Lo Lieh and Cheng Pei Pei

One of the most memorable action actors I know is Lo Lieh. And his movie "Golden Swallow" also features my idol Cheng Pei-Pei. The movie is not exactly the same quality as Lee Ang's "Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon", but in my youthfulness and innocence, the action on the screen was good enough. We did not know as much as we do today.

This movie has the basic kung fu ingredients of banditry, revenge, friendship,old style love triangle,unrequited love, loyalty, good triumphing over evil, with lots of blood letting and horrible killing thrown in. due to lack of movies and having no tv at that time, most of us, whenever we had saved enough from our pocket money (but not eating during recess), we could watch the same movie many times.

And naturally what we loved most was, after all the gory scenes on the screen, the heroes never die. We loved this part of the movie - the happy ending.

I would,however, have liked Cheng Pei Pei to be the real heorine taking a leading role. It would have been ideal that Cheng would have been cast as female Gandalff in a movie like "Lord of the Ring". Golden Swallow would have the sword fighting and kung fu expertise to beat a lot of the bad guys. I was so alone in my critique of the film. My classmates would not consider my point of view at all. But I am glad today, as I reminince about those kung fu movies, I have an opportunity to blog my opinions again. Perhaps I would have more people to agree with me.

I have no doubt that in the 21st century,many movie goers like me would like to have a celluloid escapade with an intelligent swordswoman like Golden Swallow. Perhaps a fight for justice in our highly corrupt world led by a heroine like cheng pei pei would be a possible answer.

And films would just fulfil that need for us to release our pent up emotions and a sense of hopelessness,as we did more than forty years ago.