“The Manchurian Tiger” Theatrical Poster
Director: Lee Doo-Yong
Cast: Han Yong-cheol, Kim Mun-ju, Bae Su-chun, Woo Yeon-jeong, Chang Il-sik, Park Dong-ryong, Sim Sang Chun, Gang Dong-gyu, Choe Sung-kwan
Running Time: 95 min.
By Paul Bramhall
Looking back on the evolution of martial arts cinema over the years, there’s little doubt that it was the 1970’s when the genre evolved at such a rate that, if you put a production from 1970 and 1979 side-by-side, it looks like there’s far more than just 10 years between them. From both the complexity and style of the choreography, to the faces behind and in front of the camera, each year could be regarded as significant in its own way. 1974 was no different. In Hong Kong director Chang Cheh kicked off his Shaolin Cycle with the release of Heroes Two, while in Japan Sonny Chiba unleashed Takuma Tsurugi onto the world with The Streetfighter. One country that frequently gets overlooked when discussing the evolution of martial arts cinema though is Korea, and during the same year we’d also get what can be considered the first taekwondo based martial arts flick in the form of The Manchurian Tiger.
A whole 2 years before Hong Kong producer Ng See-Yuen would realise the potential of taekwondo’s aesthetically pleasing repertoire of kicks by introducing Hwang Jang Lee and John Liu to the world through The Secret Rivals, Korea was already cranking out its own brand of taekwondo-based action. For a fleeting time it looked like the Korean peninsula would have its own version of the Shaw Brothers studios Iron Triangle, with director Lee Doo-yong, star Han Yong-cheol, and choreographer Kwan Yung-moon, however ultimately their collaborations would prove to be the spark rather than the lasting flame. Together the trio would work together 6 times in 1974, also making Returned Single-Legged Man and its sequel, A Betrayer, Left Foot of Wrath and Bridge of Death, before going their separate ways.
Doo-yong was already an established director by 1974, and unlike say the Hong Kong film industry of the era, he didn’t just specialise in action cinema, going on to direct such important Korean classics like The Last Witness and The Hut in 1980. For fans of martial arts cinema though, while I’m sure it wouldn’t be his preference, he’s most likely known as the guy who directed 1976’s Visitor of America, the movie that was later bastardized and turned into Bruce Lee Fights Back from the Grave (notably he’d re-team with the movies star, Jun Chong, alongside Sam Jones and Linda Blair in 1988’s Silent Assassins after immigrating to the U.S.). Kwan Yung-moon on the other hand increasingly began appearing in front of the camera, clocking in memorable performances in Hong Kong productions like Shaolin Plot, The Loot, and Kung Fu Zombie, gaining the affectionate label of ‘The Mad Korean’ for his high energy performances.
While eventually all three of them would immigrate stateside, it was Yong-cheol who made the leap first, and as a result he also left the film industry behind. Apart from briefly returning in 1981 to make Yong Ho’s Cousins and My Name is Twin Legs (dubbed, re-edited and re-named in the west by Godfrey Ho’s Asso Asia outfit to Buddhist Fist and Tiger Claws and Strike of the Thunderkick Tiger respectively, which ironically makes them the 2 most accessible titles from Yong-cheol’s filmography), he’d leave just 12 movies to his legacy. The good news is all of them are starring roles, and Yong-cheol’s appeal as an action lead is obvious. While Korea would push many taekwondo experts into leading roles in subsequent years regardless of acting ability or screen presence (Casanova Wong, Dragon Lee, Elton Chong, etc.), Yong-cheol both looks and acts like leading man material.
Rumour has it that when Dong-yoo was auditioning for the lead role of The Manchurian Tiger, Hwang Jang Lee also showed up, however it was Yong-cheol who got the role over him since he had the combination of screen presence and taekwondo talent. Korean audiences at the time immediately took to Yong-cheol, and by the mid-70’s it was commonly referenced that “Hong Kong has the one-armed boxer (Jimmy Wang Yu), Japan has the blind swordsman (Shinatro Katsu), and Korea has the one-legged man!” As a sidenote while Hwang Jang Lee spent the era as a nameless lackey on the receiving end of Yong-cheol’s kicks in the likes of Returned Single-Legged Man (released Stateside as The Korean Connection), by the time 1981 came around the pair would co-star alongside each other in Buddhist Fist and Tiger Claws, effectively marking a passing of the torch from one to the other.
