| Dreadnaught (1981), written and directed by the now hotter-than-ever Yuen Woo Ping, is a fantastic introduction to the kung fu genre for newbies. Longtime fans of the genre love it too, but if you’re looking to initiate a reluctant friend into the percussive pleasures of chopsocky cinema, this is a fine place to start.
The acting style is – how should I put this – extremely broad. The actors are aware that they are playing archetypes, not characters, and emote without subtlety or shame. Coupled with the English dubbing, the effect is similar to watching the Muppets perform a kung fu film. This is in no way a bad thing. You root for the heroes, hiss at the villains and laugh at the cartoonish antics of both.
The show opens with White Tiger, a dangerous maniac, stepping into an ambush laid by the local authorities. The director’s brother, Yuen Shun-Yee (sometimes called Sunny Yuen), plays White Tiger with a ferocity that makes the rest of the cast look subdued. Sunny’s never looked so savage, and considering the manic, snarling vampire he played in Shaolin Drunkard (1983), that’s saying a lot. The Tasmanian Devil would have told this guy to calm the fuck down.
White Tiger’s wife gets killed in the ambush, which does nothing to improve the psycho’s mood. He hides out with a theatrical troupe and applies demonic facepaint in preparation for an unfocused rampage of vengeance.
Meanwhile, our wimpy hero named Mousy (Yuen Biao) is introduced. Mousy is a useless coward who runs from danger and lacks the wherewithal to collect money from the customers at the laundry service where he works. His siblings are tough though, and his brother is even a trusted student of legendary folk hero Wong Fei Hung. This real life hero has been the subject of countless movies, including the famous Once Upon a Time in China and Drunken Master series. Wong is portrayed here by Kwan Tak-Hing who has played the popular character in more than 100 previous films.
The movie takes a couple of breaks from the main story to show just how cool Wong Fei Hung is. Whether administering medicine to a cranky patient, defending the weak, restoring the honour of his martial arts school or performing an impressively acrobatic ceremonial lion dance while under fire from a rival lion dancing troupe wielding a flamethrower, this guy never even breaks a sweat. (Words are completely inadequate to describe the latter scene. I hear it actually got standing ovations in some theatres.)
White Tiger, his face now made up into a Kabuki-Darth Maul snarl, attacks Mousy because of the jewelry the little wimp wears. (The jingly sound it makes brings back some painful memories for the crazy killer.) Mousy escapes and finds help, but he’s only delaying the inevitable – sooner or later, it’s got to come to a showdown between hero and villain. Can Mousy learn the necessary martial arts skills in time?
In a truly bizarre twist, he knows them already. Y’see, Mousy’s brother and sister have been teaching him Eagle Claw kung fu techniques for years, without ever letting him know that’s what they were doing. (He’s been using the skill to hang out the laundry.) In a moment that foreshadows The Karate Kid (1984), Mousy realizes that certain arm movements have been etched into his mind from constant repetition, and he can administer and deflect blows without even thinking about it. Since he’s used to manipulating cloth, he finds himself particularly adept at countering his opponent’s "deadly sleeves" techniques. Dreadnaught’s fight scenes are breathlessly exciting as well as being clever and inventive. Even viewers who say they don’t like kung fu can’t help getting caught up in the excitement. |
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