Shen Jing Dao yu Fei Tian Mao (1993)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Yen-ping Chu

Writer:

Jing Wong (written by)

Release Date:

1995 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Comedy

Plot:

The Flying Daggar brothers and the Bewitchment sisters are competing bounty hunters who unite to hunt down Red Fox. |

Plot Keywords:

Bounty Hunter | Magic | Martial Arts | Chase | Disembodied Hand

Cast

Tony Leung Ka Fai	...	Hon Chung - Big Dagger
Sharla Cheung	...	Lady Fung - Big Bewitchment (as Man Cheung)
Jacky Cheung	...	Red Fox
Maggie Cheung	...	Flying Cat
Jimmy Lin	...	Hon Lam
Gloria Yip	...	Fung Ling - Little Bewitchment
Man Tat Ng	...	Pang Ting Hong / Leslie Cheung
King-Tan Yuen	...	Fifth Lady
Cheung-Yan Yuen	...	Never Die
Pauline Chan	...	Evil Lady of Yi-ho
David Wu	...	Western Ace
Lieh Lo	...	Sudden Death
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Pei-pei Cheng	...	Anita Mui
Hung Lieh Chen	...	Old Timer Dicky Lui
Fang Fang
Bao-ming Gu	...	Retrieves wine from innkeeper
Choi-Chow Hoh

Also Known As:

Flying Dagger (International: English title)
Nerve Knife and Flying Cat Apsara (Hong Kong: English title) (literal title)

Runtime:

Germany:86 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:12 | Germany:12 (original rating) | Germany:16 (DVD rating) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Finland:K-11

Company:

Chang-Hong Channel Film & Video Co.

Movie Connections:

References Yin ji kau (1987)

An utterly bizarre kung fu comedy.

Kung fu fans seeking stunning, well choreographed displays of martial arts prowess are advised to look elsewhere for their fix: Flying Dagger may feature endless scenes of combat, but with bags of wire-assisted Wuxia-style leaping, terribly confusing direction and editing, and an abundance of swirling mist, 'stylish' lighting, and flapping cloth (surely fighting with such large sleeves must be a handicap!), this film ends up disappointing in the action stakes.

Those looking for a large dose of crazy Asian lunacy, however, have come to the right place: this film is totally bonkers! Tony Leung and Jimmy Lin play The Dagger Brothers, a pair of bounty hunters who team up with the beautiful Bewitchment sisters (Sharla Cheung and the VERY cute Gloria Yip) in order to try and catch wanted criminal Nine-Tails Fox (Jacky Cheung), a formidable foe, particularly when teamed in combat with his feisty wife Flying Cat (Maggie Cheung).

Battling a variety of foes on the way (all of whom have names that accurately describe their special abilities), the brothers eventually fall for the sisters. But the course of true love never runs smooth—particularly when you're confronted by ninjas, a disembodied hand, cat-women, a singing gay kung fu master, and trans-sexual Japanese warriors armed with poisonous lips.

Westerners au fait with Chinese humour will not be at all surprised to find that Flying Dagger contains a plethora of fart jokes, 'carry-on' style smut, and silly slapstick (and the odd joke requiring people to drink urine!), some of which is funny, but most of which is not.

Still, this star-packed slice of extreme silliness is worth seeing purely so that one can claim to have seen a film in which the gorgeous Maggie Cheung tears through treetops screeching like a possessed cat.