Starring: David Chiang, Tamba Tetsuro, Ti Lung, Chen Kuan Tai, Toshio Kurosawa. Directed by: Chang Cheh
"The Water Margin" is another big hit from Shaw Bros. in the early days of the kung fu movie craze, as well as a fine entry in the wuxia genre. Largely based on the classical Chinese novel of the same name by Shi Naian, the movie has become a wuxia classic and its official release on DVD in the US by Image Entertainment in 2006 was much anticipated.
In "The Water Margin", a group of 108 men and women living during the Song Dynasty in 11th century China banded together and became a group of anti-government bandits.
When Master Lu (Tetsuro) is falsely imprisoned on charges arranged by a government official having an affair with his wife, the 108 bandits set out to free him and avenge the injustice. They free him from the government prison and are pursued by Song forces, led by Master Lu's former classmate Golden Spear (Toshio).
The action is non-stop and relentless as the bandits fight the government forces pursuing them, and there are a wide variety of weapons and plenty of fight scenes. Also, 40 minutes or so that were cut from the US version of this movie were restored in the American DVD issue and this contributes much more to the viewing of this movie!
If you're a wuxia fan or just want to see something a little different from the usual kung fu movie, you might want to check this out!
Also known as: Shui hu zhuan (original Mandarin title-HK), Sui woo juen (original Cantonese title-HK), Seven Blows of the Dragon (USA title), Die sieben Schläge des gelben Drachen (West Germany), Piedi d'acciaio (Italy), Los siete impactos del dragón (Argentina), Water Margin (English subtitled version-HK), Waterside Story (unknown English title)
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