The Avenging Eagle

The Avenging Eagle is a nearly flawless Kung Fu flick that has tight direction, great looking sets, great storytelling, great characters, as well as fantastic fight choreography and acting. The film is top tier in pretty much every regard and the leading man Ti Lung won The Golden Horse award for his performance here. Ti Lung is a former member of a gang of assassin's called The 13 Cold Blooded Eagles which is made up of orphans that are trained from childhood to be cold blooded killers. Ti Lung eventually grew tired of the killing and left the group. He is joined by a wandering man with excellent Kung Fu skills (Fu Sheng) and together they find an alliance and team up against The 13 Cold Blooded Eagles. There is pretty much non stop fighting, but never at the expense of the story with just as much dialogue to develop the characters and story. This is one minor flaw of the film as it is a lot to take in on one sitting. But once you watch it again, you put together the nuances missed from the 1st viewing. Shaw Bros studios was on top of their game at this period with many, rich, high quality productions. The Avenging Eagle is no exception to this and director Sun Chung made an impressive Kung Fu classic that really holds up.

Chi Ming-sing is a former disciple of a gang run by overlord Yoh Xi-hung. Yoh's disciples hunt Chi relentlessly as he travels on a soul-searching journey. He comes to the aid of a seemingly bumbling man who hardly takes even life-threatening scenes seriously. The man Chi saved starts following him on the road, explaining that he's looking for someone who committed a grievous, unforgivable wrong.

I am still getting into the Shaw Brothers. I watched this back to back with "Five Deadly Venoms", and i have to say that "Venoms" is the better film. I just liked the plot and characters better. But "Avenging Eagle" has a great use of color, and you have to love the way they make the beards look on these old men. Maybe those are real beards, but I highly doubt it... only in these films do they have that wispy, billowing quality.

I love this movie more for the truisms it presents regarding the heart of a man as well as for the wonderful kung fu it represents. The main character displays a depth of emotion that is not often seen in this genre managing to convey in word and memory induced vignettes the tragedy of his life, the wrongs he has committed to survive and his sorrow at what he has become. The man he has wronged is also compelling in that instead of exacting quick revenge as we see with other martial arts films he wants to know his families murderer to find out why he killed them. The ultimate protagonist and leader of the Eagles is also good but more in line with other kung fu baddies than as a truly original character. I would recommend this movie because it manages to tell a story of vengeance and human frailty without sacrificing either of them.

Sun Chung's AVENGING EAGLE is a martial arts film that transcends the genre; it boasts a superior script and characterization, and achieves a tragic quality of its own.

The Shaw Bros. studio churned out a lot of martial arts films in its 25 year heyday. AVENGING EAGLE is one of the most memorable that I have seen. The script takes the viewer back and forth in time, the flashbacks allow the viewer to discover more and more about its two protagonists (played by TI LUNG and Alexander FU SHENG). So interwined are their pasts that it is quickly obvious that they should actually be each other's enemy. But the logic is such that we can also readily accept that they put aside their differences, eliminate as many of the Iron Boat clan sent in pursuit of TI LUNG's character, and finally, take on the evil leader of the clan (KU FENG).

I found the dialogue especially good and satisfying, and I am sure that others who have seen the film, can think of at least four or five instances, whether the dialogue demonstrates wonderful irony, quiet sadness, and ensures the two heroes display real qualities of heroism.

SUN CHUNG and his crew show a wonderful eye for their locations, the exotic and distinctive costuming and weaponry (of the heroes, and also the thirteen Eagles, and of course, their leader).

With the opening shot, it was obvious this film was photographed away from the usual locations. That, the initial meeting of the two leads, their first skirmish with the Iron Boat gang, and much later, the remote inn that they 'rent' for a month to set up an elaborate ambush, and lastly, the lair of the gang, where SUN builds up to and sustains a lengthy climax, demonstrates a lot of imagination.

Even the music is effective, despite the mono sound of the Region 3 IVL/Celestial Pictures DVD, and is largely 'original'> This film is so good that I have not even broached the subject of its martial arts. And that alone, I believe, is reason enough that I consider AVENGING EAGLE one of the best martial arts films I have seen.

(PS: Consider a quarter century later the Japanese were making films along the same line, ie. AZUMI, which surely lacks the economy of this film, running almost an hour longer).

(PSS: I enjoyed the other contributors' comments on AVENGING EAGLE, surely more confirmation, this film deserves repeated viewing).

(PSSS: If you enjoyed this film, please take the time to track down and watch KILLER CONSTABLE).

This is the one that boosted Sun Chung's directorial fame that was later followed by The Kung Fu Instructor, The Deadly Breaking Sword, and Human Lanterns, to name a few.

The plot tells the story of a mysterious wandering swordsman (Fu Sheng) on his way to accomplish a personal mission. On his journey, he meets a renegade assassin of the infamous Eagle Clan (Ti Lung) who is being hunted and marked for death by his clan brothers for insubordination. They befriend each other and eventually discover that they are heading for the same fate: to confront the leader of the Eagle Clan, King Eagle (Ku Feng). However, things do not come easy for them. Before confronting the King, they must fight their ways against 12 Eagle Clan assassins, each with their unique fighting weapons, who will stop at nothing to capture their fugitive.

It's always desirable to watch the charismatic Ti Lung in action and surprisingly also likable to watch the comical Fu Sheng act soberly in this particular entry. Watching them fight against the 12 assassins is the main attraction besides the incredible final fight with King Eagle, who seems invincible.

The other 12 eagles are only given the usual bad-guy stereotypes which give very little to improve the plot. Playing opposite the heroes are some familiar faces of the time: the ultimate Shaw Bros villain - Johnny Wang Lung Wei (as eagle no.1 the Vulture), Kao Shiung (as eagle no.2 the Owl), Hui Thien Che (as eagle no.6 the Blue Eagle) and Dick Wei (as eagle no.7 the Red Eagle).

One filming technique employed in this film that doesn't look good is the slow-motion technique with jerky freeze frames in a few fight scenes which reduces the intensity of the fights. Tang Chia's fight choreography is tight, particularly in the final duel.

The assassins' weapons of choice are also unique, ranging from something cool like double wrist blades and a chained dagger to something weird like a smoking pipe!

AVENGING EAGLE is one of Shaw Brothers wuxia flicks that definitely warrants repeat viewings. Highly recommended for old school kungfu film lovers.