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Wan gu liu fang

  • 19641964
  • 1h 56m
IMDb RATING
8.1/10
32
YOUR RATING
Wan gu liu fang (1964)
  • Drama
  • Musical
Set in the Spring and Autumn era of ancient China. Duke Ling of state Jin specially trusts the traitor minister Tu and allows him to exterminate premier Zhao's family. Loyal official Cheng s... Read allSet in the Spring and Autumn era of ancient China. Duke Ling of state Jin specially trusts the traitor minister Tu and allows him to exterminate premier Zhao's family. Loyal official Cheng sacrifices his own son as an impostor to save Zhao's baby.Set in the Spring and Autumn era of ancient China. Duke Ling of state Jin specially trusts the traitor minister Tu and allows him to exterminate premier Zhao's family. Loyal official Cheng sacrifices his own son as an impostor to save Zhao's baby.
IMDb RATING
8.1/10
32
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Chun Yen
  • Writer
    • Yu-Hsin Chen
  • Stars
    • Li Hua Li
    • Ivy Ling Po
    • Chun Yen
Top credits
  • Director
    • Chun Yen
  • Writer
    • Yu-Hsin Chen
  • Stars
    • Li Hua Li
    • Ivy Ling Po
    • Chun Yen
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 1User review
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos33

    Wan gu liu fang (1964)
    Wan gu liu fang (1964)
    Wan gu liu fang (1964)
    Wan gu liu fang (1964)
    Wan gu liu fang (1964)
    Wan gu liu fang (1964)
    Wan gu liu fang (1964)
    Wan gu liu fang (1964)
    Wan gu liu fang (1964)
    Wan gu liu fang (1964)
    Wan gu liu fang (1964)
    Wan gu liu fang (1964)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Li Hua Li
    Li Hua Li
    • Chuan Ji, the Princess
    Ivy Ling Po
    Ivy Ling Po
    • Chiu Wu
    Chun Yen
    Chun Yen
    • Ching Yin
    Hsi Chang
    Hsi Chang
    Ming Chao
    Yanyan Chen
    Yanyan Chen
    • Ching Yin's Wife
    Ying Chieh Chen
    Yu-Hsin Chen
    Yu-Hsin Chen
    Nan Chiang
    Nan Chiang
    Miao Ching
    Miao Ching
    • Chao Zun
    Li-Jen Ho
    Li-Jen Ho
    Julia Hsia
    • Chun Lan
    Ying Lee
    Ying Lee
    • Chiu Shuo, the Prince Consort
    Ting Li
    Ting Li
    • Po-Feng
    • (as Ting Lee)
    Ying Li
    Ying Li
    • Tu An-Ku
    Jui Liang
    Jui Liang
    • Emperor Ling Kung
    Han Ling
    Han Ling
    Ti Tang
    • General Wei Jiang
    • Director
      • Chun Yen
    • Writer
      • Yu-Hsin Chen
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit

    User reviews1

    Review
    Top review
    A Chinese Opera from Shaw Bros.
    THE GRAND SUBSTITUTION (1965), the oldest Hong Kong film yet seen by this reviewer, serves as a link to an older era of Chinese popular entertainment. This is a costume melodrama set in ancient China and includes several sequences where the dialogue is sung by the characters, making this more of an operetta than anything else. (The singing comes with English subtitles also.)

    The plot has to do with a tyrannical government minister who tries to eliminate the heir of a branch of the royal family that opposes him. In a complicated maneuver a friend of the royal family offers his own baby to be switched and killed in place of the baby prince while another friend takes the rap and is executed for hiding the `prince.' In an ironic twist, the evil minister becomes a father figure to the real prince and treats him as if he were his own son. When the prince is grown, he meets his real mother by chance and eventually learns the truth and seeks revenge.

    This is a colorful and beautifully filmed studio production, but it remains a highly overwrought melodrama from another time. The evil minister overdoes the villainy, continually sneering, stroking his long moustache, and pumping up his chest. I would recommend this for Hong Kong film completists and students of Chinese culture, but it might be a tough sell for others.

    In an interesting casting touch reflecting certain Chinese theatrical traditions, the teenaged prince is played by actress Ivy Ling Po, one of the top stars at the time at the Shaw Bros. studio where this was filmed. She also co-starred with Jimmy Wang Yu in TWIN SWORDS the same year (playing a female, of course).
    helpful•1
    1
    • BrianDanaCamp
    • Mar 8, 2001

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 15, 1965 (Hong Kong)
    • Country of origin
      • Hong Kong
    • Language
      • Mandarin
    • Also known as
      • The Grand Substitution
    • Production company
      • Shaw Brothers
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 56 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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