| Eight-Diagram Pole Fighter | |
|---|---|
The Hong Kong movie poster. |
|
| Directed by | Lau Kar-leung |
| Produced by | Mona Fong Run Me Shaw Run Run Shaw |
| Written by | Lau Kar-leung Kuang Ni |
| Starring | Alexander Fu Sheng Gordon Liu Lau Kar-leung Wang Lung Wei |
| Music by | Stephen Shing |
| Distributed by | Shaw Brothers Studio |
| Release date(s) | 1983 |
| Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | Hong Kong |
| Language | Cantonese |
Eight-Diagram Pole Fighter (五郎八卦棍, Wu lang ba gua gun) is a 1983 Shaw Brothers kung fu film directed by Lau Kar-leung, and starring Gordon Liu and Alexander Fu Sheng. It is released as The Invincible Pole Fighters outside of Hong Kong and Invincible Pole Fighter in North America.
The film is based on the true story of a man who, after his father and brothers are killed, develops the Yang Ga Ng Long Baht Gwa Kwun (Yang Family 5th brother eight diagram pole) style.
The Yangs are a well-known family of soldiers in the service of the government but are betrayed by a government official (Wang Lung Wei) conspiring with the Mongols. All of the Yang family males except the 4th, 5th, and 6th brothers are killed (played by Hsiao Ho, Gordon Liu and Fu Sheng respectively). 4th brother is captured by the Liao and is not mentioned again (in the source story he marries a Liao princess and returns). Fu Sheng loses his mind after the death of his family, while the other brother (Gordon Liu), takes refuge in a temple to put his anger and past behind him. Liu's superb martial arts skill, particularly with the quarterstaff, impress the temple's senior monks. After refusing to leave the temple at first, Liu later fights for the right to depart after he learns that his sister (Kara Hui) has been captured by the conspirators and a senior monk is killed by the Mongols. Liu confronts the Mongols and during the ensuing battle to free his sister, the monks from the temple arrive to lend support and help him to defeat the Mongols.
Fu Sheng died during filming and does not appear in the final showdown as originally written in the script. After Fu Sheng's death, the story was changed to center on Gordon Liu.