The Heroic Ones Blu-ray offers solid video and mediocre audio in this mediocre Blu-ray release
The fate of China hangs in the balance in this 1970 Shaw Brothers epic, the story of two brothers in the final
years of the Tang Dynasty. Directed by revered filmmaker Chang Cheh, 'The Heroic Ones' pits the martial artist
siblings against one another in a kung fu battle for the ultimate prize: a place in history.
Directed in 1970 by Cheh Chang (one of the greatest martial arts directors of Chinese cinema), The Heroic Ones (Shi san tai bao) is a bit of a departure from the kung fu styling of other films released during the same time period. Incorporating bigger sets, colorful period costumes, and extensive weapon choreography, the film occasionally ventures into epic territory, but ultimately fails to leave a lasting impression.
I didn't know it was possible to grow your eyebrows that long.
Intending to overthrow the capital city of Chang-an, Mongol King Li Ke Yung (Ku Feng) sends 9 of his 13 warrior-sons on a mission to assassinate the current leader. Upon their arrival, the formidable clan quickly dispatches a large portion of the city's security force, before hiding out in the residence of a young woman and her father. The fourth and twelfth brothers view this hospitality as an invite to rape the young woman, though the heroic thirteenth brother steps in to spare her dignity. As a result, the two shamed brothers escape under the darkness of night, leaving the seven remaining brothers to survive on their own in enemy territory. The following morning, the entire entourage returns home empty-handed, but two of the most cherished brothers find favor in their father's eyes for striking fear into the hearts of their enemies. The disgraced brothers involved in the attempted rape are pardoned for their discretions, but tasked with leading an army to overthrow the remaining guards of the castle. This proves unnecessary when the prior King abandons his castle, allowing the Mongol King to take over, and opening the door for a treacherous conspiracy involving the leader of an adjacent territory. Recognizing the growing division between the sons of his newly crowned rival, the scheming prime minister (who was embarrassed in a prior encounter with the Mongol King) pits brother against brother and father against son, leaving a bloody path in his wake.
Considering the title of the film, there's something decidedly non-heroic about The Heroic Ones. From the opening party sequence, the thirteen brothers act like a bunch of spoiled little kids in search of a good time. In fact, the two main heroes of the story (expect that term to be used loosely throughout this review) are quickly established as less-than-savory characters, as one douses a cornered woman with wine, while the other embarrasses the noble prime minister by stealing his belt. These actions cause uproarious laughter among their fellow childish brothers, but I found the over-the-top antics a bit immature and misleading within the context of the story. Naturally, this created problems later in the film, since I struggled to adjust out of my initial dislike for the 13 brothers (despite several attempts to paint them in a positive light).
The other problem with the lengthy opening party scene is the tone it develops from the outset, creating a weird imbalance as the story moves forward. When a production initially pushes comedic elements in such an in-your-face manner, the transition to a tragedy feels awkward and forced. Imagine watching an episode of "The Three Stooges" for 2 hours, and suddenly witnessing Larry kill Curly in the closing minutes. Wouldn't you feel a bit conflicted?
Now, before anyone grabs a pitchfork and accuses me of not accepting the basic principles of kung-fu cinema, I should mention that I'm a huge fan of these vintage classics, and am absolutely thrilled that we're beginning to see so many trickle out at such an early stage in the format's growth cycle (remember how long it took for this genre to hit the DVD market?). In most cases, I find the mixture of tragedy, comedy, and violence a welcomed change from the typical 1970's output of our Hollywood studios. The recipe certainly isn't for everyone, and it often requires a period of time for newly-introduced fans to acclimate into the world of early martial arts cinema. That being said, I often find little to complain about in the extensive Shaw Brothers catalog, and the many excellent films they financed over the years. I guess in some ways, a film like The Heroic Ones simply serves as a reminder that every studio creates a marginal production from time to time.
