Kung fu cinema is adored by its adherents for its titular element: the main reason to watch these films is to witness the exciting kung fu fighting scenes. Every other aspect of a kung fu film is there to round out these scenes, and package them in a format that is suited for the storytelling medium that is cinema.
The usual measure of a kung fu film’s success is thus the quality - and oftentimes, frequency - of its kung fu fighting scenes. Not only does Avenging Eagles succeed in this respect - and marvelously so, it should be added - it also balances out the requisite kung fu scenes with the needs of the medium, resulting in a magnificent example of the genre.
One of the first aspects of this film to stand out is the beautiful locale in the opening scene. Film fans who have seen Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon before this one, will immediately experience a sense of cinema déjà vu when they behold the rugged, desert landscape, with its stout plateaus, sparse vegetation, and beautiful vistas. A lone horseman struggles across this inhospitable environment, and the camera follows his passage, alternating between distant shots that take in the gorgeous setting, and close-ups that reveal bloodstains running up-and-down the horse’s legs.
The horseman is Ti Lung’s character, Chi Men Sing, and the melancholy atmosphere that pervades his introductory scene will prove to be an appropriate one, as his tragic story unfolds. Visibly exhausted, Chi Men falls from his horse and tumbles down a hill, where he lays, unable to continue. A short while later, the film’s second main character - Cho Yee Fan, played by Alexander Fu Sheng - appears, and comes to Chi Men’s aid.
After an initial disagreement that involves treachery and horse-theft, Chi Men and Cho Yee end up at a cave with a poisoned spring. Night approaches, and the desolate setting provides an ideal place for the two men to seize each other up. The film’s first fight scene follows, and features a glorious contest over a torch that Chi Men wants extinguished, and Cho Yee wants to keep lit. Much of the fight involves the two men clinging to the torch with one arm, while attacking each other with their unencumbered limbs. It is a fast, intricately choreographed scene, and firmly establishes the martial arts prowess of the two principal actors.
No sooner do Chi Men and Cho Yee agree to cease fighting, then they are ambushed by three men from the Iron Boat clan, an organized gang that is somehow related to the elusive Chi Men. The gang members attack both Chi Men and Cho Yee, using a variety of fantastic weaponry, including a wicked ball and chain, and a pair of slender daggers connected by chain. Chi Men fights with his weapon of choice, the three-sectional staff, while Cho Yee uses his bare fists.
The ensuing fight scene is intense, rapid, and sets the tempo for the rest of the film. Director Suen Chung does a noteworthy job of refraining from cuts during some of the more complicated exchanges, and finding the angle that best shows the frantic action. Slow motion is employed sparingly, to highlight particular sequences, and increase their impact. He also uses a technique that involves alternating between distant shots of the action, where a number of people are kept in frame, and close-ups that show individual combinations and blows. This combination of fore- and background action gives the fight scenes a sense of scale, and allows for more continuous activity to be shown in one frame, without confusing the audience.
For example, in this early fight scene, Chi Men strikes one of his assailants with his three-sectional staff, propelling him into the poisoned spring. The camera slows down, and the man flies towards the frame, while in the background, Chi Men continues to fight the other assailant. The audience is thus able to watch the assailant’s inevitable plunge into a deathtrap, while still keeping their eyes on Chi Men’s glorious technique with the three-sectional staff.
Suen Chung uses this technique throughout Avenging Eagle, and it contributes to the film’s excellent fight scenes by making them easier to follow. To the unpracticed viewer, a kung fu fight can be no more than a series of flailing arms and legs, punctuated by crude sound effects that denote blows and misses. Throw in an array of weaponry, and the proceedings is even harder to follow. Yet Suen Chung avoids this confusion through the economic use of camera angles, cuts, and distance, to give the viewer room to take in the full spectacle.
This room is welcomed indeed, because the fight scenes in Avenging Eagle are intricate, and awesome to behold. All of the major and minor actors demonstrate amazing skills, and move at full speed in their attacks and defense. The scale of fighting ranges from the small, such as the aforementioned ambush scene; to larger scenes, like the battle royal in Chi Men’s flashback, that involves so much fighting, its impossible to take everything in during the first viewing.
Moreover, these scenes feature an astonishing array of weapons. As mentioned earlier, Chi Men is skilled in the three-sectional staff, a weapon that never fails to impress. Cho Yee uses small butterfly knives that hook into his wrist gauntlets. As for the villains, the inner circle of the Iron Boat clan is composed of no less than 12 members, each of whom is skilled with a particular type of weapon. These weapons include the aforementioned ball and chain, and knives on chains; a scimitar; butterfly knives; the traditional Chinese sword; a large, heavy brass ring; hatchets; tridents; metal shields with curved blades lining the rim; and metal gauntlets that end in claws.
If these incredible fight scenes make Avenging Eagle a standout film in the kung fu genre, the rest of its elements make it one of the very best. Chi Men Sing’s tragic story is both familiar and compelling, and told through the economic use of flashback and dialogue. He is not offered as a hero, and yet his determination to overcome the obstacles that lie between him and peace invites admiration. He is confused by his growing awareness of Right and Wrong in life, and responds to this difficulty through the only action he understands: fighting. This setup provides the necessary excuse that every kung fu film needs for its action scenes, in a manner that is much more provocative than usual.
