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| Images courtesy of 88 Films |
Director Huang Feng who would later go on to make The
Legendary Strike and former ShawScope producer Raymond Chaw who broke away
from the company to form Golden Harvest pictures both would make their filmmaking
debuts with the 1971 fantasy-action distinctly named Dyaliscope widescreen
flick The Angry River. The very
first Golden Harvest foot in the door of what would evolve into the company
that did films with Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and further gave rise to the
American popularization of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film series,
The Angry River is an effects-heavy, choreography filled fantasy
adventure featuring stunning fighting sequences rendered by Sammo Hung and
arresting Eastmancolor cinematography. Making
its Blu-ray disc debut in the US for the first time via boutique label 88
Films, it marks a groundbreaking counterpoint to the then-overarching reach of
the ShawScope empire and for my money branched out into far more interesting
and artistically fruitful directions comparatively.
Lan Feng (Angela Mao from Invincible Eight) volunteers
to venture out into the dangerous Sorrowful Ghost Valley across the explosive
and acidic titular The Angry River after her father Lan Tin-lung and many
others of Liangyi Castle are attacked by the Lunar Sect. In the Valley lies an antidote that leaves
her father and many others in the castle clinging to their lives. After scaling the obstacles and crossing
paths with a kaiju at one point, she discovers the antidote. However, in order to take possession of the
coveted antidote which many other outside parties are also looking for, she has
to sacrifice her own mastery of the martial arts skills set and rely on the
good will of others to try and escort the antidote back safely to her father’s
domain. With her own ability to fight
back and defend herself forfeited, can she survive the journey back to revive
her father?
A splendorous 2.35:1 scope widescreen effort lensed by Duel
to the Death cinematographer Li Yu-Tang and given an evocative score by The
Big Boss composer Wang Fu-Ling filled with tons of wild fight sequences, an
optically rendered tightrope walk across The Angry River in a world
where anything and everything is possible, the first Golden Harvest effort is a
knockout. Featuring Angela Mao at the
top of her game, Sammo Hung in a sneaky blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo and even
Jackie Chan in one scene, the ensemble martial arts obstacle course effort
offers a strikingly solid alternative to the ShawScope empire. For a first time effort for Golden Harvest,
it remains bold and its power hasn’t eroded away with time. Also surprisingly the film grows emotionally
charged, something unexpected and rare within either of the ShawScope or Golden
Harvest efforts, adding to its boldness.
88 Films’ Blu-ray premiere edition brings the film to British
and North American audiences in a new limited 2K restoration from the original
camera negative and is featured in an O-ring slipcase with reversible sleeve
art and includes the original Mandarin mono track alongside optional English
dubbing and it also includes a feature commentary by Frank Djeng. For anyone who is seasoned with Golden
Harvest or the ShawScope machine and formula, The Angry River is every
bit as delightfully entertaining as Super Inframan while being as bloody
violent and crimson soaked as Duel to the Death. 88 Films continues to unveil, along with
Eureka Entertainment and sometimes Arrow Video, numerous surprising and often
delightful Hong Kong martial arts action-adventure period films and The
Angry River is most certainly one of the boutique label’s best offerings
yet.
--Andrew Kotwicki
