2 GREAT CAVALIERS
(Taiwan 1978)
Original Title: Ci Xiong Shuang Sha 雌雄雙煞 (aka) Two Great Cavaliers; Blade Of Fury; Deadly Duo
Directed by Yang Ching Chen Produced by Chen Wen Sen Action by Kwan Hung, Leung Kar Yan Starring: Angela Mao Ying, John Liu, Leung Kar Yan, Chen Sing, Wen Chiang Long, Chin Lung, Shih Chung Tien, Kwan Hung Reviewing: YouTube Release Genres: Drama / Traditional Kung Fu
Rating: 2.7 / 5
Synopsis: After a gang of Manchu killers murder Ou Yang Chun's fiancee while in search of a list containing the names of all Ming Dynasty rebels, the angered fighter teams up with lady warrior Hsiao Mei to take revenge! (94 Mins)
Views: There's no denying that this late 70s Taiwanese flick will grab the attention of kung-fu fans with it's main stars, but 2 Great Cavaliers isn't anything too special in the grand scheme of things. Although simple in plot, the film-makers tend to let things get a little more complicated and the edit of this particular version doesn't exactly help (never mind the English dub). As the film rolls along it offers up a few twists here-and-there, but nothing too surprising ever comes from it. And after many fights, double-crossings, deaths, and deadly traps, it all boils down to a big showdown in the grand finale that sees four heroic fighters take on the major bad guy – offering up plenty of great kicking action and exciting moves!
I often wonder how much better films like this would look in a cleaned-up, restored version that allows us to see things in its original ratio (and language) and with what the director actually intended. I do love Taiwanese kung-fu films from this era as they usually offer plenty of fun characters in lavish costumes and wildly inventive choreography – and 2 Great Cavaliers is no exception. While it's not amazing and has plenty of flaws throughout, the film still entertains with plenty of decent kung-fu action, and that's really what we all came here for to be honest. Super-kicker John Liu plays Ou Yang Chung, a rebel fighter who is attacked every-which-way he turns and has problems with his lady who likes to get him in trouble. But at the same time, he looks great with a costume and style that looks like he had just stepped off the set of his co-star's more superior film, Broken Oath. Although he made his debut in 1972's Great Boxer, Liu would catch the attention of the kung-fu world when he was cast as Hsiao Yi Fei in Ng See Yuen's amazing classic, Secret Rivals. After starring in its sequel the following year, Liu went on to star in classics such as The Invincible Armour, Snuff Bottle Connection, Invincible Kung Fu Trio, and Mars Villa before starring in this. A student of the great Dorian Tan Tao Liang, John Liu continued acting into the early 80s, turning his hand to directing with Zen Kwun Do Strikes In Paris in 1979. This was followed by In The Claws Of The CIA and Dragon Blood soon after, before Liu went state-side in 1984 to make the infamous New York Ninja. After running into some major production difficulties before the film was actually finished, Liu abandoned the project altogether and retired from the industry – refusing to take part in interviews or public life, except for making an appearance in Robert Tai's 1998 flick Trinity Goes East, for producer Toby Russell. New York Ninja lay unedited and unseen for almost 30 years, until director and producer Kurtis Spieler came across it in the vaults of his new workplace. After viewing what was on the reels, Spieler made his ambition to bring Liu's unseen final film to life, with New York Ninja finally getting an incredible release on Blu-ray courtesy of Vinegar Syndrome in 2021 (check out my review elsewhere on the site, and my unboxing video on the Invincible Asia YouTube channel)...
The wonderful Angela Mao Ying stars as Hsiao Mei, the heroine of the piece and scene stealer of 2 Great Cavaliers. Although she started acting the same year as Liu, Mao Ying managed to rack-up a hefty 27 films prior to this including classics like Lady Whirlwind, Hapkido, Enter The Dragon, The Fate Of Lee Khan, When Taekwondo Strikes, A Queen's Ransom, and Broken Oath. The late 70s saw her move into more independent Taiwanese productions with The Lady Constables, Swift Shaolin Boxer, and Legendary Strike following this in 1978, before going on to star in a small number of titles before her retirement from the industry around 1984 after her marriage to Kelly Lau. Handsome Taiwanese actor Wen Chiang Long stars as troubled swordsman and hired killer, Pai Lung Hsing. Over the years, Wen headlined quite a number of films racking-up almost 60 film credits to his name overall and started off in the industry with a role in Fly Swallow Vs One Eyed Knight (1968). The young star joined forces with Joseph Kuo only a few years later to star in The Death Duel and Triangular Duel – going on to star in Tiger Boxer, Rikisha Kuri, Iron Man, Hero Of Kwantong and Shaolin Kung Fu. Plenty more fun films would soon follow such as Tiger Jungle, Mars Men, Eight Hundred Heroes, 18 Shaolin Riders, Fight For Shaolin Tamo Mystique, Idiot Swordsman, Shaolin Invincible Guys, The Master & The Kid, and much more including The Super Rider series of films which were a Taiwanese take on the popular Kamen Rider from Japan. The always impressive Leung Kar Yan pops-up to deliver the opening action sequence, as well as taking part in the closing battle, and the great prolific actor Chen Sing stars as Kuan Yu Chung, the villain of the piece whose black-hand-strike gets accompanied by the sounds of gun shots with each strike. Of course, both co-stars get to take part in a couple of fight scenes which are mainly the book-ends of the film. A number of recognisable Taiwanese actors also appear throughout including Shih Chung Tien, Chin Lung, Ching Kuo Chung, Chen Hsin I, Kwan Hung, and Chang Hung Chi.
Director Yang Ching Chen doesn't do too bad a job to be honest, although never gives viewers anything overly memorable to talk about. Yang worked as the assistant director on Wang Yu's classics Return Of The One-Armed Swordsman, The Chinese Boxer, and One-Armed Boxer, before making his own directorial debut in 1973 with The Dragon & Tiger Joint Hands. Apart from his work here, Yang would go on to direct titles such as Heroine, 18 Fatal Strikes, Shaolin Heroes, Gambling Ghost Are Ready, and The Drug Hunt in '95 with Dick Wei which would be his last. As well as co-starring in 2 Great Cavaliers, Leung Kar Yan doubles up as one of the fight choreographers of the show – in what would be his second effort after Clutch Of Power the year before. He is joined by co-star Kwan Hung, an equally prolific actor who first debuted in 1968 with the King's Sword. Unlike Kar Yan, Kwan had been working as a martial arts director since the early 70s on films like The Sword, Showdown, Beach Of The War Gods (a personal favourite), The Brave Lion, and more. Between the two of them, Kar Yan and Kwan Hung deliver some pretty decent stuff when it comes to the fight scenes, making use of John Liu's brilliant kicking techniques and Mao Ying's wonderful-self. Much like the director though, there isn't really anything too spectacular -but it's definitely not a complete waste of time!
Overall: Typical of its time, 2 Great Cavaliers has enough going on but is far from being a classic of kung-fu cinema!
