Archive for August, 2005
Invincible Fist
My favorite scene in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is the fight in the inn; it’s not the fight that grabbed me, but the weapons weilded by the jianghu toughs challenging Jen Yu. Outside the somewhat standard collection of clubs, staffs and swords stood a man with an abacus at the ready.
An abacus? How do you fight with an abacus?
The bizarre and massive pantheon of Chinese weapons helps keep wuxia movies fresh. Instead of sword fight after sword fight, directors can pair up swords, abacuses, flying darts and deadly ropes — and each man’s choice of weapon offers a glimpse into his personality.
The Invincible Fist furnishes a lot of creative weapons, including an abacus, and lots of manly psyche — it is a Chang Cheh film, after all. Bounty hunter/policeman (the subtitles say both) Tieh Wu Ching (Lo Lieh) and his troops are in hot pursuit of a mysterious and vicious gang who have managed to keep their identities secret while robbing and murdering several families.
How they managed to keep their names private is beyond me; within five minutes of meeting Tieh or his men, the villains boast of their crimes, announce their names, reveal their secret weapons and otherwise kill all notions of clandestinity.
But I can’t really blame them; with such fantastic names and amusing weapons, who could keep them secret? Iron Bat Tso Yin Chung swings his eponymous bat; Peng Yun Chiang, the Southern Goose, flings bird shaped darts; Lee Bu Lok, the Golden Abacus, peppers foes with beads before using the abacus frame as a three-part staff; Deadly Rope Killer Ma Wai Jia perforates policemen with a chain topped by an iron calligraphy brush. Is it any wonder they want to show off?
Adding the emotional weight is Kuei Ku (Li Ching), Ma’s blind daughter who mourns her passing youth before meeting Tieh. For much of the film, Kuei Ku’s involvement in the film is clumsy; but by the end she provides a nice counterpoint to the men’s eternal battles.
Invincible Fist foreshadows Chang Cheh’s 1970s work. With roles for soon-to-be Chang regulars Lo Lieh and David Chang, the film paints manhood as a constant bloody fight in which the women must be left behind. Even if Chang’s gender politics grates, Fist‘s inventive weaponry can entertain.
Invincible Fist
Dir: Chang Cheh
Released: July 1, 1969