Will David Chiang's half-brother live up to Chiang's fame and sheer awesomeness? note
Death Duel, also known as The Peerless Swordsman, is a 1977 Wuxia film from Shaw Brothers directed by Chor Yuen, based on Gu-long's martial arts epic novel of the same name, starring Derek Yee Tung-sing, the half-brother of David Chiang, in his feature film debut.
In the martial arts world, a legendary warrior known as the Third Master has abandoned his clan after earning the title of "The Number One Swordsman in the World". The Third Master, leaving his past behind, has since became a lowly servant and waiter in a whorehouse, but challengers from everywhere are looking for him, hoping to kill the Third Master and earn the number one title for themselves. Among them is Yen Shi-san, currently the second greatest warrior in the world, who will stop at nothing to challenge the Third Master to a Death Duel.
Derek Yee notably earns himself the Best Actor Awards for Hong Kong films in 1977, and would subsequently star in numerous wuxia epics for Shaw Brothers in the 80s. By the 90s, he shifted his career to directing instead, and nowadays he's better known as a director instead of an actor.
NOT to be confused with Duel to the Death or the obscure 1992 Sega Genesis game Death Duel.
Death Duel contains examples of:
- Alliterative Title
- Anti-Villain: Yen Shih-san, due to his noble methods of seeking challenges and playing fair in combat compared to most other challengers seeking Third Master Chi.
- Boxed Crook: Mu-yung Chien-lung, the "Mad Brother" of the Mu-yung family, who is imprisoned 24/7 in a cage with only his head sticking out, due to him being "too dangerous to be released".
- Bullying a Dragon: The Yu-mien brothers in the tavern. Upon hearing that Chi, the lowly waiter that serves them, might be the feared, legendary warrior known as the Third Master, they immediately tries challenging Chi to a fight by terrorizing the tavern and threatening to harm it's occupants. They end up regretting after 3 minutes when Chi kills them both in a Single-Stroke Battle.
- The Cameo: Due to the film being an Intercontinuity Crossover made by Shaw Brothers, a bunch of stars from the studios shows up... in relatively minor roles.
- The "Mad Brother" of the Mu-yung family, Mu-yung Chien-lung, is played by David Chiang. He's in the movie for a few minutes, and doesn't have even a single line of dialogue.
- Chou Yu-feng, the evil doctor who dies after one fight scene, is played by Yueh Hua (Drunken Knight from Come Drink With Me).
- Lo Lieh shows up as a rather random Elite Mook villain with a short fight scene.
- Ti Lung reprises his role as Fu Hung-huseh from The Magic Blade, only for a minute to provide a few words of advice to Third Master Chi. And kill a few punks along the way.
- Challenge Seeker: Yen Shi-san, the swordsman who is well aware of the power and reputation of Third Master Chi and persistently seeks Chi for a fight to the death so that he can take over the latter's title as the number one swordsman in the martial arts world.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Chi the lowly waiter and servant who works in a tavern, turns out to be the Secret Identity of Third Master Chi, a legendary swordsman and expert killing-machine, who earned himself the title of "The Number 1 Killer of the Martial Arts World" years ago, but has since renounced his killing ways until the demons of his past returns to haunt him.
- Deadly Doctor: Chou Yu-feng, the assassin who disguises himself as a doctor to prescribe a herbal potion for Third Master Chi, only to reveal it to be poison. But due to the Third Master's unnaturally high levels of qi, he managed to purge the poison out of his body without lifting a finger.
- Duel to the Death: The entire movie is a build-up towards the eventual, climatic duel between the number one and number two swordsmen in the martial arts world: Third Master Chi who had gone into hiding, and Yen Shi-san who is seeking Chi to take over the title and become number one. Ultimately, the number one stays number one.
- Dying Alone: Yen Shih-san at the end of the titular Death Duel. After realizing he's mortally wounded, he collapses face-first, all by himself in the middle of a beautiful garden of blossoms and stays there as the credits roll.
- Foil: Third Master Chi to Yen Shi-san. The former was once a legendary warrior known as the greatest sword master of the martial arts world, who decides to leave his days as a killer behind and take up a new identity as a lowly waiter. The latter is a rising martial artist and swordsman who's making a name for himself, wanting to become the new greatest sword master of the martial arts world, which he intends to reclaim by finding the former holder of saidf title, Third Master Chi, and challenging him to a Duel to the Death.
- How the Mighty Have Fallen: Third Master Chi in his backstory was one of the greatest swordsman in the world, but at his debut, he's reduced to a lowly servant in a whorehouse.
- Improbable Age: Third Master Chi, the "Greatest Swordsman in the Martial Arts World", with a reputation that overlaps him with The Dreaded, is played by the then 19-year-old Derek Yee.
- Improbable Weapon User: When the Yu-mian brothers decide to challenge Chi, then posing as a lowly servant, to a fight, the unarmed Chi then plucks a long branch from a nearby plant as his "sword". The brothers mocks Chi's pathethic choice of weapon, and three minutes later Chi has killed both of them using that branch.
- Invincible Hero: Third Master Chi never lose any duels onscreen. The only times in the movie where he's on the receiving end of humiliation is during scenes where he's disguised as a lowly waiter and servant, to be ordered around by the tavern's boss or by rich punks who look down upon him.
- Mortal Wound Reveal: Yen Shih-san, seconds before his death.
- The Namesake: The titular Death Duel refers to the eventual battle between Third Master Chi and Yen Shih-San.
- Noble Demon: Yen Shih-san may be a killing machine, but he plays by the rules, with plenty of Villainous Valour and only seeks a good, clean fight to earn the title of "The Greatest Swordsman of the Martial Arts World", fair and square.
- The Perils of Being the Best: The premise of this film. Third Master Chi would rather leave his past as the best swordsman behind, title and all, but those who seek to take the title of "The Number One Swordsman in the World" from him, Yen Shih-san included, aren't going to consent so willingly.
- Professional Killer: Yen Shih-san.
- Red Baron: Third Master Chi the "God of Swords", and Yen Shih-san the "Sword Saint".
- Single-Stroke Battle: Between Chi / Third Master Chi, against most of his enemies.
- Slashed Throat: The eventual fate of Chou Yu-feng, the deadly doctor, at the hands of Third Master Chi. No blood, though.
- Sword Fight: Most of the action scenes, especially the final Duel to the Death or Death Duel between Third Master Chi and Yen Shih-San.
- Villain Opening Scene: While calling Yen Shih-san a villain is certainly a stretch (he's at most an Anti-Villain), the film opens with him being surrounded by a group of swordsmen who also wants the title of the greatest for themselves, and their following battle in which Yen defeats ALL of them right before the opening titles can show up.
- You Are Already Dead: The final battle between Third Master Chi and Yen Shih-San ends in this manner. Yen Shih-san managed to snap Third Master Chi's sword at the peak of their duel, at which point Third Master Chi decides to admit defeat, and leaves. But a few seconds later, the camera zooms in on Yen Shih-San, revealing that the blade of Third Master Chi has embedded itself into Yen's chest, and it's fatal. Cue his Last Words.Yen Shih-san: "The greatest sword in the martial arts world... is still the Third Master's sword." (Dies, cue credits)
- You Kill It, You Bought It: Basically the entire story arc of Yen Shih-san. Want to become the number one swordsman in the martial arts world? Find the former holder of the number one title, challenge him to a duel to the death, kill him and be the new number one... until your next challenger comes to take that title from you. Rise and repeat.
