Review of Hapkido

Introduction

I must admit that my interest in this film was piqued when I read that it featured an early appearance of the `Three Dragons`. You shouldn`t let that persuade you that this is an essential purchase though, as it certainly isn`t a Project A or Wheels On Meals. In fact, Hapkido was made in 1972, and is a wholly different animal from the kung-fu comedies of the eighties. This early in their careers, you`ll get a brief glimpse of a stern and villainous Jackie Chan, blink and you`ll miss Yuen Biao, and it`s only Sammo Hung who gets a substantial role in this film.

It`s 1934, and the Imperial might of Japan is beginning to exert its influence across the Far East and beyond. Korea and Manchuria have already been annexed, and Japan now eyes the rest of China as a potential conquest. Yet there is already resistance to Japan, and in Korea where the practicing of Martial Arts has been banned, there is an underground movement teaching Hapkido for when the time comes for the oppressed to throw off their chains. Three students from China are studying under their Korean master, only to get into trouble when they use those abilities against the Japanese. They must leave Korea immediately, and their master urges them to open a school in China to pass on what they have learnt. When they get back home however, they find that the Japanese influence has preceded them, and opening their Eagle School of Hapkido is difficult when the Black Bear School, run by the Japanese, is destroying the harmony of the town. Despite their master`s insistence on forbearance, they`ll have to stand up to the insidious Japanese influence to prevail.

Video

Hapkido gets a 2.35: 1 anamorphic transfer that is up to Hong Kong Legends` usual high standards. It`s clear, it`s colourful and it`s remarkably absent of print damage. It`s a splendid release of a film that is older than I am. That said, there is the occasional frame that is tinged with red, an odd moment of flicker, and the image does have a degree of softness beyond that visible on the original theatrical trailer. Judging by some of the on screen text, I`d say that there was a small degree of cropping on the right hand side of the frame. None of this really detracted from a pleasurable viewing experience though, and is a marked contrast from those hideous Soulblade titles that have been reviewed on this site lately.

Audio

You have a choice between DD 5.1 English, Mandarin, and DD 2.0 mono Mandarin. It`s one of those English dubs that are really just there for the sake of completion, and the Mandarin track gives a far more satisfying experience of the film. The 5.1 track is pretty front-focussed, with the rears only used for fight effects and ambience, and it`s little removed from the mono track. English and Dutch subtitles are provided, and the layer change is horribly placed, right in the middle of a gong.

Features

Hapkido has animated menus with a degree of yellow that will cause retinal burn. Other than that, it is a standard (for these days) offering from HKL; a well-presented movie with a brief smattering of tenuously linked extras.

You get the UK Promo as well as the Original Theatrical trailer, while in the Further Attractions menu you will find trailers and information for 6 other HKL titles.

Interview With Tammy Parlour (4th Dan) allows us to meet a Hapkido instructor who teaches in London. She describes Hapkido, we get to see it in action, and we learn how the martial art has impacted on her life and personal philosophy. This lasts 15 minutes.

Hapkido Examined lasts 4 minutes and sees Tammy pointing out key moves and techniques used in the film.

As I said, it`s all pretty tenuous, but a great advertisement for Hapkido (the martial art, not the movie of the same name).

Conclusion

Hapkido is strictly a by the book martial arts movie, typical of the era. Its straight-laced, serious demeanour, heralds a clichéd story of good versus evil, and battling schools. The villain even has a comedy Hitler moustache. As per usual, the good guys don`t want a fight; they only want to coexist peacefully. Yet as the film progresses, the utterly evil and self-serving villains, deliberately needle the good guys, and pile provocation upon provocation on them. And finally, when the body count is high enough, and carnage has been wrought through the innocent town, our (surviving) heroes unleash the full power of their Hapkido, scything through the ranks of henchmen, until only a one-on-one battle with the villainous mastermind remains. There are plenty of those foot-stomping chest-crushing moments too, although without the dainty little ankle twist and high-pitched whine that was the trademark of Bruce Lee.

But let`s face it, you don`t exactly watch these films for the delicate intricacies of plot, you watch them for the action, and the Hapkido that is unleashed in this film is more than enough to hold the attention for 90 or so minutes. As usual, we get a sequence where the master demonstrates the techniques to his students so we can see the full elegance of Hapkido, without the pesky revenge plot getting in the way. But the fight sequences are elegantly choreographed, with plenty of bone crunching action, punches, kicks and blocks. We also get to see the fights in impressive clarity, with a minimum of fast cuts and fancy edits to confuse the presentation.

It is an old school Hong Kong actioner, with the typical ropy acting and plenty of meaningful glances and overlong camera pauses while the actors try to emote. Yet seeing an early Sammo Hung appearance makes up for that. He`s very obviously playing it straight, but you can still see tinges of his trademark humour in his performance and in his fight sequences. You can see that they are choreographed in such a way as to work with the set design and the environment. In comparison, the other fights are more of your typical one-on-one battles.

If you are looking for 90 minutes of fun and entertainment, then Hapkido isn`t the film that first springs to mind. The story is far too hackneyed, and there is little if anything to the plot. But if you want to see some excellent action and a choice demonstration of Hapkido, then this film should be high up there on your to-watch list. Besides, any film where you get to see a girl kicking seven shades of crap out of the bad guys can`t be that bad.