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Starring
:
Ti
Lung
Fu
Sheng
Kuo
Chui
Lu
Feng
Lo
Meng
Chiang
Sheng
Sun
Chien
Wang
Lung-Wei
Ku
Feng
Lung
Tien Hsia
Wang
Li
Chin
Siu-Ho
Dick
Wei
Ma
Sze Peng
Wei
Pei
Action
:
Lu
Feng
Director
:
Chang
Cheh
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TEN
TIGERS FROM KWANGTUNG (1979)
A.K.A.
- 10 Tigers Of Kwangtung
Reviewed
by Andrew Saroch
As
can be seen from the names above, Chang Cheh's 'Ten Tigers
From Kwangtung' manages to group together some of the biggest
names in Shaw Brothers' history. Shaws' idol Ti Lung is
grouped together with the Venoms, the wildly popular Fu Sheng,
veteran Jade Screen actor Ku Feng and a whole host of Chang
Cheh's supporting players. With a quite astonishing cast and a
director with such a good pedigree at the helm, it was always
certain that this would be watchable at the very least.
Two
strangers arrive in Kwangtung (Canton) with a sinister mission
to complete. Targetting three local fighters, the ominous pair
manage to isolate one of the number and kill him. The
remaining members of the group deduce the meaning of the
attack; the answers are traced back to events that took place
years before. These events concern the forming of the famous
Ten Tigers of Kwangtung who prided themselves on their
righteous stand against the heinous Ching authorities. At
their beginning, the team consists of one loyal fighter (Ti
Lung), his hot-headed sibling (Fu Sheng) and two Shaolin
trained brothers (Wei Pei, Dick Wei). The first challenge for
this fledgling band is to protect an anti-Ching agent (Ku Feng)
who needs safe passage out of Kwangtung. To this end, more
loyal fighters are enlisted for this task including a master
who works at the harbour (Lu Feng) and a skilled kicker (Sun
Chien). However, those who claim allegiance to the Ching are
aware of the rebellious activities and fiendishly trick a
quartet of kung-fu experts to serve the government's purposes.
Eventually the two forces meet for an extended clash where the
truth is revealed to those who have been deceived and the
focus turns to the injustice of the rulers. Thus the 'Ten
Tigers Of Kwantung' are formed. However, now the descendants
must fight against a Ching avenger who is intent on slowly
destroying the fabled Ten Tigers clan.
Newcomers
to Chang Cheh may find the structure and delivery of 'Ten
Tigers From Kwangtung' to be a little confusing; using
multiple flashbacks, the film has been accused of this by a
number of critics. While this can be the case to a certain
extent, with full concentration the storyline becomes
absorbing rather than baffling; it's important to pay close
attention though as the sheer volume of characters is immense.
The amount of characters is perhaps the major weakness overall
as none of them are given enough time to develop, the
relatively short running time increasing this effect.
Nonetheless fans of Shaw Brothers' productions will
undoubtedly want to watch this once-in-a-lifetime cast in
action with a large portion of the period's great performers
given plenty of chance to shine. Standing out from this
illustrious company are Ti Lung (as the honourable leader), Fu
Sheng and Kuo Chui who takes the role of Beggar So. It's also
pleasant to watch Lu Feng, in one of his few heroic roles,
relishing his membership of the wondrous Tigers. The fight
scenes, while good, are perhaps the most disappointing part of
the film. It's true that they are exciting and well-designed,
but many take place on the slightest pretext. Chang Cheh
always managed to draw fight scenes out of real situations,
but here they often result from the arrogance of the heroes.
The final word is that this is highly recommended for the
teaming of fifteen or so of the top stars of the Shaw Brothers
era. As a stand-alone production though, 'Ten Tigers From
Kwangtung' is not Chang Cheh's best.
Rating:
  
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