A female-led wuxia film is nothing new. I know a lot of people want to give that credit to Ang Lee, but history suggests otherwise. Just because popular American cinema failed to notice what Asian cinema was doing (for a long time!!!) doesn’t mean that it wasn’t happening. Just look at 1966’s Come Drink With Me, a groundbreaking wuxia film, for any proof you might need.
Featuring some wonderfully choreographed fight scenes (gravity be damned) by the one and only Han Ying-chieh, Come Drink With Me is the multi-layered film which shot Cheng Pei-pei, a former ballet dancer, to the stratosphere as a star of the wuxia genre. The film, which received universal acclaim both in the East and the West, arrives on blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video, complete with a brand new audio commentary by film critic and historian Tony Rayns.
Pei-pei is, of course, Golden Swallow and here, as written and directed by King Hu (Dragon Inn), hers is a path of beautifully timed destruction as she must rescue her brother from the white-faced bandit known as Jade-Faced Tiger (Chan Hung-lit) and his legion of loyal soldiers.
Of course, Golden Swallow has help along the way. She might not need it (as she’s a damn graceful swordsman in her own right), but it proves to be very difficult to refuse the assistance from a local beggar, known as “Drunken Cat" Fan Da-pei (a marvelously charming Yueh Hua), who has a unique way with martial arts. He’s a powerful swordsman, too, and his backstory is one which ties him directly with Golden Swallow’s path.
As a secret Shaolin master, Drunken Cat emerges as most helpful - especially offering Golden Swallow healing assistance when she runs foul of Jade-Faced poisonous arrows. It is here, while she is recuperating, in which we learn of Drunken Cat’s history with the corrupt abbot, Liao Kung, who is currently aligning himself with Jade Tiger inside a Buddhist temple.
Forget revenge, though. This is a beautiful narrative which has more to do with opera than it does with violence. Sure, there’s a lot of bloodletting throughout, but this chop socky flick takes its theatrics seriously. It’s combat by way of dance and it proves to be a great combination to make for a deliciously epic movie.
That’s right, folks. Decades before Ang Lee brought the wuxia genre to international attention with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (in which Cheng played the villainous Jade Fox), King Hu set the original template in what is still considered one of Shaw Brothers’ greatest and most influential action masterpieces.
Scoop it up now!
Home Video Distributor: Arrow Films
Available on Blu-ray - March 22, 2022
Screen Formats: 2.35:1
Subtitles: English, English SDH
Audio: Mandarin: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono; English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A
Years before Shaw Brothers’ kung fu films made them the biggest film studio in Hong Kong, local audiences flocked to their wuxia pian films: mythic tales of swordfighting (and often gravity-defying) heroes fighting for honor. In his final film for the studio, Come Drink With Me, director King Hu (A Touch of Zen) broke fresh new ground in martial arts storytelling, and catapulted fresh-faced lead actress Cheng Pei-pei to stardom in the process. When the Governor’s son is taken hostage by bandits, a mysterious swordsman named Golden Swallow (Cheng) is hot on their trail to ensure the son’s release. What the bandits don’t realize, however, is that Golden Swallow is actually a woman, and that the hostage is her brother. Determined to set him free, no matter how many goons she has to fight her way through in doing so, she is aided in her quest by a drunken beggar (Yueh Hua) who may have a closer connection to the bandits’ leader than he initially lets on.
Video
Presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, Come Drink With Me gets its hands bloody and never once rinses its sword as beauty is birthed in this same blood, all with its audience in mind. The poetry on display comes through in the lush fields, the crispness of the interiors and the haunting exteriors, and the sudden violence which echoes throughout the film, including its big finale in which a lone figure takes down all manner of soldiers. Black levels are strong throughout, bringing out nice details in both the loud and quiet moments of this epic adventure. The night scenes included here are truly rich with layers and those tracking shots are glorious to behold in 1080p.
Audio
For this release, viewers get a satisfying uncompressed Mandarin and English original mono audio. There are optional English subtitles, plus English hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dub. Everything is front-loaded and works to create a pleasant home viewing experience throughout. Unfortunately, the english dub is ridiculously performed. It’s a laugh and a discredit to the original film.
Supplements:
Commentary:
- There is a brand new audio commentary by film critic and historian Tony Rayns which is quite informative in understanding the film’s importance to Asian cinema.
Special Features:
Included with the first pressing, is an illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Anne Billson, and a 2010 essay by George Chun Han Wang about the relationship between director King Hu and producer Run Run Shaw. Included on the disc are the following supplemental items:
- High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
- Uncompressed Mandarin and English original mono audio
- Optional English subtitles, plus English hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dub
- Brand new audio commentary by film critic and historian Tony Rayns
- Interview with star Cheng Pei-pei, filmed by Frédéric Ambroisine in 2003
- Interview with star Yueh Hua, filmed by Frédéric Ambroisine in 2007
- Interview with star Chen Hung-lieh, filmed by Frédéric Ambroisine in 2003
- Talk Story with Cheng Pei-pei, a 2016 Q&A at the University of Hawaii moderated by George Chun Han Wang
- Cinema Hong Kong: Swordfighting, a documentary on the history of the wuxia genre and Shaw Brothers’ contributions to it, produced by Celestial Pictures in 2003 and featuring interviews with Cheng Pei-pei, Gordon Liu, Lau Kar-leung, John Woo, Sammo Hung, Kara Hui, David Chiang and others
- Original theatrical trailer, plus trailer for the sequel Golden Swallow
- Image gallery
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella
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Composite Blu-ray Grade
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MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime: 95 mins
Director: King Hu
Writer: King Hu; Shan-Hsi Ting
Cast: Pei-Pei Cheng; Hua Yueh; Chih-Ching Yang
Genre: Acttion | Drama
Tagline:
Memorable Movie Quote:
Distributor: Shaw Brothers
Official Site:
Release Date: April 7, 1966
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: June 13, 2023
Synopsis: Bandits kidnap a governor's son and demand their imprisoned leader to be set free in exchange. The governor's daughter, a skilled martial artist, is sent to rescue him, but eventually finds herself overmatched and in need of assistance.
