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IMDbPro

The Water Margin

Original title: Shui hu zhuan
  • 19721972
  • RR
  • 1h 21m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
758
YOUR RATING
The Water Margin (1972)
  • Action
  • Drama
Tells the story of the 108 Heroes who stood up against a corrupt government. Each hero has his own unique fighting skill, but they are all willing to die to uphold justice.Tells the story of the 108 Heroes who stood up against a corrupt government. Each hero has his own unique fighting skill, but they are all willing to die to uphold justice.Tells the story of the 108 Heroes who stood up against a corrupt government. Each hero has his own unique fighting skill, but they are all willing to die to uphold justice.
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
758
YOUR RATING
  • Directors
    • Cheh Chang
    • Hsueh-Li Pao
    • Wu Ma
  • Writers
    • Guanzhong Luo(novel)
    • Kuang Ni
  • Stars
    • David Chiang
    • Lung Ti
    • Kuan Tai Chen
Top credits
  • Directors
    • Cheh Chang
    • Hsueh-Li Pao
    • Wu Ma
  • Writers
    • Guanzhong Luo(novel)
    • Kuang Ni
  • Stars
    • David Chiang
    • Lung Ti
    • Kuan Tai Chen
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 9User reviews
    • 11Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Photos11

    The Water Margin (1972)
    Toshio Kurosawa in The Water Margin (1972)
    The Water Margin (1972)
    Feng Chin, Mei Sheng Fan, Lily Ho, Hua Yueh, Feng Ku, and Lung Ti in The Water Margin (1972)
    Lei Cheng, Feng Chin, and Tetsurô Tanba in The Water Margin (1972)
    The Water Margin (1972)
    Lily Ho in The Water Margin (1972)
    The Water Margin (1972)
    The Water Margin (1972)
    The Water Margin (1972)

    Top cast

    Edit
    David Chiang
    David Chiang
    • The Prodigy Yen Ching…
    Lung Ti
    Lung Ti
    • Magic Sword Wu Sung
    Kuan Tai Chen
    Kuan Tai Chen
    • Tattooed Dragon Shi Jin
    Chung Wang
    Chung Wang
    • Fearless One Shih Hsiu
    Tetsurô Tanba
    Tetsurô Tanba
    • Jade Unicorn Lu Chun I
    Feng Ku
    Feng Ku
    • Welcome Rain Sung Chiang
    Lily Ho
    Lily Ho
    • Tigress Lady Hu San Niang
    Toshio Kurosawa
    • Shih Wen Kung
    Feng Chin
    Feng Chin
    • Clever Star Wu Yung
    Miao Ching
    Miao Ching
    • Master Tseng Chang Kuan
    Chi-Ping Chang
    Chi-Ping Chang
    • Constable
    • (as Chi Ping Cheung)
    Hsi Chang
    Hsi Chang
    Pin Chang
    Pin Chang
    • Tseng Tu
    Yang Chang
    Yang Chang
    • Little Whirlwind Chai Chin
    Chuan Chen
    Chuan Chen
    • Tseng Kuei
    Ti-Ko Chen
    Ti-Ko Chen
    • Constable
    Lei Cheng
    Lei Cheng
    • Short Tiger Wang Ying
    Chuen Chiang
    Chuen Chiang
    • Constable
    • Directors
      • Cheh Chang
      • Hsueh-Li Pao
      • Wu Ma
    • Writers
      • Guanzhong Luo(novel)
      • Kuang Ni
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Selected by Quentin Tarantino for the First Quentin Tarantino Film Fest in Austin, Texas, 1996.
    • Connections
      Featured in Kain's Quest: A Better Tomorrow (2015)

    User reviews9

    Review
    Top review
    All-star cast in swordplay epic based on Chinese classic
    Co-directed by Chang Cheh, SEVEN BLOWS OF THE DRAGON (1972, aka THE WATER MARGIN) is an action-packed Shaw Bros. costume adventure based on incidents from the multi-volume Chinese literary classic, 'Water Margin,' aka 'All Men are Brothers.' The U.S. release version (which showed in American theaters in 1973) was, at 79 minutes, severely cut, leaving glaring gaps in the story and action. (With the news of the impending digital remastering of the Shaw Bros. library, we can now hope for a future uncut release of this title.) Still, it's worth seeing as an example of unabashed nonstop fighting and colorful historical adventure involving a host of characters from the Sung Dynasty, including the infamous band of 108 Outlaws, 'gallant men' who allied together to become bandits after political corruption and court intrigue made them wanted men.

