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Sick Product of a Sick System

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Don't Believe the Hype

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The plot for Long Road to Gallantry is fairly standard Shaw Brothers fodder: martial arts student Du Meng Fei (Kenny Ho) is sent into the wide world to use his skills for good. After rescuing a young woman, Li Sai Nan (Kara Hui), from the wicked Thunder Gang, he finds himself embroiled in a 20 year old conflict concerning a pair of much sought after martial arts manuals.The story might be unexceptional, but two things make this one stand out for me: 1) the film's plentiful fight scenes, which are fast and furious with plenty of weapon work (swords and spears) and countless impressive mid-air wire-fu somersaults; and 2) the great characters, with a likeable hero, a despicable villain in Leng Tian Lei (Tien Hsiang Lung), and two kung fu cuties- Hui, whose character is out to avenge the deaths of her parents (another oft-used plotline), and the adorable Rosamund Kwan as Dragon Sect member Mu Wan Er, who discovers her real father is none other than the evil Leng.The crazy action scenes are well handled by director Tak-Cheung Tang, performances are great all round, and the studio sets are fun (I particularly enjoyed the cool fortress inhabited by Li Sai Nan and her uncle). All told, an enjoyable effort from a studio better known for its '70s output.7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

LONG ROAD TO GALLANTRY is a late-era Shaw Brothers generally as good as the wuxia films that the studio were shooting some ten to fifteen years previously. It stars Kenny Ho, an actor who never really made it big in the west, although I have previously seen him in the likes of RED WOLF. The story is a familiar one about rivals and warring clansmen, with Ho caught in the middle in his wandering swordsman role. It's notable for featuring two fine female performers in the shape of Kara Hui and Rosamund Kwan, the latter particularly impactful as the fragile ward of a very bad man. The supporting cast includes extended cameos from Chen Kuan Tai and Jason Pai Piao, but the most interesting element is the direction from Tang Tak-Cheung, who sadly only made this and DEMON OF THE LUTE. I say sadly, because this action choreography is fast and furious, and there are some eye-popping camera moves in the wire-assisted fights that I've never seen replicated anywhere else.

LONG ROAD TO GALLANTRY (1984) is a fairly good hyperactive late kung fu film from Shaw Bros. with an energetic and engaging star whom I'd never heard of before, Ho Chia-chin, who upon research turns out to be one Kenny Ho, who was in the Jackie Chan films, PROJECT A II and POLICE STORY II, although I'd have to view both again to see what kind of parts he had. He has charm and good looks and he fights with great skill and vigor. His female co-star is Kara Hui Ying Hung in what is probably her best role outside of the films she starred in for Lau Kar Leung (MY YOUNG AUNTIE, LEGENDARY WEAPONS OF CHINA, 8-DIAGRAM POLE FIGHTER, et al). She plays a strong personality with a deepening relationship with the hero that goes through various changes. And she does a lot of fighting. Rosamund Kwan (ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA, SWORDSMAN II) plays the third leading role and it's the earliest film I've seen her in. She's quite good as well, and very attractive. She has a yen for the hero also, so there's an appealing sort-of-love triangle going on here that keeps things interesting between the fights.Kenny Ho plays a young kung fu expert coming out of seclusion after years of training and is told by his sifu to use his skills to help people out. So he does--and gets into trouble for it. Kara doesn't need his help-—she's trying to infiltrate the Thunder Gang by being taken prisoner, but Kenny's repeated rescues of her botch things up, making for a couple of funny scenes. It's all about a conflict over age-old kung fu manuals between the Dragon Sect and the murderous Thunder Gang. The two heroines, Kara and Rosamund, have traumatic pasts revealed in a flashback early on involving a raid by one kung fu couple on a house occupied by another and an attempt to steal the manuals and babies being separated from parents and such. (This scene struck me as quite familiar so I checked my notes on the non-Shaw JADE BOW from 1966, also reviewed on this site, and it turns out that both films are based on Ku Lung's "Log of a Wandering Swordsman.") Both girls have issues with the father figures who raised them, played by kung fu greats Jason Pai Piao and Chen Kuan Tai. One whole plot arc involves the enmity between one girl's real father and her adoptive one. A light touch throughout much of the film is upended by a sudden devastating emotional ending that I wasn't prepared for.The girls have nice costumes. There's a lot of action, some of it shot on outdoors locations, but most of it staged in the Shaw Bros. studio. The director is Lung Yi-sheng, who was fight choreographer on THE SWORD, BUDDHA'S PALM (also reviewed on this site) and PORTRAIT IN CRYSTAL. The one other film he directed is DEMON OF THE LUTE (1983), a wild fantasy which I've also seen and enjoyed, and which also features Kara.