Secret Service of the Imperial Court
Encyclopedia
Secret Service of the Imperial Court, also known as Police Pool of Blood, is a 1984 Hong Kong wuxia
film produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio
and starring Bryan Leung. The film is strikingly similar in style and plot to, and is suggested to have been remade as, the 2010 film 14 Blades
, which starred Donnie Yen
.
, the governments secret police. The sergeant of the force is Zhao's elder son, Zhao Bu Fa. Zhao also has a younger son in the force, Zhao Bu Qun, whom he executes after he questioned him whether or not he would kill his father if he committed a crime, which he answered "No".
The force works under a childish, womanizing Emperor who is irresponsible to his duties. The blood thirsty Eunuch Wang Zhen usually bribes the Emperor with woman and the Emperor gives his powers to the eunuch. Zhao Bu Fa has never been fond of the eunch. Eunuch Wang then orders The Brocade Guards to kill two righteous guards Yu Hua Long and Li Yi. Zhao refuses to kill them and resigned from the force. The furious eunuch then orders Zhao Wu Yi to kill his son and he sends his men to kill him also his trope is no match for Zhao so Zhao survives every time.
Zhao then goes into hiding with his wife Xue Liang and son Ding Dong in his ancestral village where his whole clan are where his uncle Zhao Wu Ji is the leader. Things work out fine, until a message was sent to the village ordering the clan to Kill Zhao Bu Fa or they will be executed. The decide to kill Zhao, where later Zhao and his uncle engages in a duel where he kills his own uncle. Zhao's sister Wu Xiao Nan, who did not want to kill Zhao later gives Zhao a poisoned cup of tea and they later engage in a fight where Zhao kills Wu, and he and his family escape.
They later meet up with Zhao's brother, who revealed that his execution was fake, it was just to show the Brocade Guards what will happen to them if they disobey an order. Bu Qun then treats his brother's poison and later he disguise as his brother and end up sacrificing himself for his brother and family to live a peaceful life. Xue Liang later repays his kindness by killing herself. The Jinyi troupe brings Bu Qun's head to show show Wu Yi, who is saddened and says that he actually does not want his son to die. Eunuch Wang later tries to completely take over the Emperor's throne. Later Zhao Bu Fa calls for a duel with Wang. They later engage in the duel in the mountains where in the process Zhao chops off Wang's left arm and later killing him by chopping him in half. After the duel, Zhao informs his father that he has killed Eunuch Wang.
They summarized by writing, "Les scènes d'action sont peut-être le point faible de Secret Service Of The Imperial Court. Elles sont nombreuses, certes, mais très souvent filmées en accéléré et perdent ainsi énormément en authenticité. Le casting est impeccable, Leung Kar Yan en tête qui affiche une véritable aisance dans les scènes dramatique et d'action. Ku Feng, en père torturé, est tout aussi convaincant. Au final, on peut dire que Secret Service Of The Imperial Court est une des dernières grandes réussites de la Shaw Brothers, studio à cette époque en pleine déconfiture artistique." (The action scenes are perhaps the weakest of Secret Service Of The Imperial Court. There are many, certainly, but very often filmed so quickly as to lose a lot in authenticity. The cast is impeccable, Leung Kar Yan in mind that displays a real ease in drama and action scenes. Ku Feng, a father tortured, is equally convincing. Finally, we can say that Secret Service Of The Imperial Court is one of the last great achievements of the Shaw Brothers Studio
at that time in artistic disarray.)
Elitisti offered "Secret Service of the Imperial Court on vuonna 1986 ovensa sulkeneen Shaw Brothers -tuotantoyhtiön viimeisiä ehdottoman onnistuneita taistelulajielokuvia, ja samalla yksi 1980-luvun uuden wuxia-aallon ehdotonta parhaimmistoa." (Secret Service of the Imperial Court was the last absolutely successful martial arts film made by the Shaw Brothers
before they closed in 1986, and was the best of the 1980s, representing the new wave of Wuxia style at its best.) They also wrote "Se yhdistää vanhan wuxia-perinteen parhaat elementit huikeisiin näyttelijäsuorituksiin, dynaamiseen toimintaan ja japanilaisten samurai-elokuvien estetiikkaan." (It combines the old-Wuxia tradition with the best elements of staggering actress performances, dynamic action, and with Japanese samurai film aesthetics.)
