The Fate Of Lee Khan: Quick Takes

It's quite a task to try and follow in the footsteps of an effort such as A Touch Of Zen but director King Hu successfully did it with The Fate Of Lee Khan. Largely set in the iconic setting of the inn, also featured to great effect in Come Drink With Me and Dragon Inn, Hu has a much smaller, intimate story to tell despite the rulers vs. the rebels plotline. He almost delights in being tedious for a good 40 minutes as he shows the inner workings of the inn, its sometimes dopey guests, adding a little humour in the process. But as soon as the mighty and ruthless Lee Khan (Tien Feng) and his entourage arrives, Hu kicks the tension into high gear and doesn't let go. His varied staging's within a single location is thoroughly captivating and edgy and his prior light touches only sprinkled with what's to come aids these latter sections of the film greatly. With his regular cast in place, such as Han Ying Chieh and Pai Ying in addition to Golden Harvest and Shaw Brother's profiles such as Angela Mao, Hu Chin and Kok Lee Yan, the stage is populated with dependency and Hu does indeed get excellent performances to aid this tension, especially from Tien Feng and the fiery eyed Hsu Feng as his closest guard.

When the action climax hits (action was directed by Sammo Hung and Han Ying Chieh), it can be argued that The Fate Of Lee Khan goes down conventional territories but for a smaller in scale story, the choice to erupt into fighting is valid and Hung and Han's work registers as exciting. Also with Roy Chiao and Li Lihua.