''The Heroic Ones'' is a 1970 Hong Kong
Shaw Brothers Studio
Shaw Brothers (HK) Ltd. () was the largest film production company in Hong Kong, and operated from 1925 to 2011.
In 1925, three Shaw brothers— Runje, Runme, and Runde—founded Tianyi Film Company (also called "Unique") in Shangh ...
martial arts film directed by
Chang Cheh
Chang Cheh (; 10 February 1923 – 22 June 2002) was a Chinese people, Chinese filmmaker, screenwriter, lyricist and producer active in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Chang Cheh directed more than 90 films in Greater China, the majority of them wi ...
. It was originally released on 14 August 1970 in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
and was one of the top grossing Hong Kong films between the years of 1970 and 1972.
Plot
In 880s
imperial China
The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapte ...
, the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
court no longer had effective control of its empire, and the national capital
Chang'an
Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin Shi ...
was sacked by Huang Chao's anti-government army. Li Keyong, a
Shatuo
The Shatuo, or the Shatuo Turks (; also transcribed as Sha-t'o, Sanskrit SartZuev Yu.A., ''"Horse Tamgas from Vassal Princedoms (Translation of Chinese composition "Tanghuyao" of 8-10th centuries)"'', Kazakh SSR Academy of Sciences, Alma-Ata, I ...
chieftain loyal to the Tang cause, led his troops to suppress the rebellion. His 13 generals—essentially all adopted sons—helped expel Huang from Chang'an, although a rift between some of them became more and more apparent in the process. Following the victory, Li Keyong accepted an invitation for a banquet at
military governor
A military government is generally any form of government that is administered by military forces, whether or not this government is legal under the laws of the jurisdiction at issue, and whether this government is formed by natives or by an occup ...
Zhu Wen's territory of
Bianliang, unaware that it was a trap to assassinate him.
Cast and characters
*
Ku Feng
Chan Sze-man (born 3 July 1930), better known by his stage name Ku Feng, is a Hong Kong actor.
Background
He studied in Beijing, and has appeared in hundreds of films, many of which were produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio
Shaw Brothers ( ...
as
Li Keyong
Li Keyong () (October 24, 856 – February 24, 908) was a Chinese military general and politician of Shatuo ethnicity, and from January 896 a Prince of Jin (, ''Jin Wang''), which would become an independent state after the fall of the Tang dyn ...
, Prince of Jin
*
Chin Han as
Li Siyuan
Li Siyuan (李嗣源, later changed to Li Dan (李亶)) (10 October 867 – 15 December 933), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang (後唐明宗), was the second emperor of the Later Tang dynasty of China, reignin ...
, Li Keyong's 1st general
* Pao Chia-win as
, Li Keyong's 2nd general
* Lo Wei as
Li Cunxu
Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang (), personal name Li Cunxu (), nickname Yazi (), stage name Li Tianxia (), was the ruling prince of the Former Jin dynasty (r. 908–923) and later became the founding emperor of the Later Tang dynasty (r. 923 ...
, Li Keyong's 3rd general
* Nam Seok-hun as
Li Cunxin
Li Cunxin (born 26 January 1961) is a Chinese-Australian former ballet dancer turned stockbroker. He is currently the artistic director of the Queensland Ballet in Brisbane, Australia.Queensland Ballet (2012)Li Cunxin returns to the stage a ...
, Li Keyong's 4th general
* Liu Kang as Li Cunzhi, Li Keyong's 5th general
* Sung Yuan as Li Cunke, Li Keyong's 6th general
* Huang Pei-chi as
Li Cunjin
Li Cunjin (李存進) (855 – 24 September 922), originally Sun Chongjin (孫重進), was a military general in imperial China's Tang Dynasty, and later the Jin territory in the ensuing Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period after Tang's coll ...
, Li Keyong's 7th general
* Wang Kuang-yu as
Li Cunzhang
Li Cunzhang (李存璋) (died 922) was a military general in imperial China's Tang dynasty, and later the Jin territory in the ensuing Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period after Tang's collapse. He served the Shatuo leaders Li Keyong — who ...
, Li Keyong's 8th general
* Chen Chuan as
Li Cunshen
Li Cunshen () (862'' History of the Five Dynasties'', vol. 56.-June 16, 924Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), né Fu Cun (), often referred to in historical sources as Fu Cunshen (), courtesy name Dexiang (), was a Chinese ...
, Li Keyong's 9th general
*
Lau Kar-wing
Lau Kar-wing (born 1944) is a Martial Artist, Hong Kong people, Hong Kong Chinese martial arts, martial arts film director, Stage combat, action choreographer and actor.
Background
Born in the Xinhui District of Jiangmen in Guangdong, People's R ...
as Li Cunshou, Li Keyong's 10th general
*
Ti Lung
Ti Lung (born 19 August 1946) is a Hong Kong actor, known for his numerous starring roles in a string of Shaw Brothers Studio's films, particularly '' The Blood Brothers'', '' The Avenging Eagle'', ''Clans of Intrigue'', '' The Duel'', ''The Senti ...
as
Shi Jingsi
Shi Jingcun (史敬存) (died 11 June 884), known as Shi Jingsi (史敬思) in Chinese historiography likely for naming taboo reasons, was a minor general in imperial China under the Shatuo military leader Li Keyong near the end of the Tang Dynas ...
