Bandits, Prostitutes and Silver (1977)

"From now on you live by violence"

Bandits, Prostitutes, and Silver was a dark kung fu film from Taiwan. No secret lists, no secret books, no Ming rebels, only bandits, prostitutes, and silver, just like the title reads. You could throw in death and dismemberment as well to be more accurate.

Shang Li is a carriage driver who is trying to earn enough money to buy freedom for Xiao Chui, the prostitute he has fallen in love with. Earning money the honest way is going to take at least nine more years and there are other interested buyers. He agrees to help the Sparrow, a notorious thief, steal a chest full of silver being transported by another carriage. When Sparrow tells him they have to kill the driver and the official inside, Shang Li balks, refusing to murder innocent people. He and Sparrow end up fighting with Sparrow being killed with his own daggers. The road to Xiao Chui is not easy though because The Red Scar Gang boasting Angela Mao and Phillip Ko Fei are hiding in the bushes waiting to ambush the silver. They are working with Wang Hsieh's Wu and Big Bad Lo Lieh as the corrupt official Pao. When these bad guys start turning on each other the fighting gets interesting. Shang Li tragically learns that crime doesn't pay, nor does it lead to true love.

The fight choreography was above average for the time. Don Wong moved pretty well and the stunt men made sure there were bodies flying everywhere. Wire-fu and reverse photography were used sparingly. The body count was high though the blood was kept to a minimum. There were goofy weapons as these films often have. Angela's character had spinning saw blades on her shoes. Lo Lieh used chains with cuffs on them that could decapitate a person. Wen Chiang Long's Sparrow shot darts out of his wrist bands. Phillip Ko didn't need weapons, he always made a kung fu battle fun even when he was being beaten. Wang Hsieh usually relied on gimmicky weapons or skills, this time he only had stress balls to futilely throw in battle. The charismatic villains improved the quality of the fights and movie greatly. For around the last 40 minutes of the film, the fighting began in earnest as baddie after baddie betrayed each other leading to death. Is there no honor among thieves?

Kao Pao Shu, a rare female director and writer for this genre worked with prolific writer Ni Kuang on the script, giving Bandits, Prostitutes, and Silver more character depth than these films usually have. In many ways this was a morality tale. Shang Li started out as a good guy, although looking for true love in a brothel might not have been the wisest course of action. When desperation drove him to crime, Sparrow was right, "From now on you live by violence." It didn't matter that he tried to minimize the theft and murders, Karma was not going to allow him the desires of his heart, only pain and death awaited him for his transgression. This kung fu film didn't back down from the tragic trajectory it set for the characters as each one paid for their betrayals with retribution coming as quickly as silver coins can fall out of a pocket. As always, I rate these old niche films on a curve, and like most old Taiwanese kung fu films, only fans of the genre may appreciate it.

7/17/23

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