Eastern Condors (1987)
"Dung fong tuk ying" (original title)

An action film about a daring commando raid into Vietnam to destroy a munitions dump left behind by American marines.

Director:

Sammo Hung Kam-Bo

Writer:

Barry Wong

Stars:

Sammo Hung Kam-Bo, Yuen Biao, Haing S. Ngor

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sammo Hung Kam-Bo	...	Ming-Sun Tung
Yuen Biao	...	Man Yen Chieh
Haing S. Ngor	...	Yeung Lung
Joyce Godenzi	...	Guerrilla Girl #1
Chi Chun Ha	...	Guerrila Girl #3
Ching-Ying Lam	...	Lieutenant
Melvin Wong	...	Colonel Yang
Charlie Chin	...	Szeto Chin
Kwok Keung Cheung	...	Ching
Billy Lau	...	Ching (as Lan Guang Lau)
Woo-ping Yuen	...	Yun, Yen-Hoy
Corey Yuen	...	Judy Vu (as Kwai Yuen)
Lung Chan	...	Potato Head
Wah Yuen	...	Giggling General
Yasuaki Kurata	...	General's elite soldier

Storyline

A motley group of Asian prisoners held in the US are given one chance for freedom. They are to go deep into Vietnam and destroy a secret depot of missles that the US left behind during the pull-out. The group, led by Lt. Lam and convict Tung, hook up with a trio of female freedom fighters and a happy go lucky martial artist named 'Rat'. The entire group is captured by the VC because one of them is a double agent, but they escape, cross an un-crossable bridge, and get to the secret base just ahead of the VC. By this point nearly all of the original group is dead, and it's up to Tung and Rat to fight the VC's leader, a bizarre giggling man who's lightning fast with martial arts.

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Plot Keywords:

vietnam | commando | commando raid | martial arts | commando mission | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and some language

Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese English

Release Date:

9 July 1987 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Eastern Condors

Filming Locations:

Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golden Harvest Company, Paragon Films Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sammo Hung hired a personal trainer to help slim him down so he could more easily perform some of the acrobatic kicking combinations which he had devised for the project with his stunt team.

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Connections

Featured in The Best of the Martial Arts Films (1992)

User Reviews

non-stop

This is the original "balls-to-the-wall" Hong Kong action film. really, once the ex-con commandos parachute into Vietnam to dispose of a hidden arsenal the US left behind during the pull-out, the action never stops. Shootings, stabbing, explosions, and wild kung fu - with almost no discernible wire-works - the film is virtually one violent confrontation after another.

which of course is the weakness of the film. Although Sammo Hung became known as a director thanks largely to an exquisite sense of the comedic, the comic touches here get swamped by the action. also, we never get to know any of these fighters very well - character development reduces to a selection of whatever cliché would fit a character if the character had a personality. None of them do. And finally I have to remark that what little drama there really is in the film, is all pretty grim.

Still, this film is not, in the last analysis, about drama, character, or humor; it sets out to be THE action film of its decade. Whether it succeeds or not is debatable; but it certainly makes the right effort for it.