The Tattooed Dragon
directed by Lo Wei
starring Jimmy Wang Yu, Sylvia Chang
Eureka Entertainment
In the history of Hong Kong martial arts there are two unquestioned superstars in Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. Jimmy Wang Yu, best known for his numerous variation on One Armed Swordsman, never made the jump to mainstream cultural fame. This was due to in large part to his expulsion and blacklisting from Shaw Brothers. He worked mainly away from Hong Kong for indie studios in Taiwan or for Golden Harvest, the studio that launched Bruce Lee’s film career. Although his career lacked in cross-over appeal, Jimmy Wang Yu’s cult following is strong to this day.
1973 found Wang Yu working for Golden Harvest in Thailand shooting The Tattooed Dragon, an off-beat kung fu film featuring Wang Yu as a morally ambiguous fighter who decides to aid a village beset by a nefarious gang operating a crooked gambling racket. Director Lo Wei makes the most of his exotic location to show off plenty of local color, including a fight among temple ruins and some Muay Thai boxing. The oppressive heat and humidity also add character to the film, which is an incredibly sweaty affair, and must have created miserable working conditions on the shoot. In addition to the serious fighting, there are also a fair amount of comedy, some social justice messaging, and a thinly disguised mash-up of canine heroes Lassie and Rin-Tin-Tin, resulting in a strange but lovable kung fu film that doesn’t take itself too seriously — until it is go time for Jimmy Wang Yu.
Although adept at both wuxia swordplay and kung fu styles, Jimmy Wang Yu is not about technical precision or flamboyant stunt work. Wang Yu’s fighting style and screen persona are all about being a super-cool badass. His kung fu is brutally efficient, and the man just has a knack for selling the fights. He also exudes a rakish charm that made him a cult favorite for generations.
Eureka Entertainment continues to uncover neglected treasures from Asian film vaults, and while not a great classic, The Tattooed Dragon has Jimmy Wang Yu and enough weirdness for it to rise above the tsunami of films made in the wake of Bruce Lee’s meteoric rise and sudden death in the early 1970s. The Blu-ray comes with some insightful and fun extras, including audio commentaries by familiar names Frank Djeng, and Mike Leeder and Arne Venema, along with Here Be Dragons, a discussion of The Tattooed Dragon with martial arts cinema expert Wayne Wong.
