Angela Mao: Hapkido and Lady Whirlwind (1972) – a must for any connoisseur of the Kung Fu genre (Blu-Ray Review)

There is a long tradition of on-screen female action stars in Chinese cinema history. Sometimes referred to as 打女/Du Na (see THIS excellent video by Accented Cinema for a deeper dive into this tradition) and starting back when Shanghai was the centre of the Chinese film-making world in the 1930s with Xu Qin-fang through to the legendary Shaw Brothers actor Cheng Pei-Pei to the modern Queen of Kung Fu, Michelle Yeoh, this idea of Lethal Ladies that can hold their own with the brutish fella’s is nothing new.

However, one of the most prominent names associated with the pantheon of Jade Screen icons is the exemplary Angela Mao Ying. Often associated with Bruce Lee thanks to her unforgettable appearance in Enter The Dragon, it is her working relationship with Sammo Hung Kam-Bo that bears the most fruit. Starting in 1971 with The Invincible Eight, they would make a plethora of films together that includes some of the very best that the genre had to offer in the 1970s. Broken Oath, The Tournament, When Taekwondo Strikes and many more besides, including the two films from the new Eureka Entertainment Blu-Ray release, Hap Ki Do (aka Lady Kung Fu) and Lady Whirlwind.

Both films were released in 1972 and both were directed by Wong Fung, with Fight Choreography falling to the future legend Sammo Hung, each film shows a progression in fight styles with flashes of the genius we would all come to expect just a decade later. Whilst Lady Whirlwind may carry the more intriguing story of the two, Hap Ki Do more than delivers in the all too familiar School Vs School format made popular by Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury (aka The Chinese Connection) based on the template set by wang Yu in The Chinese Boxer (1970). Each carries a heavy anti-Japanese sentiment (something that still carries on to this day, for example, the Wilson Yip/Donnie Yen Ip Man franchise). One that can be quite jarring for modern audiences, but within the historical context of the time, less than 30 years removed from the end of WWII, the internal feeling of China being considered the Sick Man Of Asia. A theme very common in all forms of entertainment and cinema played its part in the healing process.

Despite this theme being prevalent in both, Lady Whirlwind focuses more on the personal strife caused by regret and revenge. Whilst this film predominantly stars Ching Yi as our wronged hero, it is Mao Ying that steals the limelight as Tien Li-Chun, a loving sister seeking vengeance for the death of her sibling, caused by our hero, Ling Shi-Hao (Ching Yi). Right there tells us that we are not in our usual “excuse for a fight” territory. There are reasons for actions, characters grow over the course of time, and whilst some lessons just aren’t learnt, the conclusion is both bittersweet yet oddly satisfying.

On the other hand, Hap Ki Do is something we have seen a million times before, from movies to video games to the daily news. This is School Vs School in the way it was intended. Here the anti-Japanese feeling is at its strongest, as our protagonists (Mao Ying, Carter Wong and Sammo Hung) return from Korea to teach their fellow Chinese compatriots the art of Hap Ki Do. However, the local Japanese-run Black Bear School takes umbrage with this and threatens the very lives of everyone associated with the newly formed place of learning. This does exactly what you would expect it to do. Fights are fought, evil is done and revenge is taken, but what separates this from the far more complex Lady Whirlwind is the progression in actions. There is more fluidity, brutality and overall improvement in the execution. Whilst
we would have to wait until 1980s The Victim to see just how good Sammo Hung the Fight Choreographer could be, this is the film where it really started to come together, and facing the two films included in this set were filmed just a few months apart, the quality is night and day. It also contains “blink and you’ll miss them” appearances from Yuen Biao, Jackie Chan, Corey Yuen and Mr Vampire himself, Lam Ching-Ying.

The quality of both prints in the Eureka set are the best they have ever been. Arguably a bit too good. Where some of these films could get away with certain actions on the big screen to VHS, DVD started showing the gaps and Blu Ray puts them in stark daylight. However, these two films are being giving love and care in a genre where there are more films lost than are found, so full credit is given to the likes of Eureka and Fortune Star for rescuing and releasing these films, giving a new generation the chance to discover the wonderment of Kung Fu cinema, a genre that is all but gone from the modern landscape.

Filled with commentaries, features and two wonderful interviews with Angela Mao Ying herself, these are a must for any connoisseur of the Kung Fu genre, just go in with the understanding of the time these were made and the cultural feeling of the time.

Angela Mao: Hapkido and Lady Whirlwind