|
Starring
:
Yueh
Hua
Chin
Ping
Wong
Chung Sun
Cheng
Miu
Chiao
Chiao
Wong
Hap
Ku
Feng
Action
:
Sammo
Hung
Director
:
Ching
Gong
|
THE
TWELVE GOLD MEDALLIONS (1970)
A.K.A.
- The 12 Gold Medallions
Reviewed
by Andrew Saroch
Thanks
to Celestial's excellent variety of early releases, I've been
given the chance to truly appreciate the talents of Shaw
Brothers actor Yueh Hua. Whether he is playing the hero or the
villain, Hua effortlessly moves into character and has that
rare ability of either drawing on gentle naivety or powerful
gravitas. 'The Twelve Gold Medallions' is another opportunity
for viewers (myself included) to see Yueh Hua tackle the lead
role and take on the mantle of hero once again.
The
film starts with a necessary historical exposition explaining
the delicate position of the Sung dynasty and the various
figures desperate to take over the throne. The main threat to
the Chinese throne is bloodthirsty Tartars who begin to
descend towards the capital with rulership on their minds.
General Yue is one of the few generals with an army powerful
enough to stop this invasion, but his own fate is in the hands
of traitor and kung fu master Jin who has twelve gold
medallions that will signal the end of Yue. Jin sends
out messengers to deliver these medallions and therefore leave
Yue's considerable force directionless, open for an easy
attack by the heinous Tartars. Standing in the way of this act
is Miao (Yueh Hua) - a master fighter and former student of
Jin who has turned against his master to side with the
patriots. Alongside Miao is Jin's daughter Suo who was betrothed
to Miao before her father's lies drive a wedge between the
pair. Reluctantly, but vitally, Miao and Suo join forces to
stop the medallions arriving in their destination; their path
to them is full of incident and confrontation with Suo
sustaining a serious injury from a top ally of her father's.
With Jin being one of the greatest fighters in China, the only
chance Miao has is to call on the services of the so-called
'Green Bamboo Master' Meng, a righteous master who, although detached
from the political turmoil of China, eventually agrees to
help. Inevitably then, the increasingly ruthless Jin meets his
main nemesis Meng while his daughter and former student attack
the final band of messengers.
Although
this Shaw Brothers swordplay film was produced during the
earlier days of the studio's heyday, 'The Twelve Gold
Medallions' still boasts the stamp of quality that viewers
will expect. With the excellent use of various differing
environments, director Ching Gong makes full use of his
production budget and ensures that there is a strong visual
flavour throughout. Drawing on a mixture of King Hu's
narrative mastery and the stylised action of Japanese
chambrara cinema, Ching Gong proves his mettle with this fine
swordplay drama. Yueh Hua is the epitome of heroism and
attitude as Miao, but it is perhaps Chin Ping as his unlikely
accomplice that steals the film. Chin is hot-headed, yet
lovable and superbly handles the multitude of situations she
finds herself in, proving herself more than capable in the
action scenes. Obviously the choreography is slightly archaic,
but it does hold up well today considering its age; the fights
are imaginatively shot and developed which tends to mean that
they still appear interesting today.
'The
Twelve Gold Medallions' tends to lose points due to aspects
which Ching Gong would've been expected to control. The
narrative hinges on the motives of the main characters and
their main drive, but this is never fully fleshed out. Chief
enemy Jin sides with the Tartars by even attempting to kill
his own daughter, but there's little explanation of why.
Undoubtedly the character is portrayed as greedy and
power-hungry, though his seeming willingness to kill Suo is
barely mentioned. The opening explanation of the history
behind the storyline serves an important purpose as it guides
the uninitiated into the martial world - nonetheless it
doesn't give the characters' ambitions any more background.
With a touch more attention from director/writer Ching Gong,
this flaw wouldn't have been quite so pronounced. The bottom
line, though, is that 'Twelve Gold Medallions' is still
another superior release from Celestial. Strong performances,
intelligently filmed action and an all round aura of quality
mean that this comfortably hits a four star rating.
Rating:
 
|
