There are martial arts epics and "brotherhood hero" films but then there is nothing out there that comes even close to THE WATER MARGIN. Based on the classic novel and true legend, ALL MEN ARE BROTHERS about how 108 rebels bravely fought against the Sung Dynasty, just about every big Shaw Brothers’ star around at the time, David Chiang, Ti Lung and Chen Kuan-tai to name a few, were called in to do this film to make it one of the most dynamic films in the history of cinema. The film exhausts you with its wild and wooly, yet heroically primitive battle scenes that ultimately end in sharp and visually effective images of death, defeat and heroism. It won Honorable Mention for Dramatic Feature at the 1972 Golden Horse Awards.
David Chiang, Ti Lung, Lily Ho, Chin Feng, Yueh Hua
Da Yung is the son of an entrepreneur of a big corporation. Lian Lian is the niece of a Kindergarten’s principal. Fate has brought them together as Da Yung loses his wallet by mistake when they first met. Further misunderstanding occurs when Da Yung tries to use Lian Lian as an excuse to drive the two women he does not love away. Legendary actress and Golden Horse winner Joan Lin stars in this romantic comedy.
The Golden Lion (Chao Hsiung) is a bandit with mysterious strength who robs from the rich and gives to the poor. One night, he is ambushed and poisoned by the evil bounty hunter Wang Ching-Tsao (Wang Hsieh) and his gang, who hunt him at the behest of legal authority. Friends take him to a righteous doctor, who cures the wounded bandit despite the threats of Wang Ching-Tsao. The doctor travels with the Golden Lion, his surly son and courageous daughter Lu Wen-fang (Li Ching) to a mountain to develop a life-saving antidote, and they are beset at every perilous turn by Wang Hsieh, who will stop at nothing to catch his quarry!
This is a heartstring-tugging Christmas story about a bar lady who serves drinks to a man that looks like her long gone husband. She convinces him to fulfill her son's wishes of having the father he's never seen show up for Christmas.
The "Venoms" were no more. After five years and more than a dozen films together, the only one of the original five who proved so successful for the director was the muscleman Lo Meng. But with just that one "venom" and his incredibly agile new star Cheng Tien-chi, he made this spectacular, internationally popular, favorite. Evil ninjas (who attack with, and from, fire, sun, wood, water, and the ground) brutally slaughter a noble Chinese kung-fu school's students. The one survivor finds a teacher and four students who are ninjitsu experts. The five graduates take revenge. With this strong structure and exceptional kung-fu choreography (from the star and co-star Chu Ke), Chang Cheh produced platinum. This film was one of the director's best of his superheroic, grand guignol period. By any name, it could be called, almost literally, "bloody good" entertainment!
The noted actress Li Li-hua, star of more than sixty films since 1947, beautifully portrays the drugged, then disgraced wife of a peddler in the waning days of the Ching Dynasty. To make matters worse, she's soon framed for her husband’s murder by her rapist - the son of the local magistrate! And even that isn’t the end of her woes. It's best to have a box of tissues nearby as two expert directors ratchet up the emotional suspense in this consummate tearjerker.
Li Li-hua, Kao Pao-shu, Ouyang Sha-fei, Kwan Shan, Ku Wen-chung
Yen Tzu-fei (Ling Yun) is a college and martial arts student. A letter from his father tells him that Japanese financier, Nomura (Ching Miao) plans to seize the family mine and forest lands, and that Ichimura (Chan Shen) has been instructed by Nomura to use force against him. Yen's father asks him to return home and help resist the threats. Once home, Yen introduces Kuan Yueh-hua (Ching Li), who he met during the journey home, to his family, and the attraction he previously felt for her, grows. Later, Kuan Yueh-hua discovers that her father is plotting with the Japanese to get Yen Chien-kuang's property. Nomura and Ichimura hire professional killers to murder Yen Tzu-fei.
