David Chiang and Ti Lung are The Deadly Duo.
The Deadly Duo is a 1971 Wuxia Martial Arts Movie from Shaw Brothers, one of the many films made in the early 70s starring Ti Lung and David Chiang. In fact, after their previous collaborations, the film company have no qualms immediately naming the film after these two, hence the title.
The plot couldn't be simpler; a Sung Dynasty Prince has been abducted by a rebel army, and a band of warriors, led by Bao Ting-tien (Ti Lung) have to go on a rescue mission. Along the way their party is joined by the mysterious wanderer, a young fellow named "Little Bat" Hsiao Pin-fu (David Chiang), who have his own reasons for tagging along. With their ranks consisting of a tiny band of warriors, they'll fight against an army of enemies, rescue their Prince, and make their way to the border where they can escape via boat back to safety.
At less than 80 minutes, this is one of the shortest martial arts movies ever made, and for most of the film feels like a live-action video game where players (assuming the roles of the titular duo) make their way through different levels, fighting enemies, bosses and sub-bosses. Still, this movie is both fast-paced and immensely entertaining to watch.
There is another unrelated later martial arts movie made by a different studio, also titled The Deadly Duo in the 1980s.
No relation to the 1962 Craig Hill noir film of the same name.
The films include the following tropes:
- Alliterative Title: The Deadly Duo
- Annoying Arrows: Subverted, the Deadly Duo have no problems dodging or deflecting arrows when fighting together, but once they're alone they can be overwhelmed by excessive amount of arrows. Such is the eventual fate of Hsiao...
- Attack! Attack... Retreat! Retreat!: The heroes managed to cross the trapped bridge, fight their way through a garrison of mooks, and enter through the front gate of the enemy fort. They're then forced to beat a hasty retreat when they found out there's a second, larger army behind, dodging arrows all the way.
- Back-to-Back Badasses: The Deadly Duo, of course. Even more evident in the climax, when there's only two of them left against a whole legion of enemies.
- Blade on a Rope: Hsiao's weapon, which ends in an absurdly sharp pointed harpoon.
- Bittersweet Ending: The grievously wounded Hsiao is forced to let go of Prince Jin and fights off Jin soldiers so he can buy time for Bao and Prince Kang to escape. The movie ends with with a freeze frame of Hsiao with numerous arrows piercing him.
- Catch and Return: One Mook Lieutenant is an expert martial artist who uses explosive iron balls as weapons, which prove deadly enough to make him a challenge... until Hsiao snatches one of his exploding projectiles and hurls it back into his chest, killing him with his own weapon.
- Died Standing Up: Hsiao at the end of the film.
- Dwindling Party: The band of warriors starts with eight members, including Hsiao and Bao, but as the film progresses they lose warriors one by one until only the titular duo remains. And then Hsiao gives up his life for the mission, making Bao the Sole Survivor.
- Elite Mook: Most of the enemy soldiers are generic mooks in yellow uniforms, but there are several elite fighters that wears lavish robes, and uses more unique weapons such as staves, discuses, poleaxes, scimitars, and the like and actually provides more of a challenge for the warriors.
- Flat Character: Most of the enemy leaders doesn't really have any characterizations, they can be merely summed up as "above average bad guys to add another kickass fight scene starring the Deadly Duo"...
- Giant Mook: Once again, Bolo Yeung plays a giant, balding brute that leads a band of river pirates and attempts to hinder the titular duo’s escape.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Hsiao pulling a You Shall Not Pass! against a never-ending wave of enemy soldiers, killing as many as he can so that Bao and the Prince can escape.
- Human Pincushion: In the opening execution scene, we see a captured rebel getting executed by Imperial archers, with a dozen arrows all over his carcass. And then in the final battle scene, Hsiao finally gets taken down after using himself as a meatshield between enemy archers, for Bao and Prince Kang to escape.
- Improbable Weapon User: One of the villains fight with cymbals, with absurdly sharp edges.
