The Escaper [十段高手] (1973)
Starring Hung Chiu-Hung, Lau Tak-Yan, Cindy Tang Hsin, Yee Yuen, Sit Hon, Meng Ti-Chen, Shan Mao, Shut Chung-Tin, Lee Keung, Got Siu-Bo, An Ping, Wu Kuo-Liang, Chiang Sheng
Directed by Lee Tso-Nam
Expectations: Zero. Super rare and probably for a reason. Hahaha.
Out of the hundreds of films released by the Shaw Brothers, only a few were not remastered and released to DVD by Celestial. The Escaper is one such film, but after many searches I was finally able to source a copy. It was without subtitles, but in such cases one doesn’t have the leeway to be picky. And as it turns out, The Escaper is still fairly easy to understand without the finer story points that dialogue would bring.
Obviously, I can’t give a real synopsis of what this film is about, and since it’s so rare I can’t find one anywhere else on the net either. So here goes nothin’! The Escaper opens in prison. A group of three inmates mount a daring escape attempt, but they are quickly thwarted by a badass guard with a whip and locked back in their communal cell. Not for long, though, as another guard comes to them with a basket containing a rope and a cell door key. He appears to make some kind of deal with the inmates, and before you know it he’s distracting the other guard so the inmates (who become the film’s heroes) can use the provided tools to make their escape… this time for good.