Kung fu queen Angela Mao’s unusual turn in Broken Oath, a remake of Japan’s Lady Snowblood

The 1977 film Broken Oath marked a change in style for kung fu legend Angela Mao Ying, who glammed it up in a Qing dynasty costume and a “princess” hairstyle to play a ruthless assassin hell bent on tracking down some corrupt officials. Here, we discuss one of Mao’s greatest performances with film historian Frank Djeng, who provided the commentary for the Eureka Entertainment release of the film. Broken Oath is a high-quality martial arts film, but it was fairly unknown until its recent release. It has always been an obscure title, even though it stars Angela Mao. People have never been that familiar with it, and it originally didn’t get much of a release outside Asia. But it’s very nicely made. I think the fact it has a Korean director, Cheng Chang-ho (Chung Chang-hwa), brings something special to it. Previously, Cheng had made King Boxer, aka Five Fingers of Death, for Shaw Brothers, and The Skyhawk for Golden Harvest, so he had a good track record at directing martial arts films. It is a Hong Kong remake of the Japanese genre classic Lady Snowblood. Lady Snowblood is an excellent film, so Broken Oath had very good source material right off the bat. The story is very good and they set up the characters very well. It has high production values, too – this was not a cheap production. It is unusual to see Mao in a Qing dynasty film. She is made up to look glamorous and alluring. Was this part of the original selling point? Yes, this was an unusual period film for her, and audiences got to see her in Qing dynasty outfits and a “princess” hairstyle. It’s a very different look for her, as she is playing the Chinese version of the Japanese Lady Snowblood. There’s a bit more vulnerability to her character than usual, and she is very single-minded in her pursuit of revenge. This is not the typical Angela Mao style of heroine. There is a tiny bit of nudity – not featuring Angela – at the start, which is out of key with the rest. Why did they put that scene in? I think that was the Japanese influence – the influence of the pink eiga (Japanese soft porn) films. The mix of violence and nudity comes from the pink films, and again that made Broken Oath different to Angela’s other films. Were some cuts made to the beginning for the film’s Hong Kong release in 1977? Yes, about five minutes were cut. There were some scenes in the original version that had Angela Mao’s mum seducing the prison guards, which is what happens in Lady Snowblood. She wanted to conceive a child – played by Angela as an adult – who would then grow up to take revenge and kill her husband’s murderers. They showed that version at the start of the Hong Kong release, either at the midnight show or on the first day of release. Then they cut it out because they thought it made Angela’s character look bad, as she was illegitimate. They worried that audiences would not sympathise with her. Interestingly, in the trailer you can see her mother seducing the prison doctor, but that’s gone from the film. The kung fu scenes are very down to earth, especially considering they were choreographed by Yuen Woo-ping. Why did they take that approach? Again, I think they were trying to reflect the more grounded, gritty tone of the Japanese original. Yuen Woo-ping co-choreographed the fights with Hsu Hsia, who assisted him on Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow and Drunken Master, which also have more grounded fight scenes. They realised that if they made the fights too outrageous, or too fantasy-like, it would detract from the realism of the film. They wanted the fights to reflect that realism. Mao puts the martial arts training she had in Korea to good use; she performs a lot of powerful kicks from the taekwondo and hapkido styles, does she not? Her fighting style is reminiscent of her fight scenes in earlier films like Hapkido and When Taekwondo Strikes. She is using her training well, and she’s doing all those amazing kicks. You can also see her skill with the staff – you don’t see her fighting with the staff often in her films. This skill actually comes straight from her early training in Beijing Opera. Sometimes she points the staff directly at the camera, so it’s very visceral, and almost a 3D effect. A number of stars turn up in background roles. Sammo Hung Kam-bo has a supporting role, while Yuen Biao, Lam Ching-ying and Corey Yuen Kwai are just extras. How did that come about? I think it’s because they were contracted to Golden Harvest and were simply asked to do it as they were around. Sammo acts without any comedic touches here – that may have been because it was a Korean director. A Hong Kong director might not have been able to resist the urge to put a bit of humour in. The spaghetti westerns were also an influence back then, and they were very serious in tone throughout. Even comedian Dean Shek Tin plays a non-comedic role here, as the brothel keeper! Bruce Leung Siu-lung is calm and collected as the imperial agent. He’s a nice contrast to Angela’s character – they both play against type. Bruce here is calm and unruffled, while Angela’s character is driven and angry. Bruce also does some great legwork in the fight scenes, and it’s notable that most of his fights were shot in one long take to showcase his skills. Do you think it is one of Mao’s best-ever performances? For sure! I like how ruthless she is in this film. She’s tough and no- nonsense, and doesn’t take any b******t from the men. It was still unusual to see such a powerful woman in kung fu films back then, as women still had to defer to the men on screen. Even Kara Wai Ying-hung had to defer to the men – it’s always Lau Kar-leung who helps her out at the end. Look at My Young Auntie … in the end, it’s always Lau Kar-leung who comes to help the damsel in distress. Well, that’s not Angela Mao at all. She always kicks a** on her own, with no help from the men. In this regular feature series on the best of Hong Kong cinema, we examine the legacy of classic films, re-evaluate the careers of its greatest stars, and revisit some of the lesser-known aspects of the beloved industry. Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook

Kung fu queen Angela Mao’s unusual turn in Broken Oath, a remake of Japan’s Lady Snowblood

Angela Mao, all glammed up, plays an assassin in Broken Oath, a 1977 remake of a Japanese classic. It is one of her greatest performances

nproxy.org