Saturday, July 9, 2011

Two Great Cavaliers (1978, Taiwan/HK)

Starring: Angela Mao, John Liu, Chen Sing. Directed by: Yeung Ching Chen

In the West, this movie is commonly known by three titles: "Two Great Cavaliers", "Blade of Fury", and "Deadly Duo", which is also the name of a Shaw Bros. movie.

No matter what name you may find this movie under, it's a kung fu movie that stars two of '70s kung fu cinema's greatest: Angela Mao and John Liu!

In this movie, Chen Sing plays Kuan Yu Chung, a fief in a Chinese province who has sworn his loyalty to the Manchu (Qing) Dynasty who are starting to establish their rule across China. Angela Mao plays Hsiao Mei, the leader of a group of anti-Qing rebels who are all members of the Fung Wan kung fu clan. The clan has been entrusted with the task of defeating Kuan and delivering a list of names of other anti-Qing rebels to the resistance leaders. Naturally, Kuan wants to crush the resistance in his province and he wants this list very badly.

In order to deliver the list and defeat Kuan and his men, the rebels are going to need the help of their best fighter Ou Yang Chun (Liu). Unfortunately for the rebels, Chun has met the woman of his dreams and decided to leave the Fung Wan clan, settle down, and make a quiet life for himself. If his brothers and sisters in Fung Wan want his help, they must get a little persuasive, especially where Chun's fiancee (who Hsiao Mei is extremely jealous of) is concerned......

The storyline of this movie can be a little confusing to understand as there are many characters who have their own swerving loyalties and motivations. However, we get to see Angela Mao and John Liu perform some of their greatest fighting scenes in "Two Great Cavaliers" and that alone is worth watching the movie in its entirety! Both perform some awesome legwork that makes Chuck Norris look like child's play throughout this movie! The end fight scene in particular is amazing and both are at their best in the final showdown.

Also in this movie are Leung Kar-Yan as brother-in-arms Sung Hua and Man Kong-Lung as the mysterious Pai Lung Hsing, who joins the rebels. Both have some very good fight scenes that are also worth watching. Chiang Kam also makes an appearance in this movie, but only as an extra baddie.

If you think you can keep track of all the characters and want to see some good Angela Mao and John Liu action, be sure to check this movie out! There's some awesome kung fu that's waiting for you to watch!

Also known as: Ci xiong shuang sha (original Mandarin title-Taiwan), Two Great Cavaliers (English title-HK), Blade of Fury (international English title), Deadly Duo (international English DVD title), The Two Great Cavaliers (international English title), Wang Yu - Härter als Granit (West Germany), Les 2 cavaliers de Shaolin (France)

No comments:

Post a Comment