The Brave Archer (1977)

"I'm going to get revenge, I hope I see you later!"

The Brave Archer was Chang Cheh’s take on Legend of the Condors. This movie was the first of four following Kuo Tsing’s adventures. Chang was known for ushering in the more machismo and bloody era of kung fu so this film focusing on a romance was a rare departure for him.

This film moved hard and fast through the source material. It had the longest intro of any kung fu movie I’ve ever seen. Not only did it have the typical narration explaining the basic historical setting but also the different characters and which group they belonged to during the opening on a stage. As someone who has not read the book it was my first clue that this two-hour film was going to be packed with characters with little time to develop.

The story began with the classic tale of two babies separated and trained by different people, babies who were born to be blood brothers but who ended up on opposite sides. Alexander Fu Sheng played the “clumsy, slow” but good-hearted Kuo Tsing who was trained by the 7 Weirds. He runs afoul of the deadly Iron Corpse Mui Chiu Fung. Later he befriends Huang Yung dressed as a boy with romance soon to blossom. There were not one, but two battles for marriage scenarios, someone came back from the dead, a large snake played a role in Kuo’s development as did two other masters he made the acquaintance of.

Famous kung fu faces passed by in nearly every scene. Alexander Fu Sheng played a perfect not too bright hero. Tien Niu as Huang was a fiery companion for him. Five actors from the Five Deadly Venoms had special appearances. Ku Feng made for an entertaining 9 Fingered Beggar, and one of my favorites to see. Johnny Wang in silver lamé looked every inch a bad guy. Kara Hui had a short, but important role along with Dick Wei. Yu Hoi Lun played the female fighter so fierce with her lethal Skeleton Claw technique that most of the men in her path ran away. There were four female warriors and not a bare breast in sight, just competent women.

The fights were unimpressive. Most of them were kung fu posing and not very fast. At least Ku Feng knew how to keep them interesting with his acting. Yu Hoi Lun scared her opponents with her fierceness rather than lightning speed. Philip Kwok showed off his athleticism with his slightly mad master in an awful wig. Shaw Brothers didn’t scrimp on the sets where all the action took place, including Peach Blossom Island.

If you’ve watched one of the dramas based on Jin Yong’s books or read the books themselves, this will likely look like a highlight reel. If you don’t have any experience with either, like me, the characters are tough to keep up with. I had to make a cheat sheet to remember the different characters and factions involved as the action moved quickly from one group to another and then suddenly came to a dead stop. For a 1977 Shaw Brothers movie it looked good and for a Chang Cheh 1970’s kung fu film it was a more well-rounded story than many of his were.

10 March 2024

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