THE BLACK ENFORCER
A Shaw Brothers (HK) Ltd. Production © 1971
Starring: TANG CHING, TIEN FENG, WANG PING, TUNG LI, CHIU HUNG, WONG KWONG YUE, FANG YAN YI, LUNG KUAN TING, CHAI NO, CHU KWAN HUO, ERH CHUN, HUANG CHIN YUN, CHUI HSING, YUEN TING
Directed by: HO MENG HUA
Script: HO HUA
Producer: RUN RUN SHAW
Running Time: 96 Minutes
FACTS:
By the time the movie “The Black Enforcer” was produced, the genre called Wuxia Pian still was going strong at the box office, albeit, in the eyes of some movie critics and alert film buffs, it had already lost a little bit of steam. In the previous year, Wang Yu, the “first swordplay hero” but now rather disgruntled superstar who had left the studio with a bang and amidst major dispute, had struck a fist nail into the coffin of this beloved art form (“The Chinese Boxer”) and soon Lo Lieh (“King Boxer”) as well as the “Iron Triangle” (who had started their careers by re-defining this genre with their share of Wuxia triumphs but now focussed on films like “Duel of Fists”, “The Duel”, “The Angry Guest” or youth dramas) would add some more nails. By 1972/73, the tales of noble knights and evil villains wielding swords would be severely under fire by rival studios and most of all by Bruce Lee and his few flicks. Then in 1974, the classic Wuxia Pian indeed was dead and buried, only to be revived in some very different form by the mystic tales of Ku Lung and the weird cinema adventures most prominently made by the likes of Chu Yuan and Sun Chung. But that would be years from now. The studio and most importantly the audiences in Asia (and with some 2-3 years delay the fans around the globe) still longed for a steady stream of classic Wuxia tales to hit the cinema, no matter how repetitive or similar they were.
Aside of superstar director Chang Cheh, who had put the rough and bloody Wuxia Pian films on the map and into the spotlight, only three directors were deemed good enough by the Shaw bigwigs to direct and to supervise swordplay movies with high production values and class. There was Cheng Kang, a director who privately also loved this genre and who showed his love with every movie he made. Then, to a lesser degree one could count on Yueh Feng, a sort of “typecast director” whose miss-and-hit-average still had a positive rating. But in terms of Wuxia only one director was really deemed to be of equal ability in reference to Chang Cheh. This man was Ho Meng Hua, a guy who (since giving the “Monkey” series a swordplay touch) churned out an endless string of successful Wuxia movies (mostly featuring his personal favourites Li Ching, Yueh Hua, Lo Lieh or Cheng Pei Pei).
Well, in late 1971 and on short notice, Run Run Shaw had to take away a movie project for Yueh Feng (who was ailing and hospital-bound) and he asked Ho Meng Hua to direct instead. Ho, one of the true work horses of the studio did not mind and he was given seven weeks to complete this film and extensive travel to the Korean location of the flick as well. After all, “The Black Enforcer” was just deemed to fill the slot of Shaw’s cinema programming prior to the Chinese New Year 1972. After its premiere on January 28th, the film became a hit and the 19th highest grossing movie of the year, leaving behind prestigious titles such as “Trilogy of Swordsmanship”, “The Lizard”, “Man of Iron” and “Delightful Forest” or rival studio fares such as “Furious Slaughter”, “The Crush”, “Bandits from Shantung” or young Jackie Chan’s action movie “The Brutal Boxer”.
Looking back, this is no surprise. As it is mentioned in one of his interviews, Ho Meng Hua really wanted it to work, as he was eager to find out how it if he could deliver something even though none of his usual cast and crew was available. The co-production with Korean movie company “An Yang” worked out perfectly. He asked for Tang Ching, more famously known for his involvement in Shaw’s crime and 007-style action flicks until he previously had been used in two Wuxia movies directed by the very same director (“Vengeance is a Golden Blade” & “The Jade Raksha”). Ho deemed him true star material and Tang Ching, who refused a regular contract with the studio and was free to make a lot of films with rival studios throughout Asia (Cathay, Golden Harvest etc.) took the opportunity to shine and to deliver one of his best performances for Shaw. A nice little box office success was a sure bet to get more work with the leading movie emporium after all. Ho also secured a cast led by Shaw villain Tien Feng and “Golden Hairpin” Wang Ping and got the assistance of action director Liang Shao Tsung, who previously had had his hands in 10 Shaw Wuxia epics as well as in a dozen of independent swordplay films. Furthermore he was able to lure Art Director Johnson Tsao to Korea, a man who was one of Chang Cheh’s closest crew members and responsible for beautiful wardrobes and splendid sets. Adding loads of the most captivating outdoor shots within snowy landscapes and delivering a gripping story by Ho Hua, one is inclined to state that Ho Meng Hua really could do nothing wrong.
