The Fate of Lee Khan (1973) by King Hu

[cranefly]

[Seen on Criterion]

Near the end of the Yuan dynasty, Mongol General Lee Khan travels to a desolate inn to obtain a map of the tactical plans of the rebel forces.  The inn has recently reopened and is doing quite well, thanks to the drawing power of three beautiful serving girls.  Most of the film takes place in the inn, introducing all manner of characters.  There are gamblers, cheats, a lech, a disruptive singing beggar--  You name it, they're there.  And none of them are who they seem to be.

But one thing's for sure.  They all know the martial arts.

Even the parrot by the door.

Okay, there's no parrot.  But if there was a parrot by the door, it would know the martial arts.

The clientele is a rowdy lot, and the three serving girls take a lot of abuse.  Not that they would normally do so.  They're chomping at the bit to kick some ass.  But the lady innkeeper keeps reining them in lest they blow their cover.

By the way, one of the serving girls is played by Angela Mao.  She's such a treat to watch.  So expressive, especially when she fights.  And yes, eventually there are fights.  And all are splendid action sequences, as you might expect from fight coordinator Sammo Hung.  (Yep, Sammo Hung choreographed the fights.)  But Angela Mao takes it to another level.  She's got such a core.  She can do so many lightning-fast kicks in a row, all high and on target.  She can cartwheel effortlessly across the floor or somersault out a window onto the ground.  And it's her, not some damned stuntman dressed like a woman.  It's Angela Mao!

Now maybe this wouldn't be so amazing if she were a tiny Asian girl.  But at 6'5", she's absolutely astonishing!  (I looked it up on IMDB, wearing out-of-date reading glasses and squinting real hard).   I can't tell you what a joy it is to see her fight like she does, cavorting through evil minions, hacking and slashing, parrot perched on her shoulder.

But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself.  Eventually Lee Khan shows up at the inn, and he's already got the map.  The task now for the rebels is to surreptitiously get it back.  That won't be easy, as Lee Khan is suspicious as hell, and his guards are a no-nonsense bunch.  Worst of all is the princess consort at his side, so cold and aloof and ruthless that she makes Nicole Kidman look blond.  

I won't say much more, except that several others in the cast looked mighty familiar.  I looked up a couple of them.  The long-faced singing beggar turns out to be the big boss in The Big Boss, who Bruce Lee fights in the end after eating some potato chips.  And the Mongol General Lee Khan turns out to be the senior student in Fist of Fury, ever trying to rein Bruce Lee in as the Japanese keep provoking him.

If I dug deeper, no doubt there'd be other familiar actors.  But this will suffice.

King Hu made this after the exorbitant (but brilliant) A Touch of Zen (http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFor...uch+of+zen).  The purse strings had tightened, so he had to make this on a tight budget.  Even so, this is a classic.

[Drunk Monk]

It's Angela Mao!

Now maybe this wouldn't be so amazing if she were a tiny Asian girl.  But at 6'5", she's absolutely astonishing!  (I looked it up on IMDB, wearing out-of-date reading glasses and squinting real hard).  

Clean your glasses. Angela is 5'5". 

You need to watch Stoner - http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFor...p?tid=3254

[cranefly]

I saw Stoner a long while ago, maybe even before it was made.  Needless to say, I don't remember much.  I do remember a scene where Lazenby and Angela Mao are locked together in a cage and given that aphrodisiac.  They almost get it on, but no, not really, because back then you couldn't have such racially intermixed love scenes--or maybe I'm remembering that wrong.  I do remember how she towered over him.  And I remember thinking that for a change she should use a low kick on him, put his balls where they belong--in orbit--because he doesn't belong in the same league as her.  She deserves so much better, at least someone her own height.

