Bullet Points: The Awaken Punch
On Episode 38 of The Bulletproof Podcast I referred to The Pearl River Collection as a “Kung Fu Movie Sommelier” and rightfully so… Pearl River’s first release, The Leg Fighters, was a movie I had zero knowledge of, but I rolled dice and picked it up, watched it and loved it.
The Pearl River Collection followed up The Leg Fighters with Dynamo, a movie I knew was awesome… making them two for two in my book. So it was a no brainer that I was going to pick up the latest Pearl River release, The Basher Box featuring new 4K transfers of 1972’s The Prodigal Boxer and the subject of this edition of Bullet Points, 1973’s The Awaken Punch…
- It’s Collection Time: The movie starts off with some gangster types collecting protection money from local shopkeepers and roughing them up and destroying their businesses if they are unable to pay… that is until Chiang Tai-Kang (Henry Yu Yang) steps in on behalf of the downtrodden shopkeepers and starts whooping some ass! It isn’t long before Chiang becomes “The People’s Champion” gaining a reputation for standing up to the criminal elements… he even saves a young woman, Jun Suen, from being gang raped by three scumbags.
- Promises, Promises: Jun Suen wanting to show her appreciation for what Chiang did for her, shows up at his place and does his laundry and cleans up his home… it seems like Jun may be a little sweet on Chiang, but before any romance can develop, Chiang gets word that his father is very ill and wants to see his son one last time before he leaves this mortal coil. Chiang hops on a train and goes to see his father and it is there on his father’s death bed that Chiang makes a promise to his father that he’ll look after his mother and his sister and the family farm and most importantly that he will give up fighting.
- Not For Sale: Chiang’s promise to his father is put to the test almost instantly. Chiang is at his father’s gravesite when a man known as Black Fan (San Kuai, Bruce Lee in New Guinea) shows up and tells Chiang that his boss would like to purchase Chiang’s land… Chiang in no uncertain terms tells Black Fan that the land is not for sale today or ever. Black Fan takes this news back to his boss, Mr. Wong (Tien Fang, Fist of Fury), who is obviously not pleased with this news and orders Black Fan to get him that land by any means necessary!
- Burn Baby, Burn: Black Fan and some of Mr. Wong’s goons pay Chiang and his family another visit, destroying some of their crops in the process… Chiang once again refuses to fight and to sell his land. This is about the time his sister’s boyfriend, Ying Ho, speaks up and suggests that they go to the law about this problem. Ying Ho hops on his bicycle and makes his way to the authorities… but he never gets there, in fact he almost dies on the train tracks after he is roughed up by Black Fan and the goon squad. When Ying Ho doesn’t come home, Chiang and his sister go out looking for Ying. Chiang’s sister finds a beat up Ying by the side of the train tracks and takes him home. And that’s about the time Black Fan shows up with some gasoline cans and lights Chiang’s family home on fire! Nobody survives…
- The Awakening: Chiang was still out looking for Ying Ho when the fire was set… he returns home and finds his entire family is dead and the old saying “promises were made to be broken” comes into play… which opens the door for some vengeance to be dished out in a major way. Chiang starts taking out the bad guys one by one, he even gets some help from Jun, who showed up in town looking for Chiang and unwillingly found herself working at a brothel owned by Black Fan’s brother, White Fan (Feng Tien, Bruce Le’s Greatest Revenge). But Jun is eventually used as bait to set up the final fight between Chiang and the master knife thrower, Mr. Wong!
The Pearl River Collection’s hot streak continues, they definitely know how to pick ’em… The Awaken Punch was my first look at Henry Yu Yang, who did a great job as a character who was always driven to do the right thing. Whether it was helping those in need or fulfilling his father’s dying wishes as difficult as it was. And when it was time to turn it up and go all vigilante on the bad guys, Henry Yu Yang delivered there too.
If there is anything I love as much as a good revenge tale, it is some Bonus Bullet Points…
- AKA: The Awaken Punch is also known as The Fury of the Black Belt and Village on Fire.
- If You Ever: …wanted to see a teeter totter used as a weapon in a kung fu flick, The Awaken Punch is the movie for you.
- Cameo: Be on the lookout for a cameo appearance from a young Jackie Chan.
- Stunt Coordinator: Yuen Woo-Ping served as the stunt coordinator for The Awaken Punch. Yuen went on to work on films like Drunken Master, Kill Bill: Vol. 2 and Kung Fu Hustle.
