The Water Margin | |||||||||||
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Chinese name | |||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 水滸傳 | ||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 水浒传 | ||||||||||
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Directed by | Chang Cheh Pao Hsueh-li Wu Ma | ||||||||||
Screenplay by | Chang Cheh Ni Kuang | ||||||||||
Story by | Shi Nai'an | ||||||||||
Produced by | Run Run Shaw | ||||||||||
Starring | David Chiang Tetsurō Tamba | ||||||||||
Cinematography | Kung Mu-to | ||||||||||
Edited by | Kwok Ting-hung | ||||||||||
Music by | Frankie Chan | ||||||||||
Production company | |||||||||||
Distributed by |
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Release date |
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Running time | 120 minutes | ||||||||||
Country | Hong Kong | ||||||||||
Languages | Mandarin Cantonese |
The Water Margin, also known Outlaws of the Marsh and Seven Blows Of The Dragon, is a 1972 Hong Kong film adapted from the Chinese classical 14th-century novel Water Margin . It was produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio and directed by Chang Cheh. Godfrey Ho was assistant director (as Chih Chiang Ho).
The plot is based on the story of how "Jade Unicorn" Lu Junyi came to join the outlaw band at Liangshan Marsh and the outlaws' battle with the Zeng Family Fortress.
Liangshan's chief Chao Gai was ambushed and killed by Shi Wengong. His fellows vow to avenge him. The current de facto leaders of Liangshan, Song Jiang and Wu Yong, decide that given Shi Wengong's skill, Lu Junyi (Shi's former fellow student) will be the best person to assist them in taking revenge. The outlaws also note that if they succeed in recruiting Lu Junyi, they will also win over Lu's servant, Yan Qing, who is also a formidable martial artist.
Wu Yong disguises himself as fortune teller and infiltrates the northern capital, where Lu Junyi stays, together with Li Kui, who is disguised as his idiotic assistant. They visit Lu Junyi and lie to him that a great calamity will befall him if he does not travel 1,000 miles to the southeast. Lu Junyi is skeptical of the advice and asks Yan Qing for his opinion. By then, Yan Qing has recognized Li Kui and provokes the hot-tempered Li into a fight. Li Kui is defeated and confined together with Wu Yong. Wu Yong uses reverse psychology on Lu Junyi and manages to persuade Lu to release them. Just then, Lu Junyi's steward Li Gu, who is in a secret affair with Lu's wife, reports the outlaws' presence to the authorities so as to seize his master's fortune. When soldiers arrive to capture the outlaws, Lu Junyi orders Yan Qing to escort Wu Yong and Li Kui safely out while he confronts the soldiers and is arrested. Yan Qing attempts to free Lu Junyi from prison but Lu is captured again when Yan leaves him for a short while.
Yan Qing travels to Liangshan to seek help and he attempts to rob two men for his travel expenses. The two men turn out to be actually outlaws from Liangshan, one of them being Shi Xiu. Shi Xiu goes to find Lu Junyi while his companion brings Yan Qing back to Liangshan. While in the city, Shi Xiu sees that Lu Junyi is about to be executed in the market square so he storms the area alone in an attempt to free Lu. Both Lu Junyi and Shi Xiu are eventually overwhelmed by soldiers and taken into captive.
Meanwhile, Yan Qing meets the Liangshan outlaws and they plan to infiltrate the northern capital to save Lu Junyi and Shi Xiu. They take strategic positions around the execution ground and attack the soldiers when the prisoners are about to be beheaded. This time, the outlaws overpower the guards and swiftly take control of the area. Accompanied by the outlaws, Lu Junyi marches home and kills his disloyal steward Li Gu while his adulterous wife is slain by Yan Qing.
As the outlaws leave the city, they run into Shi Wengong and his men, resulting in both sides clashing in an immense battle. Shi Wengong's forces are routed so he challenges the outlaws to engage him and his five students in man-on-man duels. The five students fight with Lin Chong, Li Kui, Hu Sanniang, Wu Song and Shi Xiu, while Lu Junyi faces Shi Wengong. By the time the five heroes had defeated Shi Wengong's students, Lu Junyi was still locked his duel with Shi. Yan Qing and Li Kui join in the fray and Shi Wengong is injured gravely but still remains alive. After declaring that Lu Junyi is now the new leader of Liangshan, Shi Wengong stops everyone from approaching and commits suicide. The outlaws, seeing that their quest for vengeance is now complete, ride back to their stronghold and the film ends.
