Mainland born Lo Wei was an actor whose film career flourished after migrating to Hong Kong. After directing “The Black Butterfly” for Shaw Brothers, he followed it up with “Death Valley” starring the same pair of male leads. He is best known as the director who launched the kung fu film careers of Bruce Lee in “The Big Boss” and “Fist of Fury” and also Jackie Chan in “New Fist of Fury”.
Master Chao Yun Yang (Lo Wei) of the Chao Manor in Death Valley is getting old and thinking of retiring. Since he has no children, he wants to give everything he owns to his nephew Chao Yu Lung (Yueh Hua), a righteous swordsman who wields a pair of deadly short swords. Before the opening credits roll, we see him easily dispatching a group of bandits and he even pays for their burial. Furthermore, he also picks up a cowardly lone traveler, Er Tu Chi (Lee Kwan) who becomes his sidekick and the film’s comic relief as he heads home.
Meanwhile, devastated and angry that her rich uncle is giving her nothing, Chao Chien Ying (Angela Yu Chien), the power-hungry niece of Master Chao is planning her moves. In order to inherit his martial arts school and all his fortune, she plots to have both her uncle and the returning cousin killed. Firstly, she poisons Master Chao and with the help of his guard Yuen Ho (Chao Hsiong) and her lover Lam Hung they succeed in killing him. For his help, Yuen gets to spend a night with her.
To make sure that her cousin Yu Lung doesn’t show up to claim her uncle’s fortune, she quickly assigns her nanny’s son Chin Hu (Chen Hung Lieh) himself a highly skilled swordsman, to stop him for good, unaware that Chin Hu and Chao Yu Lung have become good friends after a chance encounter in which Chao saves Chin Hu from a bunch of revenge seeking thugs. However, due to some misunderstanding, both swordsmen agree to a duel not knowing that it is a set up plotted by the evil Chien Ying.
The plot here is fairly typical as far as wuxia films go, take the tea house and inn fights, mistaken identity and double crosses routines, they are all here. Even though not all of the characters seem to have back stories or much depth, director Lo wastes no time in establishing them. Still, the trio of charming lead characters and the equally colorful supports make it refreshing and a memorable watch.
Visually, the whole production looks good and Lo sure puts the huge Shaw Brothers indoor sets into great use for his characters to romp around in. Also the final duel between the two main leads on the rugged mountain top has to be one of the best uses of an outdoor location in a Shaw production during that time. At times quite bloody but stylish, this extremely well shot and framed sequence is easily the film’s most memorable. Choreographed by Hang Ying Chieh, the action throughout is adequate but nothing really stands out. The use of chopsticks as deadly weapons echoes that of early Chang Cheh’s work though.
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The perky Angela Yu Chien looks gorgeous and seductive, above all, she looks like she is having a wonderful time as the power-hungry Chao Chien Ying. Besides being quite lethal with a sword and poison dart, she is not shy to take her clothes off too. In fact her body is one hell of a weapon. Furthermore, her bathtub and the sex scene which is accompanied by a guitar surfing soundtrack are something out of this world. Yu Chien is amazing portraying a femme fatale, naked or with clothes on who kills and gets whatever she wants.
On the other hand, Yueh Hua’s Chao Yu Lung is the opposite, an utterly righteous swordsman who is both witty and agile and he definitely delivers in his performances. Looking cool as ever, Chen Hung Lieh is another stand out, he is right at home playing Chin Hu, the Cold-faced Master. As usual, like in most of his films, Lo Wei shows up in a cameo as Master Chao. Elsewhere, Chao Hsiong plays the unfortunate Yuen Ho and a victim of the manipulative Chien Ying. However, Wong Wai has quite a meaty role as the ruthless Lam Hung. Look out for a young Sammo Hung in the beginning as he appears as an extra at the Chao manor. Lee Kwan is also memorable as the comic relief Er Tu Chi.
Summing up, “Death Valley” is an average wuxia adventure with a simple but engaging story. Even though the action is a bit uninspired, the charming main characters plus the overall pleasing visuals make it a worthwhile and entertaining watch.
