Bandits from Shantung

It starts off well enough with some nice build-up in a sprawling deserted farm town (a nice backlot on a Taiwan location) as various motley characters show up at the town's only open establishment, a tavern/inn, with some evil doings in mind. When advance men for the title bandits show up to lay the groundwork for a raid, they round up all available hostages but one. That one is the film's lone hero (Chang Yi), whose motivation is simply stated—he's there to check up on family—but no one believes him. At the thirty-minute mark, he launches into an eight-minute battle with the two bandit chieftains, hand-to-hand with one (Sammo Hung) and swordplay with the other (an actor I didn't recognize). It's a well-staged brawl and it spreads all over the empty town.

Country:

Genre:

Action,

Drama

Duration:

78 minutes

Year:

1972

Director:

Huang Feng

Cast:

Yan Tie-Yi

Bandit Chief

Lotus Shi

Xi brother

5th boss

Crew:

Director

Screenplay