DVD Synopsis: Set during the Chinese occupancy of Northern China in WWII Eagle Shadow Fist is the compelling story of the opera actor Bruce Li and his troop as the try to defend theirland from the violent and bloody occupiers.

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Trans Global UK VHS: During World War 2, not all battles were fought by the armies and navies of the great powers, Jackie Chan plays a famous actor of the Chinese theatre, who becomes a legendary resistance fighter against the Japanese. One day, while performing in front of a large group, Japanese soldiers arrive to arrest Jackie, whom they accuse of teaching subversive tactics to the audience. It was a mistake the soldiers should never have made. Jackie begins a deadly game of cat and mouse with the oppressors, who are trapped into using conventional tactics against a very unconventional fighter. In a war, even an actor can win - providing that actor is Jackie Chan.

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Views: Often sold as one of the Lo Wei movies in multiple VHS collections and early DVD releases, the artwork of Eagle Shadow Fist is usually graced with photos and shots from more successful Jackie Chan movies, promoting him as the lead actor. Of course, it is neither a Lo Wei or Jackie Chan movie at all. But given the fast rise of Jackie's star only a few years later, it would be inevitable that distributors would do whatever they could to sell more Chan to the fans. I mean, look at how mad the 'bruceplotation' genre went (and is still going today)! Eagle Shadow Fist, also known as Not Scared To Die, tells the story of Tang Jing Fong (Wong Ching) the leader of an opera troupe who finds himself in trouble with some Japanese occupiers. Rather than send in the army, a Japanese official sends in two soldiers who are experts in karate, to infiltrate the troupe and kill Tang and the opera leads. As matters get worse, Tang and his young protégé Shi (Jackie Chan) start to fight back, willing to lay their life on the line. With some town members behind them, the pair soon find themselves betrayed and in the middle of a deadly ambush!

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Although he was only around 18 or 19 in this production, a young Jackie Chan had already been in the film business for a good decade. Working his way up from a child actor, the legend soon became a stuntman and bit-player in early classics such as The Blade Spares None, Fist Of Fury, Hapkido, and more. 1973 proved to be a busy year for him and no doubt boasted his confidence in some respect, as he gained a role in no less than 10 productions including a reunion with Bruce Lee in Enter The Dragon. Even while continuing his bit-parts, Jackie started to push forward with a more prominent role in Police Woman (aka The Heroine, aka Rumble In Hong Kong, aka The Young Tiger) also for director Chu Mu, and took on his first leading role in The Cub Tiger From Kwangtung. While I don't know the exact pattern of this years productions, it would still be another couple of years after before Jackie would get the chance to take things to the next level when he began his working relationship with Lo Lei in New Fist Of Fury. In Eagle Shadow Fist, we get glimpses of the Jackie Chan we all know and love today – although hardly enough to warrant it a top recommendation from the clown-prince of kung-fu. That said, he still gives a credible performance as the young protégé, putting his all into the role and getting in on a number of fights that allow him to incorporate some neat acrobatics and moves. Veteran actor and regular Shaw Brothers villain, Wong Ching, plays the lead of the film and head of the opera troupe, Tang Jing Fong. Starting in the business in 1967, Wong had mainly been an extra and bit-player for the most part, eventually starting to come out of the shadows in movies like Boxer From Shantung, King Boxer, and Four Riders, to name but a few. Eagle Shadow Fist would really be his first leading role and while it was nothing ground-breaking in any sense, Wong still does a decent enough job. With over 130 films to his name, the man with the biggest smile in HK cinema would go on to star in many classic films such as Shaolin Temple, Magnificent Bodyguards, Heroes Two, and Shanghai 13. While this film would never find itself among any Hong Kong film fans Top 100 list, I found it interesting how Eagle Shadow Fist stared such a great cast – albeit with many of it's greatest names only starting out in the business as stuntmen or bit-players. These include the wonderful Yuen Qiu in only her second role – more globally recognised as the Landlady in Kung Fu Hustle – Alex Lung Ji Fei in his first role, popular character actors Chiang Nan, Hao Li Jen, and Lee Man Tai, director Chu Mu as a Japanese officer, and upcoming stars like Lau Kar Wing, Fung Hak On, Ho Kei Cheong, Tino Wong, Brandy Yuen, Yuen Shun Yi, Yuen Yat Chor, Yen Shi Kwan, and Yuen Cheung Yan – who was also behind the action.

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By this stage of the game, Yuen Cheung Chan already had over 60 acting credits to his name with roles as an extra or bit-player in classics such as Trail Of The Broken Blade, One-Armed Swordsman, Golden Swallow, and The Prodigal Boxer – as well as a number of credits as martial-arts-director on films like Have Sword, Will Travel, King Eagle, and The Killer for Shaw Brothers. As it would be a number of years after before Yuen (and his brothers) would amaze the cinematic world with their more innovative choreography and unique style, the fights in Eagle Shadow Fist are delivered in a much more realistic and chop-socky fashion. While you can see power behind the hits, movements seem raw – as if the opposition doesn't really know what is coming – and often seems like an old Jimmy Wang Yu flick at times. In fact, this closing fight reminded me quite a bit of his final fight in 10 Fingers Of Steel (aka The Screaming Tiger, and King Of Boxers). This leads to a lengthy and brutal finale where children are violently killed and smashed-off rocks before Wong Ching arrives and beats the life out of the enemy. The fight moves up and down hills, over rocks, and even into a lake, with many lengthy takes that must have been exhausting for the actors. It actually proves to be a harshly entertaining battle, ending with Wong Ching ripping the eyes out of the karate expert which then sends him over a cliff-edge!

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Director Chu Mu had been acting for a good decade before directing his first film in 1967 with Feng Yang Flower Drum. Chu already had a taste of directing a few years before-hand, working as an assistant director on a number of films he was starring in. While he would continue to act into the mid-1990s, Chu Mu directed his last film in 1981 with The Third Hand, a sex-comedy with a touch of horror. While he was never the greatest director in the world, Chu was competent enough in working with what was available and delivered a few watchable titles. A number of those would also star a young Jackie Chan, although none of which would never be hailed as a 'real' Jackie Chan movie. While Eagle Shadow Fist would be the first, this was quickly followed by The Heroine – also known as The Young Tiger, Rumble In Hong Kong, and Police Woman – where Jackie plays a thug who goes up against My Lucky Stars co-star, Charlie Chin. The infamous adult-comedy, All In The Family, followed – you know that one that appears in countless YouTube videos that claim Jackie was a porn star before he became an action legend. This claim was a load of nonsense of course, which I talk about more in my review for the film. The last title Jackie would appear in for Chu Mu was No End Of Surprises, another comedy-drama for Golden Harvest with more sex and adult humour (something it seems, Chu Mu enjoyed making).

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The trouble with Eagle Shadow Fist is that it comes across as a cheap movie. Overall production values seem very low, though I can't help but feel that seeing the film in it's original widescreen format may help that. Any DVD copy I've seen or even my old VHS copy, doesn't really do the film any justice with a badly cropped and washed-out presentation that means we're losing quite a bit in terms of it's visuals. That said, I can't ever imagine the film getting a 4K restoration anytime soon, regardless of how many fans Chan has around the world. It certainly isn't the worst movie in the world by any means, but it does fall into a large category of (what other critics like to call) 'basher films', outshone by many other titles that offer the same story with bigger production values and better fights. Still, Eagle Shadow Fist is a watchable old-school flick that offers a dark and violent tale, with a much stronger second half...

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Overall: Old-school violence with a better second-half, Eagle Shadow Fist is not completely unwatchable!