[Drunk Monk]

FYI - I own this

Broken Oath (1977)

Directed by Chung (a.k.a. Jeong) Chang-wha

Action Directors: Yuen Wo-Ping and Hsu Hsia 

Angela plays Jie Lian (meaning Pure Lotus) who was born in prison. Her father had been murdered by four underlings and her mother was imprisoned for stabbing one of them. It's a revenge tale and if the plot seems familiar, it's because Broken Oathis obviously a version (or ripoff, if you prefer) of the Japanese film Lady Snowblood, which came out in 1973.

When Taekwondo Strikes (1974)

Directed by Huang Feng

Fight Instructor: Sammo Hung

Set in Korea in the 1930s, when that nation was colonized by the Japanese, it's a tale a revolt. Angela plays Huang Lizhen, a Chinese who grew up in Seoul, works in her mother's noodle shop, and is a non-stop hapkido whirlwind. Jhoon Rhee, the "Father of Taekwondo, U.S.A.," plays Uncle Li a prominent figure in the Korean opposition movement. This is one of four films in the collection directed by Huang Feng and featuring Sammo's contributions to the action.

Stoner (1974)

Directed by Huang Feng

Action Director: Sammo Hung

George Lazenby stars as the titular character, an American (or perhaps Australian, it's a bit confusing) law enforcement agent who comes to Hong Kong to track down the makers and distributors of a powerful drug. Angela Mao plays a law enforcement agent from Taiwan who's investigating the same operation, but from a different perspective. The film offers some decent action scenes and lots of nudity, as the drug is a powerful aphrodisiac. In a way, the it prefigures the pairing of Pierce Brosnan and Michelle Yeoh in Tomorrow Never Dies. (Lazenby, of course, was the "one-time-only" James Bond in 1969’s On Her Majesty's Secret Service.) 

[img=400x171]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--HdLwcTFHsA/U6B-ZuF1YxI/AAAAAAAAPwY/L-cErRqI2iQ/s1600/A-Queen's-Ransom-12-web.jpg[/img]

A Queen's Ransom (a.k.a. International Assassin)

Directed by Shan-hsi Ting (a.k.a. Ting Shan-si)

Action Director: Tsun Lu

I have no idea what E tan qun ying hui, the film's Chinese title means, but the English title is misleading, as there's no ransom involved at all. George Lazenby leads a group that's planning to assassinate Queen Elizabeth while she's visiting Hong Kong in May, 1975. Angela has a minor role in it, as a Cambodian princess who's fled to Hong Kong.

[img=400x171]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--vx7plZn5y0/U6B-QB7bACI/AAAAAAAAPwQ/6vfas-roNJw/s1600/A-Queen's-Ransom-01-web.jpg[/img]
Bolo on the extreme left, Lazenby center, and Jimmy Wang Yu extreme right

The action sequences are rather uninspired. For me A Queen's Ransom is  the only clunker in the collection, which is really a shame since the cast also includes Bolo and Jimmy Wang Yu (who'll receive the lifetime achievement award at the upcoming NY Asian Film Festival).

The Himalayan (1976)

Directed by Huang Feng

Action Director: Sammo Hung

Angela Mao plays the only child of a wealthy Tibetan. She and her father are targets of a nefarious plot by Gao Zhen, who covets their riches.

The Tournament ((1974)

Directed by Huang Feng

Action Director Sammo Hung

Angela is Lin Xiaofeng, the daughter of a martial arts instructor. She and her brother, played by Carter Wong, seek to restore the honor of their father, his school and of Chinese kung fu against professional Thai kickboxers. While the climactic fight scene at the end of the movie is great, I was even more impressed by a somewhat earlier sequence in which Angela takes on a Japanese karate sensei, then Sammo as a member of the Hong Kong Martial Arts Association, then two more members of MAA at the same time, before finally facing off against another MAA member on uneven vertical wooden posts!

If you ever want to borrow it, I'm happy to share. Perhaps some time when LCF is away so you can bask in an Angela binge with all her high kicking glory and indulge your elation? If memory serves, Broken Oath and When TKD Strikes are classics, but I can't remember much about them now. Maybe I should review these myself. I'm always up for a good elation.