Wuxia
Wuxia is a broad genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists. Although wuxia is traditionally a form of literature, its popularity has caused it to spread to diverse art forms like Chinese opera, manhua , films, television series, and video games...
film produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio
Shaw Brothers Studio
The Shaw Brothers Studio , owned by Shaw Brothers Ltd., was the foremost and the largest movie production company of Hong Kong movies.From their distribution base in Singapore where they founded parent company Shaw Organization in 1924, and as a strategic development of their movie distribution...
and starring Bryan Leung. The film is strikingly similar in style and plot to, and is suggested to have been remade as, the 2010 film 14 Blades
14 Blades
14 Blades is a 2010 wuxia film directed by Daniel Lee and starring Donnie Yen, Zhao Wei, Wu Chun, Kate Tsui and Qi Yuwu. The film was released on February 4 in China and February 11 in Hong Kong...
, which starred Donnie Yen
Donnie Yen
Donnie Yen is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film director and producer, action choreographer, and world wushu tournament medalist...
.
Plot
Captain Zhao Wu Yi is the leader of the Brocade GuardsJinyi Wei
The Jinyi Wei was the imperial military secret police of the Chinese emperors of the Ming Dynasty and were bound to serving the emperor only. The Jinyi Wei was founded by the Hongwu Emperor in 1368 to serve as his personal bodyguards and it developed into a military organization the following year...
, the governments secret police. The sergeant of the force is Zhao's elder son, Zhao Bu Fa. Zhao also has a younger son in the force, Zhao Bu Qun, whom he executes after he questioned him whether or not he would kill his father if he committed a crime, which he answered "No".
The force works under a childish, womanizing Emperor who is irresponsible to his duties. The blood thirsty Eunuch Wang Zhen usually bribes the Emperor with woman and the Emperor gives his powers to the eunuch. Zhao Bu Fa has never been fond of the eunch. Eunuch Wang then orders The Brocade Guards to kill two righteous guards Yu Hua Long and Li Yi. Zhao refuses to kill them and resigned from the force. The furious eunuch then orders Zhao Wu Yi to kill his son and he sends his men to kill him also his trope is no match for Zhao so Zhao survives every time.
Zhao then goes into hiding with his wife Xue Liang and son Ding Dong in his ancestral village where his whole clan are where his uncle Zhao Wu Ji is the leader. Things work out fine, until a message was sent to the village ordering the clan to Kill Zhao Bu Fa or they will be executed. The decide to kill Zhao, where later Zhao and his uncle engages in a duel where he kills his own uncle. Zhao's sister Wu Xiao Nan, who did not want to kill Zhao later gives Zhao a poisoned cup of tea and they later engage in a fight where Zhao kills Wu, and he and his family escape.
They later meet up with Zhao's brother, who revealed that his execution was fake, it was just to show the Brocade Guards what will happen to them if they disobey an order. Bu Qun then treats his brother's poison and later he disguise as his brother and end up sacrificing himself for his brother and family to live a peaceful life. Xue Liang later repays his kindness by killing herself. The Jinyi troupe brings Bu Qun's head to show show Wu Yi, who is saddened and says that he actually does not want his son to die. Eunuch Wang later tries to completely take over the Emperor's throne. Later Zhao Bu Fa calls for a duel with Wang. They later engage in the duel in the mountains where in the process Zhao chops off Wang's left arm and later killing him by chopping him in half. After the duel, Zhao informs his father that he has killed Eunuch Wang.
Cast
- Bryan Leung as Sergeant Zhao Bu Fa
- Nancy Hu as Xue Liang
- Tony LiuTony LiuTony Liu Yung is a Hong Kong actor and martial artist. He often appeared in martial arts films. He debuted in Bruce Lee's The Big Boss and later appeared in Lee's next three films.-Early life:...
as Eunuch Wang Zhen - Ku Feng as Captain Zhao Wu Yi
- Lo MangLo MangLo Mang is a Hong Kong based veteran martial artist who was born as Lo Hin Lam in Hong Kong on 23 July 1956. Primarily known for starring in Shaw Brothers kung fu movies in the latter part of the 1970s and beginning of the 1980s...
as Zhao Bu Qun - Lo LiehLo LiehLo Lieh was a Hong Kong actor in martial arts films. His real name is Wang Lap Tat. After his parents sent him back to China he attended acting school in Hong Kong. He began his martial arts training in 1962 and joined the Shaw Brothers Studio in the same year and went on to become one of the...
