The Eunuch
A surprisingly fun and well-made wuxia!
Probably the first film directed by Lo Wei assistant Teddy Yip Wing-Cho.fn1 New to the sorts of roles that get you listed in the credits, Teddy Yip had actually been at Shaws for a little bit by this point after following his father, screenwriter Yip Yat-Fong, into the family business several years earlier.
The father and son worked together for two Left Wing studios in Hong Kong, dad writing and son assisting anyone who would teach him. When dad switched to the Right Wing studio Shaw Brothers (an uncommon move), Teddy followed and quickly teamed up with mentor Lo Wei.
Teddy Yip had a long career in Hong Kong, working variously as and actor, director, producer, production manager and more. More often than not he worked with either Lo Wei or Sammo Hung, two relationships that started at Shaw Brothers; all three men were involved in making The Eunuch. Lo Wei wrote and appears briefly, while Sammo only has a brief but excellent cameo.
Though he directed just 13 films during his 34 years in the industry, The Eunuch suggests that Teddy Yip could have had a solid career had he chosen to stay put in the directing chair. He juggles the mix of emotion, action, special effects and character development well. The fights, of which there are many, are clear and well staged. And even in this fairly fight-heavy wuxia there’s still time for the cast and characters to shine.
The film is blessed with a fantastic supporting cast and an outstanding lead villain. As the bickering bamboo-wielding masters Yang Chi-Ching and Yung Yuk-Yi are a lot of fun. But Pai Ying as the titular Eunuch overshadows them all. In both villain and hero roles Pai Ying excelled at appearing imperious, calm, and in control. All skills he puts to great use here, bringing a sharp evil edge to a darker-than-usual wuxia plot.
I’m curious how Pai Ying ended up in the film. He mostly worked in Taiwanese films and really only worked with Shaws regularly once they set up a subsidiary studio on the island in the mid 70s. For this earlier film they must have made a special arrangement, one designed to capitalize on the popularity of Dragon Inn and Pai Ying’s role as a similarly nefarious eunuch in that film.
The Taiwan connection between this movie and Pai Ying is interesting. Not long after this film’s production many of the key staff depart Shaw Brothers for Golden Harvest. And The Invincible Eight, the first Golden Harvest movie, was shot in Taiwan by basically the same crew that made The Eunuch. Lo Wei directs, Sammo on action choreography, Teddy Yip as assistant director, and Pai Ying in the cast. I wonder how much of that movie was planned while they were making The Eunuch?
fn1: He worked on an unreleased film The Girl of Ghost Valley, but I don’t know if that was before or after The Eunuch
Ian Whitney
Published: 2026-05-12