The Fearless Duo (1978) - Yuen Chu, Hwang Jang Lee, Lau Ga-Yung, Yuen Qiu.

[DragonClaws]

Fearless Duo   (1978)

a.k.a The Incredible Three, Fearless Master Fighter

Directed By- Joseph Kuo & Fong Chiung

Fight Choreographer- Ho Chi-Wai

Starring- Yuen Chu, Hwang Jang Lee, Lau Ga-Yung, Wang Han-Chen, Yuen Qiu,

Plot Synopsis- Yuen Chu & Yuen Qiu play two sisters who's family are slayed by the merciless Ghost Leg Killer(Hwang Jang Lee). They change their names and go into hiding to perfect their Kung Fu techniques. Meanwhile a happy go lucky wanderer by the name of Ah Sam(Lau Ga-Yung), is in search of a Martial Arts master to teach him the art of Kung Fu. Ah Sam and the two sisters paths eventually cross, and the trio along with their master must face off against The Ghost Leg Killer and his cohorts.

"B*stard, this is real Kung Fu moon goddess style"

Classic Martial Arts action all the way from the team of veteran director Joseph Kuo(The 7 Grandmasters) & Fong Chiung(The Rebellious Reign). The late seventies saw the start of the Kung Fu comedy craze, kicked off by the huge success of Drunken Master(1978). Fearless Duo even shares the same villain in the form of Mr Super Legs himself Taekwondo expert Hwang Jang Lee. While not all of these movies are must see's like The Victim(1980). This Jia's Motion Picture (H.K) Co. production is an exception and is certainly worth tracking down if you like crisp flowing fight action that packs a punch. The comedy didn't bother me all that much here and some of it is actually funny. This is mostly down to the superb old school 1970's dub job that really suits the mood of this movie. To get an idea of the film and dialogue here's a brief excerpt from one of the early scenes.

(Man Carrying Fire Wood) - Hey Mr, putting up another sign?.

(Burly Intimidating Man) - Its the third this month, some b*stard? keeps breaking them.

(Man Carrying Fire Wood) - I wouldn't bother if I was you, everyone round here practice's Kung Fu, they'll only use it to practice on, and just keep breaking them off.

(Burly Intimidating Man) - I'd like to catch the son of a bitch, I'll break both his legs off.

At which point Ah Sam comes wondering around the corner and kicks over the stone. Luckily for him he is saved by a Martial Arts expert played superbly by Wang Han-Chen(Dynamo). That sequence really sets up the tone of the film really well.

Actor Ho Chi-Wai(My Lucky Stars) does a really fine job of directing the fight scenes for this film. What makes this more amazing is the fact this was his first time performing the duty of fight choreographer. He would only perform this role one more time for the movie The Loot(1980), which is baffling when you see the action on display here. Sure he might not be Lau Kar Leung or Sammo Hung but he clearly had a talent for this kind of thing. It would have been interesting to see how his style would have developed into the eighties. The pair of sisters played by Yuen Qui(Dreanought) and Yuen Chu come close to stealing the film from fellow star Lau Ga-Yung. It's really good to see two very capable female screen fighters paired together in one movie. Yuen Chu in particular really impressed me with her excellent ability to perform the shapes style of fight action. It amazes me that she only ever made one more movie appearance in The Young Hero(1980). Having never seen her in that film I cant compare her only two performances. It would nice to know more about her and what Martial/Performing Arts she was actually trained in.

Yuen Qui on the other hand is still active in the film industry today with a recent role in Sammo Hung's My Beloved Bodyguard. I'd certainly recommend this film if you like to see strong and prominent female roles in your Martial Arts movies. Getting back to the fight scene's by Ho Chi-Wai he really makes the most of Hwang Jan Lee's talents. That said he doesn't feature heavily in the film and only has three encounters in total. While it would have been nice to see him appear more frequently in the story. What few scenes we are treated to are yet another excellent showcase for the Korean born master. One of the stand out moments for me being when we see him fight one of the sisters husbands. We are treated to a cameo by Tino Wong(Hitman In The Hand Of Buddha) and the two have a brief but blazing duel. This scene is all we see of the two sisters family being killed. As you can imagine the story is by far the weakest part of this production, but it works well enough despite being a little vague in parts. We also get a cameo from Chan Lau(The Dragon The Hero) who makes an appearance as part of a pair of sword wielding assassins.

