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Rating: 6.5 stars

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88 films literary adaptation Hong Kong contest training martial arts twins separated venom mob

All movies seen on 12/04/2022

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The Brave Archer (1977)

Directed by Chang Cheh

Action | Drama | Romance

Most recently watched by sleestakk

Overview

Guo Jing and Yang Kang are the sons of two rebels. The rebels are killed by imperial soldiers and the boys are rescued by six pugilists later. The pugilists agree to separate the two boys, tutor them separately in martial arts, and let them meet again when they have grown up, to determine whose abilities are better. Guo becomes the student of the “Seven Freaks of Jiangnan” while Yang Kang becomes the foster son of a Jurchen prince inadvertently.

Length 127 minutes

Actors

Alexander Fu Sheng | Tien Niu | Philip Kwok Chun-Fung | Ku Feng | Ku Kuan-Chung | Johnny Wang Lung-Wei | Danny Lee Sau-Yin | Li Yi-Min | Dick Wei | Lau Wai-Ling | Bruce Tong Yim-Chaan | Chu Jing | Lo Meng | Lu Feng | Kara Hui | Wang Ching-Liang | Chiang Sheng | Tsai Hung | Lam Fai-Wong | Jamie Luk Kim-Ming | Chiu Chung-Hing | Lau Fong-Sai | Yu Tai-Ping | Wai Pak | Ti Lung | Fan Mei-Sheng | Chan Shen | Wang Han-Chen | Szu-Chia Chen | Suen Shu-Pau | Wong Lik | Yue Wing | Yeung Hung | Stephan Yip | Lee Siu-Wah | Yu Hoi-Lun

Viewing History (seen 2 times)

Viewing Notes

I finally cracked open my 88 Films blu-ray of this. I think the first time I saw the BRAVE ARCHER series was a movie night when Jay brought over the DVDs.

Hard to believe 88 Films would just release the first in the series and not a box set of all three films (five if you include the later two), since they’re very much inter-related and tell a more or less continuous story.

Really fun movie with all sorts of interesting characters played by a whos-who of Shaw Brothers actors including the Venom Mob gang, that doesn’t follow the typical Shaw Brothers formula. This was obviously always meant to be more than one movie judging by the ending here. I love that Fu Sheng’s character is such a bumbling, kind-hearted martial artist who continues to learn and grow from different masters and events as the movie progresses.

This is based on a wu xia novel from the 1950s called Legend of the Condor Heroes (followed by The Return of the Condor Heroes and The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber) and was followed by two direct sequels, BRAVER ARCHER 2 and 3, and two indirect sequels, THE BRAVE ARCHER AND HIS MATE and LITTLE DRAGON MAIDEN, the later of what I haven’t ever seen. I’ll have to try to track the rest of them down since they’re not available on Blu-ray now.

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