, Li Keyong's 11th general
* Wang Chung as
Kang Junli
Kang Junli () (847–894) was a military general in imperial China's Tang Dynasty, serving the Shatuo leader Li Keyong.
He was eventually killed by Li Keyong for speaking ill of the already deceased Li Cunxiao, with whom he did not get along.
...
, Li Keyong's 12th general
*
David Chiang
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as
Li Cunxiao Li Cunxiao () (d. 894), né An Jingsi (), was an adoptive son of the late-Tang Dynasty warlord Li Keyong who contributed much to Li Keyong's campaigns, but who later rebelled against his adoptive father. He subsequently was defeated by Li Keyong a ...
, Li Keyong's 13th general
*
Chan Sing
Chan may refer to:
Places
*Chan (commune), Cambodia
*Chan Lake, by Chan Lake Territorial Park in Northwest Territories, Canada
People
*Chan (surname), romanization of various Chinese surnames (including 陳, 曾, 詹, 戰, and 田)
* Chan Caldwe ...
as
Zhu Wen
Emperor Taizu of Later Liang (), personal name Zhu Quanzhong () (December 5, 852 – July 18, 912), né Zhu Wen (), name later changed to Zhu Huang (), nickname Zhu San (朱三, literally, "the third Zhu"), was a Chinese military general, mona ...
, the Bianliang governor (he was an officer under Huang Chao before he surrendered to the Tang government)
* Lee Hae-ryong as
Huang Chao
Huang Chao (835 – July 13, 884) was a Chinese smuggler, soldier, and rebel, and is most well known for being the leader of a major rebellion that severely weakened the Tang dynasty.
Huang was a Salt in Chinese history, salt smuggler before ...
, the rebel leader, self-proclaimed Qi emperor
*
Bolo Yeung
Yang Sze (; born 3 July 1946), better known as Bolo Yeung, is a Hong Kong former competitive bodybuilder, martial artist and a martial arts film actor. Globally known for his performances as Bolo in ''Enter the Dragon'' (starring Bruce Lee), an ...
as Meng Juehai, Huang's general
* Jin Bong-jin as Zhang Quan, Huang's general
*
Lily Li
Lily Li () (born 14 June 1950) is a Hong Kong film and television actress. She is best known for her films '' The Wandering Swordsman'', ''Executioners from Shaolin'', ''One Foot Crane'' and ''The Young Master'', and television series ''The Br ...
as Cuiyan, a young woman in Chang'an
Deviations from history
Some events in the film are loosely based on history, such as Li Keyong's troops expelling Huang Chao from Chang'an in the summer of 883, and Zhu Wen's failed assassination attempt of Li Keyong a year later that took the lives of Shi Jingsi and many others. However, many other events have been fictionalized. While Li Cunxiao did in fact have a strained relationship with Li Cunxin and Kang Junli and did die by
dismemberment
Dismemberment is the act of cutting, ripping, tearing, pulling, wrenching or otherwise disconnecting the limbs from a living or dead being. It has been practiced upon human beings as a form of capital punishment, especially in connection with ...
, he was actually the one who betrayed Li Keyong, who eventually executed him. Except for Kang who was killed by Li Keyong in relation to Li Cunxiao's death, no other general died from infighting.
In history, Shi and Kang were not adopted sons of Li Keyong, hence their different surnames from the other generals, in fact Kang was Li Keyong's senior by 9 years. Li Cunjin was one of the oldest adopted sons, and both Li Cunxin and Li Cunshen were older than Li Siyuan, and quite possibly Li Sizhao and Li Cunzhang as well. Li Cunxu, a few dozen years younger than most of his adoptive brothers, was not even born in 883-884. Li Keyong was not created "Prince of Jin" until 895, a good 12 years after expelling Huang Chao from Chang'an. Zhu Wen (who since 882 bore the name Zhu Quanzhong) was actually called the Xuanwu governor instead of the "Bianliang governor"—Bianliang being a much later name of Xuanwu's capital Bianzhou.
The film got one detail right: according to historical records, Li Keyong had one eye smaller than the other.
Reception
Empire Online
''Empire'' is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. The first issue was published in May 1989.
History
David Hepworth of Emap, the publisher of British music magazines '' Q'' and '' Smash Hits'', among other tit ...
gave ''The Heroic Ones'' four out of five stars, saying that although the film was "occasionally uneven in pace,
tnonetheless delivers spectacular action and earns its rep as a must-have." Far East Films remarked that it was a "worthwhile addition to anyone's collection though, but is not among Cheh's finest works". The film has experienced some success since its original release in 1970 and has been screened at the 2004
Melbourne International Film Festival
The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is an annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1952 and is one of the oldest film festivals in the world following the founding of the Venice Film Fest ...
.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Heroic Ones
1970 films
1970s action films
1970 martial arts films
Hong Kong action films
Hong Kong martial arts films
Shaw Brothers Studio films
Kung fu films
Films directed by Chang Cheh
Films set in 9th-century Tang dynasty
Films set in Xi'an
Films set in Kaifeng
Films set in Shanxi
Films shot in Hong Kong
Films about assassinations
1970s Hong Kong films