Heroes Shed No Tears (1981)

Chu Yuan

Hong Kong

106 min, color, Mandarin (English subtitles)

Review © 2003 Branislav L. Slantchev

The prolific Chu Yuan takes up arms together with Ku Lung for another fantasy wuxia collaboration, which is as implausible as an acid trip and just as entertaining. With a heavily star-studded cast, the film sags once in a while but is promptly redeemed by (a) an unexpected revelation that twists the plot, (b) an unnecessarily tragic turn of events, (c) a decent fighting sequence, or (d) a combination of the above, sometimes including a dance number, with or without weapons. Entertaining? You bet. Sense? What's that?

Derek Yee is scholarly evil	Ku Feng and Angie Chiu, tireless dancers
It doesn't get any cooler than that!	Bad advice to Jason Pai Piao

Very briefly, Alexander Fu Sheng is sent by his sifu (Cheng Miao) on a mission to prevent some evil from happening or, failing that, to undo the evil, or failing that, do some good, or failing that, at least see the wide world. This is an admittedly vague assignment and Fu Sheng is forgiven for not knowing exactly what to do except brandish his sword with a tear on the blade.

Typical chat during the fight	I take it back: it DOES get cooler
The wild east	Fu Sheng learning coolness from Yueh Hua

In the meantime, two martial arts groups are at odds with each other, as it so often happens. Ku Feng is the dancing leader of the one, and Jason Pai Piao is the leader of the other. There's some rivalry going on, although it's not quite clear why they would want to kill each other. Anyway, the brainy (which in these films is grounds for suspicion strong enough to have anyone killed as soon as possible) Derek Yee is the advisor to Pai Piao and arranges defections, murder, and mayhem, while engaging in some drug-trafficking, double-crossing, and delusions of grandeur.

Angie Chiu seduces Fu Sheng with wine...	... and with a fake fall
Wang Sha: the sifu I wish I had	Everyone loves Derek

Just when things start making some sense, Yueh Hua pops up. That's a good enough reason to see the film, but this time we also get the enhanced version: he sports a decidedly cool briefcase, which can produce just about any weapon on demand. He's also mastered the art of disappearing (and sometimes re-appearing), along with the moody look befitting a great assassin. He helps Fu Sheng and Ku Feng, who swear eternal friendship in the middle of a mildly intense fighting sequence during which all opponents conveniently pause in order to allow the main characters to exchange entire sentences. This is of no great concern because instead of discussing tactics, they quickly form a mutual admiration society and talk sweet nonsense.

The beautiful Liu Hui-Lung	Bad foot, bad!
Fu Sheng has no chance...	...unless Yueh Hua gets second thoughts

As could have been expected, Derek Yee turns out to be a bloody traitor and quickly turns against his master after using him to eliminate the rivals. Fu Sheng is the wild card, especially after Yueh Hua does not kill him because Fu Sheng has kept a note for no good reason, which allows them to engage in some quick graphology, which reveals the evil plot they've been manipulated into. They quickly evolve a counter-plot, which only becomes clear in the end, although one is forgiven for having expected it.

Brains over brawn, always	The two masters, tricked and ruined
Angie Chiu dying of love and bleeding	The short burial ceremony

In a totally peripheral story, Angie Chiu is forced to dance with Ku Feng for three days, causing the latter to fall madly in love with her. She is then forced to seduce Fu Sheng, causing the latter to fall madly in love with her. There's a little snag in that she falls for Fu Sheng, and the two guys are sworn blood-brothers. This would throw a monkey-wrench in any brotherhood, except this one which is nearly saved at the expense of a bloody leg donation. In the end, evil is punished and almost all good triumphs. Except, of course, all those who die valiantly in the service of the rather dumb good while it's trying to triumph.

Danger: low-flying swordsmen	The trick within the trick within the trick

This is a very typical Chu Yuan fare, which is hearty blend of wuxia, the supernatural, and love, all spiced with moralizing amidst obviously painted sets. The biggest problem that is especially evident in this film is the complexity of the plot, which forces the director to resort to having the characters explain parts of it verbally, which (for a film) is generally not a good idea. It just sounds stupid when someone explains his motivations to another, but it also interrupts the rhythm of the action. The other problem with Chu Yuan is the reliance on tricks (see, especially the last scenes of the film) which save the heroes as a kind of deus ex machina. And not just that, but the need to explain and discuss every trick is an especially unfortunate combination of these two defects.

Somewhat uncharacteristically, Chu Yuan kills off the damsel in distress despite the abundance of knights ready to protect her. This is something one would expect Chang Cheh to do: after all her love does threaten to come between the brotherly bonds of two males, which in the heroic tradition should mean the destruction of everyone involved (e.g. The Blood Brothers), but I was surprised to see Chu Yuan do it.

The Celestial DVD is standard: anamorphic widescreen at the usual 2.35:1 ratio, with a single Dolby Digital 5.1 Mandarin soundtrack, and optional English subtitles. The extras include talent files, a photo gallery, and some trailers. There are no interviews or audio commentaries. This is a fun film to watch, and is definitely recommended for fans of Chu Yuan or Yueh Hua, of whom this author definitely is one.

December 8, 2003