A general’s son is taken hostage as leverage to free a bandit leader. The general’s other offspring, Golden Swallow, is sent to retake the son. When the bandit gang encounter the Golden Swallow (Cheng Pie Pei) in a local inn, they are taken aback by his martial arts ability and are swiftly defeated. With the help of local beggar Fan Da-Pei (Yueh Hua), the Golden Swallow keeps the bandits at bay. But everyone has a trick or two up “his” sleeve…

King Hu’s COME DRINK WITH ME is the seminal Hong Kong action movie. Although some feel that by today’s standard the action scenes are slow and uninteresting, this really is missing the point. This film should be watched for its drama, splendour, character and story as much as anything else. Besides, the swordplay is fine as far as I’m concerned and I’m sure Ang Lee, Zhang Yimou et al would give a major body part to be able to achieve what this film achieves – and with no CGI and relatively few trick shots either. I’m talking about genuine mood and feeling here. COME DRINK WITH ME has it by the bucketful.

Those who still aren’t convinced that Shaw Brothers films went down the pan production-wise during the mid seventies should take a look at this film from 1966. In fact, the first ten minutes should be enough to convince. The outdoor scenes are fantastically filmed and the interior sets are breathtaking. I’ll never forget the shock I felt when I first saw the beggar’s home set – it’s simply awesome. A lot of credit should also go to the lighting department (often overlooked in even Hollywood films) who never fail in keep everything looking top-notch with lots of great mood lighting.

The film is a series of stand out scenes and set pieces. In Golden Swallow’s introduction scene, we see “him” surreptitiously humiliate a whole clan of bandits. Forget Bruce Lee, THIS is the art of fighting without fighting! Incidentally, a bald Yuen Siu-Tien can be seen in this scene. The only leap of faith required really is the fact that anyone could take the Golden Swallow for a man. Seldom have I seen such a pretty man…!

We also have some real sexual tension between Golden Swallow and Fan Da-Pei. When she (for her secret has been revealed!) gets into a fight at the temple (another cracking location, by the way), her vest briefly becomes visible – leading to a short burst of giggles from the bad guys and Golden Swallow’s acute embarrassment. This sets up the scene later where Fan Da-Pei is forced to suck the poison from her chest wound. It may seem tame by today’s standard, but this is really intimate stuff here, and should be taken in context of the era in which this film is set. To have a man see, let alone touch, such an intimate part of a woman’s body was not to be taken lightly in those days.

Surprisingly, subsequent viewing reveal more than the odd instance of intentional humour – and in particular a sense of irony. This is not quite as straight-laced as it first appears, and not as doom-laden as films by, say, Chang Cheh, who would pretty much dominate Shaws during the early 70’s.

If you really wanted to poke holes in the film, you could do – it’s not perfect. The bandits are a bit of a weak spot, admittedly, as you never do know what it is they stand for. They’re certainly nasty enough (they kill a small child, leading one monk to bemoan: “You’re too ruthless!”). However, on the whole, it has stood up remarkably well.

There are quite a few groundbreaking films from Hong Kong that shaped the industry. In the sixties and early seventies, you have a veritable bucket load (including ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN, CHINESE BOXER, VENGEANCE, THE BIG BOSS, and KING BOXER). But COME DRINK WITH ME is one of the more entertaining, and definitely the best looking, of the lot.

As a footnote, there was a “sort of” sequel made (called simply GOLDEN SWALLOW) in 1968,which was helmed by Chang Cheh. I found it disappointing despite being a bit of a fan of his films.