Vastly underrated mainly because it seems a bit dated now and is very hard to get hold of. My copy distributed by Beauty from China is not the best of transfers and has no extras. Anything by King Hu is worth watching and this has echoes of his earlier classic Dragon Gate Inn. Rebels and the Manch warlord Lee Kahn come together in a remote inn and the tension builds during the period of the Yuan Dynasty where the Han people fought to expel the Mongol invaders. There are many stars in this early film, Roy Chiao, Angela Mao, Lil Lil-hua (brilliant as the owner of the inn), Hsu Feng (as Lee Kahn's sister) and the action choreography (rather limited but effective) is by Sammo Hung. Tin Fung is chilling as Lee Kahn and both the acting, direction and photography (King Hu loved scenery shots) are superior and unusually for films of the period, the female leads are all strong characters. A great genre film well worth watching.
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phillip-5816 August 2007
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The film starts out as almost a comedy but behind the fun there is a plot against the titular Lee Khan brewing until it explodes at the end in furious fighting. I really liked the way the film built up the suspense as one gets to know who is in the conspiracy and who isn't and when eventually Lee Khan would meet his fate. It is mainly set in an inn in a remote location that keeps the tension tight. The movie is helped by a great cast, each one ideal in their roles but I must admit to being most taken with the delightful fighting waitresses; Angela Mao, Chin Hu, Helen Ma and Shang-Kuan Yan-Erh. The action, staged by Sammo Hung, gets better as the film progresses. It is 105 minutes of classic Hong Kong film making, looking lovely in widescreen and colour. Most enjoyable.
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joshmertz25 September 2000This early hong kong flick is an enjoyable lark. While the fights and effects are sometimes laughably primitive by today's standards, they are nonetheless well-choreographed. The story is pretty intriguing, the intentional humor hits the mark, and, the acting is actually surprisingly competent for the genre, which can tend to be hokey and melodramatic.
All in all, worth seeing for fans of Bruce Lee, John Woo, and "The Matrix," all of whom are obviously influenced by movies such as this. -
ckormos14 July 2019It starts with the helpful narrator explaining the history of the story and introducing the actors. Next there is an extended scene in a large teahouse.
I watched this movie about seven years ago and did not like it. I wanted an Angela Mao movie and she had a limited part here. Plus she dies in a not so good fight. With an open mind I watched it again and I feel a little better.
The extended scene in the tea house has every cliché and seems to last forever. On with the story, please. At about the 45 minute mark, and still in the tea house, Angela seems to do a somersault over the bar but it is really a wipe. The stunt man dressed as her passes behind the wall, stops, and Angela steps out (without a hair out of place).
On the second view I rate this as just average. I felt it would have been above average if about twenty minutes was cut. -
There are many interesting facts (like Bruce Lee apparently visiting the set and so forth), that depending on what Edition you bought (or if you watch it digitally), will be included. Now generally speaking, I am quite biased towards movies of this type. So if you are not a fan or have cherished Shaw Brothers movies or eastern action flicks, you may feel "betrayed" by my score.
Having said that, the movie is nicely set up, with the action almost entirely playing in one location. The shoot must have been nice and also cost effective one may think. While this is a drama, this has a lot of fights and action scenes. The biggest one at its climax. Now some may think or question why it took so long - but you wouldn't do the movie justice with questioning things like that. Also you want to have fun, don't you? I would think the answer is yes to this.
So sit back and enjoy a hand to hand combat, but also quite nice swordplay. I was not too aware of the director of this before I watched it (never read too much about things I'm going to watch) or how generally praised this is - again we're talking about a certain community and fan base of course. If you're not included in that, it doesn't mean you are wrong or right. It's just not your thing. If it is, you're also not right or wrong, you'll just enjoy and cherish it, is all -
BandSAboutMovies21 April 2023Break this movie in half with one part being the set-up, as rebels, spies and government officials in disguise all meet at the Spring Inn searching for a battle map. Then, tear it all to pieces, as secret identities are uncovered and all hell breaks loose. All of this filtered through the genius of director King Hu with action put together by Sammo Hung, then brought to life by five actresses who are as strong - or perhaps stronger - than any man, Hu Chin, Helen Ma, Angela Mao, Hsu Feng and Li Li-hua
On one side, Mongo general Lee Khan (Tien Feng) and his sister Lee Wan-erh (Hsu Feng). On the opposite, inn keeper Madam Wan (Li-hua) and several undercover fighters for the resistance who are acting as her waitresses: Hai Mu-tan (Angela Mao, who also made the astounding Hapkido and Lady Whirlwind), Shui Mi-tao (Hu Chin Hu) and Yeh Li-hsiang (Helea Ma).
All made in the time before A Touch of Zen was seen as pure genius and King Hu would work with Golden Harvest, the rivals to Shaw Brothers, making almost another version of his movie Dragon Inn. But that's too simple, as this movie subverts expectation and gives every woman a strong role. Shot at the same time as The Valiant Ones, this has hand to hand combat that fits into the direction of martial arts cinema at the time while presenting tension as the two groups get closer to their inevitable conclusion, like The Hateful Eight but in another time and place, all with the gorgeous look that you expect from the films of Hu. -
ebiros228 February 2013Angela Mao stars as a pre-Ming dynasty (or around that time) restaurant waitress. The restaurant seems to get one bad customer after another while something clandestine is going on with the restaurant. It's being used as communication post for the Chinese rebels. They use coins to indicate that one's an agent. Soon, Lee Khan the Mongol lord himself shows up at the restaurant.
The production company says it's Golden Harvest, but it looks awfully low budget for a Golden Harvest production. Maybe there was a collaboration between Taiwan movie studios. The shooting style is not like that of Golden Harvest either. There's no dynamic close up shots during the fight scenes like you see in their production. Actors are all Hong Kong actors (except Angela Mao, who's Taiwanese).
The movie is pretty one dimensional, and although it was shot at the height of Angela Mao's beauty, it didn't capitalize on her fabulous kung-fu skills or on screen presence. It's best to look for other Angela Mao movies to get the best of her actions.