Starring: David Chiang, Ti Lung, Chen Kuan Tai Directed by: Chang Cheh, Pao Hsieh Lieh Produced by: Runme Shaw Action: Liu Chia Liang, Tang Chia Shaw Brothers, 1973
Also titled The Seven Soldiers of Kung Fu. This 1973 Shaw Brothers epic took three directors (including Chang Cheh) to complete. David Chiang, Ti Lung and Chen Kuan Tai star in this classical swordplay tale, leading their heroic clan into action against the rebel Feng La, who aims to overthrow the emperor. The action, choreographed in part by Liu Chia Liang, is fast, furious and frenzied, featuring broad canvases of martial fare. And the climax, inside Fengs masterful mix of chivalry, honour and bloodshed.
The film opens very quietly, with a meeting in a high-class brothel between the Sung Emperor and wrestler and hero-about-town Yen Qing (David Chiang), where a bargain is struck: the emperor will pardon the 108 heroes of Liangshan, and the heroes will busy themselves dealing with the rebel armies that challenge the kingdom.
The rebels, however, are led by a false emperor named Feng La (played by Chu Mu) and his puppet court, holed up in a heavily fortified city called Yongjinmen. The heroes try an assault against the city by water, but fail miserably, losing many men in the ensuing fight. It's up to Yen Qing and his heroic buddies to find a successful way to take the fortress and survive, destroying Feng La and his supporters.
