To Kill With Intrigue (1977) October 1, 2008
Posted by Cal in : 1970s films, Kung Fu , trackbackDirector: Lo Wei Main cast: Jackie Chan; Hsu Feng; San Yat-Lung; Yu Ling-Lung Territory: Taiwan Production Company: Lo Wei Motion Picture Co.
Sau Lai (Jackie Chan), the son of a clan leader, turns into an arrogant swine overnight – slapping his newly pregnant girlfriend Chin Chin (Yu Ling-Lung) around and insulting the guests at a party held by his father. His motive, however, is noble – he’s trying to turn everyone against him so they all leave before an attack by the remnants of the lethal Killer Bee gang, who had been all but wiped out by Sau Lai’s father many years ago, come to slaughter everyone he holds dear. The plan doesn’t work, and the attack leaves Sau Lai’s parents dead and the Killer Bee gang’s thirst for revenge quenched. The leader, Ting Chan-Yen (Hsu Feng) then begins a very unconventional relationship with Sau Lai. Meanwhile, Chin Chin is in exile and being looked after by Sau Lai’s new best friend Chen Chun (San Yat-Lung). Naturally, no one’s quite who or what they appear to be, and death, pain and permanent and unnecessary disfigurement ensue…
To Kill With Intrigue is probably an attempt to cash in on the Shaw Brothers hit of the same year Clans of Intrigue and is based on a novel by Gu Long (it might even have been the same novel for all I know). It is not quite as wild and frantic as its counterpart, but it’s not far off. I’m somewhat well known as a fan of this film, but for several reasons (which I’ll come to later) I’ve not seen it in a long time. I did write a year or two ago that “I’d probably hate it now”, so I was a little apprehensive of returning to it.
There’s no denying that stylistically, To Kill With Intrigue is a mess. It tries to be several things and ends up being a weird hybrid of wuxia, ghost story, kung fu film, and romantic drama. It’s very much like Lo Wei was throwing everything at the screen in the hope that something will stick (some years before Wong Jing patented the technique). The inclusion of Hsu Feng (who, incidentally, gets top billing) was probably meant to engender a sense of respectability to the project, but Lo Wei is no King Hu by any stretch of the imagination.
The pacing of the film is quite excellent, and the plot itself is quite interesting even if it is a lot harder to fathom than I remember. I kept expecting to go into flashback mode all the time, but it turns out Lo Wei could only afford one flashback scene in the whole movie. Actually, although I’m joking, it does seem as if this movie had a particularly tight budget, as the props and make-up look surprisingly cheap even for a production from Lo Wei. There’s certainly a hell of a lot of library music in the background. One piece in particular, meant to be Chin Chin’s “in love” music, is used a lot and I last heard it in a Shaw Brothers film from about 1971. I’ll be buggered if I can remember what it was now, but it’s bound to have been an Iron Triangle film (unless it was One Armed Swordsman or one of its sequels) and, as always, I’d be grateful if anyone knows what the piece is called and who wrote it – I’ve always been curious for some reason.
On the action front, this is one of Lo Wei’s more restrained films and the fight scenes have plenty of room to breathe. In between the action, there’s a kind of love triangle set up between Chen Chun, Chin Chin, Ting Chan-Yen and Sau Lai. And that’s a triangle with four sides, unless I’m very much mistaken – all at no extra cost! I like the style of the action scenes in this one for some reason and I can never quite put my finger on why. The fighting just seems more dynamic than some other films from this period, but I fully accept that it could just be my imagination. There are some parts I find funny in a rather sick way: Jackie bitch slapping his dippy girlfriend is more likely to provoke a round of enthusiastic applause than the gasps of horror it was intended to, and the wince when Hsu Feng disfigures Jackie had me laughing out loud.
When the mighty Shaw Brothers opened their vaults earlier in the decade, I discovered a lot of classics hitherto unknown to me. When I first saw this, I had no idea films such as Have Sword, Will Travel, The Heroic Ones, The Flying Dagger, The Devil’s Mirror, etc, even existed, let alone King Hu’s classic Taiwanese wuxia films for Union. I couldn’t help making unfavourable comparisons with those films and thought that this one should perhaps be consigned to memory. Another reason I haven’t seen it in a long time is that I was holding out for a decent DVD version.
The Region 1 Columbia DVD is not the answer to my prayers. The transfer’s not too bad (but isn’t remastered and shows quite a lot of wear and tear), but the disc suffers from terminal dubtitle syndrome. Yes, sentences begin with “but still” and end in “though” all the way through the film. Give me honest-to-goodness Chinglish any day. Furthermore, and I know this isn’t Columbia’s fault per se, but whoever thought it was appropriate for one character to bid “sayonara” to another needs shooting. No trial – just swift, violent execution.
Worse than that, the Mandarin audio (billed as Cantonese on the box and on the menu) disappears altogether in three scenes and is replaced with the English track. I can’t explain the confusion this causes when the language shifts, for no apparent reason, into English. I was fumbling about with the remote, thinking I’d switched it over, but no – someone was obviously asleep at the wheel at Columbia when making this disc. I’ve had a thing against Columbia ever since they butchered Gorgeous, but this cements their reputation for me. I’ll stick to the Ocean Shores VCD in future.
