Dirty Ho

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dirty Ho (1979) is a Gordon Liu kung fu film classic directed by Lau Kar-leung. Dirty Ho did not follow the usual revenge plot of kung fu films at the time; instead it has a unique plot in which a Manchurian prince (Liu) disguises himself as Master Wang, a jewelry-dealer and connoisseur of fine art and fine wine, in order to find out which of the other fourteen heirs to the throne is trying to assassinate him. (One of the film's unusual features is having a Manchu character as the film's hero.) Wang is a martial arts expert, but in order to disguise his identity he systematically hides his skills, even as he deploys them.

[edit] Plot summary

In the opening sequence of the film proper (after a title sequence which already features two highly abstract fight sequences by the principals) Wang encounters "Dirty Ho," a jewel thief played by Wong Yue, at a geisha house; they come into conflict by vying with one another for the attentions of the courtesans, and Dirty Ho (who is not too bright) can't figure out why his efforts to fight with the seemingly cowardly, effete Wang inevitably result in clumsy disaster (it is Wang, of course, who skilfully deflects Ho into tripping over chairs and so forth). In a later confrontation with Ho, Wang pretends that a female musician is his "bodyguard," invisibly manipulating the bewildered woman's arms, legs and musical in order to make her fight with Ho and eventually to graze him in the forehead with a poisoned blade. This is, however, part of Wang's scheme: he has been secretly protecting Ho from the police, and instead wishes to train Ho his disciple and bodyguard. Ho eventually seeks out Wang in order to discover the antidote for the poison, which Wang administers to him in return for Ho's becoming his disciple. Ho is initially puzzled at this since he has not detected any kung-fu prowess in his master at all, and he remains initially a clueless bystander during two attempts on Wang's life: first, an attack at a wine-tasting, and then a visit to an antique-dealer's shop. Wang manages to defend himself admirably while maintaining the fiction that he is simply having a friendly aesthetic conversation with his opponents. Only at the end of the antique-shop attack does Ho figure out what's going on and intervene, but Wang receives a wound in the leg through a strategem of the antiques dealer. The master and his disciple sequester themselves in their residence – Wang for recovery, Ho for some kung fu lessons. But it is nearly time for the princes to assemble for the announcement of the heir to the throne, and so Wang and Ho undertake the dangerous journey to Peking/Beijing, with Wang in disguise, being pushed in a wheelchair by Ho. Defeating an army of assassins in a ruined city, they manage to extract from the assassins' leader the identity of the Prince (number Four) who is targeting Wang. Our heroes encounter their most formidable enemy, General Liang (Lo Lieh) plus two other bad guys, and a long and impressive (traditional-style) climactic fight sequence follows. They manage to defeat their enemies just in time for Wang (Prince Eleven) to enter the throne room in time for the Emperor's appearance. Ho, outside the door, passes his master his necklace of beads on the pole they've used during the fight; the Prince takes them and deftly uses the pole to send Ho flying outside the room, and the film ends with a freeze-frame on Dirty Ho in mid-air.

Film Name: Dirty Ho

Year: 1979

Country: Hong Kong

Genre: Classic Kung Fu/Comedy

Director: Lau Kar Leung

Producer: Run Run Shaw

Main Characters: Yue Wong as Dirty Ho and Chia Hui Liu (Gordon Liu) as the 11th prince/Mr. Wang