A MAN CALLED TIGER REVIEW

This is a casual review of the Lo Wei Film, A Man Called Tiger, released in 1973 and starring Jimmy Wang Yu. For this review I watched the Eureka Blu-ray version that contained the restored uncut original Hong Kong release (more on this later) and the shorter version that has been more commonly available. It is loaded with extras as well and I might do review focused on those if I have time. 

Jimmy Wang Yu is always entertaining. He often plays men who are tough, prickly and driven by a singular focus. Watching him on screen, you almost get the feeling that he doesn't like you very much or is even contemplating punching you in the face. And while he isn't a martial artist in the cast of Bruce Lee, and his movements sometimes lack precision, he brings a powerful presence to all of his action scenes. If you doubt this, watch him in the 2011 film Wu Xia, where even as an old man, he seems as dangerous as a lightning storm. 

There are two versions of A Man Called Tiger on the Eureka Blu-ray and my advice is to watch both. I think the opening of the original international cut, which is shorter, actually works a little better and ties together with the end well, but the restored original Hong Kong release, provides more context and character development. A number of scenes don't make it into the former version. But the international cut has a real kinetic flow to it, and is an easy watch as it only clocks in at about 80 minutes.

The martial arts direction was done by Han Ying-Chieh, who also stars in the movie as Lin Mu-Lang, the number two to Boss Shimizu who gets pushed aside in favor of Jin Hu. Ying-Chieh is a solid martial arts director. Just to name a few of his better known movies, he served in that role on Come Drink with Me, A Touch of Zen, The Big Boss and Fist of Fury. Here the combination of his style and Jimmy Wang Yu delivers. There is a real sense of trembling shock to the punches, and the fights never lose clarity or feel confusing. And there are some wonderful set-pieces, like a fight in an aerial lift. 

As I said in the introduction, Jimmy Wang Yu wasn't a martial artist like Bruce Lee. And people will often note this in reviews. I've noted it myself, but I think it can be unfair to compare him to Bruce Lee when there were so many actors in this genre who similarly came from more of an acting background and weren't dedicated martial artists. What makes Jimmy Wang Yu exciting in a fight is the explosiveness of his movements, the sense that he is unleashing barely contained rage and the ferocious expressions and poses. There is a quivering quality to his movements that makes him feel unpredictable and savage. His kicks might not be perfect his whole body is alive with agitation when he lands them. And he has a real sense of brawling in his fights. And it should be noted that Jimmy Wang Yu essentially started the Kung Fu blueprint that was later employed in films like Fist of Fury. 

In 1970, he directed and starred in the Chinese Boxer and many people consider this ground zero for the shift away from swordplay towards unarmed fighting in movies like King Boxer and The Big Boss. That he directed it is notable because it is his vision, and the DNA of that movie is present in many of the Kung Fu craze films that came after it. Many of the main tropes begin there. And like Lee or Cheng Pei-Pei, he is the kind of actor whose name on a movie will draw fans regardless. You track down Jimmy Wang Yu movies the way you track down Clint Eastwood, Michelle Yeoh or Arnold movies. 

In A Man Called Tiger, its balls to the wall Jimmy Wang Yu. There is plenty of story but the fights are ample, and have tremendous variety from a tussle with guys on motorcycles to the aforementioned aerial lift and a showdown with axe wielding gangsters in a private gambling tournament. And in the original Hong Kong cut there is a stellar opening montage of fights as well. 

A Man Called Tiger was a script originally intended for Bruce Lee, as Lo Wei had previously directed The Big Boss and Fist of Fury. But they had a creative falling out and Wei reworked the script. It seems like the final result was quite different from the screenplay intended for Lee. 

In A Man Called Tiger, Jimmy Wang Yu's thorny traits are on full display. He plays a man who infiltrates the Yakuza in Japan to learn who killed his father. Once inside the organization, he embraces his role as gangster, helping the boss regain lost territory, extorting local businesses, and even enforcing the mob's will against a fellow student of his father. 

There is also drama to carry the fights. It isn't as laden down with plot as a movie like The Tattooed Dragon. That is also a good movie but here the balance of story and action is better. The surrounding characters all add something to the movie too. He meets a number of people on his path to revenge, mostly women, and all of their narratives come together in the end.

Also this coming together of threads, provides plenty of stakes in the climax. Because we have all these women he has different types of relationships with, and at least half of them are have fathers somehow involved in the tournament, there is a real sense of peril and cost when things go down. I also just liked the individual characters and people who played them in the film. It is all fairly simple but it works, which I think is a Lo Wei hallmark.  

There is also something stylish about A Man Called Tiger. Plenty of movies from the 70s have a sense of style. Here it's perfect. Jimmy Wang Yu extorting money in a checkered suit just feels right. And the Japanese setting is also a nice change of pace.  

If you haven't seen it, definitely check out A Man Called Tiger. And if you can obtain it, I recommend the Eureka Blu-ray.