A general’s son is taken hostage and used as leverage to free a bandit leader. The general’s other offspring, a girl named Golden Swallow, is sent to rescue the son. When the bandit gang encounter the Golden Swallow in a local inn, the prisoner negotiation escalates to bloodshed and the goons are swiftly defeated. A local drunk beggar named Fan Da Pei acts as Golden Swallow’s guardian angel, secretly helping her avoid being ambushed at night. That morning Fan Da Pei, whom we now know only as “Drunken Cat”, tips off Golden Swallow to the bandits' whereabouts. They have occupied a Buddhist monastery. Under the guise of an acolyte, Golden Swallow penetrates the temple and confronts the man who’s taken her brother hostage. During the brawl, she is injured by a deadly, poisoned dart. She escapes and is rescued in the woods by Fan, who nurses her back to health. While she’s convalescing, Golden Swallow learns that Fan is actually a martial arts master and a leader of a Kung Fu society, which he otherwise keeps a secret. The monastery is led by an evil abbot, Liao Kung, who is also a kung fu master and has allied himself with the bandits. He finds out that the beggar carries a bamboo staff and then realizes that the beggar is a former student of the same master. The abbot has in fact killed their master in order to get his bamboo staff, which was rescued by Fan Da Pei. Now Liao Kung sees the opportunity to gain control of the staff. Fan Da Pei is hesitant to confront Liao Kung for two reasons. First, Liao Kung’s kung fu skills are unparalleled, and he thinks he has no chance against him, or at the very least, one of them would not survive a confrontation. Second, despite his evil ways, Liao Kung has actually done a good deed for Fan Da Pei: he persuaded the master to accept Fan Da Pei into the Green Wand Kung Fu school when he was a mere homeless orphan, thus giving him a chance in life. For this reason, Fan is reluctant to fight the abbot even though Fan knows about the abbot’s criminal deeds. In order to release the General’s son, Fan stages a prisoner exchange. During the exchange, the government soldiers receive the General’s son, but Fan prevents the bandits from releasing their leader. As the government soldiers march the bandit leader back to prison, the bandits attack the procession. Golden Swallow, leading her female warriors, fights off the bandits. The evil abbot forces a showdown with Fan Da Pei. (Source: Wikipedia) Edit Translation
- English
- magyar / magyar nyelv
- dansk
- Norsk
- Native Title: 大醉俠
- Also Known As: Big Drunken Hero , Da Zui Xia
- Screenwriter & Director: King Hu
- Screenwriter: Ting Shan Hsi
- Genres: Wuxia
Cast & Credits
- Cheng Pei Pei Main Role
- Chan Hung Lit"Jade Faced Tiger"Main Role
- Yueh HuaFan Ta PiMain Role
- Yang Chi ChingLiao Kung [Abbot]Support Role
- Hsu Hsia[Caravan guard]Guest Role
- Lee Wan Chung"Smiling Tiger"/ Tsu KanGuest Role
Reviews
The characters were well rounded and even the supporting cast had weight and depth to them. The main leads had proper character development, unlike many cardboard cut-out characters from other martial arts movies.
Cheng Pei Pei was only 19-years-old and already she showed she could carry a movie. Though she lacked in fighting experience her grace and steely gaze made her character someone to be reckoned with when she drew her blades. A truly strong female lead who faced danger head on and dispatched her enemies on her terms. Yueh Hua was convincing as the Drunken Cat and leader of the beggar children who always showed up when needed and fought without fighting for the most part.
If I had one complaint, it was the number of musical scenes. I had to keep in mind that the songs were a subterfuge and means of passing along messages which would have made more sense to me the first time it happened if the copy I watched had subtitles for the songs.
The fight scenes were crude compared to later movie sword-fights but this was cutting edge at the time. Pei Pei's fight scenes were often stylized and dance-like, maybe not realistic but beautiful. Camera angles enhancing the actors' movements as well as attachment for the characters' well-being kept the fights interesting and also moved the story along. The story was well-written and was surprisingly well-layered.
The cinematography, sets, and costumes were definitely a notch above many of the wuxia movies from the time and even those that followed.
Come Drink with Me is an entertaining and well made movie, a worthy grandmother to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and other movies which benefited from it's storytelling.