Tang shan da xiong (1971)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Wei Lo
(more)

Writer:

Wei Lo (writer)

Release Date:

3 October 1971 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

KARATE KUNG-FU! The new screen excitement that gives you the biggest kick of your life!

Plot:

A young man sworn to an oath of non-violence works with his cousins in an ice factory where they mysteriously begin to disappear.

Plot Keywords:

Ice Factory | Kung Fu | Murder | B Movie | Blood

Cast

Bruce Lee	...	Cheng Chao-an
Maria Yi	...	Chow Mei
James Tien	...	Hsiu Chien
Ying-Chieh Han	...	Hsiao Mi (The Boss)
Malalene	...	Miss Wuman
Tony Liu	...	Hsiao Chiun (Mi's son)
Kun Li	...	Ah Kun (as Quin Lee)
Nora Miao	...	Drinkstand owner (as Mao Ke-hsiu)
San Chin	...	Hua Sze
Chih Chen	...	Foreman (as Chen Chao)
Chia-Cheng Tu	...	Uncle
Tso Chen
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Billy Chan		(as Hui-yi Chen)
Lung Chan	...	Gatekeeper / Blue Shirt Henchman
Ching-Ying Lam	...	Ah Yen (Cheng's cousin)
Cheng Ying Tu

Directed by
Wei Lo
Chia-hsiang Wu		(uncredited)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Wei Lo		writer

Produced by
Raymond Chow	....	producer
Liang Hua Liu	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Fu-ling Wang

Cinematography by
Ching-Chu Chen

Film Editing by
Ming Sung

Production Design by
Liu Chu

Production Management
Liang Hua Liu	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Chench Chang	....	assistant director (as Chih Yao Chung)
Tso Chen	....	assistant director

Stunts
Ying-Chieh Han	....	action coordinator (as fighting instructor)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Liu Chu	....	wardrobe manager

Production Companies

• Golden Harvest Company

Distributors

• National General Pictures (1972) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Columbia Pictures (1978) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Cathay Films Ltd. (1973) (UK) (theatrical)
• Filmways Australasian Distributors (Australia) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2000) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• F.J. Lucas (Brazil) (VHS)
• Finnkino Video (1993) (Finland) (VHS)
• Front Row Entertainment (video)
• Future Film (2001) (Finland) (DVD)
• Future Film (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• GoodTimes Home Video (2000) (worldwide) (DVD)
• Hong Kong Legends (2003) (UK) (DVD)
• Media Asia Distribution (Hong Kong) (DVD)
• PolyGram Video (1995) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Wonder Multimídia (Brazil) (DVD)
• YLE Teema (2002) (Finland) (TV)
• Éditions René Chateau (France)

Also Known As:

Big Brother of Tongshan (Hong Kong: English title) (literal title)
Fists of Fury (USA)
Fists of Glory (Europe: English title)
The Big Boss (Hong Kong: English title)
Tong san dai hing (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)

Runtime:

100 min | UK:101 min | USA:99 min | Argentina:102 min | 115 min (uncut version)

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin | Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 (DVD rating) | Portugal:M/16 | Finland:K-16 (video rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A | France:U | Hong Kong:IIB | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:18 (video premiere) | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:15 (DVD rating) (2004) | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R (edited for re-rating) | USA:X (uncut Hong Kong version) | West Germany:18 | Iceland:16 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Pak Chong, Thailand

Company:

Golden Harvest Company

Trivia:

While not mentioned in the film, a few books released in the '70s at the time of the film's release mentioned that Cheng Chao An was forced to make his promise to his mother after his father was killed in a fight. In order to continue the family name, Cheng's mother wanted to make sure he would not fall to the same fate and that he'd live to raise his own family. Film historian Bey Logan even mentions this in an audio commentary.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the last fight, the dead henchman in red turns his head from one side to the other from shot to shot. This is most prominent when "The Boss" throws his knife in the end (and the subsequent "kickback").

Quotes:

Cheng Chao-an: Just keep away. Go on. It's not your fight.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Finishing the Game: The Search for a New Bruce Lee (2007)

Soundtrack:

To Be A Man

The Beginning of a Legend

After trying to make a name in Hollywood with the TV series "Green Hornet" with mixed results, young actor and martial artist Bruce Lee traveled back to Hong Kong where his popularity as Kato was very high, there met Raymond Chow and received the chance to star a film about martial arts. "Tang Shan Da Xiong", or "The Big Boss" (known in the U.S. as "Fists of Fury"), was the final result and the movie that started Lee's career and his way to becoming a legend of celluloid.

"The Big Boss" is about a young Chinese man named Cheng Chao-an (Bruce Lee) who travels to Thailand looking for a job. Living with his distant cousins, he finds a job in the ice factory where his cousins work and soon he finds a family in them, developing a close friendship with Hsiu Chien (James Tien) and a big affection for Chow Mei (Maria Yi). Although he is a skilled fighter Cheng sworn an Oath of non-violence to his mother, promising that he would not be a get in fights. However, things get complicated when two of his cousins disappear and is discovered that the ice factory has a dark secret. Cheng will have to break his Oath in order to unveil the mystery behind the disappearance of his new family.

Directed by Wei Lo (who would also discover Jackie Chan), "The Big Boss" was a breath of fresh air to martial arts films as it showed a flawed hero in a modern setting. The story (by Wei Lo and Bruce Lee) is very well developed and filled with suspense and action, and in a bold move for an action film, the main character remains almost inactive for the first half as Cheng must avoid violence due to his oath. The film not only launched Lee's career to stratosphere, it influenced his own film-making's style and the way future martial arts movies were done.

Wei Lo's usually restrained style was also influenced by his young actor's abilities, "The Big Boss" can be seen as his transition to a more explosive way of film-making that would be completed in his next Lee's film ("Fist of Fury") and the subsequent Jackie Chan's films. The natural and raw look of the film added to the high dose of graphic violence (it is probably the goriest film in Lee's career) give the movie a harsh, gritty realism that adds to its charm.

As many have already said (and will continue saying without a doubt), Lee was a very charming actor whose presence filled the screen and owned it completely. That statement is proved here as we see him not as a killing machine, but as a common man who just wants to live peacefully, giving us many scenes of Cheng enjoying his new found family and struggling with his own vices. Lee's performance is very natural although one could say that he was basically playing himself. The rest of the cast ranges from average to OK, with James Tien, Quin Lee and Malalene being the best among them. However, it's fair to notice that the poor dubbing, typical of movies of the era makes a bit difficult to judge them fairly.

"The Big Boss" is considered among the weakest of Lee's films and not without a reason. Those accustomed to constant action scenes will feel it is slow due to the film's pacing and the way the story is built. The acting, as written above, is not very good and only Lee and Tien's performances are of constantly quality. And finally, Wei Lo's inclusion of some silly comedic effects feels terribly out of pace in an otherwise dark and gritty action film.

To summarize, "Tang Shan Da Xiong", or "The Big Boss", is a terrific film on its own right, and together with "Fist of Fury" ("The Chinese Connection") and "Enter the Dragon", a basic film to understand Lee's career and the development of martial arts films during the 70s. It may not be a classic as the films mentioned, but this was just the beginning of the legendary Bruce Lee. 7/10