The Eagle Shooting Heroes (1993)

"I'm invincible now!!...what a way to go"

When Wong Kar Wai’s Ashes of Time was running over budget, the rumor is that he produced a quickie comedy starring his Ashes actors in order to make a fast buck on Lunar New Year. If you are looking for anything to make sense, you won’t find it here. Hong Kong slapstick fans will be in hog heaven. While parts of the film worked for me it dragged on way too long.

Normally, I’d give a brief synopsis of the film here, but there really wasn’t enough of a coherent story to do that. Tony Leung Chiu Wai played the main bad guy who was beaten, poisoned, and stabbed along the way. He spent much of the film with swollen lips and ears. Tony Leung Ka Fei played an Indian prince looking for his one true love so that he could obtain immortality. The object of his desire was less than thrilled. Jacky Cheung played the Beggar King who was in love with Joey Wong’s Su Qiu who was in love with Leslie Cheung’s Yao Shi who was in love with Brigitte Lin’s “Third Princess.” Carina Lau was dressed as the man Chou Po Tang/Zhou Bo Tong, a disciple of Kenny Bee’s late Wang Chon Yang, believing that the princess killed him. There were cross dressing and gender bending relationships, some played for laughs and others not. Talking monsters including a gorilla, a dinosaur, and a large “sparrow” joined the strange menagerie also populated by giant centipedes.

I found some of the bits funny but others went on and on and on and on and on… There were several lengthy song and dance numbers. The martial arts fights were done for a laugh. Most were furiously over-cranked or slowed down to almost a standstill. The fights featured a great deal of wire work, smoke, and explosions.

The Eagle Shooting Horses looked low budget and hastily made with a great deal of improv. If you are a fan of slapstick this is the ticket. And I have to say it was the first time I ever saw anyone play soccer with a floating head.

21 March 2025

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Martial Arts Parody on Crack

If you start this expecting a serious or even a simple comedy with martial arts element, the chances of one being disappointed will be quite high. This was parody, and had not one serious moment in the whole show, or any particularly coherent plot.

That said, there was a basic plot about a princess attempting to save her kingdom from the queen (and her lover). This movie detailed her adventures in trying to seize the throne back from the usurper.

More than that, however, this was also a comedy of circumstances of familiar characters from Jin Yong’s (Louis Cha) classic martial arts novel, “Legend of the Eagle Shooting Heroes”, though one could be forgiven if no character seemed recognizable in this movie except for their names.

Populated by stars from the HK entertainment industry’s heyday (1980-90s), this show was worth watching just for that, if one is a fan.

This was crack parody of the best kind, and if one watches it without preconceived ideas and just let the physical and nonsensical comedy flow as they come, one is in for an entertaining show full of belly laughs.

Give it a try, if so inclined.

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