The Tournament/Review

From The Grindhouse Cinema Database

< The Tournament
Tournamentop.png

Shaw Bros productions may have been glossier, more epic in scope and more elegantly costumed but Golden Harvest produced some of the grittiest, most bone-crunching, crotch-assaulting grindhouse Kung Fu of the 1970’s and Huang Feng’s 1974 film ‘The Tournament’ features one of martial arts cinema’s brightest stars, Angela Mao, adding a brutal new fighting style to her already formidable arsenal of smooth moves.

Tournament Pic01.jpg Tournament Pic02.jpg

In order to raise money to pay off his father’s Triad debts a young martial arts student named Chang asks for his teacher Lau’s permission to travel to Bangkok to fight in a Thai boxing tournament. Lau reluctantly agrees but both Chang and the teacher’s own son Hong are brutally beaten in the bout and only Hong returns home alive. Lau is disgraced by the defeat and the Martial Arts Association with which his school is affiliated expel him for bringing such terrible shame upon Chinese Kung Fu. After his daughter’s fiancé breaks off their engagement and his students all desert the school Lau is finally overwhelmed by grief and guilt and commits suicide.

Undeterred by heartbreak and misfortune Lau’s daughter Siu Fung (played by Mao) wants to learn all about Thai boxing but the Martial Arts Association disapproves, they believe that the tradition of Chinese martial arts should be protected and remain uncontaminated by other styles of combat.

Tournament Pic03.jpg Tournament Pic04.jpg

When a Japanese Karate expert attempts to take over Lau’s old school Siu Fung is given a chance to prove her own Kung Fu prowess. In a staggering display of strength, agility and athleticism she smacks seven shades of shit out of the Japanese intruder. She then faces a challenge from the younger members of the Martial Arts Association including an antagonistic Sammo Hung. Another awesome fight ensues which climaxes with Mao delivering a slow motion roundhouse kick to Sammo’s fat face that sends him hurtling into a rack of spears in the school’s backyard.

The chairman of the Martial Arts Association admires Siu Fung’s courage so agrees to put her in touch with a Thai friend of his in Bangkok who will tutor her, and her brother Hong, in the art of Thai boxing.

Tournament Pic05.jpg Tournament Pic06.jpg

‘The Tournament’ contains everything that fans of 1970s Martial Arts movies wanna see: butt-ugly, and profusely sweaty, villains; gruelling training sequences; denim flares; gratuitously exposed breasts; sudden camera zooms into quivering facial close-ups for maximum melodramatic effect; and ridiculously loud kick/punch/slap/tickle sound effects during every fight scene. Plus of course Angela Mao – truly at her athletic peak; her fast, fluid fighting skills are extraordinary and also display a flair for physical comedy without ever undermining the excitement with parody. Fans will no doubt especially relish seeing her adopt a non-Chinese fighting style.

The character of Siu Fung is principled and courageous, driven to learn from the ill that befalls her family rather than pursue a campaign of vengeance. Mainstream Western films regularly demand that female characters adopt traditionally masculine traits before they are allowed to take control of driving a narrative forward however Kung Fu heroines like Mao are already the equal of their brothers in physical combat so are not obliged to undergo this re-configuration of gender before they can kick some ass. Siu Fung’s desire to break free from the traditions of the Martial Arts Association echoes the transgression of gender stereotypes which the Kung Fu heroine embodies and marks the character as a political force as well as a physical one. Although she cuts her hair when she flies to Thailand this appears to be for practical reasons rather than to symbolically become ‘one of the boys’. She encounters sexism from the hoodlums who bet on the Thai tournaments, and who don’t think women should be allowed in the ring, but ultimately lays the smack-down on any greasy guy who doesn’t show her enough R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

Tournament Pic07.jpg Tournament Pic08.jpg

Director Huang Feng and star Mao worked together on several pictures in the early 1970’s including such grindhouse favourites as Deep Thrust (aka ‘Lady Whirlwind’) and Deadly China Doll.

As well as appearing in front of the camera Sammo Hung, another regular Huang Feng collaborator, was responsible for the film’s fight choreography.

Fans of morbid trivia may be intrigued to learn that, allegedly, the building in which the Martial Arts Association holds its meetings was Bruce Lee’s home and that these scenes were shot only days after the legendary Kung Fu movie stars death.


Narcan1.jpg

Narcan is the GCDb's esteemed UK contributor. As a youth his earliest exploitation film experience was a My Bloody Valentine/The Funhouse midnight double bill. Grindhouse icons that he holds in highest regards are Christina Lindberg and Frank Henelotter. Two of his favorite exploitation genres include Nunsploitation and Lucha Libre.

Newsletter
  • Grindhouse Database Newsletter
  • Exploitation books
  • Kung fu movies
  • Giallo BluRay