Director Chow Sze-loke brings to you one of the most famous stories from the renowned Chinese novel, The Water Margin. The Amorous Lotus Pan tells the story of a poor but beautiful girl, Lotus Pan (the radiant Diana Chang Chung-wen). Cruelly labelled "a delight to all men", Pan is raped by her young master. Stained with a past such that she is unable to be wedded to a rich man, she is then married to a midget who treats her like an animal. Lost and alone, Pan falls for his brother, playboy Wu Song (Paul Chang Chung)... but beautiful women do not have things easy. Pan is also lusted after by the murderous Men Ching (Pai Yun) and unwittingly becomes a pawn in the game of lust, egoistic desires and cruelty as she becomes the unwilling conspirator and ultimately, the victim in a vicious game of macho bravado and murder!
Chang Chung-wen, Pai Yun, Paul Chang-chung, Hung Wei, Li Kun, Chin Jen-shu
It's mid-autumn festival, and hunchbacked, Liu To, out to avenge his sworn-brother, Chin Piao's death, calls for Li Kuei. (Who killed Chin Piao ten years earlier in a fight to possess a document about the "Poisonous Dragon Sword.") Later, the two fight, and Liu To loses his right arm, and swears vengeance on Li Kuei, during mid-autumn in ten years' time. Near death, Li Kuei asks Madame Chen (his sister) to send his daughter, Li Pao-chu, to learn the fighting tacties of the poisonous dragon sword. Ten years pass, and Li Pao-chu, now highly respected and feared for her swordplay skills, is called "The Young Avenger". Her quest is to avenge the death of her father. She meets her swordsman cousin, Chen Shih-lun. Mid-autumn comes, and with it Liu To and Chen Shih-lun, who leads the local villagers in an attack against marauding thugs. A bitter fight ensues between Liu To and Chen Shih-lun, with Liu getting the upper hand in spite of help from Li Pao-chu. At a critical moment in the fight, they are aided and inspired by Li Pao-chu's teacher (Chen Shih-lun's paternal uncle) and Liu To is finally killed by Li Pao-chu. The quest of the Young Avenger is at last over.
Auteur Lo Chen helmed this tragic love story of the famed Peking Opera star Chiu Hai-Tang, his beautiful stage partner, and the warlord who stands between them. The superlative stars' traditional musical skills give an extra layer of professionalism to the film's fascinating music and intense interpersonal drama.
The aggressive and dangerous Chin Empire conquers the hard-put Chao kingdom while the Wei empire is drained of its heroes and paralyzed by an indecisive ruler. Adventure, intrigue, death and tragedy reigns before the triumphant clash of the armies.
Julie Yeh Feng plays a devoted wife and a mother dying of an incurable illness. Her goal now is to find a new mother for her child and a new wife for her husband before she dies. Because of all her personal tragedies and on-going hard life off-screen, audiences connect with Julie on a personal level, hence making her one of the most beloved actresses of her time.
No list compiled of all the screen's comic geniuses would be complete without Michael Hui. He created a hilarious and lovable comic persona that was both uniquely Asian and universally beloved. The Warlord, his first film, not only showcased his incomparable sense of humour but also a revolutionized Hong Kong comedy. Evoking Chaplin, he plays a warlord in early 20th century China, but makes the role his own with comedy. Some of the sexiest ladies on the Shaw Brothers lot add on to the ingenuity of the movie.
After many years as a respected actor (The Chinese Boxer) and action choreographer (Jackie Chan's Drunken Master), the Shaw Studio finally gave the dependable and commendable Hsu Hsia a chance to direct his own movies. He didn't waste the opportunity, inviting three other kung-fu designers to help on this fight-filled thriller. Wang Yu, co-star of such classics as Dirty Ho and The Kid With A Tattoo, here takes center stage as a young rascal caught between an anti-Ching Confederation and violent, vengeful Ching troops. But when he discovers that the good guys are led by master martial arts actor Jen Shih-kuan (Once Upon A Time In China) and the bad guys are led by the incredible Huang Cheng-li (Snake In The Eagle's Shadow) everyone knows that loads of great kung-fu is in store.
