Dir: Wong Fung
Scr/Librettist: So Yung
Prod Co: Chaoming
Cast: Yu So-chow, Mak Bing-wing, Josephine Siao Fong-fong,
Leung Sing-por, Yuen Siu-fai, Connie Chan Po-chu
1962 B&W D Beta Cantonese 119 min

 

This film is an example of how Cantonese opera performers' movements and stunts in fighting scenes are fully captured with the help of wide shot and one continuous take. Celebrated daomadan (female lead in martial role) Yu Sochow stars as the madame white snake and retells The Legend of The White Snake folklore in the style of Cantonese opera. Famous for her signature stunt ‘13 Spears', Yu showcases her northern school acrobatics such as kicking and wielding of tasselled spears in the scene ‘Flooding Jinshan Temple'. Director Wong Fung used frontal wide shot and continuous take as an indubitable proof of the Yu's nimbleness. In other fighting scenes, director shot from high angle at the same time, allowing him to cut in some aerial views to enrich the context and rhythm of the film.