The Knight of Knights (Wen Suchen, 1966)

Hsieh Chun

Hong Kong

88 min, color, Mandarin (English subtitles)

Review © 2003 Branislav L. Slantchev

If for nothing else, this film would have become famous for the nude scene that the incomparable Lily Ho did in it. It's not that anything is actually visible on screen, but the sultry Taiwanese actress could fire up the imagination easily. Although most of the film ostensibly deals with a bunch of goons masquerading as monks hatching a plot with a local governor to kill an imperial inspector who has come to check on all the complaints about said governor, it really is a vehicle to put a lot of women in distressing situations and then have the Knight of Knights save them before they lose their chastity and their lives, not necessarily in that order.

And then they kicked our asses...	Ad for conversion to Buddhism

The film opens with a barrage that leaves all six would-be protagonists dead. The fighting is very bloody, with limbs getting hacked off, and then gruesomely flying in various directions. At this point, it seems the movie would be a martial arts epic of the sort that Chang Cheh might produce, especially when it turns out that all six were Wen Su Chen (Kiu Chong) men, and Wen is not only righteous but also deadly with the sword. Revenge seems to be at hand.

Sado-maso Buddhist dungeon	Liu Liang-Hua & Li Ching appalled by fight

But, it turns out these are all employed by the government. State bureaucrats, so to speak. And Wen must not simply kill all the pretend-monks (who happen to run a rather loose house, kidnapping wives, torturing them, and finally raping them) but also uncover the plot they have hatched. The plot naturally involves murder and mayhem, this time in cahoots with the local government. The film then becomes a vague expose of social criticism as it deals with the conflict between the federal and local levels of the state bureaucracy.

The two Lilys, Ho and Li	Wen Su Chen doing surgery on an extra

If that were not enough to get one's blood boiling, there's also the subplot that involves two of the best-looking actresses then in Shaw Brothers' employment, the Taiwanese import Lily Ho and the locally-produced Lily Li, the first being the daughter of the inspector and the other her maid. As expected, Lily Ho immediately takes after Kiu Chong, and just as expected, the two women find themselves immediately in danger on account of the evil monks being quite indiscriminate in their assassination attempts.

To dress or to undress, that is the question	Lily Ho not thrilled at being naked

The Knight of Knights saves Lily Ho just as she is about to be abused by a bad guy. Following some confusion during which she thinks that The Knight has undressed her with unchivalrous intentions, she tries to off herself during a second confused moment where she thinks that she was raped before The Knight could save her. After the confusion clears, she immediately undresses hoping that The Knight will at least look at her with unchivalrous intentions, but instead there's a phony musical number where the lyrics tell of how they really would like to do it.

Lily Ho not thrilled at being raped	Lily Ho is neither naked nor raped

Then all hell breaks loose because Cliff Lok dies. This is important because he happens to be the one that Lily Li fancies, which instantly elevates him to a status of someone whose death is worth shooting in detail. Of course, in these films it is always terribly dangerous to be the protagonist's best friend or best servant. These are occupations demanding extra hazard pay because they invariably leave their owners dead. In a totally unwarranted tragic twist, the script also kills off Lily Li when there was one perfectly good servant still alive and available.

(Lily Ho) If pouts could kill...	... we'd all be dead (Lily Li)

The film ends with the obligatory apocalyptic battle, in which The Knight confronts the most evil guy (the Abbot played by Tong Dik) and kills him, retrieving the scroll with the contract. Now the scroll was somewhat peripheral to the plot but is in fact quite important, which importance is confirmed by several thousand people dying in the attempts to hide it and recover it. Somewhat disappointingly, the film abruptly ends and we never do figure out what will happen between The Knight and Lily Ho.

Cliff Lok dying in Lily Li's arms	Lily Ho is naked (finally!)

Things to watch for in this film. Ku Feng as Carpenter You fighting like pussy. This does not happen often and should not be missed. Also, as he is disgracing all carpenters, the beautiful Li Ching (playing his sister) and Liu Liang-Hua (playing his wife) watch on, horrified that they have such a wimp for a brother and husband, respectively. These cameos are brief but rewarding.

Steamy sex scene	Screw Buddhism! Gimme blood!

The Celestial Pictures DVD is part of their Shaw Brothers avalanche of releases and is fairly typical of the more recent batches. The Mandarin soundtrack is a Dolby Digital 5.1 remix, and the English subtitles are white, bright, and readable. The video transfer is pretty decent considering the film's year of production, and is presented in anamorphic widescreen at the correct 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The usual extras include talent files, a photo gallery, trailers, and a picture of the original poster. Although cheeky, this film has pretty good fights and the love scene with Lily Ho is not to be sneezed at; a DVD to own.

October 26, 2003