SYNOPSIS:
After having been away from home for over a year, Imperial Chief Constable Kung Tien Lung and his men escort some top criminals to the capital. As the route is close to his home, Kung decides to make a short stop at his home to see his beloved ones. It turns out to be a huge mistake, as the evil bandit leader Kuan Yun Fei, his two sons and his gang lay ambush and siege and finally free their gang members. During the fight, Kung is severely injured whilst his mother, his sister and his men are all slain. Framed by the evil but influential Kuan with letting the sought criminals go, Kung is arrested by his superiors and sentenced to life long imprisonment.
Some 15 years later, one day Kung manages to escape from prison and all he wants now is bloody revenge for the death of his loved ones. His investigations show, that Kuan has finished his days as a bandit chief and now lives with his sons and his daughter in a remote place off the village of Huang Yan. He has been blinded by a foe but Kuan still is a superior fighter to be taken seriously. So, disguised as an herbalist, Kung seeks a post in his household and he befriends Kuan’s daughter. But too soon and mad with hate he reveals his identity to challenge Kuan to a duel. Even though he is blind, Kuan wins the battle and Kung only narrowly escapes into the mountains. Doing so, he manages to take one of Kuan’s sons as a hostage. In a fit of rage, Kuan kills his other son and goes berserk, hell bent on finding and killing Kung, the only man who knows his past. His daughter Yen Erh is shocked and sides with Kung, but at first Kung is unable to recognize her love and revenge and murder of everyone who is connected to Kuan is the only thing he can think of.
Meanwhile Kuan has surrounded himself again with a large gang of brutal riff-raff and he now chases Kung from hide-out to hide-out. Finally Kung manages to overcome the odds and to trick Kuan and only a handful of his men into another duel. This time he finally kills Kuan but he is not able to saviour his victory as Kuan’s private army is advancing towards him. But the gods are with Kung and he is saved by an snow avalanche which separates him from the men and enables him to make his escape together with Yen Erh, who he finally trusts and loves…
VERDICT:
“The Black Enforcer” is one of the true gems in the crown of Shaw’s Wuxia Pian output. The audience suffers alongside the hero and Tang Ching portrays a man who is hurt to the core, almost lunatic in his rage and who has forfeited every human conduct just to take revenge. Wang Ping plays no damsel in distress, but a headstrong young woman who discovers that her father is a murderer and ruthless criminal and who puts her energy into a almost lost cause of offering the hero a new life. The best performance goes to Tien Feng, who is bad to the bone and a evil character who will not even think twice about killing his own children, just to stay alive.
Great scenes are plenty in this movie and as I had the privilege to view the restored test version by Celestial Pictures a few years ago, I just want to describe two of them which had been cut or left out of the old Kings Video bootleg: The first is the evil monologue of Tien Feng which results in his son and some men turning against him and blinding him. It is one of the great, memorable dialogues in cinema history (think “Pulp Fiction” or the starting sequence of the Nazi Jew hunter in “Inglorious Basterds”). The second one is the lengthy key scene of the duel between Tang Ching and Tien Feng, where the superior blind villain even is able to spot location of the drops of Tang’s blood falling to the ground and hitting the snow and where Wang Ping only rescues the doomed hero by throwing a stone at some ravens who start to flutter and to make noise so that Tang eventually is able to escape. Both scenes will leave you breathless and send shivers down your spine.
Said test copy of the movie brings us to a rather sad fact. Until today and for no comprehensible reason, Celestial Pictures refused to put “The Black Enforcer” on the market. It is a shame and even though last year Celestial bigwigs promised to honour Ho Meng Hua’s death with a release of this and a couple of his other unreleased movies, nothing has been done so far. If, however, one day this movie becomes available, then you should pick it up at once. You won’t regret it, because it is a Wuxia tale that should not be missed in any decent collection.
Therefore, a full 10 out of 10 possible stars is given!
