Bo ming dan dao duo ming qiang

Creativity seldom describes movies from the golden age of martial arts movies from 1967 to 1984. This movie starts with a plot used many times before in which two masters settle a grudge by training students for a challenge fight.

Sammo Hung and Lau Kar-Yan both play younger versions of each other in the same time frame. That was brilliant and never done before. The movie is also a parody of all martial arts movies and of Peking opera too. Almost every added character adds a twist to the story. These movies also have a reputation for filming without as much as a script and making it all up as you go. To produce this movie required fine details and precise scheduling because the two leads had two different characters to play. I have been watching these movies in chronological order to determine some "Best" and "First" moments. As of the release of this movie I rate it the most creative so far.

None of this would matter if the fights were just average. The fights were some of the best of 1979 and likely also some of the best fights ever. The spear versus sword idea worked fabulously. Many other weapons were also used including improvising props for weapons. At first I rated this movie 9/10 but then I noticed something in comparison to the other great movies of 1979. I deducted a point because in this movie they forgot that women can fight. My other top movies for 1979, though male dominated, also had at least one excellent fight with a female.

My copy is wide screen and typical DVD resolution. There are English subtitles and dubbing. I recommend playing both because it's amusing how the spoken and written words rarely match. I rate this 8 of 10 and highly recommend it for all fans of the genre.