01
The Heroic Ones
Why this pick
Chang Cheh brings the same muscular, tragic sense of brotherhood and loyalty tested by ambition, with forceful fights embedded in a grim story of power and betrayal.
A FILM WORTH A CLOSER LOOKTHE FEATURE PRESENTATION
MOVIE1972 2h 9m HKG
IF THIS ONE STAYED WITH YOU
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The Boxer from Shantung
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CINEHUNCH / THE NEXT FRAME
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If you loved The Boxer from Shantung, try these.
01
02
The Water Margin
Why this pick
Its rough-hewn outlaws and oppressed commoners echo Ma Yongzhen’s working-class pride, while Chang Cheh stages camaraderie, violence, and defiance on an expansive heroic scale.
03
Vengeance
Why this pick
This stylish, emotionally severe revenge drama has the same old-Shanghai criminal milieu, masculine codes of honor, and deliberate progression from public bravado to brutal consequence.
04
The Big Boss
Why this pick
Bruce Lee’s breakthrough similarly follows a laborer confronting exploitation and criminal power, balancing direct physical impact with the anger of a working man pushed too far.
05
The Avenging Eagle
Why this pick
A bruised, atmospheric wuxia thriller about men haunted by criminal allegiances, offering similarly somber loyalty conflicts and a more mystery-driven, melancholy variation on heroic bloodshed.
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01 / THE STORY
A little about the film.
''Boxer from Shantung'' follows Ma Yongzhen and Xiao Jiangbei. Ma and Xiao are manual laborers busting their tails in Shanghai at the beginning of the film, and Ma's first encounter with the crime lord Tan Si starts him off on the underworld influence ladder. Step by step, he earns the respect of everyone he meets, either with his strength of character or by beating them up. When he gets a really big break by defeating a Russian strongman, he indulges himself in a fancy cigarette holder, much like the one Tan Si uses. However, he is mindful of his humble beginnings, and of the fact that times are still tough for many in Shanghai. He shares his good fortune with his old fellow wage slaves, and when they assist him in his various extralegal activities, he lectures them on the futility of trying to extort money from people who simply don't have any to spare.
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