''Born Invincible'' () is a 1978

Taiwanese Taiwanese may refer to: * Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien * Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa) * Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan * Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan * Taiwanese people, ...

kung fu film Kung fu film () is a subgenre of martial arts films and Hong Kong action cinema set in the contemporary period and featuring realistic martial arts. It lacks the fantasy elements seen in ''wuxia'', a related martial arts genre that uses historical ...

directed by

Joseph Kuo Joseph Nan-Hong Kuo (; Kaohsiung, 20 July 1935) is a Taiwanese film director best known for his Hong Kong based kung fu films of the 1970s and 1980s. His debut screenplay ''Ghost Lake'' was one of the earliest Taiwanese language films. He later r ...

, with action choreography by Yuen Woo-ping, and starring

Carter Wong Carter Wong (born Wong Chia-ta on March 22, 1947) is a Chinese actor and martial artist, who is mainly known for roles in Kung Fu action movies. The biggest movies he was featured in are ''Big Trouble in Little China'' (1986), and ''Yong zheng ...

Jack Long Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

and

Lo Lieh Wang Lap Tat (June 29, 1939 – November 2, 2002), better known by his stage name Lo Lieh, was an Indonesian-born Hong Kong film actor and martial artist. Lo was perhaps best known as Chao Chih-Hao in the 1972 martial arts film '' King Boxer' ...

. Currently, only the English language dubbed version is widely available on UK DVD (pan and scan) format. The original Mandarin version was released onto VHS format in the 1980s and is now out of print. A rare Japanese language dubbed version (ドラゴン太極拳/Doragon Taikyokuken) can be found online. There is a Spanish (Spain) language dubbed version available too.

Plot

The film opens with a montage of a youth learning the techniques of T'ai chi. A narration explains the rigors of T'ai chi, and the effects it has on the individuals who learn it. When a person masters T'ai chi, their body becomes impregnable to any weapon, but has a side effect of turning the person's hair white by age thirty and their voices attain a high tone. Students of the Lei Ping Kung Fu school witness two thugs from the Chin Yin Chi clan chase and beat an old man in front of his daughter. The lead student, Ming Tu, interrupts the attack and the thugs use weapons on the students. Ming Tu manages to fight off the duo, but one of his fellow students is mortally wounded. The two thugs warn the students that the Chin Yin Chi clan will be back to kill them. Ming Tu escorts the old man and his daughter back to the Lei Ping school, where the wise master takes them under his protection. The two leaders of the Chin Yin Chi clan, Chief Chin and Chin Pa, show up at the Lei Ping school, demanding that the master hand over the old man. He refuses and one of his top pupils offers to go and fight for the schools honor. Despite his magnificent martial arts ability, he is no match. The master selects Ming Tu as his successor and faces the aggressors, but he is overpowered and killed. The old man, having taken an oath of peace, picks up a sword for the first time in twenty years and leaps into battle, but he too is taken down by the powerful duo. Ming Tu assumes leadership of the school and promises his students that the school will continue as the master intended and they will take revenge against the Chin Yin Chi clan. Ming Tu comes up with a plan to take Chin Pa out of the equation, since he is not invulnerable. He challenges Chin Pa to a duel, but he falls victim to Chin Pa's loaded steel baton with a blade, but he escapes. Ming Tu undergoes rigorous training to prepare for the next confrontation. He thinks up a way to counter Chin Pa's baton—by covering his sword in oil so his opponent cannot get a grip on it, which works, and Ming Tu kills Chin Pa. Chief Chin discovers the death and looks for Ming Tu. Ming seeks additional training before he can face Chief Chin, but is forced into a confrontation with him. Chief Chin beats Ming unmercifully. The next senior pupil of the Wei Ping school, Sa Chien takes charge since Ming Tu is out of action. He trains hard to beat Chief Chin, but Sa Chien cannot get the job done and barely escapes. The master's daughter meets an old nun who tells her how to find Chief Chin's weak point "when he is not himself." With her aid, Sa Chien discovers that Chief Chin has one vulnerable spot, but getting him to expose it is near impossible unless he can get him to act other than "himself."

Cast

as Tieh Wu Ching *

as Ming Tu * Mark Long as Sa Chien *

as Ku Yu Tieh * Nancy Yen as Ying Ying *

Wong Fei-lung Wong Fei-lung (born 22 January 1943) is a Taiwanese actor, director, and action director. With a career spanning over 150 films, he was a prominent face during the golden age of Hong Kong cinema. He has been alternatively credited as Wong Lung, Fe ...

as Lu Ping * Alan Chui Chung-San as Pa Chu * Corey Yuen as Hei Pai Killer *

Yuen Shun-yi Sunny Yuen Shun-yi (), also credited as Shun-yee Yuen, is a Hong Kong film actor, stuntman and action coordinator. Biography Yuen was the fourth of ten children of the martial artist Yuen Siu-tien. He began training in kung fu with his father fro ...

as Hei Pai Killer * Su Chen Ping as Liu Chin

External links

''Born Invincible''
at Hong Kong Cinemagic * * {{Amg movie, 6736, Born Invincible
"Born Invincible (Japanese) ドラゴン太極拳"
at AmebaVision (Japanese)

References

1978 films Taiwanese martial arts films Kung fu films Films directed by Joseph Kuo