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The Voyage of the Emperor Chien Lung
Hong Kong 1978
produced by Shaw Brothers
directed by Li Han-Hsiang
starring Liu Yung, Chiang Nam, Li Kun, Chan Shen, Kara Hui (= Hui Ying-Hung), Wang Sha, Yueh Hua, Cheung Ying
Chien Lung
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Travelling through the provinces incognito with his servant Er Rong-an
(Chian Nam),
emperor Chien Lung (Liu Yung) delights in betting on just about everything with his
treasurer Liu (Li Kun), who always has to fight enormous odds but each time tends
to win thanks to his wit & eloquence, winning many a ring from his
master but yet having to win the royal gorn which he so longs for. When
the 3 of them learn about painter, poet & calligrapher Zheng (Yueh
Hua), who
refuses to paint on demand, Chien Lung & Rong-an see a great
opportunity to win everything they lost back & ask Liu to get one of
his paintings. But Liu is once again a step ahead of them, as he first
gets Zheng considerably drunk, & then forbids him to paint a picture
for him, always knowing that Zheng is not a man to be forbidden
anything. Having lost the bet & pretty much broke, Chien Lung &
Rong-an visit a fortune teller (Chaung Yin), who of course sees through the emperor's
disguise (after all, he is a fortune teller) but unfortunately
knows he has to die the day he sees Chien Lung. Chien Lung offers him
his protection, & soon the emperor, the fortune teller & Rong-an
visit a restaurant, where Chien Lung gets into a fight, defending the
girl Phoenix from the evil clutches of the governor's sons - even though
the girl, a skilled martial artist, does not need al that much help.
& despite all the dangers of the fight, even the fortune teller
survives it when the emperor's army arrives to incarcerate the
governor's sons - unfortunately he is killed though soon afterwards by
some falling debris from the fight. After this the emperor decides to
have his head shaved on the streets incognito, but soon loses his nerve
with the barber (Wang Sha) & his wife, who all the time fight about a lottery
ticket. That gives him an idea though & he decides for yet another
bet, Liu has to beat the local lottery & win all its money, a task
that would seem insurmountable even for Liu. But Liu hasn't lost his wits
yet & disguises himself as a rich tourist who spends all his money
only to win in the lottery, no matter at what cost. But as the head of
the lottery is greedy, he soon tries to trick Liu out of his winnings -
which Liu lets happen quite deliberately, since he has already taken
precautions that the head of the lottery will be beaten exactly by his
own trick. Finally, Liu wins the royal gown, but only for a day, &
in the heat of the summer ...
This light comedy, actually the third in a four part series about
emperor Chien Lung, that proved to be pretty popular with audiences
& even won a Taiwanese Golden Horse Award for best adapted
screenplay in 1979 - but the screenplay is exactly one of the major
faults of the movie, as it is made up of loosely or not at all connected
episodes rather than telling one story, with the focus of the film
changing from Liu to Chien Lung & back again rather at random (in
the Liu-epsiodes the emperor even seems to be rather the bad guy). The
movie has its moments though & even a good martial arts battle
(though not being a martial arts movie per se), but it's far from being
a masterpiece.
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review © by Mike Haberfelner
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