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Reviews
Bao jian ta (1978)
Danny Lee in a romantic comedy!
Before he found his niche as an actor and producer in the HK police dramas from the 1980's Danny Lee was another contract player at the Shaw Brothers playing a variety of roles in films of varying qualities depending on the films assigned by the studio. Nothing really stands out in this film about the story of boy meets girl- this time concerning three young doctors (one played by Danny Lee) being assigned by their hospital director to take the hand in marriage of three daughters of a rich Chinese herbalist. A lot of hijinks and misunderstandings ensued as the girls find ways to make the guys task difficult initially before finding that they have feelings for these suffering doctors in love and a predictable happy ending assured. You have the typical elements of pop songs thrown in in a scene or two, supposedly feisty but pretty girls who in the end submit to the hapless male characters' determination to woo them over.
This is a template the Wong Jing will recycle endlessly in his rom-coms of the 80's and 90's with a more edgy and wacky ride along a predictable path. Here in this film all is played out in a rather light and fluffy manner- nothing special and offensive- a far cry from the works that both Danny Lee and the director Mou tun-fei were later to make finding their wings in exploring the darker side of humanity. (Mou with Lost Souls (1980) onwards while Danny as a producer of some disturbing Cat III crime films in the 1990's)
Ba wan zui ren (1979)
An Early HK prison melodrama
A Shaw Brothers effort from the late 70's supposedly an expose on the Hong Kong prison system of the 1950's- that was what we're led to believe at the beginning with a documentary narrative approach and the story supposedly based on the memoirs of a female probationary officer. Thereafter when the story begins we focus on the character played by Tony Lau and his experience of injustice going through the HK prison system surrounded by corrupt wardens, prison 'Big brothers' and stoolies that make his life hell.
It's all done in a very melodramatic and sensationalist fashion and while I appreciate the earnest message the filmmaker is trying to make on the need to address the injustice of the corruption of the prison system and it's effect on individuals, the execution is very heavy-handed and cliché by today's standards. This distracts some impact of the film and also that for a film supposedly set in the 1950's everything looks very 1970's. However credit should go to the use the female probationary officer's perspective on the story and her consistent effort to bring justice to the prisoner's situation which brings sympathy and urgency to the plight of Tony Lau's character. Overall worth a look just to see social conscience films done Shaw style and to draw links to the more famous HK prison drama "Prison on Fire" starring Chow Yun Fat.
Liu mang qian wang (1981)
Fairly ordinary gambling film
A sequel of sorts to King Gambler (1976) with Tsung Wa reprising his role as Sha Tung and some of the supporting cast from that film also appearing here. The story concerns with Danny Lee's character as a manager of one of Macau's casinos battling it out on the card table to settle a gambling score with a Japanese gambler played by Chen Ping. He enlists the help of Tsung Wa's character and the battle of wits escalates. The film has its necessary quota of gambling scenes with some attempt of gun play towards the end when a professional killer is involved. However even though the film is competently done the sum of the parts just didn't quite engage me as much I thought it should. Wong Jing still holds the cards when it comes to the Hong Kong gambling genre especially at their creative peak in the late 80's- early 90's. This film should be seen in the context as a precursor to the development of that genre of which Ching Kong was definitely a pioneer. The action sequences handled by Ching Siu Tung is competent but a far cry from his classic works in the period swordplay/fantasy films. Overall a dated early 80's entry from Shaw Brothers still having the fashion hangover from the 1970's
Lie mo zhe (1982)
Enjoyable 'Wild Geese' rip-off
Wong Jing's Mercenaries from Hong Kong (1982) was a late Shaw Brother's attempt to break into the modern action genre that was taking hold in the Hong Kong Cinema in the early 80's. Ti Lung plays a Vietnam vet who's now an 'honourable' mercenary-for-hire taking on an assignment tracking down an assassin who's fled to Cambodia after murdering an industrialist from Hong Kong. He recruits a team for the task which consists of who's who of the Shaw Brother's action stars (Lo Lieh, Johnny Wang Lung Wei, Wong Yue, Chan Wei Man and comedy relief Nat Chan). However once they arrived for the mission nothing is what it seems with the standard plot-twists and turns as we find out who's the traitor among the group...
It's interesting to see Shaw Brother's attempt to move into contemporary action genre from the Kung Fu/ Wuxia staple and this is not a bad effort even if the plot is lifted from the 'Wild Geese' At least in the hands of Ti Lung we see him and his group busting out a few nice Kung Fu moves in a contemporary setting which I can't imagine Richard Burton or Roger Moore doing. Low-brow humor is kept to a minimum for a Wong Jing film other than scenes with Nat Chan and this helps the general flow of the film. The gun play and action is competently done although not at the level of John Woo's films a few years later. All in all an enjoyable early Wong Jing popcorn action movie.