Angela Mao, Carter Wong, Sammo Hung and director Huang Feng made a number of films together for the Golden Harvest Studio, including Hapkido and When Taekwondo Strikes, but in 1974 they made The Tournament, a slightly different angle of the genre at the time because it involved Thai Boxing.
After one of his students dies at a martial arts tournament in Thailand, kung fu master Lau (Ko Hisiang-ting) suffers deep dishonour and commits suicide. His children – Carter Wong and Angela Mao- vow to restore his reputation, and that of Chinese kung fu. But to do so, they’ll have to travel to Thailand themselves and fight in the same tournament – but if they fail, they could lose everything.
For its time this film was ahead of most other kung fu movies in regards to the fight choreography, thanks to Sammo Hung, which is very well filmed and executed. Angela Mao gets to show some of the skill she learned while training at the Opera School and her kicking especially is fluid and great to see.
What the story does is question some ways in which Chinese martial arts are taught with little reality to real combat or fighting in the ring. A concept Bruce Lee developed a few years earlier. It should be noted that his house in Hong Kong was used as the kung fu federation headquarters while making this movie. It’s also fascinating to see Hong Kong and Thailand as they looked in the early 1970’s.
Highlight of the film include a great match up between Sammo Hung and Angela Mao as well as Wilson Tong going head to head with Angela on some wooden poles. Also Hwang In Sik turns up with his thugs as a Karate expert who challenges the school but gets badly beaten.
There are some parts of the film that slow the pace down such as when they arrive in Thailand its almost a 5 minute tourist video as they drive around in the car to the place where they are staying.
The film did not get a theatrical release at the time, not in the UK anyhow, which is suprising considering the stars involved. Thankfully it has now been remastered and released on Blu ray buy 88 Films in the USA and as part of a box set of Angela Mao films in the UK.
Fans of Angela Mao or kung fu movies in general should pick this upas it deserves to be in any fans collection.
FILM – 7.5 OUT OF 10
