Quan ji (1971)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Cheh Chang

Writer:

Kuang Ni (writer)

Release Date:

1 October 1971 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Plot:

Two men, one a businessman skilled in Kung Fu, the other a kickboxer discover they are brothers, and together...

Plot Keywords:

Kickboxer | Kung Fu | Martial Arts | Businessman

Cast

David Chiang	...	Fang Ko
Lung Ti	...	Wen Lieh
Li Ching	...	Yu Lan
Pawana Chanajit		(as Parwana)
Sing Chen	...	Chiang Jen, 'Giant'
Feng Ku	...	Chung Pao aka 'The Cannon'
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chuan Chen
Ngai Hung Chik
Miao Ching	...	Dying Father
Yun Kin Chow
Canong Daech
Hak On Fung
Kwok Choi Hon
Pak-Kwong Ho
Pei Chi Huang
Wei Hu
Phillip Ko
Chiu Lee
Peng-fei Li
Chia Yung Liu
Wai Lo
Choh Lam Tsang
Chung Wang
Kuang Yu Wang
Ching Wong
Ha Wong
Shu Tong Wong
Chih-Ching Yang	...	Old Drunken Fighter
Shi-Kwan Yen
Cheung-Yan Yuen
Shun-Yee Yuen
Woo-ping Yuen
Yat Chor Yuen
Yang Yu

Also Known As:

Duel of Fists (Hong Kong: English title)
Fist Attack (literal English title)
Kuen gik (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)
The Striking Fist (Hong Kong: English title) (working title)

Runtime:

Hong Kong:102 min | USA:111 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

France:-12 (heavily cut) | Netherlands:16 (video rating) | Germany:18 (heavily cut) | South Korea:15 | UK:X | Australia:M | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Bangkok, Thailand

Company:

Shaw Brothers

Movie Connections:

Followed by E ke (1972)

Kung fu fashion victims in Bangkok

DUEL OF FISTS (1971) is a contemporary kung fu thriller shot in Bangkok during the city's Water Festival. (The early scenes are essentially a Bangkok travelogue.) David Chiang plays a Hong Kong man looking for his long-lost brother, armed only with a childhood photo of him (in which the youth already has his distinctive anchor tattoo!). The brother, played by Ti Lung, is a boxer facing his toughest opponent, Killer, who came by that name honestly. David attends the match and recognizes his brother and roots for him. Ti Lung is supposed to take a dive but he winds up beating Killer and winning the fight, spurring the local mob to send armies of thugs after him and David.

Ti Lung is a good fighter and acquits himself well, particularly in the boxing scenes. David, on the other hand, is very skinny here and dresses in an array of garish late 1960s eyesore fashions-puffy sleeves, ascots, flowered pants and a floppy hat. Yet we're supposed to believe he can outfight dozens of tough thugs armed with knives and clubs without getting a scratch. Ti Lung is more believable, except when we consider that his biggest fights with the thugs come right after his grueling, exhausting match with Killer, just when he'd be weakest. The fights are well-staged, but the superhuman feats in such a contemporary setting are a bit hard to swallow. The sequel, THE ANGRY GUEST (1972), which takes the brothers to Japan, is much better.

This was one of a group of early collaborations between stars David Chiang and Ti Lung and director Chang Cheh for Hong Kong's Shaw Bros. studio. Also that year (1971), the trio did the far superior DUEL OF THE IRON FIST, aka DUEL OF THE SHAOLIN FIST, about gang warfare in early 20th century China, and the near-epic THE NEW ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN, a masterful swordplay adventure set in old China.