I found a dusty VCD (video CD) on the bottom shelf of a music store on Grant Avenue in San Francisco's China Town. It had Shaw Brothers on the label. As a hard core fan of martial arts movies of the golden age from 1967 to 1984 with a personal collection of over 2000 movies, I had never heard of this movie.
Regardless, I had to buy it. It likely cost $5 but I would have paid $100. This was something I would never see again and if I did not buy it then I would never buy it. A closer examination of the case revealed the name "Chang Cheh". Because of that, it was even possible I would enjoy the movie. That was in January 2015 on my first trip to San Francisco. I did not get around to actually watching the movie until today. Would you believe the delay was because I had other movies on my list to watch first? It's true, I have a lot of movies.
The title was of concern. A movie about a baby was not my genre. Fantastic and magic only made it worse. I checked out the cast and recognized a few of the bad guys like Fung Hak On. I also noticed Woo Gam. I like her when she plays slutty characters. She's hot. So I spun up the video CD in my region free DVD player and hit the couch. I kept the remote in hand with my finger on the fast forward button.
It starts with the helpful narrator explain things as Woo Gam and a man enjoy a cannibalistic dinner. Their conversation is all exposition. This leads to the main character, Ting Wa-Chung, introduced as Red Boy. I am relieved that the "magic baby" is actually a "magic teenager". He continues with expository dialog. Red Boy intervenes when the villagers make offerings to the greedy mountain gods.
The earliest Chinese martial arts movies were based on Peking opera stories. These movies were also filmed as if the audience was watching a stage presentation. Most of the camera shots are from center audience point of view and the setting is the stage. This movie is also filmed that way.
Shaw Brothers movies are known for fabulous sets and costumes. This movie seemed a cheap production. The sets were too simple. The costumes were sometimes flamboyant but still looked cheap and designed by children
In Peking opera the fights do have real martial arts moves but the choreography is stylized and adds acrobatics. The result is a fight that looks good but not realistic. That was how the fights were done in this movie also.
The Peking opera comparison put me into the frame of mind to enjoy this movie. Pretend you are siting front row center and watching a Peking opera performance, not a movie. With that mind set I did enjoy the movie and never used the fast forward. This is still a watch it once and then done forever kind of movie.
