Les 13 fils du dragon d'or (1970) Online

THE HEROIC ONES (1970) is a large-scale 2-hour historical costume adventure set at the time of the Tang Dynasty in which the 13 sons of Tartar King Id fight on the side of the Emperor against assorted rebels. Directed by Chang Cheh, it's less a kung fu film than a fast-paced swashbuckler with a higher body count than any similar Hollywood epic. King Id is played by frequent Shaw Bros. villain Ku Feng, while his two favorite sons are played by David Chiang and Ti Lung, who would pop up as a team in several later near-epics also directed by Chang.

The action centers around a campaign by the 13 sons to wipe out a rebel faction. The family is undermined, however, by treachery within the ranks when two of the sons, jealous of the 13th prince (David Chiang), make a secret alliance with a court member in league with the rebels. The twists and turns which follow culminate in a tragic and bloody ending. It's a spectacular, fabulous-looking production with a large cast, massive sets, lots of action and bloodshed, and a compelling story.

While they weren't the Shaw Bros. studio's greatest kung fu stars, Ti Lung and David Chiang were both agile, athletic and energetic, twirling their swords, lances and spears with great flourish and fervor, and making superhuman acrobatic leaps with the help of convenient stuntmen. Other familiar Shaw Bros. actors appear in smaller parts, including Billy Tang, Lily Li and strongman Bolo Yeung (who is subdued and captured by the slender David in one far-fetched encounter).

Be aware that subtitled prints have dramatic scenes and extended dance segments missing from the English-dubbed version, while the English-dubbed version has action scenes missing from the subtitled print.

As mentioned in another review, the quality of the remastered Celestial DVD is truly astounding. And it's no less than a fine movie like this deserves. The Heroic Ones doesn't try to be a kung fu movie in any way shape or form. It's a brutal swords and spears epic on a grand scale, with enough carnage to satisfy even the most bloodthirsty viewer. The body count must be in the high hundreds at least.

Without wanting to give too much away, the swoop from victory through treachery to tragedy is carried off with real panache by everyone involved, with enough strategic twists and turns to hold the interest throughout. All in all, a gripping historical drama, finely shot and acted, with great stunt work and battle scenes, and well worthy of repeat viewings. I was reminded of a few classic 50s and 60s westerns, with the noble warrior(s) battling incredible odds amid breathtaking scenery and stirring soundtracks. See it if you can. On the Celestial DVD if you can feasibly manage it.

First Let me say there is a real valid arguement that if you like serious good kung Fu movies you must own a region free DVD player. It's worth it. The celestrial picture re-issues alone make the money well spent. The heroic ones one of the films in this series that I was lucky enough to rent today.

The recent region 3 re-issue is remastered so well that my friends who watched it with me did not believe me that the film was from 1970.

Heroic ones is a must see for fans of high quality martial arts epics. The director was clearly trying to a eastern western feel with the opening credits,even the music. This brutal epic has massive battle scenes that are the size of big hollywood epic. Great half an hour battle with one man fighting hundreds. Good stuff.

A Feudal lord and his 13 sons wage war against rebel invaders and enemy opposition. The two most decorated sons cause jealousy and greed amongst some of the other brothers culminating in a bloody and violent clash pitting brother against brother in one of the most famous Chinese action films ever.

Chang Cheh directs this first film in his 'cast of thousands' series of films. Comparable to Shakespearean tragedy, the film features many elements inherent in the Bards works. Cheh was known for his masculine style of movie-making which he became famous for as well as stirring up controversy about the homo-erotic undercurrents in all his films, some more subtle than others. Here, Award winning actor Ku Feng (HAVE SWORD WILL TRAVEL, VENGEANCE!) loves all his sons but pays special attentions to Chun Hsiao (Chiang) and Chun Hsu (Ti Lung). Both are the strongest and most skilled of the 13 brothers but two of the other brothers are not happy about the accolades awarded them.

One scene in particular has seven of the thirteen infiltrate an enemy encampment and attempt an assassination on a rebel leader in an effort to force their soldiers out of the area. Chun Hsiao has the plan laid out but the two jealous siblings decide to employ their own plan resulting in a massive attack with the seven brothers fighting against hundreds upon hundreds of men.

