Blood of the Dragon (1973)

There is little in this low-budget Chinese kung fu drama that we haven't seen before, aside from a few nifty weapons. It's a predictable story of one man versus an empire, the bad guys this time around being the big, greasy bearded Mongols whose dominance spells trouble for good-guy fighter White Dragon. Eventually Dragon ends up taking on an entire Mongol army alone, but not before he has mildly romanced an attractive barmaid, made friends with a not-too-annoying young Chinese kid, and chopped off a guy's finger! The film is pretty bloody for a kung fu movie. I'm not talking Chang Cheh kinda bloody, as in a bloodbath or slaughterhouse film (see CRIPPLED AVENGERS or SUPER NINJAS) but the blood does flow fairly steadily.Bolstering the film is one-time action legend Jimmy Wang Yu (THE ONE-ARMED BOXER), a film star whose career was already on the wane in the late '70s after his box-office gold of a decade previously. Wang Yu would slug on in a plethora of low-budget, sometimes interesting movies in the '80s and '90s (FANTASY MISSION FORCE being a good sample of his later work) but he would never reach the early heights of his career, which saw him equal popularity with Bruce Lee. Here, he doesn't have a lot to do as the noble, heroic White Dragon, other than swing his spear around and jump into the air a lot. Still, Wang Yu is cool in my book, his acting a little better than most of his contemporaries, so kudos to him for his appearance here.Unfortunately, the American distributor saw fit to tinker with this movie for its US release. Thus we get dubbed in American voices (rather than the usual English dubbing); a hilarious US cast list showing up at the end (the names are either made up or those of the dubbers) and worst of all, cheesy rock music inserted over the soundtrack. Speaking of sounds, the sound effects in this movie are hilariously over the top, whether it be a spear swinging, a ball-and-chain spinning or a horse clip-clopping down a road (they do that a lot in this film). It's pretty funny to watch and listen to. Although far from a classic, BLOOD OF THE DRAGON has plenty of goofy flying, clichéd dialogue, and silly action to recommend it, cheesy effects and a high body count. Kung fu fans might enjoy it, providing they find a good copy (Brentwood DVD's is typically poor).

A young boy plans to carry a bamboo, which lists the names of all the men who support a Chinese rebellion against Mongol occupation, to a young prince named Ma Tung, one of the leaders in the rebellion, at the dying request of the man who gave it to him. When two men working for the Mongol cause attack him and steal the bamboo, the "White Dragon" Lung Ti comes to his defense. Soon the two become good friends and the "White Dragon" agrees to accompany the boy on his journey to the palace of the young prince. However, when they arrive Ma Tung immediately recognizes Lung Ti as the man who defeated and humiliated his father Ma Chin, master of the "magic sword", in a previous duel which so shamed his father than Ma Chin shortly thereafter took his own life. Ma Tung makes the mistake of thinking Lung Ti has come for a fight and a battle between the two ensues leaving Lung Ti wounded but still standing. He and the boy then leave but when the "white Dragon" realizes just what the bamboo contains, he knows he must somehow get the information back to Ma Tung or at the very least keep it out of Mongolian hands or that of their supporters for Lung Ti also supports the cause of the rebellion and despite Ma Tung's feelings towards him, Lung Ti admires Ma Tung's stand against the Mongolians and plans to lend his support to the cause as only he can.Lung Ti is a master at controlling the spear and it is his weapon of choice in this story. This movie's true strong point is its many battles featuring Lung Ti's spear and/or Ma Tung's "magic sword" against an army of sword-wielding Mongolians, lead by General Tai who himself has a most unusual sword in that it can be turned into a whip, and their supporters. I've rarely seen more entertaining battles of this sort and they generally are very well shot (even if on occasion they do slip up and you see guys actually taking the spear under the arm). This story of patriotism and one man standing tall against an army is the stuff of heroic legend. This certainly doesn't fail to deliver in any fashion it promises. Wang Yu is fantastic as the "White Dragon" and the language barrier is not really a problem here as his actions and his body language speak so loudly.

Ah-ha, foreshadowing! A strong lead, elaborate fight scenes, semi-bad dubbing, silly facial hair, and a weak musical score add up to Blood of the Dragon. I had never heard of Jimmy Wang Yu until I saw Screaming Ninja and this. He definitely deserves his status as a name in the martial arts genre. He is quite impressive both physically and in his acting. White Dragon(Yu) faces Red Wolf, Golden something, wussy prime minister, and Kang Fu(Fei Lung - Evil Betty). Of course, they are no match for the defender of the rebellion. Fun as only a seventies martial arts movie can be. The twenty minute final battle could have inspired a scene in Kill Bill. A different soundtrack and some less silly supporting vocal talent would elevate this a lot.

Jimmy Wang Yu stars as a martial art criminal who decided to change his ways and help a young boy bring a bamboo containing a list of people that is in the hitlist on a Mongolian leader. Only problem is Jimmy has to take the list to a son who has a vendetta against him for killing his dad. More trouble occurs and lots of action and violence happen. Lots of known faces (including Roy Chiao) helps this standard action film. This 1974 film was released in the U.S. in 1978 by a small American distributor who redubbed it (more Americanized voices instead of the H.K. English accent dubbers), re-scored it (by an Atlanta rock band FLOOD), and edited it (removed a finger cut off scene) for it's release. The only reason why it failed at the theatres was they bill THE MAN FROM HONG KONG star as "Wang Yu". Other than that, it's a pretty good action film.