The Brave Tanks (2K Digital Version)

Dir: Kim Dong-hak
Prod Cos: [HK] Lan Kwong (Liberty on Korean poster), [KR] Jae Il
Cast: Shin Young-kyun, Ting Ying, Cheung Ying-choi, Jo Hang, Choi Sung
[KR] 1967 [HK] 1968 | Colour | DCP | Mandarin | Chi & Eng Subtitles (with Korean projected subtitles) | 96min

A war film set in the Korean War of the 1950s, The Brave Tanks is an epic drama the scale of which is rare in both Hong Kong and Korea. It was promoted as comparable to Hollywood’s Battle of the Bulge (1965), likely the inspiration for this co-production. Award-winning actor Shin Young-kyun plays a tank squad leader stationed at the 38th parallel, where he meets military doctor Lin Shau-nang (Hong Kong’s Ting Ying). They fall in love, but wartime is unpredictable time. As the squad leader, wounded, leads his troops into combat and successfully destroys an enemy stronghold, his heroics is met with frontline reality...

Producer Wong Cheuk-hon had an illustrious history of working with Korean filmmakers, and the actress Ting Ying starred in five of those productions. In 1967, she stayed in Korea for a period to play leading roles in The International Secret Agent, Deep in My Heart, and The Brave Tanks, the first two released in Hong Kong in 1967. Location filming mostly took place in highly challenging conditions in sub-zero temperatures near the border between North and South Korea. The crew received support from the South Korean military, deploying over twenty tanks and live ammunition. The result is a realistic and visually impressive work that captures the scale and intensity of the battlefield.

Courtesy of First Distributors (HK) Limited

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