Directed by: Liu Chia-liang

Starring: Alexander Fu-shing, Gordon Liu, Lily Li

Featuring: Kara Hui, Yeung Ching-ching, Johnny Wang Lung-wei

During the latter half of the 1960’s the Shaw Brother’s produced many swordplay films, though they were not necessarily known for martial arts films, as their popularity didn’t really escalate until the following decade. 1970 witnessed the birth of the popular contemporary kung fu film with Bruce Lee’s revolutionary The Big Boss, as well as the indelible mark made by the equally influential King Boxer aka Five Fingers Of Death (although the martial arts were not applied in a contemporary environment) which enjoyed both domestic and international success.

Throughout the 1970’s Shaw’s consolidated their position as the number one action film-making studio, although this wasn’t to remain indefinitely as Golden Harvest and Seasonal provided stiff competition towards the end of the decade.Interestingly enough, both were headed by former Shaw’s executives Raymond Chow and Ng See Yuen respectively. the undoubted jewel in the Shaw’s crown was the prolific director, Chang Cheh.

Cheh had already established his status during the previous decade with various classics, most notably the One Armed Swordsman starring Jimmy Wang Yu, who would later appear in the rather underrated Toei classic, Zatoichi Meets The One Armed Swordsman alongside arguably the greatest actor ever to appear in Asian cinema, Shintaro Katsu. In 1966 Cheh made his debut collaboration with choreographers Lau Kar Leung and Tang Chia, who had impressed with their recent collaborative work, with The Magnificent Trio which also starred Jimmy Wang Yu as well as Shaw’s stalwart Lo Lieh. The trio continued their prodigious output until the mid seventies when a discrepency over the credit Lau received, which was minimal compared to that bestowed on Cheh. Another issue was the fact that political issues dictated that the profits generated by any success of their films meant that the money could not leave the island, meaning that the money had to be reinvested into new projects. Despite vowing to quit filmmaking Lau was fortunately dissuaded by the ever present Mona Fong and instead he became a director in his own right.

It was this period of Lau’s career which established him as an outstanding director in his own right and a genuine pioneer of the genre, as it was Lau himself who had originally suggested to Cheh the concept of incorporating the Animal styles in their subsequent efforts. Early films such as Heroes Two, Five Shaolin Masters, Shaolin Martial Arts and Men From The Monastery showcased early approximations of the cinematic performance of Hung Kuen. Although difficult for generic film fans to appreciate, fans of the genre will certainly appreciate the clarity of the physical performances as well as the number of movements per shot in these early classics. More importantly, the style within these films wasn’t an imitation of the Bruce Lee/ Sonny Chiba style of reality based fighting, instead focusing on the form of the actors involved, something by which nearly every action film/ star has been judged on since (in Eastern circles at least). It has to be said though, that Swordplay films aside, the majority of the kung fu films during the boom did not incorporate weapons techniques as regularly or as comprehensive as the Southern and Northern forms of empty handed martial arts.

It may come as something of a surprise to Western audiences to understand that from an Eastern perspective the martial arts start with weapons forms before regressing into empty handed fighting. The explanation eing that on the battlefield a person was more likely to have a weapon to hand and would use Southern or Northern techniques as a last resort. There were of course many films which featured weapons based fights but most of the time these weren’t the crux of the action within the film themselves.

Previous weapons based films which immediately spring to mind are the classics The Odd Couple and Legendary Weapons Of China, both of which take a very different look at classical Chinese weapons, Eight Diagram Pole Fighter doesn’t explore the weapon in the same way in which those films did or the range of weaponry,which was certainly more evident in the latter rather than the former. The film is notable for having almost none of the traditional empty handed fights which fans had come to expect. Debate will always rage over which films have the best fight scenes and the same is true with weapons based films, some prefer the more spectacular dichotomy on display in The Odd Couple between operatic and traditional use of weaponry; whilst others may prefer the more realistic use of the weapons showcased in the Legendary Weapons Of China which featured a far greater range of weaponry on display. Is is possible to quantiy one film as better than the other? In all honesty, it is down to personal taste, although in my opinion, great as those films are, EDPF has the greatest weapons based action witnessed on film. True, the pole, isn’t bestowed any great analysis, nor are the techniques involved, but Gordon Liu’s manipulation of said weapon is nothing short of breathtaking, as is Lau Kar Leung’s use of the three pronged fork (more of which can be seen in the aforementioned Legendary Weapons Of China). Something which is often negated in reviews of Hong Kong films is the context in which the action occurs, be comedic or dramatic. For example, Jackie Chan’s fight against Lau Kar Leung in Drunken Master 2 is entertaining in a light , comedic context whereas scenes which have more of a dramatic effect on the film often hold more meaning in the eyes of the viewer. A good recent example being Jackie Wu fighting Donnie Yen in the classic SPL. Comedy doesn’t necessarily affect the feelings of a scene negatively but can result in the audience treating the scene as lightly as it is being played, sometimes meaning that it is overlooked. EDPF is admittedly sometimes overblown but the context in which the fights occur does provide the audience with more of emotional journey.

In the past Hong Kong films with dramatic elements did have a tendency of being melodramatic rather than compelling dramas. If I had any criticism of the film it would be that the opening act does features this element, although thankfully this doesn’t drag on for too long. Another saving grace is that fact that Gordon Liu is indeed a fine actor and this is something which is often negated in reviews of films in whcih he stars. Like many actors, it is true that he struggled to find his defining role, but his years as a leading star showcased a depth to his performances which few actors of his generation could match. Be it a compelling monk figure in The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin to his lighter portrayals in films such as Dirty Ho and Return To The 36th Chamber. In fact, the only Shaw Brothers star who really comes close to matching him as an out and out actor is Ti Lung who gave an amazing performance in the John Woo classic A Better Tomorrow.

