Shen tui tie shan gong

Snuffbottle connection - Tsui Hark borrowed some ideas for from this film for the third Once Upon a Time in China film; it is considered a classic of the late chop-sock 'fu film era (around 1980), for a number of very good reasons. The fight scenes are, for the most part, excellent. John Liu and Jang Lee Hwang, both talented kick-fighters, are neatly matched as opposing participants in a political intrigue for the future of China's relations with Russia. Meng Fei turns in his best-ever performance (as far as I'm aware), thanks in no small part to a fairly mature dramatic script, certainly far better than the scripts for most of the films in this genre at that time. Even the occasional interjections of humor are well placed. The story also shows considerable savvy as regards the historical politics of China at the end of the 19th century. The camera work and editing are solidly professional. Overall, a fine example of the genre just before the infusion of new blood (ie.e., e.g., Jackie Chan) would necessitate a rewrite of all the rules.

I have been watching martial arts movies in chronological order from 1967 to the present. This movie is a masterpiece of fight choreography, direction, and execution. It caused me to take pause and ask myself why. Watching a 1967 movie I counted how many moves in a single take and I considered sixteen moves before a cut to be a really good fight. I counted the moves before a cut in this movie and was surprised that most of the time there were less than ten moves. Yet this movie is far superior to anything made in 1967. Other factors have changed the criteria for a good fight. In this movie the fight sequences have almost effortless smoothness and continuity. The cuts don't even seem to be stops in the action, instead it's as if the fighters kept fighting but the view simply changed to another camera angle. To prove my point take a close look at the fight sequence where John Liu grabs the sword with his foot. It might seem he sticks his foot into the hilt guard during a kick but he does no such thing, it's all in the edit. The more I watch these movies the more I learn and respect the people that made it happen. At first I was rating it an 8 out of 10 but I raised it to a 9 out of 10 because of one more reason - the white guys were good too.

SNUFF BOTTLE CONNECTION is one of the better martial arts films I've sat through lately, with strong and vivid action sequences and a more in-depth and suspenseful storyline than most. There are still slow spots and stock fight scenes that are added merely to pad out the running time, but for the most part this is above-par stuff. The film is a truly international co-production, made by Chinese financiers in Taiwan, featuring a leading Chinese cast, a mainly South Korean supporting cast, and some western actors playing the foreign villains. You may recognise one of the latter as Roy Horan, who also starred in GAME OF DEATH II, here playing the unlikely named Colonel Tolstoy.

The story is about a planned Russian invasion of Manchuria and the upstanding young heroes who must battle to prevent it. To this end, they also have to seek out and unmask the Chinese traitor colluding with the foreign enemies. John Liu isn't one of the best kung fu heroes of the era but he's not bad, and audiences are treated to the great Hwang Jang Lee in support. Lee is virtually unrecognisable in his white wig, and he doesn't get to do any of his best kicking, but he's always a welcome presence in these movies.

The fight choreography, by Yuen Woo-ping, is a definite notch above that seen in common chop socky epics. They have that great sense of momentum where the fights cut between different camera angles between blows without ever slowing down. There are early frenetic brawls between the dastardly Russians and innocent Chinese workers before things become more traditional in the second half as the good guys fight their way through pretty much every bad guy in the movie. Watch out for Yuen Biao in a brief cameo as a casino fighter.

SNUFF BOTTLE CONNECTION (1977) adds a novel twist to the kung fu genre by making a group of Russians the villains and setting up a Chinese secret agent and his con man brother as the Ching Dynasty's only defense against a Russian takeover of Manchuria. It's a fairly simple plot, devoted primarily to the heroes' efforts to identify the Chinese official in league with the Russians, and is basically an excuse for lots of well-staged fights between well-matched kung fu performers in scenes choreographed by kung fu director extraordinaire Yuen Wo Ping, best known today for his work in IRON MONKEY, THE MATRIX and CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON.

The long-legged, high-kicking John Liu (SECRET RIVALS, INVINCIBLE ARMOUR) plays the imperial agent who goes undercover to find out who's playing host to the four Russian military men visiting Ching Yoon Town. Liu turns for help to his brother Kao (Yip Fei Yang), a con artist and gambler with a young thief-in-training (Wong Yat Lung) as his protégé. Kao's abilities come in handy when the need arises to steal the jade snuff bottle of the title from the Russians and use it to smoke out the traitor. Dependable kung fu villain--and an equally adept high kicker--Hwang Jang Lee, adorned with long white hair, plays General Shantung, the former military hero who has agreed to help the Russians in exchange for a promise to be installed as their puppet ruler after the invasion.

The Russians, led by Colonel Tolstoy (Roy Horan), are a rowdy lot--three of the four are expert martial artists and supreme troublemakers to boot. Two of them visit the local establishments, including a restaurant and casino, and proceed to wreck the joints and beat up all the bouncers when they don't get what they want. All three of the fighting Russians eventually have to take on our heroes in battle, as do the Chinese traitor and his two chief henchmen.

Two strong heroes and six formidable villains add up to the right formula for a consistently entertaining and action-packed kung fu film. Some of the fights involve the ancient "snake-hawk" style and some involve a variety of weapons. The action culminates in an extended seven-minute bout in which Liu and his brother take on Hwang Jang Lee. The weapons are a major feature of the fights, with Kao's exotic throwing blades pitted against Colonel Tolstoy's old-fashioned dueling pistols in a couple of confrontations. There are poles, spears, swords, and blades-on-chains, as well as that old Yuen Wo Ping standby, the bench, employed as well. The traitorous General uses the famed iron fan in a most lethal way. Most of the major fights are staged on location at temple and courtyard settings or in the sprawling Taiwanese countryside.

Kao is played by Yip Fei Yang, who played a dual role in INSTANT KUNG FU MAN, which also featured Liu and Hwang in the cast. The director of that film was Tung Kan Wu, who co-directed this film with Lily Liu. Wong Yat Lung, who plays Kao's acrobatic boy sidekick, played similar roles in SLEEPING FIST and THUNDERING MANTIS. Future action film director Yuen Kwai (Corey Yuen) appears as another fighting villain. Western martial artist Roy Horan (seen also in SNAKE IN THE EAGLE'S SHADOW) plays Colonel Tolstoy. There is one female supporting character, the daughter of the restaurant owner and the object of Kao's affections, but she appears early on and then vanishes from the rest of the film. Also spotted briefly in fighting bits are Yuen Shun Yi (aka Sonny Yuen, from BUDDHIST FIST), Yuen Biao (PRODIGAL SON) and Chien Yuet San (THUNDERING MANTIS).

The English dubbing leaves a lot to be desired and sounds particularly awkward with the overdone Russian accents. The music cues are all lifted from Hollywood soundtracks. Nonetheless, it's an otherwise well-put-together film with good production and costume design and lots of exciting fights enacted by skilled and charismatic performers.