So Hak-Yi (1993)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Woo-ping Yuen

Release Date:

11 December 1993 (South Korea)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Plot:

Action-packed as usual with Donnie Yen kicking his adversaries in the role of "Beggar Su". Basic plot...

Plot Keywords:

Opium | Sword | Braid | Camera | Drug Addiction

Cast

Sheila Chan	...	Aunt Jean
Hoi-Shan Kwan	...	Beggar So
Man Tat Ng	...	Yin
Fong Pao	...	Officer Lam Che-Chu
Yuk Wong	...	Wong Fei-Hung
Xin Xin Xiong	...	Prince Barac
Donnie Yen	...	So Chan
Fennie Yuen	...	Princess Yi Teh-Tai

Also Known As:

Beggar So (Hong Kong: English title) (literal title)
Fist of the Red Dragon (USA) (video title)
Heroes Among Heroes (Hong Kong: English title)
Su Qi-er (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and drug content.

Runtime:

Argentina:115 min | USA:91 min (DVD)

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | UK:18 | USA:R

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The 35mm style of camera that Princess Yi Teh-Tai uses in one scene was not introduced until the late-1930s/early-1940s, well after the real Wong Fei-Hung's death in 1924.

timeless 'fu film

"Su Qi'er" : Some arts are very well documented by loving admirers, like the old blues records.... Unfortunately, HK 'fu films haven't been so lucky.

I have a hard time believing this was released in 1993, let alone made that year. The Donnie Yen of this film still looks very young. And the same sources that insist this is a 1993 film also insist that the film released as "Iron Monkey II" is actually a sequel to Iron Monkey, and that it was made a year after Iron Monkey - which is patently absurd.

Add to this the fact that Stephen Chow released a film titled Wu zhuang yuang: Su Qi Er (King of Beggars)in 1993, and the fact that the recent Columbia-Tristar re-releases of HK 'fu films (including this one) have been sabotaged by gutless Hollywood hacks, and what you have is an unerring formula for confusion.

Oh, well. Whenever this film was made, it remains a minor classic of the genre. For one thing, the Wong Fei Hung depicted in this movie is the hero of the legend, not overly bogged down with story or "humanizing" faults - this is a real hero that draws good work and good feeling towards himself like the North Pole draws compass needles.

There are also remarkable bits of post-modern humor, especially the brief but hilarious jibe at Bollywood musical numbers, of all things.

The story is strong, the acting superb, and all the kung fu is top-notch. Receptive viewers will have many reasons to see this more than once.