The Heroic Ones 1970 Chang Cheh

All hail the Iron Triangle!  For those that don't know, the Iron Triangle was the name given to Ti Lung, David Chiang, and Chang Cheh during their '70's heyday.  It was the Iron Triangle because there were 3 of them, and together they were unbeatable at the box office.  I've never really liked David Chiang, so to me he's always been the weakest side of the triangle.  Otherwise it's hard to root against Ti Lung and that malevolent Corky, Chang Cheh.  Here's a picture of him, in case you think I'm being mean....

See what I mean?  He made good movies, but that face gives me nightmares!  Anyway, on to The Heroic Ones.  At the start of the movie, the area's been taken over by a really bad guy, so another warlord hires this guy who calls himself King and has his own private army to remove the new threat.  The King has 13 generals with him, all his sons, and together they set out to take care of business.

The King has 2 favorite sons, played by Ti Lung and David Chiang, and some of the other brothers are getting a wee bit jealous of all the attention these two are getting.  With the help of the warlord who hired them (who doesn't like David Chiang either) there's double crosses, triple crosses, and backroom machinations aplenty.  Nobody seems overly heroic in The Heroic Ones, except for Ti Lung, who's always heroic.  Everybody else is kind of a jerk.  The warlord even pulls a prom night classic by getting some enemies drunk and then taking advantage of the situation.  Classy.  And really, do you have to burn down your entire fortress just to get at the two enemies you want to kill?  Apparently, you do.  For all you David Chiang haters out there, this is the most violent, unheroic end to one of his characters ever.  It's really great.

Lots of swordfights, hundreds of extras in huge battlefield skirmishes, ferocious battles to the death on the Bridge of Peace, countless day for night scenes, and trampolines everywhere makes The Heroic Ones worth a watch.  Just be patient and understanding with the horrible subtitles on the DVD and you'll have a good time.