BLACK INVITATION is a Taiwanese wuxia story made to cash-in on the trend for such films after King Hu's DRAGON INN and the success of the many similar Shaw Brothers films. This rare movie was recently released on Amazon Prime with a good quality, fullscreen print and English subtitles too. The plot is one of the most interesting things about the movie which is otherwise cheap and straightforward. The "black invitation" is handed out by a gang of bandits to local communities, warning that they're coming to get their hands on the requested loot. A large family risk everything by refusing the ransom and subsequently suffer as a result, but a wandering swordsman turns up and decides to stand on the side of justice.
The film stars Bai Ying, a handsome young actor who appeared in the likes of A TOUCH OF YEN and DRAGON INN during the era. His star would wane as the decades went on until he was reduced to taking bit parts in Hong Kong action cinema of the 1980s. Ma Chi is a delight as the black-browed bandit and had a lengthy career in films, including ONE-ARMED BOXER. Unlike a rival Shaw Brothers production, BLACK INVITATION is largely set in the outdoors and brings the Taiwanese countryside to life, even though the print I watched is rather washed out. The plentiful action is rather staged by genre standards, but at least it keeps you watching.
The film stars Bai Ying, a handsome young actor who appeared in the likes of A TOUCH OF YEN and DRAGON INN during the era. His star would wane as the decades went on until he was reduced to taking bit parts in Hong Kong action cinema of the 1980s. Ma Chi is a delight as the black-browed bandit and had a lengthy career in films, including ONE-ARMED BOXER. Unlike a rival Shaw Brothers production, BLACK INVITATION is largely set in the outdoors and brings the Taiwanese countryside to life, even though the print I watched is rather washed out. The plentiful action is rather staged by genre standards, but at least it keeps you watching.