Duel of Fists (1971)

Two men, one a businessman skilled in Kung Fu, the other a kickboxer discover they are brothers, and together, both in and out of the ring, they must face a crime syndicate. One of the ... See full summary »

Director:

Cheh Chang

Writer:

Kuang Ni

Stars:

David Chiang, Lung Ti, Li Ching

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Chiang	...	Fang Ko
Lung Ti	...	Wen Lieh
Li Ching	...	Hu Yu-Lan
Pawana Chanajit	...	Mai Dai (as Parwana)
Feng Ku	...	Chung Pao aka 'The Cannon'
Sing Chen	...	Chiang Jen, 'Giant'
Canong Daech	...	Milar
Chung Wang	...	Misai
Miao Ching	...	Dying Father
Chih-Ching Yang	...	Old Drunken Fighter
Ti Tang	...	Uncle Chen
Wei Hu	...	Hsiang Jen
Kuang Yu Wang	...	Referee
Ming Chiu
Peng-Fei Li	...	Chief Architect

Storyline

Two men, one a businessman skilled in Kung Fu, the other a kickboxer discover they are brothers, and together, both in and out of the ring, they must face a crime syndicate. One of the first films to use the martial art of Muay Thai.

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Plot Keywords:

martial arts | kung fu | kickboxer | businessman | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama

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Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin

Release Date:

1 October 1971 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Fist Attack

Filming Locations:

Hotel Siam Intercontinental, Rama 1 Road, Bangkok, Thailand

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shaw Brothers

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Followed by E ke (1972)

User Reviews

Kung fu fashion victims in Bangkok

DUEL OF FISTS (1971) is a contemporary kung fu thriller shot in Bangkok during the city's Water Festival. (The early scenes are essentially a Bangkok travelogue.) David Chiang plays a Hong Kong man looking for his long-lost brother, armed only with a childhood photo of him (in which the youth already has his distinctive anchor tattoo!). The brother, played by Ti Lung, is a boxer facing his toughest opponent, Killer, who came by that name honestly. David attends the match and recognizes his brother and roots for him. Ti Lung is supposed to take a dive but he winds up beating Killer and winning the fight, spurring the local mob to send armies of thugs after him and David.

Ti Lung is a good fighter and acquits himself well, particularly in the boxing scenes. David, on the other hand, is very skinny here and dresses in an array of garish late 1960s eyesore fashions-puffy sleeves, ascots, flowered pants and a floppy hat. Yet we're supposed to believe he can outfight dozens of tough thugs armed with knives and clubs without getting a scratch. Ti Lung is more believable, except when we consider that his biggest fights with the thugs come right after his grueling, exhausting match with Killer, just when he'd be weakest. The fights are well-staged, but the superhuman feats in such a contemporary setting are a bit hard to swallow. The sequel, THE ANGRY GUEST (1972), which takes the brothers to Japan, is much better.

This was one of a group of early collaborations between stars David Chiang and Ti Lung and director Chang Cheh for Hong Kong's Shaw Bros. studio. Also that year (1971), the trio did the far superior DUEL OF THE IRON FIST, aka DUEL OF THE SHAOLIN FIST, about gang warfare in early 20th century China, and the near-epic THE NEW ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN, a masterful swordplay adventure set in old China.