The Bloody Devil, Part One

Dir/Scr: Siu Sang
Orig Story: Chen Qingyun
Prod Co: Yulin
Co-starring: Josephine Siao Fong-fong, Lee Hung, Lee Hong-kum, Cheng Kwan-min, Lam Kau
1965 | Colour | Digital File | Cantonese | 95min

By the mid-1960s, Connie Chan Po-chu had risen to fame as a top star of Cantonese cinema, joined on the pedestal by fellow teen idol Josephine Siao Fong-fong. The Bloody Devil marks the first time the two appear as leads in the same film after achieving superstardom, with Chan assuming the male lead. She plays a swordsman who is thrown into the Bloody Pond, where he acquires the invincible Bloody Devil skills. He soon makes his name as a righteous hero who stands up to the bad and stands with the powerless. An ambitious gang leader, who wants to rule over the marital world, poisons and kidnaps the young hero. But the story takes another turn when the leader’s step daughter (Siao) falls for this handsome and upright swordsman…

The two episodes of The Bloody Devil reportedly cost half a million dollars, an exorbitant budget for the time. The stellar cast of Chan and Siao, the elaborate scenography and the format of widescreen Eastmancolor was unrivalled in the 1960s. Superstar Chan strides gracefully into her role as a suave young man, and when the character transforms into the hulky Bloody Devil (played by Siu Kam), brightly red from head to toe, the strong contrast exudes his prowess and physicality. The Bloody Devil is a visually-stunning experience rare for Hong Kong cinema of those days.

The Bloody Devil, Concluding Episode

Dir/Scr: Siu Sang
Orig Story: Chen Qingyun
Prod Co: Yulin
Co-starring: Josephine Siao Fong-fong, Lee Hung, Lee Hong-kum, Cheng Kwan-min, Lam Kau
1965 | B&W | DCP | Cantonese | 102min

The sequel to Part One of The Bloody Devil starts from where the first episode leaves off. The villain’s step daughter Ying (Josephine Siao Fong-fong) falls in love with our hero Lam (Connie Chan Po-chu), who transforms into the mighty Bloody Devil. Learning of Lam’s arranged engagement to Tsui (Lee Hung), Ying dejectedly leaves. As her step father continues to incite other martial artists to go against Lam, Ying joins forces with Lam and together, the lovers save the day for the martial world. But the Lam-Ying-Tsui love triangle remains an issue…

The Bloody Devil, Concluding Episode features an impressive cast of veteran actors but Chan and Siao, both having acted since childhood, are veterans in their own rights and manage to share the stage with the others in harmony and with chemistry. This sequel is equally spectacular as the initial episode, with adroit use of props and choreographed mise-en-scène, complemented by proficient editing, scores and sound effects to realise an uncanny atmosphere of the fantastical tale.

Although The Bloody Devil, Concluding Episode was shot in Eastmancolor, the only existing print of the film screened here is in black and white. The image quality falls short of the ideal, and we appreciate your understanding.

The contents of the programme do not represent the views of the presenter. The presenter reserves the right to change the programme should unavoidable circumstances make it necessary.