Heroes Shed No Tears

cover

Year of release: 1980

Genre: martial arts

Director: Chor Yuen

Action director: Tong Gai

Producer: Run Run Shaw

Writer: Chor Yuen

Cinematography: Wong Chit

Editing: Chiang Hsing-Lung, Yu Siu-Fung

Music: Eddie Wang, Joseph Koo

Stars: Alexander Fu Sheng, Jason Pai Piao, Derek Yee, Ku Feng, Yueh Hua, Angie Chiu, Lau Wai-Ling, Wang Sha, Cheng Miu, Yuen Wah, Yuen Bun, Austin Wai, Jamie Luk

Not rated; contains IIB-level violence

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Heroes Shed No Tears  Heroes Shed No Tears

Heroes Shed No Tears  Heroes Shed No Tears

The early 1980's ushered in the waning years of Shaw Brothers being the dominant studio in the realm of Hong Kong film-making. Many in the local audience began to think their releases were stuck in a rut, which, frankly, is a fairly correct assessment. But the Shaw Brothers still produced some gems during this period, such as 1980's Heroes Shed No Tears, where veteran director Chor Yuen leads an all-star cast in a picture that may disappoint those looking for wall-to-wall old-school kung fu action, but will greatly please those viewers out there that like a thoughtful story to go along with their martial arts antics.

Heroes Shed No Tears' story -- based on Gu Long's novel A Hero Without Tears -- is a bit too complex to delve into inside the confines of a short review, and, at any rate, giving a full synopsis would take the surprise out of the picture's twists and turns, which are some of the highlights to be had here. In a nutshell, though, the plot revolves around a young martial artist (Alexander Fu Sheng) who in possession of the legendary Sword of Tears being stuck in the middle of a conflict between warring clans.

If there is fault to be found with A Hero Without Tears, it would have to lie at the feet of its' star, Alexander Fu Sheng. The poor costuming choices (which includes a wig more suited for a drag queen Cher impersonator) aside, Fu Sheng comes off like he's not very interested in what's going on or creating a compelling performance. He just pops in, says his lines, fights a couple of guys, and it's on to the next scene. Fortunately, Fu Sheng is surrounded by a group of actors who do seem committed to their roles, in particular Derek Yee and Yueh Wah, who create wonderfully three-dimensional characters that make the exposition aspects actually fun to watch, instead of the chore far too many non-fighting scenes end up coming off as in these sorts of releases.

As this is an old-school Shaw Brothers kung fu movie, some note should also be made of the action sequences. There's not a ton of them, especially for a film that clocks in at around 105 minutes, and there's nothing particularly inventive contained therein, with the possible exception being a box that can produce the best weapon for any fight. But what is displayed here is of high quality and is punctuated with ample spurts of the lovely Heinz-tinted blood Shaw Brothers fans have come to know and love. Overall, while it isn't a perfect kung fu movie by any stretch of the imagination, A Hero Without Tears still offers up more than enough classic Shaw Brothers goodness to warrant a hearty recommendation.

RATING: 7