as Zhao Wu Ji - Chan Ga-kei as Zhao Wu Ji's son
- Liu Yu-pu as Xiao Nan
- Fong Yi-jan as Lian Lian
- Ko Fei as Chao Jie Xiang
- Ku Kuan-chung as Zhang Qiang
- Lung Tien-hsiang as Lin Jun
- Sun Chien as Li Yi
- Cheung Lik as Wang Biao
- Jason Pai as Yu Hua Long
- Cheng Kei-ying as Shih Hen
- Lau Siu-gwan as Emperor
- Cheng Miu as Official Li
- Wong Ching-ho as Official Wang Yun
- Pak Sha-lik as Zhao clan member
- Cheung Yuet-ming as Ding Dong
- Wong Pau-gei as Xue Xuan
- Chan Lau as Gao Xiang
- Kwan Fung as Li Zhou Min
- Liu Jun-guk as Zhao Wu Yi's bodyguard
- Ngai Tim-choi as brocade guard
- Lee Fat-yuen as brocade guard
- Ho Wing-cheung as brocade guard
- Kong Chuen as brocade guard
- Lee Yiu-ging as brocade guard / soldier
- Shum Lo as Zhao clan member
- Wang Han-chen as Zhao clan member
- Lui Hung as Zhao clan member
- Wong Kung-miu as Uncle Chen
- Mama Hung as street hawker
- Lui Tat as court official
Reception
Hong Kong Cinemagic offered "Une des grandes qualités de ce film est la puissance émotionnelle dégagée par un scénario aux nombreux rebondissements qu'on peut appréhender comme une réflexion sur le devoir : devoir d'un fils vis-à-vis de son père, devoir d'un homme de loi vis-à-vis du pouvoir politique et devoir d'un chef de clan vis-à-vis de la communauté. Les réponses à ces questions sont multiples et chaque protagoniste sera amené à se prononcer sur le sujet : le récit n'en est que plus étoffé." (One of the great qualities of this film is the emotional power generated by a scenario with many twists and turns that can be apprehended as a reflection on the duty: the duty of a son vis-à-vis his father, having a lawyer vis-à-vis political power and duty of a clan leader vis-à-vis the community. The answers to these questions are many and each character will have to decide on the subject: the story is even more comprehensive.)They summarized by writing, "Les scènes d'action sont peut-être le point faible de Secret Service Of The Imperial Court. Elles sont nombreuses, certes, mais très souvent filmées en accéléré et perdent ainsi énormément en authenticité. Le casting est impeccable, Leung Kar Yan en tête qui affiche une véritable aisance dans les scènes dramatique et d'action. Ku Feng, en père torturé, est tout aussi convaincant. Au final, on peut dire que Secret Service Of The Imperial Court est une des dernières grandes réussites de la Shaw Brothers, studio à cette époque en pleine déconfiture artistique." (The action scenes are perhaps the weakest of Secret Service Of The Imperial Court. There are many, certainly, but very often filmed so quickly as to lose a lot in authenticity. The cast is impeccable, Leung Kar Yan in mind that displays a real ease in drama and action scenes. Ku Feng, a father tortured, is equally convincing. Finally, we can say that Secret Service Of The Imperial Court is one of the last great achievements of the Shaw Brothers Studio
Shaw Brothers Studio
The Shaw Brothers Studio , owned by Shaw Brothers Ltd., was the foremost and the largest movie production company of Hong Kong movies.From their distribution base in Singapore where they founded parent company Shaw Organization in 1924, and as a strategic development of their movie distribution...
at that time in artistic disarray.)
Elitisti offered "Secret Service of the Imperial Court on vuonna 1986 ovensa sulkeneen Shaw Brothers -tuotantoyhtiön viimeisiä ehdottoman onnistuneita taistelulajielokuvia, ja samalla yksi 1980-luvun uuden wuxia-aallon ehdotonta parhaimmistoa." (Secret Service of the Imperial Court was the last absolutely successful martial arts film made by the Shaw Brothers
Shaw Brothers Studio
The Shaw Brothers Studio , owned by Shaw Brothers Ltd., was the foremost and the largest movie production company of Hong Kong movies.From their distribution base in Singapore where they founded parent company Shaw Organization in 1924, and as a strategic development of their movie distribution...
before they closed in 1986, and was the best of the 1980s, representing the new wave of Wuxia style at its best.) They also wrote "Se yhdistää vanhan wuxia-perinteen parhaat elementit huikeisiin näyttelijäsuorituksiin, dynaamiseen toimintaan ja japanilaisten samurai-elokuvien estetiikkaan." (It combines the old-Wuxia tradition with the best elements of staggering actress performances, dynamic action, and with Japanese samurai film aesthetics.)
Box office
The film grossed HK$1,376,722 during its theatrical run from 19 October to 23 October 1984.External links
- Secret Service Of The Imperial Court at the Hong Kong CinemagicHong Kong CinemagicHong Kong Cinemagic, sometimes referred to as HKCinemagic, is a bilingual website providing a repository for information about Chinese language films from Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, and the people that created them. The website contains news, interviews, film reviews and a database of people,...