Dirty Ho (1981)

Very disappointed :(

Good start, but then it gets ruined

An Exercise In Nonsense

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

DIRTY HO is another film from renowned martial artist Liu Chia-Liang, a quite early effort from the director that dates from 1976. It's another film in the action comedy mould, with Gordon Liu and Wong Yue teaming up as a prince and a thief who get involved in a plot infused with political intrigue. You know the format of these Shaw comedy action films by now: the first half is all plot less broad comedy, while things get gradually more serious in the second half.It's one of the highest quality looking films I can remember seeing from Shaw in the visual sense, but I was a little disappointed by the lack of story in the early parts. The fight scenes are exemplary, as you'd expect from the director and stars, and the actors are good too, but the film seems to be treading water for a very long time before it starts to pick up. This is the only real criticism I have of it, as everything else is fine.Wong Yue is charming in a career-making performance and he gets the lion's share of the comedy. Gordon Liu sits back more, which is the nature of his character, and aside from that cheesy moustache he's cool. The usual round of familiar faces fill the supporting cast, including a nice cameo from a typically tough Wang Lung Wei, although I was disappointed that Kara Hui has very little to do. Best of all is the great Lo Lieh as the bad guy, who has some blistering moves come the climax. Inevitably the real star of the show is the director himself, who fills the screen with vivid, expertly-choreographed martial arts. My favourite scene? The set-piece in the windy valley with Liu in the cart, a direct reference to the Japanese LONE WOLF & CUB film series.

This is one of the films that sears itself into your mind forever unless kung fu films are a real turn off. Even when it was only watchable in poorly centered TV prints the brilliance of the action shined thru. Filmed towards the end of the golden age of the Shaw Brothers Studios, Dirty Ho rates as the top of the genre. The way the fights are choreographed is mesmerizing and I have spent hours rewinding the scenes to see exactly how the director orchestrated the camera and actors. It incredible how the movement progresses. I defy anyone to come up with something as subtle yet outrageous as the wine scene or the antique scene. The scenes in "House of Flying Daggers" are quite impressive but everything is computer assisted exaggeration. Here the only tricks are what could be done with editing and camera movement (O.K. maybe a few wires). You can see that most of the work is being done by the highly talented actors.When this is re-released, buy it!

Funny kung fu comedy with Gordon Liu as a lover of fine antiques, good wine, and is hiding a secret. He wants to show Dirty Ho (Yue Wong) the error of his ways. I have to say, the antagonism between the two is great in the beginning and I enjoyed scenes with the two of them together. Good chemistry.Gordon Liu has some really weird, but very cool to watch, fight scenes which include wine cups and antique vases!! His fight with Johnny Wang is definitely worth watching. Towards the end, it's all action and the double attacks of Liu and Wong work well together. So for some laughs and lots of kicks, watch this one! And Gordon with a moustache, what more could you want??

DIRTY HO (1979) is an unusual kung fu movie in that its main character has to hide his martial skills for much of the film in order not to give away his identity as the Eleventh Prince, who is set to be named heir to the throne of China. The title refers to a shady character, Ho Chi (played by Wong Yue, not to be confused with Jimmy Wang Yu), a petty thief who becomes sidekick to the Prince, who is operating undercover as a merchant named Wang while trying to determine which of his brothers is trying to have him killed.Wang is played by Gordon Liu, the colorful star of MASTER KILLER and many other kung fu classics of the 1970s. For many of his scenes here, he has to disguise his kung fu maneuvers while engaged in polite encounters with men who turn out to be his enemies. For instance, while engaging in a wine tasting session at the home of a wine connoisseur (played by Wang Lung Wei), he has to fight off stealthy assassination attempts by the connoisseur and his servant (Hsiao Hou), all while going through the motions of sitting and tasting different wines. Later, at the lavish home of an antiques dealer, Liu has to fight the dealer while ostensibly engaged in examining ancient treasures. Poor Ho has to watch helplessly from outside the house, eager to help his master, but unsure of what is actually going on. The party scene where Liu first meets-and fights-Ho is particularly ingenious, because he has to manipulate one of the party girls (Kara Hui Ying Hung) and use her arms, legs and the lute she's playing to fight off Ho, to make it look like she's defending him. Liu claims she's his bodyguard and continually praises her kung fu skills, while she's standing in the midst of the action totally bewildered. Eventually, Liu is forced to reveal himself and is seriously injured in a climactic battle. At that point, he is compelled to teach his skills to Ho whom he then works in tandem with for the knockdown, drag-out final battle with the corrupt General Liang (kung fu great Lo Lieh) and his henchmen, who are working for the 4th Prince, one of Liu's brothers. The staging is very clever and is clearly a noble effort to do something different within the kung fu genre. Director Liu Chia Liang (aka Lau Kar Leung) has mounted a good-looking historical production, with great sets and costumes, filled with encounters that are imaginative and fun to watch. The plot is not very complicated nor is there much of the excitement one normally associates with kung fu movies, but for fans of the genre looking for something distinctive and unpredictable, this is one to savor and enjoy.