    The focus of the film is on Master Lu, the famed Jade Dragon, who is imprisoned on trumped-up charges arranged by a devious steward having an affair with his wife. Members of the 108, including the boisterous, rotund Black Whirlwind, set out to rescue Master Lu and avenge the wrong done to him. Directing the official pursuit of Master Lu is his former friend and classmate, Golden Spear, who leads his forces into a climactic battle with the 108 and a one-on-one duel with Lu.

    There is lots of action and intrigue in a film that moves at a dizzying pace, with great fight scenes involving all sorts of exotic weapons (including Black Whirlwind's pair of battle axes); an all-star cast; and a surprising nude scene featuring Master Lu's adulterous wife. The lead players include Chang Cheh regulars Ti Lung, David Chiang and Chen Kuan Tai, along with Lily Ho (as Tigress), Ku Feng (as Welcome Rain), Fan Mei-Sheng (as Black Whirlwind), Wu Ma, and, in an unusual bit of casting, Japanese star Tetsuro Tanba as Master Lu. (Western viewers may recall Tanba's portrayal of Tiger Tanaka, the head of the Japanese Secret Service, in the 1967 James Bond film, YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, and his role as a government official in MESSAGE FROM SPACE.) Golden Spear is played by another Japanese actor, the lesser-known Toshio Kurozawa.

    SEVEN BLOWS OF THE DRAGON was followed by a sequel, SEVEN SOLDIERS OF KUNG FU, also reviewed on this site, with most of the stars returning, which detailed the further adventures of the 108 after they were pardoned by the Emperor and assigned to make war on rebel armies.

    ADDENDUM (October 6, 2007): Since I wrote the above review, the original full-length Shaw Bros. release version of the film, in Mandarin with English subtitles, has come out under the title THE WATER MARGIN, in a restored/remastered letter-boxed edition on both Region 3 DVD (from Celestial Pictures) and Region 1 DVD in the U.S. (from Image Entertainment). The R3 is 120 min., while the R1 is 125 min., a difference probably attributable to PAL-to-NTSC conversion for the R3. In any case, fans basically get approximately 40 more minutes of the story, with scenes that flesh out some of the characters and their relationships. An opening text crawl informs us that the film is based on chapters 64-68 of the original literary work.

    One of the special features on the R1 DVD is a one-minute-and-36-second "extended love scene" that was specially shot by Shaw Bros. for the dubbed U.S. release version and includes shots of a nude body double (for actress Ling Ling, who plays the adulterous wife of Master Lu) sharing the screen with actor Tien Ching (as Lu's treacherous aide) in the film's one sex scene.

    One important distinction between the original Hong Kong version and the English dub known as SEVEN BLOWS OF THE DRAGON is found in the music score, which was largely redone for the English dub, mainly to replace music cues on the original track that were lifted from Dominic Frontiere's score for the 1968 Clint Eastwood western, HANG 'EM HIGH, which was still fresh to many American moviegoers (and to lawyers for United Artists) when SEVEN BLOWS OF THE DRAGON was released in 1973. The original Shaw Bros. music score was patched together from a variety of different sources and sounds awfully arbitrary, with the HANG 'EM HIGH cues being particularly distracting, the only glaring flaw in an otherwise masterful Hong Kong costume epic.

    The film's sequel, reviewed on this site as SEVEN SOLDIERS OF KUNG FU, has also been released on Region 3 DVD by Celestial, under the title ALL MEN ARE BROTHERS. Also available is THE DELIGHTFUL FOREST (1972), newly restored as well, something of a prequel to THE WATER MARGIN, in that it shows what led Ti Lung's character, Wu Sung, to join the 108 outlaws just before the events of this film.
    helpful•26
    0
    • BrianDanaCamp
    • Sep 8, 2001

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 1973 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • Hong Kong
    • Language
      • Mandarin
    • Also known as
      • Seven Blows of the Dragon
    • Filming locations
      • Clearwater Bay Studios, Hong Kong, China
    • Production company
      • Shaw Brothers
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 21 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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