Marco Polo: Viewer Comments

Viewer Comments:
Marco Polo
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by RL68064

I enjoyed this movie more than I expected to. I avoided this one for years, especially when I noticed the European face in the movie. I have over 150 of some of the best rare and hard to find old school kung fu movies ever and have collected them all of my life, so I know a good kung fu movie when I see one. "Marco Polo" is worthy of a purchase.

by AA60017

It had some quality scenes in it but I expected much more after reading the other reviews.

by shaolin_masterkiller

by ST56022

by 100pr00f
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by TheDenizen

Richard Harrison comes across as slightly confused as the pointless title character Marco Polo. This is a good flick, packed with excellent fighting and training sequences (plus a rare turn as a villain for Gordon Liu), but the inclusion of a white guy seems to be just a gimmick. The role of Marco Polo could easily have been made a generic Mongol general without affecting the story at all, since he just stands around and watches everyone else fighting for the whole movie.

AGREE?	READER COMMENTS	AUTHOR
Y	I agree Denizen but him standing in the way so to speak still has no effect on the outcome of the classic gem still gets 5 stars from me.	Kung Fu Classic Viewer
Y	Poor Harrison did the exact same thing in a few Shaw flicks. Fun movie, aside from his imitation of a coat rack.	Prayingmantis888

by Kung Fu Classic Viewer

If anyone is anyone has ever watched a Shaw Brothers film, then I don't even need to comment on this gem. Classic.

by WB56421

A WONDERFUL kung fu movie. I loved the training sequences and I loved how they made it work in the movie.

by SW3396

Recommended for fans of the Venoms! Fu Sheng and Gordon Liu have non-starring roles here, along with Philip Kwok and some of the mini-Venoms. The fighting and plot are similar to the later Venom movies. The Marco Polo character is a bit distracting and I would have preferred the movie without him. The training scenes are great, the fighting styles are inventive, and, of course, it's always a pleasure to see these stars on the screen.

by Movie Freak

I didn't expect anything spectacular from this film and it ended up being pretty damn good. The training sequences are awesome, especially the one with Chi Kuan Chun, and the action is right on. The tales of brotherhood and vengence we've come to love from Cheng Cheh are all here too, so I'd say definitely check this film out.

by Warrior Cleric

It took years to find this movie! I knew it as "The Four Assassins", so when it became available on HKFlix, I bought it right away. I love this movie and wanted to hear it in its original Chinese language, so I bought a second copy. It's a good thing my DVD player is region free because now I can enjoy this film more fully.

Thank you HKFlix!!

by BF40456

Lots of good fighting scenes.

by NB51043

Boring, choppy, unfocused.

The Marco Polo character never really enagages anything, just sort of stands around and watches random fights that are not well tied into the plot.

With the cast and the previously unexplored (and rich) storyline, this movie should be great. Instead it's dull, making it that much more disappointing.

by VC7514

Not bad, but not one of my favorites. Considering all the starpower in it, I was disappointed with the final product.

by HG6505

One of my favorites. The fight scenes were great.

by WK19819

by BA38898

I got the VHS version but I needed to see it in HD form, cyrstal clear. Good story, training, fights...another oldie and goodie.

by Mighty Mike

Overall, this ends up being a classic Cheng Cheh film. I was worried about the whole Marco Polo theme and the introduction of Richard Harrison, but the four Shaw stars save the day.

by William Giordanella

This is a great movie with a tremendous cast. For those worried that Richard Harrison might ruin this movie, fear not. He has a minimal role and stays out of the way during the action. Highly recommended.

by Sgt. T

This film once again pairs the great Alexander Fu Sheng with Chi Kuan Chun. This time, along with Bruce Tong and Kuo Choi a.k.a. Phillip Kwok of Venoms fame, our heroes take on the Mongol soldiers of Kublai Khan. Suprisingly, Western actor Richard Harrison from "The Boxer Rebellion" portrays Marco Polo. Polo leads familiar Shaw bad guys Leung Kar Yan, Wang Lung Wei, and Gordon Liu (in an early villainous role) against our patriots, resulting in great action sequences. Great movie! Look for a Carter Wong cameo as he also battles the bad guys!

