Shi si nu ying hao (1972)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Directors:

Kang Cheng
Shao-yung Tung (co-director)

Writers:

Kang Cheng (revised screenplay)
Yang Kao (original screenplay)

Release Date:

27 July 1972 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Adventure | History | War

Plot Keywords:

Human Pyramid | Archery | Loss Of Loved One | Violence | Rescue

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Pin Chang
Shen Chan	...	Grain depot chief guard with signal arrow
Yanyan Chen		(as Yen-yen Chen)
Miao Ching
Tina Fei Chin
Hua Chung	...	Yang Tsung Pao
Paul Chun	...	4th prince (as Chin Pei)
Mei Sheng Fan
Ping Ha
Lily Ho
Yun Tai Ho
Chung-Hsin Huang
Chiu Chin Ku
Wei Lieh Lan
Ching Lee
Hao Li
Ching Lin
Han Ling
Ivy Ling Po
Wu Chi Liu
Han Lo
Lieh Lo
Lisa Lu
Wei Lu
James Nam	...	2nd prince (as Nan Kung Hsun)
Sha-fei Ouyang
Pei-pei Shu
Ching Tien
Feng Tien
Chien Ting
Betty Ting Pei
Chin-Feng Wang
Hsieh Wang
Ping Wang
Ai-Hua Yang
Chih-Ching Yang
Karen Yeh
Bolo Yeung
Hua Yueh

Also Known As:

14 Amazons (International: English title)
Fourteen Amazons (Hong Kong: English title)

Runtime:

Spain:123 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Shaw Brothers

Fantastic historical epic in the classic Shaw Bros. style.

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

One of the best things about the new DVD releases of the Shaw Brothers catalogue is the discovery of films that never got the sort of attention they deserved during that big boom of interest in the wake of Bruce Lee. Whether simply overlooked or never released in the United States, fans of Chang Cheh were more likely to tell you about how awesome FIVE DEADLY VENOMS was, as opposed to ONE ARMED SWORDSMAN. There's some directors whose work is just now being seen, and it turns out their work is pretty good stuff. One of those directors is Cheng Kang, father of action choreographer and director Ching Siu-tung, and also a fantastic director in his own right. What I've been finding is that many of Cheng Kang's films are representative of the attitude with which most of the Shaw films were made, but with an extra sheen of polish to them that not all of the studio's films share.

THE FOURTEEN AMAZONS is one of Shaw's most successful films, yet another story of Sung dynasty warriors defending their homeland from invading Mongolians, a theme Cheng Kang would return to in TWELVE GOLD MEDALLIONS. But this movie is not just about any warriors, but the Yang family, whose betrayal and defeat at the hands of the Mongolian invaders is one of the greatest of Chinese military tragedies, and covered well in this film. The fourteen amazons in the title are the wives, sisters, mothers, and even the matriarch of the Yang family, along with the one remaining young man. These women go out to take revenge on the invading hordes, in spite of the protests of the traitorous governmental minister Wang Ching, who doesn't even want the successor to the Yang family, a young man played by a young Lily Ho, to take his place ("Zhou Yu was young too" Lily Ho whines at one point. Yeah, but at least he wasn't played by a girl). So off they go, the remaining women of the Yang family take to the road, commanding the last of the troops at their disposal, picking up the help of Yueh Hua (surprisingly randomly), and taking the fight to the invaders every chance they get.

This movie is not like those of this era that have been getting most of the attention from genre fans, the bloody Chang Cheh masculinity epics. THE FOURTEEN AMAZONS has one foot in the style of classic Hong Kong cinema, with female heroes and swashbuckling action taking precedence over brooding testosterone flooded youth rebelling against what is presented as an unfair world (I'm describing ONE ARMED SWORDSMAN if you didn't pick up on it). This is a sort of happy go lucky swashbuckler, unconcerned with character development and highly obsessed with providing as many thrills as possible. There's a rather large cast of characters, and very few of them show much, if any, personality. Most of those older HK movies are like this, and it's not really a bad thing. On the other hand, there is a good amount of violence and gore. Decapitations, torture, and lots of bright red blood gets thrown about with wild abandon. This is the sort of violence that's creative without being revolting, but wasn't necessarily a big part of action movies until the time this movie was released. There's a scene where three heads are simultaneously decapitated and then pinned to a ledge with arrows. It's that kind of violence.

There's other amusing aspects to this movie. Lo Lieh gets a great role as a sadistic Mongol prince, and he hams it up as he does so well. Lisa Lu, as the Yang matriarch, was nominated for a golden horse for her performance, although I don't think it's all that special. There's really not that much room for performances among all of the kung fu, mass battles, and insane sequences. There's a great example of this sort of fantastic insanity, which only Hong Kong movies ever attempt, where the Yang family creates a human bridge over a deep ravine allowing their troops to evade pursuing enemies. The action was choreographed by Ching Siu-tung, his first credit as action director, and Leung Siu Cheung, a more experienced choreographer who didn't do much of note in his career up to and after this film. What they have here is good, mostly mass battles and such, but a couple of good duels get thrown in there. The famed Yang spears get a good deal of screen time and Yue Hua gets to swing his sword around while people fall around dead about him. Although I like the action a lot, it's still in that older style that some find off putting. If you want precision and insanely complex choreography, this isn't the movie for you, so grow up and learn to appreciate a greater variety of film.

THE FOURTEEN AMAZONS is a great adventure movie with grand themes of patriotism and filial loyalty. The arresting imagery from directors Cheng Kang and Tung Shao-yung is unforgettable, and is the sort of thing that makes historical fantasy so much fun to watch. I hope that more people see this film, and the rest of Cheng Kang's oeuvre. He was one of Shaw's best directors, and this movie is proof of it.