The story is further reinforced by a strong theme, which is the power of Fate to forever change a person’s life. Both Chi Men and Cho Yan are people who’s lives have been forever altered by tragedies that were dictated by Fate. Were it not for the tragedies that inevitably connect them, each would have continued to live their private lives without collision. But Fate has decreed that they be brought together, and it is Fate that determines their final actions. Indeed, Chi Men’s transformation from hardened criminal to reluctant reformer is due purely to the intervention of chance. Thus, when he tells his leader, “The Heavens have opened my eyes to what’s Right and Wrong,” he truly means what he says.
Along with its compelling narrative, Avenging Eagle continues to offer beautiful, atmospheric locales in its later scenes. On the road to the Iron Boat Clan’s headquarters, Chi Men and Cho Yee pass through a lonely forest; an abandoned desert town that is reminiscent of a dusty hamlet in a Western; and a field of wheat the provides an elegant backdrop for the two men to determine their trust in one another. When Chi Men tells Cho Yee his story, a flashback scene centers around a picturesque house, tucked away in the forest, where a police official unknowingly helps Chi Men recover from a duel. A shimmering brook passes by this quaint home, and is crossed by a short wooden bridge of sturdy build. The grass is green, the sky clear, the forest full of life: truly, this is an ideal place for a criminal to reconsider their actions, as Chi Men invariably does.
And then there is the main training hall of the Iron Boat clan. Combining impressive decoration with a Spartan layout, the hall provides an excellent backdrop for the epic, final confrontation the film has been leading up to. Chi Men and Cho Yee take on multiple opponents in wide, open spaces that allow them execute sweeping attacks and aerial moves; and in tight, confining catwalks that force them to close in with their opponents and dispatch them quickly, before the next one attacks. The last fight between the clan leader, Yu Si Hong, and the two heroes, makes full use of this Hall, filling the space with its spectacular movements.
Avenging Eagle is both a brilliant kung fu film, and a worthy piece of cinema. It satisfies the demands of the genre with its amazing fight sequences, and fulfills the requirements of cinema through economical narrative, a strong theme, and skillful direction. Far from being a medium that propagates disposable entertainment, the kung fu genre offers an opportunity for dedicated filmmakers to make quality cinema with stories about heroism, conflict, and tragedy. Avenging Eagle is an example of the fulfillment of this potential, and a credit to both its genre, and the medium.
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The Old School Kung Fu Breakdown
Memorable Characters
Chi Men Sing - played by Ti Lung. He fights with a three-sectioned staff, demonstrating a skill that is reminiscent of that shown by Gordon Liu in The 36th Chamber. His fights are amazing to watch, and warrant repeat viewing, just to figure out how he manages to use such a bizarre, complicated weapon.
Cho Yee Fan - played by Alexander Fu Sheng. He fights both empty-handed, and with double-butterfly knives that hook into his wrist gauntlets. He is extremely fast, and very agile. In real life, Fu Sheng was a trained martial artist of remarkable ability. Sadly, he passed away due to chance circumstances, which some attribute to his purchase of Bruce Lee’s former residence.
Yu Si Hong - played by Ku Feng. He is your typical gang leader, with a long, white beard, and white hair that ends in a long, braided queue. He fights at the end of the film, using iron gauntlets that cover his hands, turning them into fearsome claws. He is anything but a pushover, and uses these claws with vicious skill.
Memorable Fights
The first Ambush between the Clan, Chi Men, and Cho Yee is a great fight that involves lots of weapons, tight confines, and some good use of slow motion. But the second ambush really lets the principal actors show their stuff. In one scene, Chi Men gets his three-sectional staff stuck on a tree branch, and has to defend himself against two opponents. Chi Men disconnects his staff into two parts, the camera slows down, and Chi Men uses one half of the staff - which now resembles a pair of numchaku - to defeat his assailants. The slow-mo reveals every move, and the ensuing sequence is brilliant.
In the same fight scene, Cho Yee is taking on his final opponent, who earlier used throwing hatchets against him. Cho Yee is standing next to a tree, where one of the hatchets is buried, and sticks out to the side. The opponent leaps towards Cho Yee, who kicks out at the hatchet, spinning it straight into the opponent’s belly. The timing is so fantastic, the action takes you completely by surprise the first time it happens.
The final fight in Iron Boat hall is excellent, and a worthy ending to a great kung fu film. Chi Men and Cho Yee use their weapons to dispatch dozens of foes, and their fight with Yu Si Hong is at full, glorious speed. There is one scene that stood out: Yu Si Hong flies towards the two heroes with his claws outstretched, and the camera focuses on these wicked implements soaring through the air. One can’t help but wonder if Sam Raimi saw this scene, and later employed it in his work.
Memorable Set Piece
Every scene in this film takes place in a beautiful locale with an appropriate atmosphere. Whether its the desert where Chi Men and Cho Yee meet; the house where Chi Men learns compassion; the hall where the final fight takes place; every set in this film is perfect.
Entertainment Value – Lasting Impressions
Avenging Eagle is kung fu cinema gold. It is a shame that films like this one are forgotten, while others such as Zhang Zimou’s Hero and Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon are held as greatest examples of the genre. Without films like Avenging Eagle, these contemporary efforts wouldn’t exist today. Anyone who loves this genre must see this film.
