Rating: 4 out of 5
Director: Cheng Hou
Year: 1973
Plot:
The synopsis of the film is that a girl witnesses the murder
of her grandfather and plots revenge on the killers. The killers are opium
smugglers and so she becomes “The White Butterfly Killer” to get her revenge on
the gang that is responsible for killing her grandfather.
Even though that’s the synopsis that is plastered throughout
the net, the plot follows a little more closely a revenge plot that isn’t on
the film itself. Yes, there’s revenge,
but you have to watch a lot more of it than just the first ten or so minutes,
because it establishes itself as a different type of story at first. In fact,
you’ll have a hard time deciphering the story if you watch the beginning as
there are brawls that have nothing to do with the white butterfly, they just showcase
the power of the gang and other random individuals. That’s not to say it’s bad,
it’s just a matter of fact. The plot is simple, it’s a revenge flick and the
main hero is a woman that seeks that revenge overall through kung fu action.
Thoughts:
The first thing I noticed was the film quality, it was
slightly upgraded from the VHS release, but that’s not much. It still wasn’t in
HD or anything like that, but it was clear, alongside the sound design which
was dubbed. I also noticed that the story was a little convoluted at first
glance, with some brawls that don’t seem to follow the main story drag. That’s
not to say it’s bad, but it’s definitely a bit out of cohesion.
Once the main story comes through, we do get that revenge
plot. A woman’s grandfather is killed because the gang wants to sleep with her,
and that makes her want to seek revenge when she sees the gang members at her
Inn. From there we get back and forth fighting, and it’s quite good. I did
notice that the fighting was close up a lot, but there was enough cuts and
breaks to make it worthwhile. The fighting of course was not one and done, with
a lot of back and forth. Our heroine is awesome, bringing together some great
kung fu against villains that seek to get with her, or defend themselves
because she’s attacking in revenge for her grandfather, and a rape that is
revealed to be another case she’s after the gang.
The pacing is a little slow. You have to sit through some
setup overall, and even though you get some brawling up front, there’s a little
bit of story that comes through between that and the more fluid moments to
come. That’s standard though, don’t take that as a bad thing. Hsu Feng’s kung
fu style here is great, and features a variety of opponents, giving you a good
mix to look at. I give “The White Butterfly Killer” a 4 out of 5 rating, as it’s
above average with some great kung fu mixed in a revenge plot.
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