“Heaven and Hell” Chinese Theatrical Poster
Director: Chang Cheh
Lee I Min, Sun Chien, Alexander Fu Sheng, Jenny Tseng Yan Lei, Philip Kwok Chung Fung, Chiang Sheng, Lo Meng, Kong Do, David Chiang Da Wei, Chan Shen, Chan Hung, Chan Jun Ho, Cheng Miu, Cheung Hei, Chow Kin Ping
Running Time: 88 min.
By Jeff Bona
If you don’t think drugs have done good things for us then do me a favor: Go home tonight and take all of your VHS tapes and DVDs and burn them, because all those Hong Kong directors who made all those great movies that enhanced your lives throughout the years? They were rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreal f*cking high on drugs.
Chang Cheh was so high he directed a movie called Heaven & Hell.
(in case you didn’t realize, what you just read is me ripping off Bill Hicks’ famous “Drugs have done some good things” comedy bit)
According to Shaw Brothers’ historian Joe909, Heaven & Hell was made on and off throughout the 1970s. This was supposedly done because of issues regarding Chang Cheh’s budget problems. As a result, it caused the movie to be disjointed, uneven, and choppy. Not only that, some of the film’s main credited stars – such as David Chiang and Alexander Fu Sheng – apparently had crucial roles, but with limited screen time (?).
The plot of Heaven & Hell is a lot more interesting on text than it is on film. A guard of Heaven, named Xin Ling (Lee I-min), is banished to Earth because he let an eloped couple off the hook (the couple, which we never see again, are played by David Chiang and Maggie Lee). When Xin Ling becomes reincarnated as a taxi driver on Earth, he is immediately sent to “Hell” for killing a gangster while defending yet another couple (played by Alexander Fu Sheng and Jenny Tseng; and like the previous couple, we never see them again…).
Xin Ling, now in Hell, decides he wants to try and escape Satan’s stronghold. He befriends a Go Go Yubari look alike named Red Dress (Lam Jan-kei), who, for some odd reason, was sent to Hell for getting high and thinking she can fly. The two manage to get to the City of Lost Souls where they meet some of the well-known Venoms (Phillip Kwok, Lo Meng, Sun Chien, and Chiang Sheng). From that point onwards, Xin Ling and Red Dress team up with them and together, they fight off an array of Hell’s warriors.
Heaven & Hell is sh*t and gold at the same time. One minute, it’s a high school musical, the next minute fingers are chopped, people are skinned, and Venoms are fighting off mutated humans. Heaven & Hell may be pure camp, but visually, it’s a trip.
If you’re in it just for the action, you’ll be pleased with Heaven & Hell, but as an overall film, it’s without a doubt, one of Chang Cheh’s weirdest films.
Jeff Bona’s Rating: 5/10
i’m glad i’m not the only person that thought Chang Cheh (and possibly others) were on some serious drugs in making this movie. this has to be his worst movie just because it’s visually nonsensical. it’s almost Ed Wood level of bad if not for the weak attempt at preaching Chinese Buddhism. My theory is that Chang Cheh had old footage that he wanted (or was told) to salvage and scrapped together this mess. I mean, what the hell was the ultra cheap looking props, costumes and sets? I would argue that the martial arts in this film isn’t enough to salvage this mess. I think it’s more of a morbid curiosity just to see an ensemble cast embarrass themselves in this. I mean, I’m sure that the reason why this movie wasn’t an export (until later) is because it probably was meant for a Chinese religious audience given the subject matter. Even if you’ve studied a little bit of Buddhism (like I did in college), a lot of the names and places like in Hell just went over my head. You can get the general gist of what’s going on but not the depth. It’s more like a Chinese Dante’s Inferno as I described. Anyway, I did my own write up as well.
Just saw Heaven and Hell on youtube, and while it’s pretty damn strange in some parts–mainly the parts in hell–it’s not even that bad. It’s pretty entertaining, if nothing else, and the sudden shifts from heaven to earth to hell, along with the shifting cast (the film took nearly five years to complete, due to Chang Cheh’s budget issues) definitely keep things interesting. Especially when the Venoms start fighting some demons in hell, and that when it gets even more fun. Definitely one of Chang Cheh’s weirdest and most out-there movies, besides his own The Weird Man and Attack of the Joyful Goddess (1983).