It starts with "Who are these people and why are they fighting?" It's a contest. At about 1:30 into the action Sammo Hung appears as a fighter. The big fight is Paul Chang Chung versus Charlie Chin Chiang-Lin. There is wirework in the swordfight and for two non-martial arts actors in 1971 it was a good fight. Paul rides off without his gold winnings. He finds his woman in bed with another man and kills them both then surrenders to the authorities. Walking to his execution he decides to escape. Melinda takes him in hiding.
My copy is a digital file that seems made from a television broadcast. There is an "8" in the corner as in Channel 8 I suspect. The resolution is comparable to an old VHS tape. The dialog is Chinese with no subtitles and I do not speak Chinese. Initially the story was easy to follow. The extended drama in the middle of the movie was hard to follow.
Though the opening fight looked good, the rest of the action was below average. The moves were off balance and not smooth. There was no power in the punches and kicks and the focus was mostly off target. The movie became heavy on the drama after Paul's escape. There were only a few short fights until the final fight. The last ten minutes is the final fight with Paul versus Melinda. Most of the action is Paul avoiding her attacks. There is a lot of wire work also. Melinda's attacks are powerful and on target. So the two good fights are the first and last. The action in the middle is all below average.
I rate this as just average for the year and genre. I recommend it only for hard core fans of the genre.
