AVENGING EAGLE (1978) stars Fu Sheng and Ti Lung as a pair of kung fu fighters on opposite sides who form an alliance to defeat a common enemy. It's a rousing kung fu film with strong production values, a top-ranked cast, expert fighting, and an engaging storyline. Shot partly on location in Taiwan and partly on lavish studio sets, it's an extremely good-looking film that was not available in the U.S. in a decent copy until 2005. (NOTE: see addendum below)
Ti Lung stars as a killer who has deserted his outlaw gang, the Iron Boat Clan, after being forced to slay a pregnant woman during a raid. He and his particular band were called the 13 Eagles and, once he leaves, the other 12 go searching for him. Fu Sheng plays a wanderer who pitches in to help Ti on the road. The other Eagles (all distinguished by large customized eagle medallions worn on their chests) come in successive waves until Ti decides to turn around and go after the clan leader (Ku Feng), who had raised him from childhood. Fu Sheng's identity is a mystery for the first two thirds of the film, and its revelation is a genuine surprise which adds an additional emotional layer to the film.
There are a number of excellent scenes, including a lengthy jaw-dropping final battle at the Clan's spacious headquarters, but one deserves singling out. Ti and Fu take over an inn in a nearly-deserted town and wait for the next group of killers to arrive. When they do, Fu poses as a typically obsequious waiter and serves them but, when asked about Ti's whereabouts, he insists that the man they're looking for is working in his kitchen. They don't believe him at first, but it's all a successful ploy to split up the gang to work them over one at a time, until the two heroes each square off against an opponent---Ti fighting Eddy Ko and Fu Sheng fighting his frequent co-star/opponent, Wang Lung-Wei. Ti fights with a three-section staff, while Fu uses blades hidden in his shoe soles that are then strapped to the sides of his hands.
Ti and Fu work wonderfully together and give performances that are among the finest of their distinguished careers. The slow build-up of their friendship leading to their alliance to take on the leader of the clan and the twists and turns that develop when Ti learns Fu's true identity are all handled expertly by these two excellent actors. It helps that the English dubbing is well above average.
This film marks the first of only two times these two stars teamed up as a pair of heroes, the second being DEADLY BREAKING SWORD in 1979, also directed by Sun Chung. (The two stars did work together in ensemble casts on at least three other occasions, including SHAOLIN TEMPLE, 1976). This film is also that rarity among kung fu films: a Shaw Bros. masterpiece that was not directed by either Chang Cheh or Lau Kar Leung. (Fu Sheng's best work, aside from this, was always for Chang or Lau.) Sun Chung made a number of other kung fu films at Shaw Bros. and, away from the studio, made the impressive A FIST FULL OF TALONS, starring Billy Chong. There is a good deal of attention in AVENGING EAGLE to story and character and the number of main characters is kept to a minimum. The flashback structure works quite well in setting up Ti's current flight from the clan and gradually piecing together his history and the incidents which led to his falling out with the gang. The fights may not be the sprawling, epic battles of Chang Cheh films or the technique-oriented bouts in Lau Kar Leung's work, but they are satisfying and exciting nonetheless.
ADDENDUM (5/26/08): Since doing the above review, which I've revised in parts, AVENGING EAGLE has come out in a remastered Region 3 DVD edition from Celestial Pictures, in Mandarin with English subtitles, and is well worth acquiring. I've also since seen other films from Shaw Bros. directed by Sun Chung, including KUNG FU INSTRUCTOR, JUDGMENT OF AN ASSASSIN, THE PROUD YOUTH, RENDEZVOUS WITH DEATH and DEADLY BREAKING SWORD.
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