The film was bought for release in the US by New World Pictures. Roger Corman cut out a third of the film, had the Shaw brothers shoot an additional sex scene and added a new narration. [1]
Song Jiang was a Chinese historical figure who led an armed rebellion against the ruling Song Dynasty in the early 12th century. His band marauded over a region straddling the present-day Chinese provinces of Shandong and Henan. They eventually surrendered to the Imperial Court. The historical Song Jiang was turned into a fictional character in Water Margin, which became one of the four famous Classic Chinese Novels. He is the central figure in the book, and the leader of the 108 Heroes who come together as bandits in Shandong's Liangshan Marsh.
Wu Yong is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Knowledgeable Star", he ranks third among the 36 Heavenly Spirits, the first third of the 108 Stars of Destiny.
Zhang Qing is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the four great classical novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Featherless Arrow", he ranks 16th among the 36 Heavenly Spirits, the first third of the 108 Stars of Destiny.
Lu Junyi is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Jade Qilin", he ranks second among the 36 Heavenly Spirits, the first third of the 108 Stars of Destiny. In some Chinese folk tales derived from the novel, Lu Junyi is a martial arts student of Zhou Tong, who purportedly also trained the Song dynasty general Yue Fei in archery.
Chao Gai, nicknamed "Pagoda-Shifting Heavenly King", is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He is not one of the 108 Stars of Destiny because he dies before the Grand Assembly of the 108 Stars. However, after his death, he serves as a spiritual guardian of the outlaws, who from time to time dedicate ceremonial sacrifices to him.
Yan Qing is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Langzi", he ranks last among the 36 Heavenly Spirits, the first third of the 108 Stars of Destiny.
Shi Xiu is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Daredevil Third Brother", he ranks 33rd among the 36 Heavenly Spirits, the first third of the 108 Stars of Destiny.
Shi Qian is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Flea on a Drum", he ranks 107th among the 108 Stars of Destiny and 71st among the 72 Earthly Fiends.
Cai Fu is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Iron Arm", he ranks 94th among the 108 Stars of Destiny and 58th among the 72 Earthly Fiends.
Cai Qing is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Stalk of Flower", he ranks 95th among the 108 Stars of Destiny and 59th among the 72 Earthly Fiends.
All Men Are Brothers, also known as Seven Soldiers of Kung Fu, is a 1975 Hong Kong wuxia film based on the Chinese classical 14th century novel Water Margin. The film was produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio and directed by Chang Cheh and Wu Ma.
The Water Margin is a 1998 Chinese television series adapted from Shi Nai'an's classical 14th-century novel of the same title. It was produced by CCTV with Zhang Jizhong as producer. It was first broadcast in China in January 1998. The series also featured action choreography by Yuen Woo-ping.
All Men Are Brothers is a 2011 Chinese television series adapted from Shi Nai'an's 14th century novel Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. The series is directed by Kuk Kwok-leung and features cast members from mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The series was first broadcast on 8TV in March 2011 in Malaysia.
Clan of Amazons, also known as Clan of the Amazons, is a 1978 Hong Kong film adapted from Xiuhua Dadao of Gu Long's Lu Xiaofeng novel series. The film was directed by Chor Yuen, produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio, and starred Tony Liu as the lead character.
Hong Kong participated at the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.
Outlaws of the Marsh is a Chinese television series adapted from Shi Nai'an's classical 14th century novel Water Margin. It was first broadcast on Shandong TV in China in 1983, and was not completed until 1986. The series was one of the earliest television dramas with an ancient China setting to be produced in mainland China. It was divided into different parts, each focusing on the story line of a certain character. Widely regarded, as a classic in mainland China, the series won a Golden Eagle Award.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Basic Law Consultative Committee was an official body established in 1985 to canvass views in Hong Kong on the drafts of the Hong Kong Basic Law.