Runtime:
97 minutes
Directed
by: Lau Kar-Leung
Starring:
Gordon Liu, Wong Yue, Wang Lung Wei, Lo Lieh, Kara Hui
From:
Shaw Brothers
What an English title to come up for an actually worthwhile film:
Yes, the English title of this Shaw Brothers classic makes me
snicker; to borrow a line from someone I know, this is not a Hong Kong
version of Dirty Harry either, although that would be incredible. To be
honest it'd help out the movie if it had a different name, as it
actually is worth seeing.
The plot is simple: a prince (Mr. Wang; another chance to chuckle, if you so desire) is in disguise as he prefers such things as antiques, wine, and martial arts. He meets with a rapscallion who actually has the late name of Ho and his nickname is Dirty. Ho becomes mentored by Wang; that is helpful as a General (Lo Lieh) wishes for the prince to be dead. Some of the talent involved is top-notched: Lieh, Gordon Liu, and Lau Kar-Leung are the chief examples.
Kar-Leung was legendary for the tremendous martial arts choreography he created, and this is a great example of that. There are innovative and creative moments throughout the martial arts moments and at times it looks as if the participants are dancing with each other. Furthermore, this is a comedic film; thankfully this movie is usually amusing and the humor enhances things rather than be detracting or a distraction.
Mr. Wang was kind of a dick (and his demeanor does not change too much even by the end) and the version on Amazon Prime is dubbed instead of subbed; it was of little importance to me when the movie was so much fun and it was a treat to see in HD. All the Shaw Brothers movies look tremendous in high definition so I always enjoy seeing them on Prime. Here, the sets are spiffy and some are pretty colorful.
Don't let the unfortunate English title for what is known in its native tongue as Lan Tou He dissuade you from checking this out.
The plot is simple: a prince (Mr. Wang; another chance to chuckle, if you so desire) is in disguise as he prefers such things as antiques, wine, and martial arts. He meets with a rapscallion who actually has the late name of Ho and his nickname is Dirty. Ho becomes mentored by Wang; that is helpful as a General (Lo Lieh) wishes for the prince to be dead. Some of the talent involved is top-notched: Lieh, Gordon Liu, and Lau Kar-Leung are the chief examples.
Kar-Leung was legendary for the tremendous martial arts choreography he created, and this is a great example of that. There are innovative and creative moments throughout the martial arts moments and at times it looks as if the participants are dancing with each other. Furthermore, this is a comedic film; thankfully this movie is usually amusing and the humor enhances things rather than be detracting or a distraction.
Mr. Wang was kind of a dick (and his demeanor does not change too much even by the end) and the version on Amazon Prime is dubbed instead of subbed; it was of little importance to me when the movie was so much fun and it was a treat to see in HD. All the Shaw Brothers movies look tremendous in high definition so I always enjoy seeing them on Prime. Here, the sets are spiffy and some are pretty colorful.
Don't let the unfortunate English title for what is known in its native tongue as Lan Tou He dissuade you from checking this out.
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