225 of 1001 Movies: Come Drink With Me (1966)

This 1966 Hong Kong movie features so much gore and action. Almost as much as any modern movie I've seen. Supposedly, Quentin Tarantino himself is doing a remake of the movie. It makes sense considering this seems to be some of his interest, but honestly this movie doesn't need a remake, and it is like a slap in the face to the original director, King Hu. This movie does have it's not so great moments, but overall it's a nicely done film that feels edgy for 1966.

Summary: After a general's son is kidnapped he ask that Golden Swallow (yes that is her name), help to rescue him. Golden Swallow seems to be doing her martial arts disguised as a man though, unless my subtitles were just badly dubbed. Anyways, she is sent to rescue the son from the bandits that have kidnapped him. Her first encounter leads her to a bar, and then to a monastery where she finds she might need some back up from a local drunk, Fan Da-Pei. He has his own secrets though that gain them both insight and access to the world the bandits live in.


Acting: What I do like about the movie is that it has a really kick butt female leading it. Chin Pei-Pie was only 19 when she got this role, and I have to say she played it really maturely, and honestly seems like one of the best actors in the whole movie. I just love how she depicted the strength of her character. There is some terrible acting that steps this movie down a few notches though. like Yueh Hua who plays the drunk beggar. He has singing moments that are just awful, and he doesn't have many acting skills either. Then there is the cast of bandits who don't seem too strong either in what they do.

Filming: The movie does have some really pretty stage set ups. I loved the forest shots, especially where the beggar's home is built into the setting. It gave that whole romantic vibe needed for the scenes between him and the tough female character. The action scenes though aren't always really captured well. In some spots where it was edited the scenes just looked really fake as if they were barely hitting each other in the first place.

Plot: The plot is very simple and easy to keep up with thank goodness. You probably have to glance at the subtitles once or twice to know what is going on. I thought though that Golden Swallow was such a wasted character. She starts off as this tough, kick butt, female ordering liquor at a bar to only be side lined by the end. It feels like the plot spends a whole hour and a half to build up to the end to only be quickly rushed when a major fight scene finally is brought in. The plot does feature the most gore I've seen in a movie from the 60's though with chopped off hands, and squirting blood.

Come Drink With Me might be for those who really are into martial art movies. It doesn't have the strong acting, nor the best shots of the fighting that I've seen. It  does have a very simple story though and some beautiful scenery to look at. I just felt the lead female character was wasted though, and by the end I felt she wasn't even the lead character as I was mislead to think.

Rating 6 of 10.