Stylish but barely mediocre overall

The first must-see film of the year.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Wildly bloody Shaw Brothers martial arts film about a disparate group of thieves all plotting against each other in a race to snatch a cache of gold. Think "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" but replace the slapstick comedy with a lot of violent swordplay. Lo Lieh plays one of the shady swordsmen and is fantastic, but I was most taken with a pair of deadly sisters also trying to get the gold. Overall, the story and characters in this picture were more interesting than most martial arts films and the action was also quite well done, which makes this Shaw Brothers production a must see for martial arts film fans.

Chu Yuan was one of the most consistently brilliant of the Shaw Brothers directors, and, along with directors like Chang Cheh, helped set the Gold Standard for martial arts movie makers. DUEL FOR GOLD is a prime example of Yuan's cinematic storytelling, with interesting (if mostly underhanded, backstabbing) characters, a twisting (and twisted) storyline, and plenty of action interspersed throughout. The movie starts with an interesting point of view shot of an ongoing battle to the death between four people- interesting because the foliage in the foreground is in focus, while the combatants in the background are not. Then begins the narration that will eventually lead us back here. We see a pair of sisters performing some amazing acrobatics: balancing on the tip of an extended sword, balancing upside down on swords held tip to tip. It's a nail-biting scene: one little girl literally wets herself watching it all. One of the two sisters gets injured and the two hurry off to find aid. Meanwhile, Wen (Chan Chun), head of the Fu Lai money bureau (a bank), has his hands full with wannabe thieves- including "The Invisible Loner," Teng (Lo Lieh). Everybody wants the gold and silver the bank houses (naturally). There are some interesting twists and turns throughout as the ultimate betrayal(s) pan out. Lo Lieh is in top form, fighting-wise: he attacks quickly and viciously and doesn't let up. Two interesting tidbits: during the Big Finale, there's a scene where the character Shen amputates the arm of his attacker, Hua, and continues to fight with the amputated limb dangling from the sword that has skewered him. Another moment comes when two stuntmen dive fighting through a window: the camera whip-pans along a low-lying wall as the two principals pop up at the far end of the wall engaged in battle; it's a neat little trick and is an indication of the inventiveness of the director and his fight choreographers.

Two sisters who perform acrobatic stunts for money are actually thieves who are out to rob a "bank" full of silver and gold. The head guard at the bank is the "good" guy (But is he really?) who is challenged by the invisible loner, a rascal who is fairly close in kung fu and sword skills to the guard. It all comes down to a massive robbery of the "bank" in which these four plus some other men unfortunate enough to be involved (they meet their end somewhat quickly) results in the final four being so greedy they keep trying to kill each other until only one can possess the gold. And it's a lot of gold. There is quite a bit of gory swordplay including hacked off arms and legs and multiple blades to the chest and back with all the "red paint" blood Shaw is famous for. Like a spaghetti western this comes down to a whole lot of money and being a sister or lover isn't enough to save you from a good sword in the back (or front). I don't recommend this to those who hate wire work as there is a lot of it here. But if you enjoy good action and swordplay this is a good time with an interesting story.