The Good and the Bad [餓虎狂龍] (1972)
AKA Kung Fu-The Invisible Fist, Kung Fu-The Invincible Fist, Tiger Vs Dragon, Death Rivals of Shaolin, Dragon and Tiger Ways
Starring Chan Sing, Yasuaki Kurata, Wong Yuen-San, Gai Yuen, Michael Chan Wai-Man, Chiang Nan, Irene Ryder, Hon Gwok-Choi
Directed by Ng See-Yuen
Expectations: I don’t know anything about this one, but I’m very excited for some reason.
A bit of context: I’m watching The Good and the Bad and one other (Black List) before I jump back into my chronological Shaw Brothers project and start 1973. (Oooo, it’s so close I can taste it!) These two films were in the Top 10 Hong Kong Box Office for 1972, and I figured they’d add an interesting context to what else was going on in 1972 HK other than Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest/Bruce Lee films that I’ve already seen. I also plan to do this for all future years as well, but in chrono order along with the Shaw films. There’s actually not too many of these, so it only adds a few films to the series while presumably expanding my view of the time (and hopefully also adding to my enjoyment!). After watching The Good and the Bad, all I can say is, “So far, so good.” It delivered on both entertainment and contextual standpoints, so I am happy with my decision to go ahead and tack these extra films on.
The story in The Good and the Bad is as generic as “Kung Fu vs. Karate” plots come. Japan sends in a super badass karate master spy (Yasuaki Kurata) to help take over the docks in Shanghai. China sends in a super badass kung fu master spy (Chan Sing) to stop him. That’s it. If you want more than that, there are lots of movies that will do you a solid. But The Good and the Bad makes up for this lack in story with fights. Lots of fights. No, scratch that — LOTS OF FIGHTS.