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Secret Rivals

Original title: Nan quan bei tui
  • 1976
  • Unrated
  • 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
366
YOUR RATING
Secret Rivals (1976)
ActionDrama

A classic kung fu movie! Wang Tao plays Shen Yi Wei, the son of a General, who travels to the Gold Valley in Korea to investigate a gold heist that took place 3 years ago.A classic kung fu movie! Wang Tao plays Shen Yi Wei, the son of a General, who travels to the Gold Valley in Korea to investigate a gold heist that took place 3 years ago.A classic kung fu movie! Wang Tao plays Shen Yi Wei, the son of a General, who travels to the Gold Valley in Korea to investigate a gold heist that took place 3 years ago.

  • Directors
    • Seok-hoon Nam
    • See-Yuen Ng
  • Writers
    • See-Yuen Ng
    • Lu Tung
  • Stars
    • John Liu
    • Don Wong
    • Jeong-lee Hwang
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.4/10
    366
    YOUR RATING
    • Directors
      • Seok-hoon Nam
      • See-Yuen Ng
    • Writers
      • See-Yuen Ng
      • Lu Tung
    • Stars
      • John Liu
      • Don Wong
      • Jeong-lee Hwang
    • 9User reviews
    • 13Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos28

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    Top cast21

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    John Liu
    John Liu
    • Shao Yi-Fei
    Don Wong
    Don Wong
    • Shang Ying Wai
    • (as Tao Wong)
    Jeong-lee Hwang
    • Silver Fox
    • (as Jang Lee Hwang)
    Seok-hoon Nam
    Seok-hoon Nam
    • Lung Lun
    • (as James Nam)
    • …
    Ming Chin
    Ming Chin
    Jae-ho Choi
    Hsiao-chen Chuen
    Tai-chu Huang
    Robert Kerver
    • Gonov
    Gong-il Kim
    Wang Kuk Kim
    Yun-Min Li
    Do-shik Ma
    Jung-il Nam
    Po-dong Nam
    Dong-ryong Park
    Chin-Tang Tang
    Chin-Tang Tang
    Wei-Ho Tu
    • Directors
      • Seok-hoon Nam
      • See-Yuen Ng
    • Writers
      • See-Yuen Ng
      • Lu Tung
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews9

    6.4366
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    Featured reviews

    7sarastro7

    Definitely not bad

    Secret Rivals doesn't have a great storyline, but the actors know their kung fu! The movie features a good deal of fighting, and some excellent practice sessions.

    The version I saw had very poor picture quality and not all of the subtitles were visible. This is of course a shame, and contributed a great deal to the fact that I only enjoyed this movie moderately. But if it was available in DVD quality, with a clear and crisp picture and sound, it would be a great experience.

    This is the kind of movie that Bruce Lee SHOULD have done. His presence here would have elevated this to a world-famous classic.

    My rating: 7 out of 10.
    9drngor

    Standard fare until last half

    This is one of Hwang Jang Lee's first movies and it was pretty good at that. It concerns two men, played by Wong Tao and John Liu who are both after Hwang but don't realize it. The first half is standard kung fu. Things get good during the second half when John Liu, a great kicker also, and Hwang Jang Lee begin to fight. All leads to an excellent final battle between Wong Tao, John Liu, and Hwang. Hwang proves he's more than a match for the two combined. The kicking, although not as fancy as some other movies, is still impressive.
    10kwhuneycutt

    "Right, The Feet!"

    The Secret Rivals (1976) is a fantastic independent kung fu film by the legendary Ng See Yuen and is perhaps one of the 10 best films of the martial arts genre. It is said that Ng See Yuen wanted to cast talented unknown martial artists in this film and in the process he helped to launch the careers of John Liu, Hwang Jang Lee and Wang Tao. The Secret Rivals is a story about two strangers who come to town with different motives, one is out for justice the other for revenge. While in town they display their kung fu on the locals and vie for the affection of the same woman. Eventually they have to work together to accomplish their secret shared goal.

    Filmed in Korea among beautiful pagodas and ancient temples, the Secret Rivals features plenty of the local martial art- Taekwondo. This movie is perhaps the greatest kicking movie of all time. Real life Taekwondo masters and screen kicking legends John Liu and Hwang Jang Lee put on an absolute kicking exhibition with flying kicks, jump spinning kicks and nearly vertical side kicks. John Liu puts on an awesome display of flexibility and kicking ability in this film and proves that he is perhaps one of the most flexible actors in the history of kung fu cinema. Liu also gives a solid acting performance as the "northern leg" Shao Yi-Fei, a man who is a "loner by nature." Wang Tao gives a charismatic performance as "southern fist" Sheng Ying Wei. Wang Tao is in tremendous shape in this film and gives a terrific physical performance, perhaps the best of his career. There are shades of Bruce Lee in his performance, especially with the nunchucks. Secret Rivals was also a breakthrough film for Hwang Jang Lee. Lee brings a powerful presence to the screen as the evil "Silver Fox", one of the greatest villains in the genre's history. As a real life 7th degree black belt of Taekwondo, Lee convincingly holds his own against the talented Liu and Tao. He would go on to star as a villain for much of the rest of his career appearing in such films as "Drunken Master" and "Snake in Eagle's Shadow" with Jackie Chan. Lee and Liu would team up for a few more films including "The Secret Rivals 2," "Invincible Armor" and "the Snuff Bottle Connection."

