not horrible nor great

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Solid martial arts film that's darker than most kung-fu films (both in story and tone, but also in it's actually lighting). The story follows a tough no nonsense constable who is hired to recover stolen royal property. He first assembles his team and they then set out to recover the stolen goods and seeking justice. It's a better story than most Shaw Brother's martial arts films, though that's not saying much, and there are enough good fight sequences (more swordplay than hand-to-hand) to make this worth watching, even if it's not a classic.

Brilliantly shot, competently edited. Incredibly gritty and "unclean" compared to other very stylish and smooth martial arts films. I mean this in a good way, something feels very raw and pure about this movie. Plus an interesting and flawed main character and bad-guys who aren't inherently evil, something you NEVER see from this genre. Probably one of the gorier martial-arts movies from this genre, if not the most brutal, but it isn't over done like some martial-arts movies today are. Decapitation is used sparingly, and when it happens it takes you off-guard. The best scenes are during the night, and the lighting here is astounding, the director uses the dark to the advantage of the fighting, and it creates a very interesting dynamic. In fact every fight that takes place has some sort of element to it.I would have to take off 2 star though, the fighting choreography isn't as well done as many other classic martial arts films, and that is one of the main strong points of the genre. The other reason is that this movie would have been better if it had been extended. We have an interesting character, and an interesting plot.If the movie was extended by perhaps 30 or so minutes to expand on some character and story elements it would be maybe one of the greatest martial-arts film of this kind.While this came out in 1980, which isn't exactly the golden era for movies like this, I think you will be hard-pressed to find a single movie of the genre as good and mature as this one. It's a perfect blend of the good Chinese elements of filmmaking and some western-influenced techniques.

2 million taels in gold has been stolen from a vault within the Forbidden City. The Empress wants the money returned within 10 days. Chief Constable Leng Tien Ying is hired to bring back the gold robbers, dead or alive; only he never brings anyone back alive. He assembles a team of officers to find the stolen gold. Over the course of the film a major conspiracy is uncovered.This is a very famous Shaw Brothers movie from the late 70s. It wasn't a massive hit in HK, but was in other territories. During the time of this films release, audiences were interested in kung fu comedies and not deadly serious and downbeat martial dramas. However, numerous rip-offs and similarly plotted films followed; mostly independents. In the US, it was a major cult film among fans. It is often considered to be Chen Kuan Tai's best role. Chen became a major star literally over night after starring in Chang Cheh's seminal 1972 picture, THE BOXER FROM SHANTUNG. A film that had John Woo as an AD.Here, Chen plays the brutally cold hearted, but whole heartedly righteous royal constable Leng. His brother also is a constable. He detests his methods of always killing and never showing mercy to criminals. He tells him in a strong scene that he "...stinks of blood". In this scene Chen showcases in very minute facial movements that he does indeed have feelings but he believes if one shows kindness to these cruel and vicious criminals, it would be their undoing. He is told on several occasions that he has no heart, but in reality he has feelings but cannot afford to let them show. In several scenes in Chen's performance, it is apparent that he really doesn't want to kill men wantonly but he knows he must lest he be killed.During the time period the film is set, shortly after the Ming reprisals to dethrone the invading Manchu hordes had failed, the common people caught amidst all the turmoil and war were left homeless and starving. Many of these folk resorted to crime to survive. This point is mentioned by one of Leng's men who cannot understand his methods and feels pity for those less fortunate. Only when the officers take shelter in a destroyed peasant village does he realize what kindness will get you.Throughout the pursuit, Leng's men have all been killed and Leng himself has been injured during the increasingly deadly confrontations. One scene has Leng and his few remaining men facing off against a hired assassin (Pai Piao) who uses Butterfly Swords and also a hidden wrist weapon that fires Scorpion Darts laced with venom. One of his men is hit with one of the poison needles and Leng and the assassin fight atop a giant fog enshrouded sun dial. If Leng wins, he gets the antidote and the assassins' share of the gold.There are many great sets that are nearly always found in Shaw Brothers movies. Even in their lower tier B movies, there is always an element of quality in the set design that makes them appear more expensive than they really are. In almost every sequence, the constant grim and gloomy atmosphere is hammered home in the form of lots and lots of rain, thunder and lightning and a great wind storm.One ominously Gothic scene has Leng limp across a battlefield amidst many arrow riddled and sword slashed bodies surrounded in fog. He finds the body of his brother resting on his knees his sword propping him up in the mud. Upon reaching him, he touches his shoulder by which he then slumps over. He was dead for some time. Suddenly a great rain storm appears again flushing away the fog surrounding Leng who then maddeningly begins slashing his sword around him yelling "KILL!" after he has discovered the insidious plot.The finale features a bravura battle sequence filled with much blood splattering and limb severing that would appear prominently in CONAN THE BARBARIAN a couple of years later. Such scenes had been a mainstay in Shaw productions since the 60s but here, these scenes have more of a visceral impact than before.Usually, in past films precise editing techniques were used in scenes involving people slashed with swords or other implements but here there are no cut-aways. You seen the weapon or arrow enter the body. It's obvious on a couple of occasions that the performer is wearing a plate loaded with blood bags, but by seeing the act without the editing, it adds a level of gruesomeness and savagery that adds another level of realism.One of the most downbeat and depressing movies of any genre, this type of film was a mainstay at Shaw's. Chang Cheh started the whole concept of showing the hero as vulnerable. You would never know if he would live or die and many times his heroes would die albeit very spectacularly in adrenaline fueled bloody finales. This concept became commonplace at Shaw's. After seeing dozens of movies I had only ever heard of, I began to wonder if it was a policy at Shaw's that happy endings were not allowed! An interesting note about this film is that the main characters are all Manchu's; the hated enemies of the Chinese after they invaded China in 1644. The thieves and robbers are actually the "good guys" for the most part. Even though Constable Leng is a righteous man, he is still a Manchu or Qing as they are also referred.