The Manchurian Tiger ushered in what became known as the ‘Manchuria western’, a riff on the western genre coming out of Hollywood at the time. Swapping the wild west of America for the dusty planes of Manchuria, the tales usually involved Korean independence fighters caught up in plots involving the Chinese and Japanese that populated the now dissolved territory encompassing parts of Korea, China, Mongolia, and Russia. Swapping guns for taekwondo kicks, the combination proved to be a recipe for success (and would be re-imagined most recently in 2008’s The Good, The Bad, The Weird), and in many ways came to represent the fact that Korean action movies could stand on their own, without needing to rely on Hong Kong or Taiwanese co-productions.
Clearly riffing on A Fistful of Dollars, the plot sees Yong-cheol as a cigar smoking drifter with no name, willing to offer his impressive fighting skills to the highest bidder. After arriving in Harbin a Chinese restaurant owner, played by Kim Mun-ju (Gallant Man, Tarzan in Korea), enlists his services to retrieve a stash of gold he claims was stolen by a Japanese bar owner, played by Bae Su-chun (Miss, Please Be Patient, Woman’s Martial Arts). Initially playing both parties off each other to increase his prince, the plot thickens when a lady enters the picture played by Woo Yeon-jeong (The Bloody Wind, The Dragon Tamers), who reveals that Mun-ju and Su-chun used to be in cahoots. Claiming they stole the gold by murdering her father, who’d intended it to be used to fund Korean independence efforts, she also asks for Yong-cheol’s help to exact revenge, but will she end up just another pawn to line his pockets?
Of course the plot is just a framework for Yong-cheol to strut around and show off his boot work, and to that end it serves its purpose admirably. While Yung-moon’s choreography is still steeped in the punch and block style of the era, whenever Yong-cheol unleashes his kicks the choreography noticeably goes up a notch, and for fans of Korean kung-fu there’s plenty of familiar faces on the receiving end of them. Chang Il-sik (Tiger of Northland, Dragon from Shaolin) is particularly entertaining as a caped, silk shirt wearing knife expert, who strolls around with a belt full of knives as if it’s normal everyday attire. Park Dong-ryong (Wild Panther, The Deadly Kick) and Sim Sang Chun (Emperor of the Underworld, Enter the Game of Death) are also onboard as lackeys, all of whom would go on to have more prominent roles as the so called ‘taekwon action’ genre began to gain popularity.
The Manchurian Tiger isn’t only an important movie for reinventing the Korean action genre, it’s also an entertaining one, made by a director who valued a decent storyline and characters just as much as ensuring the action beats deliver when they hit. Sure some parts are a little rough around the edges, like in almost every scene you can see the characters breath regardless of if they’re indoors or outside, indicating that it was likely shot in the middle of winter, and look out for the clearly visible horse handler in the background of one shot during the final fight scene. However these are minor gripes in what’s a lean actioner, one that’s part of a genre which really no longer exists in the Korean film industry today, so should only be appreciated even more.
Lastly, while I usually don’t discuss specific releases when it comes to reviews, especially at the time of writing in 2023 when we have a deluge of physical media and streaming content to choose from, for The Manchurian Tiger I’ll make an exception. The Korean Film Archive have done a stellar job of releasing Korean classics on Blu-ray over the years (including Doo-yong’s own The Last Witness and The Hut), however we’ve yet to see a single martial arts title on their slate. With the 2023 release schedule recently announced it’s confirmed that this year will be the same, however as perhaps the next best option, in March a new HD master complete with English subtitles was released for free on their Korean Classic Film YouTube channel (probably using the same master that was created for a Han Yong-cheol Film Festival the KOFA screened in 2020 – what I would have given to be able to attend!). The full movie is linked below.
Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 8/10
