Howdy folks! Get set for another rapid fire review on Hai! Karate!! This next film is a slightly known feature from the Shaw Brothers Studios entitled The Deadly Knives!! The film also goes by the name Fists of Vengeance as well according to a couple of other sites. The film stars matinee idol Ling Yun and Ching Li along with noted stars Lily Li, Chen Feng-Chen and staples Chan Shen, Cheng Miu and Gam Kei-Chu. In the director's chair for this flick is Chang Il-Ho.
The Deadly Knives opens with a view of
rich forest and a tree falling. We then
find ourselves whisked aboard a train
coursing through the hinterland. Yan
Zi Fei(Yun) and Guan Yue Hua(Li) are
taking this train home from the city
together...with love in their eyes, all
set to announce to their parents their
intention to marry. At that moment, a
group of drunken Japanese thugs come
through the car causing trouble. And
Zi Fei calmly and coolly breaks the
gang up with deft martial arts skills.
Arriving in town, Zi Fei is greeted by
Jiao Jiao(Lily Li), an orphan his father
took in when Zi Fei was little. She
has a serious jones for Zi Fei, and so
gives Yue Hua the major side-eye. Of
course, Zi Fei doesn't see Jiao Jiao
the same way. This incenses her, and
that gets fueled even more by Xu Qian
(Feng-Chen) who's another orphan that
became part of Zi Fei's house. Who is
madly in love with Jiao Jiao. More on
that in a bit. Zi Fei finds that the
scurvy Japanese magnate Ogawa(Miu)
has been after his dad's land for
quite some time while he was away.
And apparently has an ally in none
other than Yue Hua's father(Tang Ti).
This of course strains his relationship
with Yue Hua, but both decide to keep
seeing each other. Jiao Jiao confronts
them and in her jealousy picks at Zi
Fei, telling him he should honor his
house. Yue Hua runs away upset and
Zi Fei follows, leaving Jiao Jiao
alone. But not for long, since Xu
Qian had been following her the whole
time. He tries to confess his love
but gets angrily shut down by Jiao
Jiao. That sets the wheels in motion
for a plan Ogawa had cooked up along
with Mr.Guan and the local magistrate.
They get Xu Qian drunk as hell, who
goes back home and begins to basically
dream of Jiao Jiao naked and..well...
does something Divinyls would approve
off if you get my meaning. This isn't
enough however. Xu Qian then LEAPS UP
and breaks into Jiao Jiao's room with
all intentions to rape her. Zi Fei
busts in and breaks it up. Qian then
leaves, but returns and murders Mr. Yan
and takes the deed to the land to
Ogawa.
Zi Fei goes to the magistrate who tells
him that his late father sold the land
to Ogawa. A brawl ensues and Ogawa's
right hand man Ishikawa(Shen)steps in,
brandishing a pistol. Which has everyone
shook. Zi Fei tends to his father's
funeral, and Yue Hua in the company of
her house servant Doggie(yes, they call
him Doggie - don't ask me why)arrives
to pay her respects. Jiao Jiao taunts
her, and Zi Fei sends her away, calling
off their engagement. Crushed, Yue Hua
still pays her respects and leaves.
And THEN Ishikawa's goons arrive to
bust up the ceremony. They batter Zi
Fei and in the melee, Jiao Jiao gets
kidnapped by Xu Qian trying to rescue
her. But when he meets with Ogawa later
for his payment, all he gets is a swift
katana to the neck. Jiao Jiao is then
raped by Ogawa and made into a comfort
girl. Zi Fei finds all of this out while
recuperating from nearly being drowned
by Ogawa(and in the process learning
his teacher was killed)thanks to Yue Hua
and Doggie who rescue Jiao Jiao. But that
doesn't end well either, with a final
showdown on the horizon once Zi Fei
heals and sets about mastering...you
guessed it...the Deadly Knives!
The Deadly Knives is a particularly
interesting flick from the Shaw Studios
for a few reasons. To begin with, this
film was made by Cheng Il-Ho, a Korean
director who would essentially helm 10
films in all. He directed this in the
same year that he also directed The
Thunderbolt Fist. There's similarities
between the two films in terms of their
sheer violence, their eye towards love
affairs and the Chinese versus the evil
Japanese plot element. One thing that I
do have to address in the film first is
the inclusion of rape. We have the first
scene where Jiao Jiao is almost raped by
Xu Qian. And then we see that she is raped
(although it's not fully shown)by Ogawa.
And Yue Hua is almost raped by Ishikawa
as well. Both Lily Li and Ching Li would
find themselves in these 'damsel in distress'
roles a bit as their careers grew at Shaw.
Lily Li would actually play a rape victim
THREE TIMES in Shaw films to my recollection.
In this film however, we see that the
director and screenwriter took care to
show the psychological effects in full.
Jiao Jiao winds up with severe mental
trauma which becomes yet another tragedy
that burdens Zi Fei. It's significant
that it wasn't brushed off by Cheng Il-Ho.
Another factor to look into here is the
Chinese vs. Japanese angle. By this time,
Shaw had seen how using this really
helped their films gain more appeal.
And it kept them neck and neck with
rivals Golden Harvest who in two years
had seen great return using this in
their motion pictures. For those wanting
to know more about the action, you may
find the dialogue scenes stretched a bit.
But you're rewarded with fight scenes
that are about furious brawling. Cats
get broken over chairs and tables, and
towards the end things do get gory.(A
note to the squeamish - expect blood
geysers here and there.) Yuen Woo Ping
as fight choreographer makes good use
of the set space. He even has a cameo
in the film as a Japanese fighter. The
actors definitely help the cause. Ling
Yun by this point was well regarded as
a classic star of the 1960's and was
now getting into more kick & punch films.
Casting him as Zi Fei was brilliant in
that he gives the character enough
emotional depth to convey his conflict
and resolve throughout. Ching Li shines
here, particularly in the funeral scene
(weeping is a strong suit of her acting
skills) and when she rescues Jiao Jiao
from Ogawa's mansion. As far as the
villains, Cheng Miu gives us some bits
of sneering as Ogawa. But Chen Shen steals
the show as the pistol-packing Ishikawa.
The way he snarls and sneers makes me
wonder if Tupac studied his role to
play Bishop in Juice.(Hey, you never
know.) There's also an ode to the gunfighter
element in the final scene with Zi Fei and
Ishikawa that harkens to the Westerns
that dominated two decades before in
cinema. And symbolism is rife, from the
tree felling that opens and closes the
film to the duel between knives and guns
and what has more honor. There are some
moments of comedy, both direct and unintended
like those with Doggie and that Xu Qian solo scene.
Dean Shek Tien, who plays Doggie, would
go on to more fame with Yuen Woo Ping and
Jackie Chan in their future film efforts.
That said, The Deadly Knives is a decent
flick to take in with enough drama and
action to pass the time for a spell.
RATING: 3 OUT OF 5 DRAGON PUNCHES
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