Moving beyond the hit-and-miss nature of the plot, The Heroic Ones still stands as an entertaining expose on fight choreography. Turning away from the usual hand-to-hand combat of director Chang Cheh's prior work, this film incorporates all manner of weaponry to recreate a feudal atmosphere, and enhance the fantasy elements in the production. Characters are shown leaping from the heights of 50-foot castle walls, floating through the air in dazzling slow-motion, and performing all manner of gravity-defying stunts. These acrobatics aren't nearly as artistic as we've seen in modern offerings such as Hero or House of Flying Daggers, but they fall within the same category by dispensing with a need for realism. After all, it's not often we witness a single warrior fight off an army of more than a hundred soldiers with his intestines spilling out from an open wound in his stomach.
Presented in 1080i utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 15Mbps), The Heroic Ones isn't necessarily a revelation on Blu-ray, but I was still rather impressed with the proficiency of the high-definition image. As many of you know, Chinese cinema blossomed during the 1970's, resulting in an immense library of low-budget productions. During this time, the Shaw Brother studio stood at the top of the heap, thanks in large part to the increased attention the "kung-fu" genre received on western shores. The point of this brief history lesson is merely an acknowledgement that these films often worked within the framework of limited funds and a short production schedule (often ruling out multiple takes if a shot seemed a touch out of focus). Therefore, the visual upgrade in a transition from standard definition to 1080i is certainly appreciable, but won't hold a candle to the typical precision of a Hollywood production. Fine object detail offers reasonably clarity, revealing heightened surface textures, increased background depth, and occasionally strong facial nuances (especially in close-ups). The coloring of the film also receives a subtle boost in richness, allowing a wide spectrum of hues to adorn the ornate clothing and decorations throughout the film. Continuing with the positives, I never detected visible combing related to the interlaced transfer, blacks retain adequate depth, contrast handles every shade with ease, and aside from the appearance of very fine aliasing, there are no digital flaws to speak of. As good as this may sound, I'd still encourage potential viewers to keep your expectations in check, since flaws in the source material are readily apparent from start to finish (jittering camera, out-of-focus shots, etc.).
Turning to the audio portion of the disc, we're given two lossless tracks, recreating both the English dub and the native Cantonese mix. Both options are delivered in two-channel stereo, and sound exactly as I anticipated. Given the limitations in sound design at the time of the film's production, it's not terribly surprising to find high-volume crackle, modest clipping, and fight sounds that reminded me of my five-year-old nephew pushing pre-defined buttons on his Casio keyboard. To make matters worse, I quickly grew annoyed with a distinct sound that's played over and over during every fight sequence, which recreated the sound of a squeaky gate swinging back and forth. I believe this was supposed to simulate metal sliding along metal, but the end result felt like nails on a chalkboard. All of these problems would seemingly relegate The Heroic Ones to the bottom barrel when it comes to Blu-ray audio tracks, so you might be surprised to find I still awarded the film a 2.5/5 on the audio portion of the disc. My reasoning behind this decision isn't an implication that this is an average quality release, but rather an indication of the limitations Well Go worked with in creating the dual tracks. As we all know, you can't turn apples into oranges, so the fact that we aren't given a jaw-dropping mix should be tempered by a realization that the source material doesn't allow for much improvement.
Unfortunately, my forgiving opinion of the audio track doesn't extend into the awful grammar and spelling demonstrated in the English subtitles. I'd never suggest the need to complete an entirely new translation for the subtitle track (especially given the low retail price of this release), but merely hiring someone to spend an afternoon cleaning up the basics would have been appreciated.
Despite my initial excitement at the thought of soaking up two hours of good old fashioned kung-fu mayhem, The Heroic Ones turned out to be a bit of a letdown. Some may find it unreasonable to judge the merits of an entire film by the opening fifteen minutes, but when it sets the course for everything that's to come, and effectively undermines the entire nature of the storyline, it becomes rather difficult to pass off. If you approach the film with a sole interest in fight choreography, lavish sets, and epic production values (for a classic Shaw Brothers film), chances are good you'll walk away happy. However, anyone looking for a balanced tone, cohesive storytelling, and characters worth rooting for will inevitably leave with feelings of disappointment. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go choke down twenty cups of sake and look for something "heroic" to do tonight.
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