Tian long ba bu (1977)

A bookish young man and his sword-loving sister find themselves battling a trio of villains, one of them a beautiful but masked woman who has promised to either marry or murder the first man to see her unmasked.

Director:

Hsueh Li Pao

Writers:

Louis Cha (story), Kuang Ni

Stars:

Danny Lee, Ni Tien, Chen Chi Lin

Cast

Credited cast:
Danny Lee	...	Prince Tuan Yu
Ni Tien	...	Mu Wan-Ching / Hsiang Yao-cha (as Tanny)
Chen Chi Lin	...	Chung Ling-erh
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kwok Kuen Chan
Shao-chia Chen
Chuen Chiang
Han Chiang	...	Sze-Kung Hsuan
Tao Chiang	...	Yueh Chang-lung
Lu Chin	...	Chin Hung-Mien
Norman Chu
Li Jen Ho
Teresa Hsia Ping	...	Madam Chung
Shu-hua Hsin	...	Chief Chung
Chih-Kuang Huang
Pei Chi Huang

Storyline

A bookish young man and his sword-loving sister find themselves battling a trio of villains, one of them a beautiful but masked woman who has promised to either marry or murder the first man to see her unmasked.

---

Plot Keywords:

prosthetic leg | half brother | sucking poison | royalty | monster | 

---

Genres:

Action | Fantasy

---

Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin

Release Date:

9 September 1977 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Battle Wizard

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shaw Brothers, Shaw Brothers

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

Wacky kung fu freakout

This is one of the crazy ones, along the lines of Buddha's Palm or Holy Flame of the Martial World, though not as fun or inventive. Danny Lee plays a scholar who is uninterested in kung fu, who pursues the "Red Python" which can grant great power. His task is complicated by his philandering father, the cute Lin Chen-chi and her magical snakes, and angry Tanny Tien-ni and her dagger-shooting leg bone.

The movie is filled wacky costumes, fake monsters, goofy visual effects, and kung fu "laser" beams. As short as it is, it still gets a bit bogged down in dialogue and exposition. Still, there's enough craziness along the way to hold you until the mind-blowing ending , which features Danny Lee fighting a kung fu gorilla, and a man on retractable metal chicken legs who fires flames out of his mouth. Worth watching, at least for the ending.