Eastern Condors

Original title: Dung fong tuk ying

1987
R
1h 33m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

A group of Asian prisoners is recruited, trained, armed and sent to Vietnam to destroy a cache of American weapons left behind after the Vietnam War, before the Vietcong discovers its locati... Read allA group of Asian prisoners is recruited, trained, armed and sent to Vietnam to destroy a cache of American weapons left behind after the Vietnam War, before the Vietcong discovers its location.A group of Asian prisoners is recruited, trained, armed and sent to Vietnam to destroy a cache of American weapons left behind after the Vietnam War, before the Vietcong discovers its location.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.1/10

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win & 3 nominations

Trivia
Sammo Hung hired a personal trainer to help slim him down so he could more easily perform some of the acrobatic kicking combinations which he had devised for the project with his stunt team.

Quotes
Ching: It's the Americans's fault. They got us into this. Idiot Americans, fucking America, goddamn America!
Ming-Sun Tung: When this is over, where do you think you'll go?
Ching: Back to America!

Alternate versions
All UK versions prior to 2019 had to be cut by 22 secs to remove real animal cruelty to conform with the Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937. The casualty was the scene in which Yuen Biao rips a snake's head off. This cut was waived for the Eureka Entertainment release of 2019, upon confirmation that the snake in question was already killed off camera prior to the shot (the live snake caught by Yuen Biao is in one shot, while the dead snake whose head is ripped off is in the second).

Connections
Featured in The Best of the Martial Arts Films (1990)

User reviews40

Review

Featured review

Sammo's second best

I prefer only Sammo Hung's PEDICAB DRIVER to this pic, but I'm not saying that to take anything away from the sheer brilliance of this action pic. Sammo really knows how to direct an action scene. That means he permits the audience to know where everybody is and where the "action" is moving. Unlike directors like Tony Scott, Richard Donner and Michael Bay, Sammo does not blur the dynamics of a good action scene with too many cuts and too many pointless camera moves.

Sammo is solid.

With EASTERN CONDORS you also get a film that looks amazing with its cool, green surfaces and filter-free clarity.

The plot, though simple, is not moronic, and allows for plenty of action and lots of fascinating interplay between the characters -- especially the females.

Joyce Godenzi (Mrs. Sammo Hung) met Sammo making this movie and she's really terrific in a tough, gritty part. Yuen Biao demonstrates why he was such a big star in the 70's and 80's and Sammo himself, looking lighter than ever, performs in some amazing fight sequences.

If you haven't seen many Hong Kong movies, this is a great place to start. It's one unbelievable sequence after another.

Then catch PEDICAB DRIVER.