The Eagle Shooting Heroes (1993)
literal translation: Eagle Shooting Heroes: East Becomes West
cast: Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung Ka-fei, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Jacky Cheung, Brigitte Lin, Joey Wong, Maggie Cheung Man-yuk, Carina Lau, and Veronica Yip

The script for "The Eagle Shooting Heroes" is as much of an enigma as how the film itself came to be. Some say it is a parody of the Louis Cha novel by the same name; some say it is a prequel to the novel; some say it is a parody of Wong Kar-wai's "Ashes of Time"; while others simply say it is either an excellent over-the-top wuxia satire or an awful film no matter where its source material came from.

I'm going to stick with a trusted source: "The Eagle Shooting Heroes" is not a parody of "Ashes of Time," rather an exercise in relaxation for those who were filming "Ashes..." which wouldn't be released for another year due to editing problems.

Wong Kar-wai's "Ashes of Time" was a long and brutal shoot in the Yuli Desert in mainland China. His cast and crew needed a rest, though probably not in the same way we think in Hollywood standards. Wong came up with a goofy project entitled "The Eagle Shooting Heroes," though whether or not it has anything to do with Louis Cha's novel remains to be seen. Most of the cast and crew of "Ashes of Time" signed on including action choreographer Sammo Hung and Wong stayed on as executive producer.

By all accounts "The Eagle Shooting Heroes" is a "mo lai tou" film; or rather a nonsense comedy. Unfortunately, this is not mo lai tou in the classic sense of Wong Jing or Stephen Chow, but rather an all-around awful film that is confusing to say the least and as painful as open-heart surgery without anesthetic to watch.

The people at Brigitte Lin's Unofficial Web Site have provided me with a synopsis that I'm not sure I can even follow.

"Brigitte Lin is the 3rd Princess with unstable/partial martial arts skills who seeks to win back her kingdom. Leslie Cheung is the younger fellow disciple who fell in love with Brigitte. Joey Wong is in love with her fellow disciple Leslie and runs after Leslie after Leslie left together with Brigitte. Jacky Cheung is the handsome leader of the Beggar sect who is in love with his cousin Joey. Carina Lau and Kenny Bee are fellow disciples (men) who are in love with each other. Tony Leung Ka Fai is a Dali prince who is engaged to Brigitte but is seeking for his true love (Leslie) as he will become an immortal when his true love says `I love you' 3 times. Tony Leung Chiu Wai, a scoundrel, is having an affair with his cousin Veronica Yip (the Empress) and wants to rule the Kingdom and marry the third Princess Brigitte. Maggie Cheung is the Grand Vizier who owes a magical pair of express boots and a magic crystal ball, Throw in three monsters such as a dinosaur, a bird and a gorilla. Everybody who swallows a scorpion or hairy crab can be controlled by the beating of drums where color indicates control over either male or female."

And there you have it--one of the worst Hong Kong films I have ever seen--with art direction/costumes that resemble the likes of Indian pornography and a film so ridiculously stupid, I am at a lose of words to describe it.

Like Wong Kar-wai's "Ashes of Time," Jeff Yau's "The Eagle Shooting Heroes" single-handily wastes some of the best talents in the business. Luckily for us Wong, Brigitte Lin, and Tony Leung Chiu-wai all quickly redeemed themselves with Wong Kar-wai's next film "Chungking Express."