From the Highway (1970) Review

“From the Highway” Blu-ray Cover

Director: Chang Tseng-tse
Cast: Peter Yang Kwan, Ingrid Hu Yin Yin, Chui Fook Sang, Suen Yuet, Lee Hung, Yeung Fui Yuk, Lee Man Tai, Ko Fei, Man Man, Chang I Fei, Gam Dai
Running Time: 80 min.

By Martin Sandison

Part of the journey into living in the moment, as far as I can see it, is to admit when someone has more knowledge than you, about the thing you love. And to drop your ego when you do it. Such a thing happened to me last year, when I was on the phone to Matija Tomic, my fellow writer and Kung Fu bro. I was talking about The Chinese Boxer and how it was the first proper Kung Fu movie. He stopped me, and said there was one made before that. The movie is From the Highway. Life is for learning, and thanks to the tireless efforts of my fellow Scots at Little Shop of Robbers with their custom titles, I picked up the movie subbed on Blu-ray. They found a good print of this rare movie, and it’s one to drop what you’re doing and become immersed in.

One of the most interesting things about From the Highway, aside from the fact it was the first film to feature overwhelmingly open-hand combat in the post-60s Wuxia era, and started the kung fu movie craze, is that it was made by Cathay studios. During the first half of the 60s the studio (under the name MP & GI) was like what Golden Harvest was to Shaws in the 70s; its biggest rival in the production of many types of genres of movies. Cathay took a more measured approach, producing far less pictures a year than Shaws, and by the late 60s was in decline. They crafted a few Wuxia films of note, especially those who came to the genre with a lighter, more comedic approach such as A Mad, Mad, Mad Sword. From the Highway would prove to be one of their last films, and it has opened up a treasure trove for me. I can’t wait to see more.

An village is under attack from vicious bandits looking for treasure, and the villagers don’t know how long they can hold out. Chief bandit Xu Kun (Cui Fusheng, Boxer Rebellion) is a murdering bastard who is plotting ways to infiltrate the village. He calls on his friends Pigtail Zhang (Sun Yue, City On Fire) and others to pretend they are street performers to fool the villagers. Meanwhile He (Peter Yang Chun, Queen Boxer) seeks revenge on Xu for murdering his family, and finds his way to the village, a showdown on his mind.

From the opening scenes lit, shot and cut with great atmosphere, I knew this was gonna be something special. Director Chang Tseng-tse uses panning shots with a meticulous, evocative style that places the film up there with the artistic brilliance of King Hu, his contemporary. The action, especially for the year it was made, is very unusual. Thinking about it the way they are shot and cut is similar to Hu’s way of shooting swordfights. There are close in angles quickly cut for impact, and not one Shaws style wide shot long take exchange. Choreographer Ho Wei Hsiung also action directed the classic Militant Eagle. Mixed in are acrobatics, some weapons work and some pretty bloody gore including a horrid scalping.

While the first half of From the Highway doesn’t feature a lot of action, the second half jumps into gear in that regard. What sets this movie apart is not just the directorial style, but also a script that has had some thought put into it, and characters who are given depth despite a short running time. Peter Chan Yung impressed me in the Judy Lee classic Queen Boxer, but here his emotive ability and smouldering charisma are given a fantastic showcase. One of my all time favourite performances is Sun Yue as Chow Yun-Fat’s uncle in City On Fire, one that never fails to make tears well up in my eyes. He passed away last year, and his legacy lives on. His Pigtail Zhang in From the Highway Is a well drawn character, one who you can sympathise with despite his nefarious actions, and Sun breaths superb life into him.

Another aspect which impressed me about the film is how long director Chang lingers on close ups. It’s not something used to this extent much in the genre, and Chang trusts the abilities of his actors to deliver emotion cutting between close ups of characters, and rings tension out of them. None more so than when He first comes across Pigtail Zhang, and tries to conceal his burning anger. Also…this picture, for the time, had a lot of money behind it. Approximately 1.2 million HK dollars. That’s quite a lot in todays terms. Chang uses this to create an epic feel in some battle scenes, with cannons firing and the burning of an village, alongside the flowing camerawork. The set was built in Taiwan, and apparently was as big as an airport runway. This contrasts with Shaws approach, given that the majority of their films were shot on the lot. Cathay, despite its decline at the time, had a lot of money and time to throw at pictures, and it sure pays off with From the Highway. The hard work and money meant that the film collected best director and best music at the Golden Horse awards.

For the most part the film avoids the pitfalls of the old school Kung Fu movie, namely jarring editing and sound cues, but there are points where things could have been shot or cut better. The lack of much action in the first half slightly disappointed me, despite the second half more than making up for it. Cui Fusheng makes a great villain, but his screen time is extremely limited and the reasons for him being such a bastard aren’t explored nearly enough. The film is only 80 minutes long, I’m sure some more stuff on him would have made the film play out better.

While From the Highway is not chock-full of action like The Chinese Boxer is, what action there is excites me more than Wang Yu’s opus. I’d even go as far as to say I prefer From the Highway as an overall movie. There’s something truly epic and different about Chang’s picture, to the extent that I already feel like watching it again. In today’s world of thousands of kung fu movies at our fingertips, that’s saying something.

Martin Sandison’s Rating: 8.5/10