    The Secret Rivals is a bit slow starting as a lot of plot and backstory are introduced but the action heats up big time when the Silver Fox (Lee) drops in. Secret Rivals features a unique "spaghetti western" sound track (The Big Gundown by Ennio Morricone) with pounding drums, twanging electric guitar, blaring brass section and angelic choral singers. The film is really helped out by great supporting performances featuring many talented martial artists in smaller roles. The Secret Rivals does have its old school kung fu movie quirks: some overacting, bad dubbing, theatrical deaths, contrived fights and lots of evil laughing. Li Ming Wen (Tommy Lee) and Chang Chuan do a fantastic job at fight choreography. Many kung fu films around the same time had dance-like, over choreographed fight sequences. The Secret Rivals features a faster, more brutal, and realistic style of fight choreography. (Some of the best you'll ever see)

    The Secret Rivals is a fantastic first effort for Seasonal Films and is one of the best independent martial arts films ever made. Solid writing and direction by Ng See Yuen, great physical performances by John Liu, Hwang Jang Lee and Wang Tao plus some nice stunt work by Yuen Baio make the Secret Rivals one of the very best films of the kung fu genre.

    Martial Arts Genre Rating: 10/10 (classic)

    -"I think you're looking for trouble. I might just oblige. That'll shut you up."

    -"I'd be glad to accept."
    10Unreal29

    I still got one punch left

    This movie was the first karate/kung-fu movie that i had seen and still today i watch it definately a classic, the Silver Fox is one cool dude anyway good action tons of fights good plot and the usual dubbing but overall 10/10.
    6Leofwine_draca

    Lively actioner with plenty of fights to keep it moving

    THE SECRET RIVALS is a lively and solid kung fu film that helped launch the screen career of master villain Hwang Jang Lee. The film is set in ancient Korea and features a couple of kung fu fighters teaming up to bring down the Silver Fox, a wily master who has some high-kicking talent. You can guess which role Lee plays. The movie was directed by Ng See-Yuen, who has made some of the better entries in the martial arts genre, and is never less than entertaining.

    One thing I did notice about this film is that it was made in the middle period between the success of the Bruce Lee and Shaw Brothers movies but before Jackie Chan came along and revitalised the decade at the end of the 1970s. Thus the fight choreography isn't quite as top notch as it would get to be later on in the decade and in the early 1980s, although the fights here are still pretty good and have a tendency to get better towards the end. There are some fun training sequences with a larger-than-life dummy and an Ennio Morricone score borrowed from an old spaghetti western. Lee is a delight as always and is well matched by the talents of John Liu and Don Wong.

    More like this

    Secret Rivals 2
    6.4
    Secret Rivals 2
    The Invincible Armour
    6.9
    The Invincible Armour
    Snuff Bottle Connection
    6.4
    Snuff Bottle Connection
    Death Duel of Kung Fu
    5.9
    Death Duel of Kung Fu
    The Eight Masters
    6.1
    The Eight Masters
    Bloody Monkey Master
    6.4
    Bloody Monkey Master
    Snake in the Eagle's Shadow
    7.3
    Snake in the Eagle's Shadow
    In the Line of Duty IV
    7.1
    In the Line of Duty IV
    Xin nan quan bei tui
    5.2
    Xin nan quan bei tui
    Knockabout
    7.2
    Knockabout
    The Sword
    6.9
    The Sword
    The Prodigal Son
    7.3
    The Prodigal Son

    Related interests

    Bruce Willis in Die Hard (1988)
    Action
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama

    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      The opening song for this movie (and it is played again several times throughout the film) is from Lee Van Cleef's 1966 spaghetti western "The Big Gundown". Title is "Run Man Run", composed by Ennio Morricone, with lyrics by Audrey Nohra, and sung by Maria Cristina Brancucci.
    • Connections
      Edited into 18 Golden Destroyers (1985)

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • June 18, 1976 (Hong Kong)
    • Country of origin
      • Hong Kong
    • Language
      • Mandarin
    • Also known as
      • Silver Fox Rivals
    • Production company
      • Seasonal Film Corporation
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 30m(90 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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