Tian luo fei sha xi yang hong

Cheap DVD re-release has now taken on the title of another film, "Hero of the Wild." One of the best of its genre in its period. The plot is very odd for the time - at one point a character rapes his own sister to escape detection by enemies! - and you won't guess the real villain here until the end, which is rare for 'fu films of the period.

The kung fu action is intense - as intense as I've seen from historical 'fu films of the period. The acting is above par. Can't say whether the cinematography matches the story, action, and acting, due to format I saw this in, but I suspect the wide-screen version is also above par, many scenes are well-set and well designed.

A real surprise here. Needs to be watched more than once, if only by fans of the genre.

If you like hong kong action and fighting, and are also up for a laugh, don't miss this one. Unfortunately I've only seen the dubbed version since most old movies of this kind are not possible to get a hold of, still, the worthless dub is half the fun.

The movie itself is actually pretty neat, nice fighting and alot of intruige. But what makes it truly entertaining is how bad some of the details are, one woman dies by walking into a wall, and very often the wrong part of the scene is showed; you get to watch only a brick wall why people talk or even while someone is dying. Still, this is very fun to watch, if not for any other reason than that it is really poorly made but without being boring.

Lo Lieh dies in the first twenty minutes and with him the story as everything after is a ball of confusion. I can't blame any of it on poor translation of the dialog. Carter Wong steps up as the lead and this results in him raping his sister. He is trying to prove to the bad guys that he doesn't know her. The results? There were no results, he just does that and the whole act has no point. It seems to be layer after layer of people who are not what they seem to be and absolutely none of it makes sense after final revelations. The fights are at best average and repetitious and at worst nonsense with the banging cymbals noise weapons. Chan Wai-Lau due to his small size often plays an elderly female and does not fail to deliver a decent staff fighting sequence. That brief part was the martial arts high point of this entire movie. Kam Kong plays a Ming general and is killed off with hardly a fight at all. Cliff Lok briefly displays his acrobatic martial arts in one sequence. That is all. I cannot recommend this movie to anyone other than hard-core completist types like myself and I rate it below average.

Choppy but classic styled adventure mixing the Ming/Ching conflict with an espionage plot involving Shaolin and the eventual control of the Chinese mainland. Good, fantasy inclined kung fu actioner captures the chivalry of the period it portrays. There is a wrenching incest-rape ploy and a totally surprising, macabre conclusion complete with double crossing and an ounce of chicanery that elevates this martial arts tale up a notch.

Watched this mainly for Lo Lieh and Carter Wong. Note For collectors: this version was from the old 'Hollywood Films' label (a Canadian company) with a running time of 76 minutes.