Without doubt the best scene in the whole movie is when the king (Ku Feng) is invited to a dinner with one of the Ambassadors (Chen Sing, who is secretly in cahoots with the enemy), they get him, Chun Hsu and all their men drunk and attempt to kill them all while they sleep. The plan nearly works and Chu Wan (Chen Sing) has his fortress set aflame(!) to make sure none of them escape. Not to mention employing special assassins under the "Bridge of Peace" to kill them should they make it that far. One of the most suspenseful, bloody and exciting martial arts sequences ever filmed.

The scene that led to the above described bit is also good. At the opening, an enemy general (Bolo Yeung) is slaughtering the kings men so the Ambassador demands something be done. All of his sons are assembled as the king proclaims any of his 13 can bring in the general alone. Chun Hsiao is selected by the Ambassador even though he is drunk and asleep. Chu Wan, the Ambassador, bets his royal belt from the Emperor that Chun cannot bring in the marauding General by noon. Chun bets his head in return. Anyway, Chun easily defeats the general and drags him by his neck on a rope with one arm(!) into the Palace ballroom for all to see. Everyone laughs as Chu Wan must now hand over his royal belt. He refuses so Chun cuts the belt in half telling the Ambassador, "I've left you half...be satisfied!" This is an unforgivable embarrassment for Chu and sets in motion his vendetta against the kings youngest and strongest son.

David Chiang is superb as the tough and highly skilled Chun Hsiao, the youngest of the kings 13 sons. His performance would mirror others Chiang would undertake in later Cheh martial chivalry movies. With his slight and slender build, Chiang is always shown as an extremely strong and powerful adversary taking on fighters much bigger than he. Here, he uses a very large and thick double spear. It takes two men to carry it but Chiang wields it like it was a feather. Although Chiang studied martial arts, he seldom looked believable in kung fu roles but was perfectly suited to swordplay movies. Some kung fu pictures where he does look good are SHAOLIN MANTIS, LEGEND OF THE 7 GOLDEN VAMPIRES and the non-Shaw, THE LOOT.

Ti Lung also impresses as the equally strong Chun Hsu. The aforementioned scene where he tries to get his father out of the burning castle alive amidst thousands of soldiers is one of the most thrilling action scenes period regardless of genre. This extended scene goes on for nearly 15 minutes. Ti Lung studied Wing Chun kung fu, a style Bruce Lee practiced. Ti was the more masculine of the mega popular Chiang-Lung double act. The movies these two did with Chang Cheh caused the trio to be known as 'The Iron Triangle'.

The action scenes are stupendous and for the time, were considered extremely accomplished. Seeing them now, they're slower than the films from the late 70s on, but they possess a realism lacking in the more choreographed films that (supposed) hard-core fans seem to prefer. The only mis-step in the film occurs at the finale. In an effort to not reveal too much, it involves some of the other brothers who we get to know very little about over the course of the films 120 minute running time. A highly recommended actioner with much emotion and great performances by all.

It's hard to add much to the other comments except to say that this is a very good film indeed. Yes the special effects look as cheap as the back lot sets but the actions ring true and as is the Asian film way heroic deaths seem preferable to a happy ending. David Chiang starts out as a carefree character ('Drunken Brother') but on the way to a bloody death has a touching understated romance, defeats Bolo Yeung in single combat and becomes someone you really care about. Just also to say a big thank you to Celestion for re-releasing this great film in such a good DVD print. Well worth watching. Ti Lung's rescue of his father is a classic fight against overwhelming odds and nearly succeeds. Shaws seem to have half of China as extras in this one scene alone. Production values in terms of interior sets and costumes were high, and a special word for the lovely dancing girls.

You can smell the testosterone from this Chang Cheh celebration of masculinity. The ladies are sprayed with wine in the first scene. The sexuality of the squirt cannot be mistaken. Then the swords come out as bare chested Bolo Yeung fights his way to the fortress. I have to give top credit for Bolo Yeung as the best sport in the history of martial arts movies. This was his second movie and the second time he got the snot beat out. I cannot recall any fight scene that Bolo ever won. He made a complete career by being a muscle bound pushover. He certainly had no self-esteem issues to keep getting knocked down. The fight should have been way longer but that was not done in 1970. The movie also could have been a lot shorter. There were too many scenes of ladies walking around in circles as if they were dancing. Overall, simply on the effort behind the film, I have to rate it just above average for the year and genre and it is mandatory viewing for all fans.

