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Jimmy Wang Yu, the first superstar of martial arts in Hong Kong, was known to the world for his indelible role as the One-Armed Swordsman in the Shaw Brothers Studio classic, The One-Armed Swordsman (1967). He made only seven more movies with the studio before he directed The Hammer of God (also called The Chinese Boxer) as his directorial debut. In a completely unexpected move, he shocked everyone when he decided to quit the studio. In 1970, he released The Hammer of God and the year later, he starred in nine movies, one of which was the Hong Kong/Taiwan co-production Blood of the Dragon. The story is quite straightforward: A dying man hands a young boy a scroll sealed in a bamboo tube. The scroll marks the names of those who are willing to rebel against the evil Prime Minister who is now on the hunt for those that oppose him. The boy is saved by Wang Yu’s character, Lung Ti, more famously referred to as the White Dragon, who now decides to aid him in his attempt to bring the list to Prince Ma Tung.
There’s more to it than that, but Kao Pao-shu, the writer and director, is a woman so the film moves at a very quick pace and there is no pause in the action. The violent fight scenes are beautifully shot and well choreographed, and the camera work as a whole is spectacular. She does not just rely on handheld cameras, but when she does use them, it is very effective with the energy given to the scene. The creativity in weapons adds some entertaining wire work too, which enhances the overall feel of the movie. The fight scenes in the film are very bloody for that specific time. During the climax of this epic battle, Wang Yu’s character is clothed in all white, as he is attempting to disguise himself. Pao-shu gives his character some great lines, and somehow, still manages to keep the audience’s attention. Pao-Shu allows you to understand Wang Yu without dialogue. For instance, first meeting the White Dragon, you think he is an ordinary antihero. However, later in the film he speaks of his past and life choices, revealing he is someone who isn’t proud of many things. Yu portrays those more subtle and darker parts of the character very well. When missing the list is the key problem, protecting the boy and getting it to the Prince is the only way to redeem him, and you can’t help but wish.
In the few films of her filmography that I’ve been able to watch, Bandits, Prostitutes and Silver (1977) and this one, I can already tell that Kao Pao-shu is just so much better at storytelling than many of her male contemporaries. This particular piece reaches the highest standards of mastery for Jimmy Wang Yu and saying that makes it one of his most exhilarating kung fu movie.
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