Opening Film

The Valiant Ones (4K Digitally Restored Version)

Prod/Dir/Scr/Art Dir: King Hu
Martial Arts Choreographer: Chu Yuen-lung (aka Sammo Hung)
Prod Co: King Hu
Cast: Hsu Feng, Bai Ying, Roy Chiao, Chu Yuen-lung (aka Sammo Hung), Lau Kong
1975 | Colour | DCP | Mandarin | Chi & Eng Subtitles (with Korean projected subtitles) | 108 min

A remarkable work by King Hu, the production process of the self-funded The Valiant Ones spanned three years, with the director taking on multiple creative roles, including scriptwriting, art design and producing. The result is a film true to the director’s artistic intention. The Valiant Ones takes place in the Ming dynasty, Hu’s favourite historical period, on which he had conducted extensive research. It is the story of an epic battle between Japanese pirates and a small but diversified group of patriots under the leadership of real-life Ming general Yu Dayou. At once a wuxia adventure, a war film and a historical drama, it melds together Peking opera-style choreography, percussion music, and tightly-paced editing to produce some of the most beautiful, striking, and dance-like action moments in Hu’s career.

Hu excelled at discovering and getting the best out of locations, and the Ming-style architecture of Gyeongbokgung Palace set an ideal historical tone for the film. The success of The Valiant Ones prompted Hu to continue using Korean locations for Legend of the Mountain and Raining in the Mountain (both 1979). Hong Kong also provided a great number of locations for the film, with the Shing Mun Reservoir doubling as coastal Zhejiang and the rugged topography of Ninepin Group (Kwo Chau Islands) serving as the eerie, mysterious-looking home of the Japanese bandits. Hu’s ingenious use of landscape in his mise-en-scène highlights his unique aesthetics, a manifestation of poetic lyricism and classical regard for nature.

Thanks to Mr Hu’s generous donation of the film’s negatives in 1996 to the Hong Kong Film Archive for permanent collection, the film was the first title chosen for 4K digital restoration by the Archive in 2020.

Courtesy of King Hu Foundation USA

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