Or as it is called in many regions too: The Heroic Ones. I think this is the title it is best known for outside of Hong Kong or China in general. One of those Shaw Brothers movies, although some do argue not just one of them. One of the better ones. And I do think you can make the case for that. There is a lot to like overall in this movie.

And while it had been a while since I watched this, I did re-watch it and it did held up. It also was a longer version that I watched back in the day. At least half an hour longer than the one I saw as a kid. And while it may have some editing choices that may seem curious to say the least, it still has some very fine action sequences. Of course you can't compare them to the very latest in the stunt choreography. But there is violence, there is blood and the fighting is overall good.

The ending may split a few or rather what leads up to it. There are choices that may seem weird to say the least and you may be furious, but then again the movie made you feel something ... that you can salute or be angry about

Made in 1970, the Shaw Brothers really went all out on this one. Ku Feng stars as a Mongolian King who is famous for his great army, and his 13 sons. David Chiang and Ti Lung are his favorite sons. Chen Sing plays a warlord who doesn't like Ku Feng and his sons, at all. I don't really want to give anything away, so I will just say that the story is very well done, and the fight scenes are awesome for 1970. David Chiang looks sloppy, but with all the stuntmen on hand and Tong Gai and the Lau Brothers doing the action, you can expect greatness in a lot of the action scenes. The battle sequences are truly epic. There had to be like 200-300 deaths in this movie. Like I said, David Chiang doesn't look all that good, but luckily Ti lung is on hand and gives an amazing performance. This was one of Ti Lung's first big roles , and he really makes the most out of it. The rest of the cast includes Cliff Lok, Lily Li, Lo Wai, Lau Kong, musclemen Cheng Lui and Bolo Yeung, Bruce Tong, James Nam, Wang Chung, Chin Han... the list goes on and on. David Chiang's last scene of the movie is one you will never forget. The final fight I thought was disappointing with how it was handled, but if they could have made the final fight better then this movie would get a 10 star rating from me.

Not only is "Sap saam taai bo" a touching drama but it is the most rigorous kung fu flicks to date. I found myself laughing and crying and screaming at the same time. This movie is so powerfull it will make you want to watch it three more times. Wushu master and personal friend Chris Ko has an uncredited appearance, he fights hom kam and is later decapitated. It is really great stuff. It is amazing. It is honest and insightful and true.

What Sergio Corbuccis "The Great Silence" ("Il Grande Silenzio") was to the genre of Spaghetti-Western two years earlier, "The Heroic Ones" is to the Eastern / Kung Fu film: it's breath-taking, ground-breaking and one of the best of it's kind. Like "The Great Silence", "The Heroic Ones" takes place in frozen tundra that, despite being beautiful to behold, makes you shiver just seeing it on the screen. The other similarity is the stylized violence that, despite being gory even by the standards of a genre that lives through violence, seems never quiet realistic, having something of a filmed fairy-tale. (Indeed, had ancient China been only half as violent as director Chang Cheh liked to depict it, the Chinese would today probably be extinct).

Yet a third similarity is that both directors seem to have a certain antipathy towards their protagonists: Like in "The Great Silence", the heroes – David Chiang and Ti Lung – actually don't live to see the end of the film. Lung dies one of the most heroic death in Hong Kong film-history and the other, Chiang – as almost always, playing his amiable self, a drunken never-do-gooder with sheer unbeatable martial arts skills – being gorily quartered after being deceived by his villainous brothers.

The rest of the cast features almost all of Chehs regulars, all playing as excellent as can be expected from them; if you're a seasoned martial arts fan, this almost is like a joyful family reunion (or, speaking on a more contemporary level, think "The Expendables"). Also watch out for a bald-headed Bolo Yeung (playing a grimacing bandit-chief) who has an (albeit) small, but impressive role.

Together with "The New One-Armed Swordsman", "The Heroic Ones" remains one of Chehs most impressive works and one of the finest Martial Arts films ever produced in Hong Kong.

Again, mentioning "The Great Silence" one final time: if "The Heroic Ones" struck your fancy, I can highly recommend Corbuccis film, whether you're a Western fan or not.