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Your humble reviewer may have mentioned once or twice that things were not going well for China at the end of the Ching Dynasty. I want to revisit that theme for just a moment. Recall that, as Western powers divvied up China, the Shantung Peninsula was under Russian Control. When Russia was defeated by Japan, Shantung was placed under Japanese control. We’ll be seeing a bit of symbolism as the film gets going. The Ching government was powerless to control the destiny of its own territory.

Release
International Video Limited. Let me take a moment, dear readers, to let you in on a secret: IVL is awesome. Their discs rank second only to Hong Kong Legends. Everything I’ve seen from IVL has been remastered, and ships with the original theatrical spoken language track and English subtitles. The subtitles often include translations of signs. Several of their discs include extras that are worth watching. Boxer From Shantung, as an example, has demonstrations of three styles of Hung Fist by Chen Kwan Tai, Fu Sheng, and Chi Kuan Chun. These appear to have been shot with the original intent of being used as opening credit footage, but are presented with commentary about the differences between the styles.

Starring
Chen Kuan-tai, David Chiang, Ching Li, David Chiang’s Legendary Smirk

In Brief
Ma Yongzhen (Chen) tells us stright off, “…Shanghai is full of opportunities; what is needed is just the strength and ability.” Ma and his pal, Xiao Jiangbei, represent two sides of China: Xiao is not strong enough to defend himself, hence he is constantly abused and bullied. Ma is tough, proud, and ambitious, but is broke and directionless. Enter Tan Si (Chiang). Tan offers Ma fame, fortune, and so many women he’ll have to stack them up like cord wood. All Ma has to do is turn as crooked as the rest of the gangsters in Shanghai.

You’re a bright, hard-working man. I look forward to corrupting your soul.

It turns out Ma doesn’t have a whole lot of options other than getting involved with criminals; the streets are thick with them, and they’re bent on bullying everyone they see. Ma ends up in a couple of fights which draw him into the politics of the local mobsters.

One of the Shanghai crime bosses runs a simple money-making operation. A Russian wrestler takes on any challengers. For twenty cents, you can try to knock him down. If you succeed, you win twenty dollars. Ma wins the challenge.

Though he has tried to avoid siding with any particular gangster, hoping to make his own way, Ma seems to be consistently siding against Boss Yang. Soon, he has his own territory to control, and people are calling him Boss Ma, largely at Boss Yang’s expense. The conflict heats up as Yang and Tan struggle for control of the opium trade.

One boss in a town can’t be helped, but when there are three, it’s time for a for a huge showdown. Yang’s men set up ambushes for the other bosses, and everyone fights to the death.

Nice Shots
Fights against Russian wrestlers are common in Chinese films. The one in Boxer From Shantung is generally unremarkable in terms of fight choreography, but I like the reaction shots of the crowd cheering when one of their countrymen shows up the foreigners.

That Russian wrestler is going to need arthroscopic surgery!

Most of Ma’s henchmen admire him because he’s tough and brave, and has won them a life of luxury and adventure. Xiao admires Ma because Ma knocked down that Russian wrestler. The scene in which Ma sends away his only honest man was well conceived.

Best Stunts
There is some outstanding brutality in the final reel. Ma gets kicked down a flight of staris. The stunt is broken in to several parts. When watching this, and much of the surrounding footage, remember that it all has to be performed with that fake hatchet stuck to Chen’s abdomen.

Chen Kwan Tai was one of the first Shaw Brothers actors with a heavy duty background in real martial arts, but that’s no reason to shy away from a few ludicrous flying kicks.

Cruising at 37,000 feet, visibility is eight miles…

Disappointments
After a great deal of symbolism, we end with a message somewhere between “There is no justice,” and “Loyalty is for suckers,” or perhaps, “Good guys are bit players.” Accurate or not, it’s depressing.

Final Analysis
Powerful performances from the lead actors, but the climax is based on a turf war between drug runners and racketeers. It’s hard to care who wins. Two and a half stars.

If You Like This
Boxer’s Assistant Director, John Woo, cited the film as an influence on the brutal style he adopted for some of his classic titles, A Better Tomorrow, Hardboiled, and The Killer.

To see some racketeers and drug runners get a good, solid beating from righteous heroes, try Once Upon a Time in China, Tai Chi Boxer, and The Big Boss.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 18th, 2007 at 1:01 am and is filed under Chop Socky, Movies, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.