Jie dao sha ren (1981)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Yun-Kyo Park

Writer:

Yun-Kyo Park (writer)

Release Date:

3 May 1981 (South Korea)

Genre:

Action

Plot:

A country bumpkin arrives to help his brother's rice business. Things get out of hand while a rival company becomes corrupt...

Plot Keywords:

Martial Arts

Cast

Jang Lee Hwang	...	Wong Chin
Mei Sheng Fan	...	Beggar Fan (as Mei-Sheng Fan)
Eddy Ko	...	Uncle 33
Chiang Wang	...	Uncle 33's student
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chen Tien Loong	...	Shen Hou (as Tino Wong Cheung)

Also Known As:

Che diy saai yan (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)
Hitman in the Hand of Buddha (Hong Kong: English title)
The Swordsman (International: English title)

Runtime:

South Korea:90 min | West Germany:76 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:18

Company:

Dae Yang Films Co. Ltd.

Trivia:

One of only two films where Jang Lee Hwang played a good guy. The other is Innocent Interloper (1986).

Movie Connections:

References Battle Beyond the Stars (1980)

A real treat for Hwang Jang Lee fans

I recently acquired a DVD of Hitman in the Hand of Buddha. I am impressed with this film for many reasons. The main one being Master Hwang himself. So far he has never failed to impress me with his kicking skills. I find it interesting that he directed and produced it and that he wanted to play a good guy (for a change)! In fact, there are at least 4 films so far where he plays a good guy. I'm sure he wanted to shake off his bad boy image because by all accounts he is a very gracious and gentle man. And you also get to see what he looks like without a moustache. LOL!

The version I have is a special collector's edition DVD and it has two versions of the film: an English dubbed version (89 mins approx.) and a Korean version (81 mins approx.) with some English subtitles. I prefer the Korean version despite the poor quality. It was found in a film vault in Seoul and was edited by Jang Lee. I'm pretty sure that we can hear his own voice on the soundtrack (Korean sounds like a lovely language)and the subtitles are probably truer to interpretation than the English dubbed version.

As for the story itself, I find the pace is fast enough with plenty martial arts mayhem to keep me happy. Perhaps some people want more fighting but I think he does a splendid job. Watch him fighting with chop sticks. You'll never look at another pair of chopsticks in the same way again. The film is a true treat for dedicated fans and a definite must-see.