Rescued from desperation (绝处逢生)
Dir: Li Hongsheng
Cast: Li Bing, Cui Yi, Liang Guo, etc
Plot: Qing Dynasty, the emperor Yong Zheng charges the minister Niangeng Yao with false charge.
The leader of the army, Chang Yugang, admires the Niangeng Yao so he helped Yao’s family (Xia Fei, NianJi) to escape from the city. They go south; on the way Xia Fei fell down a hill and got lost so Chang Yugang brought Nianji to a shaolin temple (south) in order to become a monk. After 13 years the court of the empire gave order to kill Nianji and Xia Fei. The two will meet again and seek for vengeance..
Year: 1985
Country: Mainland China
Trailer (edit by us): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-y0SU4LBkw
Notes: The movie is not available in China on dvd or vcd. It was screened on tv though (as usual). If you are looking to own it on dvd there is the American release (double feature) under the name of Out Of Danger (English dub).
The director made another martial arts movie called Loyal Hero (侠骨风流), then nothing else according to Chinese websites. Yi Cui had roles in movies like The Disclple Of The Shaolin Temple (少林寺弟子)(1983) and Murky Shadows Over the Gorges (峡江疑影)(1985). Also Liang Guo had a brief career in the martial arts movie industry with flicks like Taiji Master (太极神功)(1985), Tai Chi Chun (太极拳)(1985) and Deadly Fury (武林志)(1983).
Personal opinion: Oh yeah, old school from Mainland China. It’s been ages since our last kung fu flick, but here we are again with another (maybe) unknown gem from the red land.
Gotta admit, the plot is nothing new so we will skip this part. The choreography of the fights is just marvellous, great pace ,great moves and … guys, you cant get bored on them. The action is soo good ( for our standards) that we ended up to watch some scenes more than once.
Excellent indeed!
Some snapshots :
