Now available from Eureka Classics
This set collects four historically inspired films from Shaw Brothers Studio and director Cheh Chang.
Marco Polo (aka Ma Ge Bo Luo) (1975)
A story of revenge where four friends train to be able to avenge a fifth member of their group. With this story, one can easily wonder where does Marco Polo come into play here? Well, he is here and there in the film, but overall, the story feels like it absolutely does not need him, and it feels like he is added here as a marketing tactic more than as a story device. The writing is decent here with a few scenes and sequences coming off forced which may have been in the script or an issue with the direction. The former is credited to Cheh Chang and Kuang Ni with the latter done by Cheh Chang. Overall, the film has pacing issues with a large chunk of its runtime being used up by the training of the four friends and the revenge aspect being relegated to almost an afterthought. The performances here in terms of acting and fighting are decent with a cast of actors who give it their best. The film looks good and sounds good while the story has some issues, and the presence of Marco Polo doesn’t fully make sense.
The Pirate (aka Da hai dao) (1973)
This title is co-directed by Hsueh-Li Pao and Wu Ma along with Cheh Chang with Kuang Ni handling writing duty. The film’s use of multiple directors doesn’t really show here, all 3 of them work cohesively within a set style of filmmaking and their talents connect well with each other. As usual, this is a Shaw Brothers film that is decent on every front with a story that has a few head scratching elements while still maintaining logic for most of it. The story is entertaining, the cast works well, and the fight sequences are highlights here.
The Boxer Rebellion (aka Ba guo lian jun) (1976)
During the boxer’s rebellion, a group of men armed with their fighting skills and not much else fight off the incoming European invasion. Written by Kuang Ni and Cheh Chang and directed by the latter, this film is a lot of fun with lots of fights which are well choreographed and decently shot. The cast here may have been chosen more for their fighting skills than their acting skills, but they do decent with the acting part of their roles. This one has a lot of fighting, decent cinematography, mostly good writing and direction, leading to being one of the more interesting entries in this set.
Four Riders (aka Si qi shi) (1972)
The oldest of the bunch, this one has a story that takes place right after the Korean War where a man represents the four riders from the Book of Revelation. The writing here is once again handled by Kuang Ni and Cheh Chang with Chang directing and the film takes more liberties creatively than the others it feels. Including it as the last of four films is a great idea as it closes the set on a high note. The story here is more interesting and seems less random without any convoluted scenes. The direction brings it to the screen quite well, and the cast does well with their parts and their fights. This is a strong entry in this set but also for the Shaw Brothers Studio which is represented here. This one has an interesting story and entertaining fights with decent acting and good cinematography and editing. It’s a strong film for a story that plays fast and loose with historical facts and people’s beliefs.
The set overall plays with historical facts like they are something you can bend and rewrite for your stories’ needs. However, once it’s clear this is happening, the historical fiction takes a backseat to the entertainment and the whole bunch has a lot to offer to viewers who are wanting to see a different style of Shaw Brothers films.