- In a Single Bound: The Deadly Duo, but especially Hsiao, who can leap great distances as shown in the bridge scene.
- It Has Been an Honor: Hsiao, with a single nod to Bao and Prince Kang, made it clear that he will gladly stay behind to fend off the enemies, and die a hero’s death so that the Prince may escape. He gets a Dying Moment of Awesome. The enemy leader Prince Jin even said it aloud:"If only we have warriors half as honourable as him…" referring to Hsiao’s now-motionless but still-standing corpse
- Martial Arts Headband: The six warriors that accompanies Bao throughout the film wears white headbands.
- Meaningful Name: Hsiao Pin-fu’s name, in the Chinese language, means “The Little Bat”. Given how agile he is, and how he is capable of leaping long distances with a quick jump, it makes a lot of sense.
- Men of Sherwood: The warriors accompanying the titular duo on the rescue mission. They're capable fighters on their own right and holds up well against scores of enemies.
- Mortal Wound Reveal: After a lengthy fight scene near the end of the film, Hsiao emerged victorious... and then grimaces. The camera helpfully lowers itself so that the audience can see a small pool of blood dripping from his trousers and forming around his boot.
- One-Hit Polykill: Hsiao can do this with his flail, which ends with a pointed harpoon. In fact, in the climax with one fling of his weapon he manage to kill eight enemy soldiers in one fell swoop!
- Roaring Rampage of Rescue: The entire film revolves around the band of warriors, including the titular duo, and their attempts to rescue Song Prince Kang from the enemy stronghold. The climax involves the duo battling waves and waves of enemy soldiers while getting the Prince over a pier.
- Sacrificial Lion: Halfway through the film, one of the warriors allows himself to be slain by Hsiao so the latter can gain the trust of Prince Jin via the Fake Defector gambit, allowing the titular duo to infiltrate the enemy camp and take the Prince prisoner.
- Secret Stab Wound: After fighting and winning against a Mook Lieutenant, Hsiao realized he's been stabbed through the gut. Deciding that the mission is more important, he hides this fact from his fellow warriors and soldiers on, although Prince Jin, who Hsiao has taken hostage, sees through his wounds. When the other warriors are slain, with Hsiao and Bao being the only ones left, Hsiao promptly decides he won't make it out alive after all and decide to perform his Heroic Sacrifice.
- Sixth Ranger: Hsiao join the warriors after the first act have concluded. Bao questions his allegiance, but when enemy soldiers arrives Hsiao proves himself to be on the side of good.
- Stupid Sacrifice: In the bridge scene mentioned below, a warrior falls to his death after walking on a loose plank of wood. Instead of finding another way to cross the bridge, two more warriors attempt to cross and meet similar fates.
- Take It to the Bridge: One of the many obstacles the warriors need to cross is an extremely unstable bridge, which collapses whenever anyone tries to walk on its surface. Hsiao ends up formulating a plan by crossing through its bottom, leaping from pillar to pillar while dragging a rope behind him and creating an impromptu rope bridge.
- Trojan Prisoner: Bao pretends to be one, for Hsiao to "capture" alive and present him as bounty for the enemy forces, so that the duo can infiltrate the enemy camp, release Prince Kang, and take Prince Jin hostage.
- Wacky Wayside Tribe: Besides enemy soldiers, the Deadly Duo also have to contend with river pirates which aren't affiliated with the enemy near the end of the film.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Bao, when pretending to be captured (see Trojan Prisoner), have his shirt removed to prove that he isn't carrying any weapons. Since he's played by Mr. Fanservice Ti Lung, its an excuse for the actor to show his abs and pecs to the audience for the second half of the film.
- Weapon Specialization: For the two titular characters. Bao is closer to a brawler (being played by the muscular Ti Lung), so his weapon is a heavy poleax. Meanwhile Hsiao is the smaller of the duo, more agile, and specializes in using his qi to leap all over the place, as such his weapon's a lighter rope dart.
- Wire Fu: Of course. It won't be a wuxia movie without this.
