Deadend of Besiegers
Reviewed by Glenn Satele
Director: Cheung Siu-wai
Stars: Yu Rong Guang, Cynthia Khan, Yu Hai
This period piece/martial arts film is really
a treat. "Deadend of Besiegers" was made and released during
the Wuxia/wire-fu boom in Hong Kong, but is totally different in mood and
style from films like "Once Upon a Time in China" or the "Swordsman" series.
For starters, there is little wirework used in the fight scenes.
Also (because it was filmed in Mainland China) it showcases beautiful locales
and breathtaking images like a towering waterfall and greenish valleys.
The no-nonsense storyline is refreshing too.
Taking the previous descriptions into context, this film reminded me very
much of Jet Li's "Shaolin Temple" trilogy. As a matter of fact, Yu
Hai and the eagle claw villain from "Shaolin Temple" (also the lead villain
in other Jet Li films like "New Legend of Shaolin" and "Fong Sai Yuk II")
are featured here.
Despite the cover of the DVD (with the prominence
of Cynthia Khan), Yu Rong Guang is the star here. He plays Wuwechimatao
(or Wu for short), a Japanese warrior who is credited (at least in this
movie) for inventing karate. Cynthia Khan plays an expert in "Dog-Fist"(!!!)
and Yu Hai is her father.
There is excellent martial arts action, enjoyable
interaction between Yu Rong Guang and a cute little girl who plays Cynthia's
sister (the little girl is one of the rare non-annoying HK child-actors),
and Cynthia herself looks very good. I wish she appeared in more
period films.
It's undiscovered (and unexpected) films like
this that keep me interested in Hong Kong Cinema and wanting to search
for more gems like "Deadend of Besiegers".
My grade for the film: 8.0
(Pictures are from a VCD copy – not the
DVD)
DVD information:
Distributed by Yuki Video
The transfer is above average with some artifacting.
The subtitles are in Chinese and English and are burnt into the print,
but are fairly easy to read.
The film is NOT Letterboxed
It has a menu but it's only in Chinese.
It's easy to navigate thru though.
9 chapters
Cantonese (default) and Mandarin tracks
Overall the quality of the film overcomes the
presentation of the DVD, so it's worth at least a rental if you like "old
school" style martial arts films.