Dir/Scr: Ling Wan, Yeung Kung-leong
Orig Story: Luo Guanzhong
Librettist: Wu Man-sum
Prod Co: Baohua
Cast: Leng Wah Hang, Cheung Wood-yau, Tang Bik-wan, Lau Hark-suen
1957 B&W D Beta Cantonese Chinese Lyrics 95 min

 

This Cantonese opera film featuring luogo (gong and drum) music takes inspiration from the Chinese literary classic, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, beginning with the scenario of Guan Yu releasing Cao Cao on Huarong Path. To take back Jingzhou, Sun Quan (Lau Hark-suen) pretends to offer his sister Sun Shangxiang's (Tang Bik-wan) hand in marriage to Liu Bei (Cheung Wood-yau) in order to lure him out of the area. But his plan backfires, as he fails his mission and loses his sister. In the film, opera superstar Leng Wah Hang puts her powerful martial arts skills on the role of formidable General Guan Yu, manipulating the heavy long broadsword in traditional postures and fighting scenes, while ‘Somersault King' Leung Siu-chung plays the stable boy with elegant moves. The film also features powerful percussion by adept musician Yung Cheung-yip, bringing alive the spirit of ancestral Cantonese opera through the film.