The finale is certainly the big high light of the film with Hwang Jang Lee turning up with his two bodyguards.  I think the two heavies might be played by Kuo Kai & Yeung Hung?, but I'm not 100% certain so don't quote on that one. Earlier in the movie we get to see Yuen Chu & Yuen Qui display some of their decent staff/double sticks skills. We allowed to see more of ladies weapons based talents in the final action packed showdown. Lau Ga-Yung also get to prove himself here after spending a lot of the movie getting beaten up. He's certainly a talented performer but sadly spends most of his time acting like he doesn't know any Martial Arts at all. Which is a skill in itself really, but it also means he doesn't look as proficient as some of the other cast members.

While I did enjoy this movie a lot, there are still you still some very random and odd moments thrown into the mix. The best example of this involves a pair of randy ghosts that add some eye brow raising comedy to the story. Yes that's right two sex starved spirits appear in a two short interludes to our heroes daily training. Without going into too many details lets just say one sequence involving the male ghost will leave you speechless. The story involving the two ladies and The Ghost Faced Killer could also have been done a little better. You don't get told why he's kills their family and even the deed itself is never actually seen. Maybe some of the story was lost in the translation and the dubbing didn't stay true to original plot entirely?. Even for a low budget picture such as this one we could have done with a little more detail.

Overall I'd recommend this as a must see for fans of comedy Kung Fu. If you are fan of the cast members its also more than worth picking this title up. For fans of both you are in for a real treat. The film might not be up there with Knockabout(1979) or other such highly regarded Kung Fu comedies. Yet it does feature some classic fight action and some very talented Martial Artists. Hwang Jang Lee may only have three fights scenes but there certainly show him at top of his game. Wang Han-Chen puts on a great performance playing the pipe loving Master too. Bruceploitation fans will recognize him from Dynamo where he played Ho Chung Tao's eccentric mentor equally well. The film also features a pretty original soundtrack unless they used tracks from other movies that I'd never heard before?. Certainly a plus at time when the genre loved to recycle Hollywood, Italian and its own music scores.

 

(Just like to thank a member on the forums for sending me this movie. They would like to remain anonymous so I cant name them. Thanks to them I watched a nice looking widescreen print, that looks and sounds really good for an old school independent movie.)

[DrNgor]

I watched this yesterday. I enjoyed it, and think that this may be Yuen Qiu's best martial performance of her old school movies. Legendary Superkicker Hwang Jang Lee, however, is sorely misused and in his final fight, which isn't that long, has him fighting with a crutch. *Sigh* I mean, he does some good kicks, but I expected more from the guy who gave us The Loot. The weapons choreography at the end is pretty solid, though.

The sexual humor in this film was just bizarre. There's the ghost bit you mentioned, but there's the bit with Lau Kar-Yung's wife not putting out unless he can beat her in combat. That's similar to Executioners from Shaolin and The Crane Fighters, albeit not quite as rape-y as "You have to force my legs open to consummate our marriage." On the other hand, once he saves her from rape (sigh!) and shows her that his kung fu is now better than hers, his response is: "You have to obey me! Now learn these positions from this sex manual!" which she dutifully does. Weird.

[DragonClaws]

30 minutes ago, DrNgor said:

The sexual humor in this film was just bizarre. There's the ghost bit you mentioned, but there's the bit with Lau Kar-Yung's wife not putting out unless he can beat her in combat. That's similar to Executioners from Shaolin and The Crane Fighters, albeit not quite as rape-y as "You have to force my legs open to consummate our marriage." On the other hand, once he saves her from rape (sigh!) and shows her that his kung fu is now better than hers, his response is: "You have to obey me! Now learn these positions from this sex manual!" which she dutifully does. Weird.

 

Hi @DrNgor,  thanks for remembering my review.

 

You are right, it was a real sour point in the movie. I didnt want to pay too much attention to this side, maybe I already did?. Maybe time to post the Extended review? if I get time to watch it again.

 

34 minutes ago, DrNgor said:

Legendary Superkicker Hwang Jang Lee, however, is sorely misused and in his final fight, which isn't that long, has him fighting with a crutch. *Sigh* I mean, he does some good kicks, but I expected more from the guy who gave us The Loot.

 

Agreed, even with only three Hwnag Jang-Lee fights. It's still one of the stronger indiependent Hong Kong films from the late 1970's.