Review: Blood of the Dragon (1971)
(aka The Desperate Chase, Zhui ming qiang)
Directed by: Kao Pao-shu
Starring: Jimmy Wang Yu
Written by: Ni Kuang, Kao Pao-shu
Music by: Flood
Country: Hong Kong, Taiwan
Available on: DVD (Echo Bridge Home Entertainment)
IMDb
Jimmy Wang Yu, Hong Kong’s first true martial arts superstar, became known by audiences internationally for his iconic performance as the titular character in the Shaw Brothers Studio smash hit, The One-Armed Swordsman (1967). He only made seven more films with the studio, the final film being his directorial debut, The Hammer of God (also known as The Chinese Boxer). In a completely unexpected move, he shocked everyone when he decided to leave the studio. The Hammer of God was released in 1970 and the following year, he appeared in nine movies. One of those movies was the Hong Kong/Taiwan co-production, Blood of the Dragon. The plot is simple. A young boy receives a scroll rolled up in a bamboo tube from a dying man. The names of rebels who support Prince Ma Tung are listed on the scroll and the evil Prime Minister sends his men after it so he can hunt the rebels down. Wang Yu’s character Lung Ti, known to many as the notorious White Dragon, comes to the aid of the boy and then chooses to protect him as they try to bring the list to Prince Ma Tung. There’s more to it than that but female writer/director Kao Pao-shu keeps the story moving at a brisk pace and the action rarely lets up. She captures the violent, well-choreographed fight scenes beautifully. She doesn’t exclusively use handheld cameras during fight scenes but when she does, she uses them very effectively and it adds so much energy to the action. There’s a great variety of weapons and some fun wire work as well. The fight scenes are also very bloody for the era. Wang Yu’s character is dressed all in white and his clothes are practically soaked in blood during the epic, brutal climax. As action-packed as it is, Pao-shu manages to get in some nice character moments for Wang Yu. When you first meet White Dragon, he seems like a typical antihero but there are moments throughout the film where he talks about the type of person he’s been and you can see that he’s done a lot of things he's not proud of. Wang Yu plays these quieter, somber moments very well. Protecting the boy and getting the list to the Prince is his shot at redemption and you really want to see him succeed. Between this and the only other film I’ve seen in her filmography, Bandits, Prostitutes and Silver (1977), Kao Pao-shu shows remarkable talent behind the camera and her storytelling is way tighter than many of her more well-known male peers. This is top-tier Jimmy Wang Yu and just saying that means it’s one of the most exciting kung fu movies I’ve ever seen.
Overall rating: 9 out of 10
