Come Drink With Me (1966) April 22, 2007
Posted by Cal in : Wuxia, 1960s films , trackbackDiretor: King Hu Starring: Cheng Pei-Pei, Yueh Wah Action Diretor: Han Ying-Chieh Territory: Hong Kong Production Company: Shaw Brothers
A general’s son is taken hostage as leverage to free a bandit leader. The general’s other offspring, Golden Swallow, is sent to retake the son. When the bandit gang encounter the Golden Swallow (Cheng Pie Pei) in a local inn, they are taken aback by his martial arts ability and are swiftly defeated. With the help of local beggar Fan Da-Pei (Yueh Hua), the Golden Swallow keeps the bandits at bay. But everyone has a trick or two up “his” sleeve…
It’s been mentioned before, but it does seem to be true that King Hu was Hong Kong’s answer to Akira Kurosawa and Come Drink With Me is one of the seminal Hong Kong Wuxia movies (only his own A Touch of Zen and Dragon Gate Inn are in the same league). Although by today’s standard the action scenes appear more stylised and less natural, there is still plenty of things to admire. Besides, it’s the drama, splendour, character and story that is memorable and I’m sure Ang Lee, Zhang Yimou et al would give a major body part to be able to achieve what this film achieves – and with no CGI and relatively few trick shots. I’m talking about genuine mood and feeling, which Come Drink With Me has by the bucketful.
Those who still aren’t convinced that Shaw Brothers films went down the pan production-wise during the mid seventies should take a look at this 1966 movie. In fact, the first ten minutes should be enough to convince. The outdoor scenes are fantastically filmed and the interior sets are breathtaking – all standard for a King Hu movie. A lot of credit should also go to the lighting department who never fail in keep everything looking top-notch with lots of great mood lighting.
The film is a series of stand out scenes and set pieces. In Golden Swallow’s introduction scene, we see “him” surreptitiously humiliate a whole clan of bandits. Forget Bruce Lee, THIS is the art of fighting without fighting! Incidentally, a bald Yuen Siu-Tien (who later became famous as Jackie Chan’s Sifu in Drunken Master) can be seen in this scene. The only leap of faith required really is the fact that anyone could take the Golden Swallow for a man. Seldom have I seen such a pretty man…!
We also have some real sexual tension between Golden Swallow and Fan Da-Pei. When she (for her secret has been revealed!) gets into a fight at the temple (another cracking location, by the way), her vest briefly becomes visible – leading to a short burst of giggles from the bad guys and Golden Swallow’s acute embarrassment. This sets up the scene later where Fan Da-Pei is forced to suck the poison from her chest wound. It may seem tame by today’s standard, but this is really intimate stuff here, and should be taken in context of the era in which this film is set. To have a man see, let alone touch, such an intimate part of a woman’s body was not to be taken lightly in those days.
Surprisingly, subsequent viewing reveal more than the odd instance of intentional humour – and in particular a sense of irony. This is not quite as straight-laced as it first appears, and not as doom-laden as films by, say, Chang Cheh, who would pretty much dominate Shaws during the early 70’s.
If you really wanted to poke holes in the film, you could do – it’s not perfect. The bandits are a bit of a weak spot, admittedly, as you never do know what it is they stand for. They’re certainly nasty enough (they kill a small child, leading one monk to bemoan: “You’re too ruthless!”). However, on the whole, it has stood up remarkably well.
There are quite a few groundbreaking films from Hong Kong that shaped the industry. In the sixties and early seventies, you have a veritable bucket load (including The One Armed Swordsman, The Chinese Boxer, Vengeance, The Big Boss, and King Boxer). But Come Drink With Me is one of the more entertaining, and definitely the best looking, of the lot.
As a footnote, the sequel (which was helmed by Chang Cheh) was extremely disappointing but seems equally influential. Chang’s drenched-in-blood style does not sit well with its elegant antecedent, and the whole mood of the film is vastly different. Alas, King Hu had left Shaws by this time and had gone on to make his masterpieces in Taiwan. More of which later…
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