by DM40320

This is a great, fun Chang Cheh/Fu Sheng movie, also with Richard Harrison in a great role as Marco Polo himself.

by SY31788

by JS35788

This film takes a little while to get started, but once it does the kung fu is exceptional. Richard Harrison's acting is pretty bad; and Fu Sheng, like him or not, is good.

by VW22076

When I first saw this movie back in 1981, I was floored by the martial arts action that took place. However, I came in the middle of the movie so I didn't get the story. Later on in the U.S. I was able to see it again on television. But again I didn't catch the beginning.

However, from what I could perceive, I really wasn't missing anything, because although the movie is called "Marco Polo" it has very little to do with him. Because all Marco does is tour China and fall in love. The main focus of the movie was based on four assassins and the mighty Genghis Khan. To tell the truth, after seeing the four assassins, I tried my best to find a puddle of water and see if I could overcome gravity. However, after many soaked shoes I determined that gravity is not in my best interest.

"Marco Polo" still remains one of my favorite movies of all times. Not because of Marco, but because of the four assassins.

by AH1706

"Four Assassins"/"Marco Polo" is a quality old school kung fu flick that further proves Chang Cheh to be one of the most reliable and consistent filmmakers of the era. It is unique because it features a westerner (Richard Harrison) in a pivotal role and also includes the character of Kublai Khan. It is common knowledge that the film is not historically accurate, but it's nice to see the foreigner portrayed in a positive way. After those facts it is a pretty good and typical film of the genre including themes such as large armies, training sequences, and masters with long eye brows (liked the odd spitting problem though). I liked the way the four men were thrust into jobs that helped each man with a unique skill which was matched up with one of the evil badasses that included legends such as Leung Kar Yan and the always thrilling Gordon Liu in a villainous role. The heroes included accomplished actors of the time such as Chi Kuan Chun, Fu Sheng, and Phillip Kwok as they trained to battle the occupiers and eventually won the respect of Marco Polo.

Good film, but I think they could have cast a better westerner than Richard Harrison, who looked like he wandered off the set of a "Planet of the Apes" film.

by JD18942

I love this movie.

by //8144

Nice old-school Chang Cheh film with a young Gordon Liu. Cool fights, bloody finale, but I found the single westerner's acting and appearance to be atrocious!

by Mr. Mike

Any martial arts movie with Gordon Liu as a villain is worth a second look. Marco Polo, aka The Four Assassins is an unusual genre film set in the time of Kublai Khan. The text on the dvd box frankly states that the movie takes historical liberties, so you won't be able to cite any of the scenes on a history test. I think that the average kung-fu fan will be willing to overlook this.

Marco Polo is a government official, witnessing a fighting contest where three combatants come out on top with their superior fighting skills: Wang Lung Wei with his 'Mongolian' wrestling style, Beardy (I think...it looks like him, all muscled up) with his quivering palm technique, and Gordon Liu with his two-sword style. Polo is given the job of ferreting out the rebels in occupied China.

You can probably guess the rest: rebels seek masters, masters train studnets in obscure techniques, and the final showdown is set. The only wild card in all of this is Polo, who comes to sympathize with the rebels due to their grim determination.

The rebels themselves are a well-known lot: Fu Sheng, Philip Kwok/Kwo Chue, and others whoes names escape me. Believe me, as soon as you see them, you'll recognize them from other countless martial arts films.

While Four Assassins is formulaic, there is much to enjoy about its execution of formula. Philip Kwok is the star with the mad skills, in my opinion. His leaping style includes many tumbles and breathtaking escapes from throws. I particularly enjoyed how the rebels planned the matches to counter the styles of the three Mongol champions. Four Assassins is another reminder of how consistent and talented director Chang Cheh was.

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