ODE TO GALLANTRY is one of the last Shaw Brothers films to feature the Venoms actors and be directed by Chang Cheh. It doesn't have the same gravitas and impact as most of the genuine Venoms flicks and lacks the presence of the notable Lu Feng, who only does the action choreography here. The story is comedic and has a lightness of touch rarely seen in a Cheh film. Philip Kwok is slightly miscast in the lead role which would have been better played by the likes of Alexander Fu Sheng. The confused plot sees Kwok playing a beggar who becomes involved in a plot involving a magical swordsman and the possession of a magic token. It turns out that Kwok is the spitting image of a cruel young nobleman so there's a lot of mistaken identity and battles between rival groups. The film flirts with magic effects but they're limited to just a couple of early scenes. Sun Chien has a solid supporting role and Candy Wen is pretty good too while Wang Li gets to play an imposing bad guy and does so with relish. Other big Shaw stars like Chiang Sheng and Ricky Cheng Tien Chi only get to show up for the admittedly impressive final fight.
Review of Ode to Gallantry