To Kill With Intrigue was another flop, and Jackie Chan himself once said that he pitied anyone who sat through it, which I think is a little harsh. I think it’s interesting inasmuch as it’s almost unique in Jackie’s oeuvre in that he plays quite a stern character. It’s also probably the closest Jackie ever came to making a wuxia film, although he only handles a sword once and for a brief amount of time. Watching some classic films of the 60’s and 70’s has certainly taken the shine off this cheap and not-too-cheerful flick, but it will always have a place in my heart. And there’s always the old story (which may even be true) that the name of Jackie’s girlfriend had to be changed in Japan because it was a slang term for penis. Making Hsu Feng’s angry retort when Jackie wakes from his coma whispering her name ever funnier: “All you think of is your Chin Chin!”
They don’t write ‘em like that anymore.
Comments»
“There’s certainly a hell of a lot of library music in the background.”
Is there a site (or forum post) that has a collection on “borrowed” scores? It always surprises me when you here a Star Wars or Pink Panther them in a MA film (I do like how all the lifted German electronic music lifted in Master of the Flying Guilltine(sp) work towards its advantage.
I always though JC was a little harsh on this too; however, he never has had much love for Lo Wei so it is hate by association
. Of course this and the Chin Chin story are both mentioned in JC’s autobio.
I have only seen this once though enjoyed it.
Yeah, a fave of mine. I don’t think it has anything to do with Clans of Intrigue at all
The Columbia DVD’s Mandarin track was probably from another source, since the actual print is English. As with Columbia’s Drunken Master, i see no reason why they couldn’t go and obtain the audio from another source. It is among the FS remastered titles but has only been released, badly remixed, in Japan so far
I can’t believe I wrote Cantonese in the review! When I put the bloody thing on, I said to myself: “that’s Mandarin” and checked the box - another blunder by Columbia. I’d still be interested in a final, definitive version of this on DVD but I’m starting to get a bit jaded by these releases.
Shawn: I don’t know of a site that collates all this library music, but it would be handy to have. When I watched BY HOOK OR BY COOK, I was racking my brains for DAYS trying to work out where I’d heard a piece of music before - I eventually twigged it was from MY NAME IS NOBODY. I always remember the feeling of utter astonishment when I saw SNAKE IN THE EAGLE’S SHADOW and heard Jean Michel Jarre coming out of the speaker! I haven’t seen MASTER OF THE FLYING GUILLOTINE yet, to my shame. I like Tangerine Dream, though, so I’ll track it down eventually.
I don’t remember the Chin-Chin story in Jackie’s autobiography - I am going to have to reread it at some point!
Master of the Flying Guilotine made me a Tangerine Dream fan!
I must say: I love your blog. As a big fan of Asian cinema (esp. Jackie Chan!) I’m loving your reviews. Nice and detailed, pleasant to read, informative. Brings back fond memories of some personal favourites too.
I’m fairly sure To Kill with Intrigue is one of two JC (major role) movies I have still to buy (the other being Half a Loaf of Kung Fu). Would you say the R1 Columbia is the best DVD option (from what appears to be a rather poor set of choices)?
Thanks Cass! I’ve enjoyed doing these old and less well-known JC films myself - mainly because it’s been so long since I’ve seen some of them!
You’re right about the “poor set of choices” in buying this title. I think the Columbia release may be your best option, although James says above that a remastered version has been released in Japan - that might need looking into. Whatever you do, don’t go for the (thankfully OOP) Eastern Heroes version.
If you can get past the awful dubtitles and the audio track having a mind of its own, you might find it adequate. I’ve certainly seen worse! I really was hoping for something definitive, though - these Lo Wei films, regardless of their quality, are historical documents and they should have a decent release.
PS - that’s an impressive list of films you have there! And that reminds me that I’ve got to do New Fist of Fury and Magnificent Bodyguards in the not too distant future…
Half A Loaf was also remastered: not sure if it even made it to Japan. The Columbia DVD is pan’scan
I’m quite happy with the old VCD of that until something better comes along. I mean, there’s only so far you can go to make these no-budgeters look good, isn’t there! Can’t believe pan & scan discs are still being made in this day and age. I think I may have to give Columbia a wide berth in future when it comes to HK stuff. I’ve actually still got one to watch (TOKYO RAIDERS) but I don’t know if they’ve fiddled with it.
Oh a widescreen print any day over vcd full screen.
The stuff is there its just companies can’t be bothered to do a good job
Joysales has just released ‘Half a Loaf’ on VCD albeit without subs, but their recent discs for Killer Meteors and ‘Snake and Crane’ were quite nice.
Avoid the New Fist of Fury VCD as it’s the 80min version.
With these discs coming out in quick succession, I’m hoping for an To Kill with Intrigue release any day now - could be time to retire that Ocean Shores VCD