The recent Celestial Pictures region 3 DVD of the 1980 Shaw Bros. film THE KILLER CONSTABLE establishes that the picture deserves cult status. KILLER CONSTABLE is distinguished by a story quite different from the norm (though the set up may seem hackneyed now); sets, locations and atmosphere that are unique in the Shaw Bros. canon, and action and violence unusually cruel and explicit. Add to this, an ending that is very cynical.Chen Kuan Tai is very effective in his portrayal of THE KILLER CONSTABLE, known for his policy of not taking prisoners. Such is his self righteous position as judge, jury and executioner, that some of his men take exception to his ruthlessness, and worse, his enemies use that predictability against him.The story is set in motion when the Royal Treasury is robbed of 2,000,000 taels of gold. Chen's character LENG TIAN-YING is given the unenviable job of recovering the gold, and bringing the robbers to justice. In just 10 days. To save face for his superior, who stands otherwise to face the wrath of the Empress Dowager! LENG is able to build a small posse of five men, who are more devoted to him, than they are to the mission. Too late LENG discovers that loyalty has its costs, and too late he discovers exactly who his enemies are.Once LENG and company leave the capital their journey is like a descent into hell. They enter into and travel through one wasteland after another; do battle in darkness, in rain, in swamps, in mud and everything in between. I have read comments that dismiss the film, because it is a sword fighting film. This is certainly true, but there is no end to the weapons on display and the variety of styles and subterfuge. Furthermore, the sheer savagery of the bloodletting and lifetaking is such you would imagine yourself to being viewing a horror film.During this journey LENG and his men must battle the elements as well as an ever present enemy. LENG never seems to have any difficulty of finding the original culprits, something he does wonder at, nor is he curious why none of them have very much of the gold with them. He certainly lacks imagination but never resolve. LENG is actually very human and CHEN portrays his failings and even his humanity, as effectively as he does his unswerving dedication to the cause.Even the music is distinctive; I didn't hear any of the recycled Ennio Morricone, Messrs. Jerry Fielding and Goldsmith - indeed the scene that introduces the character of KU FENG and his blind daughter is quite unlike anything I have heard in a SHAW BROS. film.I came away mightily impressed by everything in this film and all the contributing elements -it's a film that does not seem to have become dated at all.My one concern was that the NTSC DVD runs 92 minutes; the only other running time I have see for KILLER CONSTABLE is 99 minutes (however this seems to be true of almost all the region 3 SHAW BROS. DVDs).PS: A tael is the equivalent of 1 1/3 oz; not much, but imagine moving 2,000,000 bars of gold this size!