''The 14 Amazons'' is a 1972 Hong Kong ''

wuxia ( ), which literally means "martial heroes", is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fiction, its popularity has caused it to be adapted f ...

'' film directed by Cheng Kang and produced by the

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 ...

. The award winning film featured a predominantly female cast. The story is about the female

generals of the Yang Family ''The Generals of the Yang Family'' is a collection of Chinese folklore, plays and novels on a military family from the earlier years of imperial China's Song Dynasty (960–1279). The stories recount the unflinching loyalty and the remarkable b ...

Overview

The film's Chinese title is . Its alternative title is The Fourteen Amazons. It is also known as Les 14 Amazones, in French. The film is a historical drama martial arts film that sets in the Sing dynasty.

Plot

The Yang family, men and women, had served their country (

Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

) loyally for generations. During the war with

Western Xia The Western Xia or the Xi Xia (), officially the Great Xia (), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as ''Mi-nyak''Stein (1972), pp. 70–71. to the Tanguts and Tibetans, was a Tangut-led Buddhist imperial dynasty of China tha ...

, General Yang Tsung-pao is ambushed and killed. His death leaves his only son, Yang Wen as the only male heir left to the Yang family. His widow, Mu Kuei-ying, the grand matriarch and the entire family set out to avenge his death and defend the country. Due to the interference of a corrupt official, Wang Ching, the Yangs were unable to have the emperor's consent to use the imperial army. Thus, they set off with whatever volunteer troops they could muster. Knowing of Mu Kuei-ying's reputation as a warrior and tactician, the king of West Hsia and his sons try various ways to stop her to no avail. They are outsmarted at the end as Mu Kuei-ying, the Yang family and Sung soldiers successfully storm their stronghold.

Cast

Ivy Ling Po Huang Yu-chun (born 16 November 1939 in Shantou, Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China), known by her final stage name Ivy Ling Po, is a retired Hong Kong actress and Chinese opera singer. She is best known for a number of mega-hit H ...

as Mu Guiying * Lily Ho as Yang Wenguang *

Lisa Lu Lisa Lu Yan (; born January 19, 1927) is a Chinese actress. She won the Golden Horse Awards three times in the 1970s. She is the only person who is a member of both the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts ...

She Saihua She Saihua (佘賽花) is a legendary heroine from ancient China's Northern Song Dynasty. The wife of Yang Ye and the mother of their 7 sons, she is a prominent figure in the stories on '' Generals of the Yang Family''. The elderly and widowed ...

Yueh Hua Yueh Hua (; 14 July 1942 – 20 October 2018) was a Shanghai-born Hong Kong actor, later based in Canada, with Shaw Brothers Studio and TVB. Yueh is one of the most versatile and prolific leading actors of Shaw Brothers. Yueh starred in five ...

as Lü Chao *

Chen Yen-yen Chen Yanyan (; 12 January 1916 – 7 May 1999), born Chen Jianyan, was a Chinese actress and film producer in the cinema of Republic of China (1912–1949), British Hong Kong and Taiwan. Life Chen was born as Chen Jianyan in Ningbo, China in 19 ...

as Geng Jinhua *Lin Ching as Zou Lanying *Hsia Ping as Dong Yue'e *

Betty Ting Betty Ting (; born Tang Mei-li (); 19 February 1947) is a Taiwanese former actress who was mainly active in the 1970s. Ting is best known for being the center of international speculation regarding the untimely death of Bruce Lee in her apartme ...

as Huang Qiongnü *Huang Chin-feng as Ma Saiying *

Ouyang Sha-fei Qian Shunying ( zh, t=錢舜英, w=Chien Shun-ying; September 9, 1924 – March 8, 2010), better known by her stage name Ouyang Sha-fei ( zh, t=歐陽莎菲, s=欧阳莎菲, first=t, j=Auyeung Sa-fay, links=no), was a Hong Kong actress. She is ...

as Chai Meirong *Tina Chin Fei as Du Jin'e *

Lee Ching Li Ching, also spelled ''Lee Ching'' (; 8 November 1948 – 22 February 2018), was a Hong Kong actress. Early life Li Ching was born in Shanghai as Li Guoying (), and was raised in British Hong Kong after finishing secondary school and an acti ...

as "8th sister" Yang Yanqi *Yeh Ling-chih as "9th sister" Yang Yanying *Wang Ping as Yang Qiuju *Liu Wu-chih as Yang Qiulan *Shu Pei-pei as Yang Paifeng *Ku Wen-tsung as Yang Hong *Fan Mei-sheng as Jiao Tinggui *Huang Chun-hsing as Meng Huaiyuan *

Tien Feng Tien Feng (born Tien Yu-kun, 4 June 1928 – 22 October 2015) was a Chinese actor, who appeared in hundreds of films in Taiwan and Hong Kong. He has acted with Bruce Lee in '' Fist of Fury'' (1972) and with Jackie Chan in '' Little Tiger of Can ...

as Wang Wen *Wang Hsieh as Wang Wen's 1st son *Nam Seok-hun as Wang Wen's 2nd son *Tien Ching as Wang Wen's 3rd son * Chin Pei as Wang Wen's 4th son *

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'' ...

as Wang Wen's 5th son *Tsung Hua as

Yang Zongbao Yang Zongbao (楊宗保) is a character in the ''Generals of the Yang Family'' legends. In these largely fictionalized stories, he is the son of general Yang Yanzhao and Princess Chai, the husband of Mu Guiying and the father of Yang Wenguang ...

*Yang Chih-ching as

Kou Zhun Kou Zhun ( 961 – 24 October 1023), courtesy name Pingzhong, was a much-praised official in ancient China's Northern Song Dynasty. He was the chancellor from 1004 to 1006 during Emperor Zhenzong's reign. Biography Kou Zhun became a ''jinshi'' ...

*Ching Miao as Wang Qin *Yang Ai-hua as Pearl *Ting Chien as Shen Gu *Eric Zeng Zhiwei as Soldier *

Michelle Yim Michelle Yim Wai-ling (; born September 2, 1955), better known by her stage name ''Mai Suet'' (), is a Hong Kong actress and elder sister of former actress Sidney Yim Wai-ming also known by stage name ''Suet Lei'' (). She graduated from St. Rose ...

- Yang female soldier

Awards

* 1973 Best Feature Film - Runner Up.

11th Golden Horse Awards The 11th Golden Horse Awards (Mandarin:第11屆金馬獎) took place on October 30, 1973 at Zhongshan Hall in Taipei, Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and Sout ...

. * 1973 Cheng Kang won Best Director.

. * 1973

won Best Supporting Actress.

. * 1973 Wang Yung-hua won Best Sound Effects.

. * 1973 Lily Ho won Outstanding Female Lead Performance. 19th

Asian Film Festival The Asia-Pacific Film Festival (abbreviated APFF) is an annual film festival hosted by the Federation of Motion Picture Producers in Asia-Pacific. The festival was first held in Tokyo, Japan, in 1954. History The festival was first held in Toky ...

References

External links

* *
''The 14 Amazons''
at

Hong Kong Cinemagic Hong Kong Cinemagic, sometimes referred to as HKCinemagic, is a bilingual ( French and English) website providing a repository for information about Chinese language films from Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, and the people who created them. The websi ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:14 Amazons, The 1972 films Shaw Brothers Studio films Wuxia films 1970s action war films Funimation Films set in 11th-century Song dynasty Films set in the Western Xia Works based on The Generals of the Yang Family Hong Kong action war films Films about widowhood 1970s Mandarin-language films 1970s Hong Kong films