The Young Dragons (1973)
Reviewed by: mpongpun on 2003-08-13
This flick was John Woo's debut as a director. The flick was originally finished in 1973 under an independent label, but due to it's heavy violence, it never got a release until it was shown in Taiwan in 1974 after Golden Harvest picked it up. The official release date in Hong Kong is 1975. I noticed in the Taiwanese release that the running time is shorter and missing all the nudity shots that is contained in the Hong Kong version. The flick is about a good guy bandit named Kin (Henry Yu Yung) who likes stealing from the rich, in particular, a local rich man-guns runner by the named of Lung (Chiang Nan). Kin heists a gun shipment from one of Lung's men, Lei Fu (Cheng Lei) and all hell breaks loose. Meanwhile, a police captain named Fan Ming (Lau Kong) is in town investigating Lung's dirty deeds incognito and strikes up a friendship (John Woo style) with Brother Kin. Boss Lung sends out his men and they ambush and try to kill Fan Ming (another John Woo twist). Brother Kin, doing what a John Woo hero always does, goes to avenge his brother by entering the Lung Mansion and wiping out all his fighters until meeting up with Boss Lung's best fighter, Yun (Fong Hark On), in a fight that proves to be meaningless. Tien Ni plays Lau Kong's fiancé and Hu Chin plays Little Hung, the courtesan at the brothel. You can also spot several young guys in the flick such as Shing Fui On and Dean Shek.