Directors: Pao Hsueh-Li, Chang Cheh
Notable Cast: Chen Kuan-Tai, Ching Li, Cheng Kang-Yeh,
David Chiang, Chiang Nan, Fung Ngai, Ku Feng, Tin Ching, Wong Ching
“I was sold out by my own man. There’s nothing more to say.”
It’s an obvious ambush at the Green Lotus Pavilion during
the finale of The Boxer from Shantung. The audience knows it as the film
directly shows all of the scheming by the local crime boss as he establishes
the location, plants fighters throughout the crowd, and the sub-boss, played by
an unhinged Ku Feng, buries his axe in a large vessel of peanuts. The villains
know it, the audience knows it, and as if that wasn’t enough - the hero knows
it.
In the previous scene, the protagonist Ma Yongzhang, gives
money to his loyal best friend and tells him to leave. To find a wife and
settle down. He knows he’s not coming back from the Green Lotus Pavilion. If
he’s lucky, he’ll achieve the revenge he desperately seeks from his corrupt
boss and conniving cohorts before he leaves his mortal coil.
It’s all as epic as it sounds. The final battle of the
Green Lotus Pavilion is one for the books. The dynamic action works on a
multitude of levels. The gore spills in bright red 1970s spurts. The carnage is
visceral and shot with the incredible visual flair of director Chang Cheh. The
star of the film, Chen Kuan-Thai, is soaked with sweat and blood. The scene has
no score and it’s pacing is racked with tension. This is the Chang Cheh and
Shaw Brothers brilliance in all its glory.