Heroes of the East (1980)

Overrated and overhyped

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

A Chinese man (Liu) marries a Japanese woman through an arranged marriage and manages to insult all of her Japanese martial arts family by issuing a challenge to her that is misinterpreted by the others. He must then prove how good Chinese Kung Fu really is through a series of duels with the seven Japanese martial artists who come to meet the challenge.In a departure from the norm for a Hong Kong film of that time, instead of stereotyping the Japanese characters as villains, the film portrays both the Japanese characters and their fighting skills with respect. Another unusual aspect of the film is that director Lau insisted that none of the fights ended in death. It is consistent with Lau's insistence on no characters being killed when in the film, Ho Tao criticizes the lethal technique of Ninjitsu as being dishonorable.This really is a nice exposition of two different fighting styles, even if staged. There is another film that does this, but I cannot recall which (possibly "Ip Man"). I find it interesting to see that interaction between the Chinese and Japanese, as they seem to have always been rivals...

This movie is about a Chinese man who is arranged to marry a Japanese woman. And as we all know, all Asians are kung fu masters. So the two get in a disagreement over the two different kung fu styles. The Japanese woman brings a group of Japanese masters to fight against Gordon.The real highlight of this film is the weapons. Every fight has a new weapon. A traditional Chinese Weapon vs a traditional Japanese one. It is really cool. Gordon Liu is in his prime for this film. Chia Liang Liu also has one of the best director cameos i have ever seen. This is just a fun and light hearted kung fu film.

Challenge of the Ninja is essentially a story of cultures. From the initial opening credits when Gordon Liu a young Chinese man marries a Japanese girl you can see that they and everything around them will clash as the newlyweds try to find common ground. Their varying attitudes about martial arts to the way they train pits the two lovers on a collision course that ultimately has the proud, stubborn and spoiled bride running back to her family. An ill advised note pits a rival suitor against the young man and his Japanese entourage of fighters who feel slighted by its contents that derides their skill and culture as fighters. When Gordon meets with them head on he not only wins back his wayward wife but gains the respect and admiration of those who would challenge him. This movie is a must see for those who like to see the various styles of martial arts represented by Chinese Kung Fu by one of its finest proponents.

I'm more of an early 70's kung fu film fan. I found the later '70s films to be bores, focusing on tedious training sequences and risible attempts at "humor:. I recommend this film, though: it showcases various Japanese and Chinese forms; and most amazingly no one is killed in the film! This makes it more attuned to the real spirit of martial arts: its true message is about honor. See this film, though it may be difficult to do. I've seen it once in 17 years, and that was on a local syndicated station.