments in cinematic history, however is hand-to-hand combat is slighting boring. Jackie Chan has certainly created some of the greatest Kung-Fu moments ever, but his films become boring once anyone picks up a gun. Sammo Hung is the only filmmaker who can blend both elements of Gun-Fu and Kung-Fu in one movie and make each style equally entertaining to watch. Eastern Condors is the best example of this. Another reason why: EASTERN CONDORS IS THE GREATEST FILM EVER MADE!

This is the original "balls-to-the-wall" Hong Kong action film. really, once the ex-con commandos parachute into Vietnam to dispose of a hidden arsenal the US left behind during the pull-out, the action never stops. Shootings, stabbing, explosions, and wild kung fu - with almost no discernible wire-works - the film is virtually one violent confrontation after another.

which of course is the weakness of the film. Although Sammo Hung became known as a director thanks largely to an exquisite sense of the comedic, the comic touches here get swamped by the action. also, we never get to know any of these fighters very well - character development reduces to a selection of whatever cliché would fit a character if the character had a personality. None of them do. And finally I have to remark that what little drama there really is in the film, is all pretty grim.

Still, this film is not, in the last analysis, about drama, character, or humor; it sets out to be THE action film of its decade. Whether it succeeds or not is debatable; but it certainly makes the right effort for it.