The Champion of Champions
It’s difficult to know exactly where to start with this one. First, probably, is that this film is currently only available in a 4:3 cropped VHS rip with subtitles that struggle to remain legible. It’s not the worst quality rip I’ve ever watched, but it definitely impacted the film’s comprehensibility. So take that into account.
The film’s biggest problem is its lack of specificity. When, exactly, does it take place? They mention ‘warlords’ and a plot to restore the Imperial government, which places it in the Republic era. But then scenes will take place in modern-looking conference rooms, or a character will wear stylish sunglasses. I don’t think these are Walker-style intentional anachronisms. More likely it’s just shoddy work on a low budget.
Who are the villains and what are they even up to? The film’s opening sequence shows some guys attacking a government building, and the elaborate military outfits of the folks in the building suggests that they are the villains and the attackers are righteous fighters. But confusingly the opposite is true. The bad guys never mention this attack again, why they did it, or what their goals might be beyond making someone Emperor…somehow.
And who, exactly, is our lead actor? Chin Han seems to work for the government, but beyond that he’s a total cipher. Is he a spy, as his out-of-time-but-stylish suits would suggest? We never know. And we know even less about the woman he spends most of the movie with, the daughter of a local warlord who he just happens to befriend. I don’t know that she ever even gets a first name.
The one part of the movie that is comprehensible is Lily Li Li-Li’s revenge plot. Sun Yueh killed her family and she wants revenge. Simple enough! Though we never learn anything about the acrobatic troupe she travels around with, how she met them, why they are so willing to die for her or, again, their names. No one in this movie has a name.
But the biggest mystery for me is who made this movie? Other than Chin Han and Lily Li Li-Li the rest of the cast and crew is entirely Taiwanese. This is not that odd, as Shaw Brothers regularly used this model when making films in Taiwan. But other than their presence there’s no indication that this film is associated with Shaw Brothers. The opening Shaw Brothers intro was clearly tacked on as part of the VHS release, and I didn’t spot Run Run Shaw’s name listed in the credits at all. There’s no “Another Shaw Production” end credit, either.
If it weren’t listed in The Shaw Story as one of the studio’s productions I don’t think I would have watched it. It’s only barely related to the studio’s output. It’s probably closest to Redbeard where Shaws lightly assisted with the production in return for distribution rights outside of Taiwan. But even Redbeard ended with the “Another Shaw Production” credit.
Ian Whitney
Published: 2026-10-11