Ma tou da jue dou (1973)

A martial arts fighter, haunted by his past, takes a job as a dock worker in a small village. His vow never to fight again is tested by the cruel owner of the pier.

Director:

Ta Huang (as Tak Choy)

Writer:

Tao Liang

Stars:

Michael Wai-Man Chan, Fan Chiang, Yeh Fang

Cast

Credited cast:
Michael Wai-Man Chan	...	Shen Wei Ta (as Wai-Man Chan)
Fan Chiang	...	Miss Ho
Yeh Fang	...	Lee Hsi
Bolo Yeung	...	Chiang Tai (as Yang Sze)
Feng Chiang	...	(Guest star)
Fung Yuen	...	Girl Beggar (as Feng Yuan)
Tin Leung	...	Boss Chan (as Tin Liang)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chi Ping Chang
Ti-Ko Chen
John Cheung
Tao Chiang
Ti Chin	...	Wu Ah-mao
Yuet Sang Chin
Alan Chung San Chui
Fat Chung

Storyline

A martial arts fighter, haunted by his past, takes a job as a dock worker in a small village. The villagers are dependent on the traffic that comes to the pier, which gives its cruel owner too much power over his beleaguered workers. The situation worsens when an even crueler gangster takes control. His most powerful weapon is his henchman, a muscle-bound brute, who remorselessly and easily cracks the skulls and breaks the necks of anyone who gets in the way. The new dock worker had sworn never to fight again, but the deaths of his co-workers force him to act.

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Plot Keywords:

deception | fight | pier | martial arts | death | 

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Taglines:

"Chinese Hercules" ... He's got a crush on you!

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Genres:

Action | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Hong Kong Taiwan

Language:

Mandarin

Release Date:

2 January 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Chinese Hercules

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Hong Kong Kai Fa Film Company

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie played theaters in New York City, Cleveland, and parts of Illinois and Florida, with Blood (1973) serving as a second feature.

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Quotes

[first lines, dubbed version]
Young Woman: Shen Wei Ta, you're practicing at night?

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Connections

Featured in Someone Has to Review It!: The Big Boss (2014)

User Reviews

Historically interesting but actually difficult to watch

This is indeed the film that solidified Bolo Yeung's international reputation as a strong and implacable villain. And he really pulls his weight in the film, killing with a rare enjoyment.

The trouble with the film is two-fold. First it is an early 'chinese boxing' film, not really about the self-discipline that 'kung fu' is all about. It is in the vein of what became known as the 'swining fist' fight movie, since that is what the fighters really do, swing their arms and legs about, without much technique.

This leads to another, larger problem: this film is downright cruel. The violence is unrelenting, even sadistic, and there is no great sense that the hero will at last achieve the much needed revenge and justice until the very end.

It is unclear why many Hong Kong filmmakers chose that kind of structure during that period; my own guess is that it made making films cheaper, easier and faster - everybody get's killed, and then the hero at last exacts revenge. That's pretty much the whole formula.

Historically interesting but actually difficult to watch. Definitely not for repeated viewing.