Iron Bodyguard
(Da dao wang wu, 1973)

Chang Cheh / Pao Hsieh Li

Hong Kong

94 min, color, Mandarin (English subtitles)

Review © 2004 Branislav L. Slantchev

Leave it to Chang Cheh to take a story with a potentially intriguing political subtext and turn it into a pedestrian male lovefest of extreme bonding, naked sweaty bodies, revenge, and brawling. Chen Kuan Tai seems to be wasted on what is essentially a repeat of his Boxer from Shantung role except this time his attachment to the noble hero (Yueh Hua replacing David Chiang) is so extreme that it beggars imagination.

Wang rescues three hawkers	Coitus interruptus

The background to this uninspired revenge flick is truly captivating. It is the twilight of the Ching dynasty and the country is in dire need of reform. Unfortunately, the reactionary Empress Dowager opposes any changes that might undermine her power. The lame Emperor makes a faint attempt to assert himself by appointing a cabinet of reformers who immediately start passing modernization laws. One of them is Tan Sitong (Yueh Hua), a scholar dedicated to the improvement of his country. The status quo forces fabricate sedition charges against the reformers but all of them except Tan manage to flee to safety abroad. Tan stays behind to sacrifice himself for the cause, in the noble attempt to arouse passions that would carry on his work.

Mr Tan hard at tricky government work	A man's hair length should not exceed that of his woman's by more than 30%

All this is great, unfortunately it is no more than secondary background noise to the story Chang Cheh wants to tell. In his version, Big Blade Wang (Chen Kuan Tai) runs a security company and is one righteous dude who strikes fear in the corrupt local officials. (Incidentally, if Chinese officials were truly as inept as portrayed in virtually all films I have seen, then no wonder the country's history consists mainly of various invaders overrunning it before adopting Confucianism and getting overrun themselves.) To demonstrate his upright manner (and his influence), Wang forces the arresting officers, who needless to say quake in their funny hats when they see him, to release three innocent hawkers wrongfully accused of stealing a purse from a well-connected person.

Gratuitous shot of Betty Pei Ti	Male equestrian bonding

Tan witnesses the scene and immediately takes to liking Wang. Their inevitable friendship is cemented in the time-honored tradition of a semi-sober brawl followed by much hugging, laughter, and bad poetry. The two men ditch their really lovely female companions (Betty Pei Ti in Wang's case and Lily Li in Tan's) and go on to bask in the tight bond that only men who love big blades can share. I really wish Chang Cheh would lay off the bonding stuff a bit and allow the absolutely delectable women something more than a decorative role. If I did not know any better, I'd swear the director simply does not know what to do with these women, the backlash against traditional Chinese cinema having taken them deep into barely concealed homoerotic territory that would be well-trodden by his protégé John Woo.

Yueh Hua impressed by Wang's Big Blade	Lily Li impressed by...

Guess what happens when Tan's heroic self-sacrificing nonsense gets him into, well, a situation where he will have the opportunity to make good on his noble threats. That's right: Lily Li will be crying a lot and begging Wang to do something about it even though the two chauvinists had just snubbed her with Tan actually telling her to her face the she cannot understand them because she is a woman! Now, far be it for me to judge a 1970s pre-women-lib film on its attitude toward women but China has had a long (strictly literary only) tradition of strong female characters. This is a step so far back, one has to leave the century.

Mr Big Blade (wink, wink) Wang	Lily Li castigates Chen Kuan Tai

Naturally, Wang takes the tearful admonition seriously and plots to liberate Tan from his own foolishness. For some bizarre reason, Wang decides to trust another corrupt official (Chiang Nan) who is so cowardly and treacherous, I would not trust him with my wallet even if it was empty. Needless to say, this gets Wang into an ambuscade where he loses most of his friends to never-ending hordes of red-uniformed soldiers (weren't redshirts supposed to die?). This is the occasion of the typical Chang Cheh fight: a hero battles an inexhaustible supply of enemies and gradually loses his strength, although not as quickly as he loses articles of clothing. When the hero is half-naked, he's all ready to die, in excruciating slow-mo, preferably with some rolling in the dust on a steep incline. Here, Danny Lee is mortally stabbed (several times) but still charges soldiers armed with firearms, so his doom is sealed.

Amateur knife swallowing	Chen Kuan Tai carves a path of destruction

I understand that Pao Hsieh Li directed most of this film, but if that was the case, Chang Cheh must have exercised close artistic control as his style is evident throughout. The reverse zooms, slow motion deaths, cutlery butchering hundreds, and the fairly linear narrative are all recognizable hallmarks of his approach. Add to this the absolutely inexplicable secondary story about Iron Fist (Lu Ti), a disgruntled fighter whose sons Wang has apparently eliminated some time ago, and you get even more occasions for beautiful bloodletting. Not related to the story, obviously, but good anyway.

Chang Cheh trademarked heroic death	Primitive hairdressing

The final scene is supposed to be the crowning achievement of the film's sentiment. A man and his blade stand alone against the very forces of modernization (symbolized by the troops armed with rifles) that his friend ironically died to unleash. Wang's stamina, courage, fidelity, and heroism are all for naught because even the strongest can be reduced to a bloody pulp by the lowliest and weakest guy armed with a projectile, especially when it is of the firing variety. Neither Tan's nor Wang's deaths are shown, the camera pans away in the final moments before the executions as if to say that these men transcend their physical existence.

Romans, go home... in blood	Gratuitous shot of Betty Pei Ti

All of this would be nice... if the directors actually intended it, which they probably did not. Hence, the film receives relatively low scores on all counts. The acting is truly atrocious in several scenes, the worst offender being (surprise!) Yueh Hua, whose mirthless laughter (supposedly conveying his tragic resolution) is forced, and unbelievably annoying. Chen Kuan Tai does the best he can with his lines, but playing drunk is certainly not his forte. The rest of the cast is forgettable except perhaps Chiang Nan, who receives such a nice beating in the end, his sniveling is most rewarding.

Justice beyond poetic	The legendary final stand

The Celestial DVD offers a decent non-anamorphic widescreen transfer letterboxed at 2.35:1. The colors are strong and although a handful of scenes are out of focus, this is not the DVD's fault but the film-makers'. The Mandarin soundtrack serves well despite the somewhat unnatural dubbing of laughter. The English subtitles are error-free. The DVD comes with the usual extras: a photo gallery, talent files, trailers, and a reproduction of the original poster.

October 31, 2004