Even as a fan, I’ll openly admit that at times HK films contain no depth beyond the sporadic moment of quirky comedy. Lau Kar Leung has always been a director ready to embrace a narrative structure as well as superlative action sequences, in fact compared to many of his contemporaries he uses action scenes relatively sparingly, favouring quality over quantity. In terms of martial arts filmmakers, there have been few which have influenced the direction of the genre in the same way that he has (with the exception of other pioneers such as Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan and Yuen Woo Ping). It is true that many of the aforementioned names have often borrowed plot elements from either US or domestic productions (although at times he has been guilty of this himself), Lau remained a genuine pioneer, not just in terms of choreography but also the subject amtter which his films encompassed and often resorting to bloodless conclusions, Heroes Of The East being a prime example. This in essence being a true reflection of the martial way.

Eight Diagram Pole Fighter is by no means a bloodless film, this is undoubtedly due to the tragic circumstances which surrounded the films production. From an early stage the Shaw Brothers began training hopefuls in both acting and martial arts (under the guidance of luminaries such as Lau Kar Leung) for film. One of the most promising and popular performers was Alexander Fu Sheng. Fu Sheng could be described as a prototype Jackie Chan (quite rightly, although I’ll admit that this has been stated many times before) and one of the first real kung fu comedians. His early films didn’t the comedic quotient of Chan’s later filims but this was an element which evolved over time. Treasure Hunters in particular is very much a Shaw Brother’s take on a Jackie Chan action comedy, but somewhat controversially given Chan’s popularity, in my opinion Treasure Hunters is far superior not only in the martial arts content but also the comedic scenarios which it encompasses. A prime example being a very early version of the antique-fu sequence reprised in Shanghai Knights ( a sequence which to my recollection was first incorporated in Sammo Hung/Lau Kar Wing starring classic, Dirty Tiger, Crazy Frog, back in 1978). The Shaw Brothers star did also have another string to his bow, that to a comedian is essential, he was naturally funny. Jackie Chan often states how much he is influenced by comedy films of the silent era and how he likes to incorporate comedy into his fights scenes, but how many times can you honestly say you have laughed at something Chan himself has actually performed, not many I would imagine, especially in recent films. Anyway I digress, Fu Sheng’s death during the production undoubtedly added a resonance to the film which makes his final performance all the more memorable. To add a counterbalance I do personally feel that his performance was way over the top, although it could be argued that during this period this was very much the style that the directors established and one it was felt the audience could understand. So from this very fact, it is possible to ascertain that the producers were even less complimentary of their audience’s intellect than their Hollywood counterparts!

Personally speaking (without meaning to sound insulting) I don’t necessarily feel it was essential for his character to be quite so over the top despite the sequence of events which causes this character shift. That’s not to say he wasn’t a fine actor, in both serious and dramatic parts he seemed perfectly at east. It’s just all that weeping and wailing does tend to grate and perhaps doesn’t have the resonance on a Western audience that it would from an Eastern perspective. A far more accomplished performance is afforded by Lau regular, Liu Chia Hui (aka Gordoon Liu) who is on top form both dramatically and physically. His character is one who is distraught by the death of his father and brothers as well as being ashamed by his inability to prevent this.

True, there are moments when he too does descend into the all too common melodrama of the period, but for me Liu always possessed a monk like grace which imbued his characters with a sense of gravitas and a tangible intellect, something which can’t be said for all kung fu actors. Liu was unique in Hong Kong action cinema (with the exceptioni of the brilliant Chow Yun Fat) in that he really acted the roles he was afforded. There were common idiosyncracies to some of his performances but this simply added truth to those parts and a consistency matched by few of his peers. Here was an actor who was equally adept in both dramatic and comedic roles, had the kind of looks which would appeal to an international demographic, had superlative martial arts skills and spoke decent English.

Quentin Tarantino is a wonderful writer/director and is somebody I have a lot of respect for, but even he would have to admit that Liu is far superior to the frankly insulting role he was given in Kill Bill. Many would say that this international exposure occurred far too late on in his career and I would be inclined to agree. With the upcoming 25th anniversary of the death of Alexander Fu Sheng, I feel it would be a fitting tribute to both men if this classic Shaw Brothers production were at least given a limited cinematic re-run, if not widespread.

As well as both Gordon Liu and Fu Sheng, EDPF also showcases a great physical performance by veteran HK film star Philip Kao Fei, who has worked for Seasonal, Golden Harvest and numerous independent production companies. Kao’s dramatic performance is decent enough but given the wide array of action choreographers and performers he has worked with/for this is easily his most impressive display of physical dexterity. The film also features some decent action from Kara Hui, although the more impressive movements are performed by Yuen Tak, who also appears in a small role. Wang Lung Wei appears as the villainous Prince, who is very much in the vain of the traditional Hong Kong villain rather than the more considered characters that he has portrayed in other films.

Unusually this film isn’t as unbalanced as many of the much hyped classics of the genre and is a film that is succesively more impressive upon each viewing. Thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish, Eight Diagram Pole Fighter is one of the very few films in Hong Kong action cinema which truly lives up to it’s reputation and is deserving of it’s classic status. Unlike the slightly disappointing Drunken Master 2 this is a film which more than lives up to it’s promise and is an essential purchase for any serious fan of Hong Kong action cinema.

Review by: Gavin Rickwood

You can buy this DVD at: www.hongkong-store.com

Copyright (c) 2008 Screen Power Publishing/Jade Screen Magazine