HEROES OF THE EAST

By Ray DeRousse / July 1, 2011

Directed by: Liu Chia-Liang Written by: I Kuang Starring Gordon Liu, Chia-Hui Yasuaki FILM:

rating:2.5

DVD:

rating:3

I have never been much of a fan of martial arts films. Aside from some old BRUCE LEE and some Americanized stuff like CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, my attitude toward it has been largely indifferent. I just find the action stylized without reason, and the storylines nearly incomprehensible if not downright boring. Most of them follow the exact same pattern, are sloppily filmed, and chopped together almost haphazardly. One film that does break the mold for this type of film is HEROES OF THE EAST, a 1978 classic of the genre. However, I can't say that it's entirely successful. The film follows the arranged marriage of Chinese kung fu student Ah To (GORDON LIU) to his new wife Kuda, a Japanese mixed martial arts master. After a fight over their differing ancestry, Kuda returns to her homeland and former master Sanzo. This enrages Ah To, who writes a letter to her about the superiority of the Chinese ways ... which falls into Sanzo's hands instead. He reads this as a challenge, so he takes a group of men and travels to China to confront Ah To in battle. What sets this film apart from other films of the genre is the use of this farcical storytelling structure to examine the differences between Asian cultures and men and women. Unfortunately, the first third of the movie bogs down with repetitive, slapstick routines pitting the rambunctious wife against her straight-laced husband for control of the house. Once she starts demolishing brick walls of their house with her uncontrolled Japanese judo chops, you start wanting Ah To to kick her ass. Once the misunderstanding with the letter occurs, the film shifts gears uncomfortably into a fairly serious battle for survival. To an American viewer, all of the talk of honor and pride that fuel this back half of the film plays silly and contrived rather than deeply meaningful. The martial arts on display here - the bread and butter of flicks like this - are mostly routine rather than astounding. I was surprised at the simple level of physicality in the confrontations; although I do not expect the amazing choreography of later masters armed with special effects, the fights in this film feel a bit confined and small. Additionally, the fights are filmed at poor angles and stitched together in a boring manner. Director LIANG allows his camera to sit there, rather than craft a sequence of shots that highlight the moves presented. I do applaud the attempt to bring in a different style of storytelling to a genre that had, even at this time, grown stale and commonplace. However, the resulting farce only manages to raise the bar slightly. EXTRAS An excellent package accompanies this film: COMMENTARY - by Hong Kong cinema expert BEY LOGAN. Very informative overview of the genre. SPOTLIGHT ON A LEGEND - A tribute to LAU KAR-LEUNG, who was the choreographer for this film. HERO OF SHAOLIN - An interview with star GORDON LIU. SHALOIN vs. NINJA - Fascinating examination of the differences in fighting style between Chinese and Japanese warriors. Includes an awesome look at the many different weapons and their uses. TERRIFIC DOCUMENTARY! OVERALL Since I am not a fan of this genre, I have a hard time recommending it based on the film. However, it is certainly a good movie for fans of this type of film, and obviously one of the classics of the genre. The extras are definitely worth it for any fan of martial arts movies or the art itself.