Dirty Ho

Directed by Lau Kar-leung for Shaw Brothers, this film follows the eleventh prince of Manchuria, who conceals his identity and lives as a jewel merchant. He has no interest in becoming emperor and likes his quiet life, but is forced to work out which of the throne's other fourteen heirs is trying to have him killed, and binds a famous jewel thief to him as a bodyguard after poisoning him. The film's central conceit is choreographic: the prince is a master fighter who systematically hides his skill to protect his cover, meaning he does kung fu while pretending not to know kung fu, with the fights concealed inside rituals of politeness such as serving tea, tasting wine and examining antiques. In its most celebrated sequence he uses a woman musician almost as a puppet to thrash his opponent while appearing to do nothing at all. Lau Kar-leung was not only a filmmaker but a genuine Hung Gar master and a third generation student of the legendary Wong Fei-hung, meaning he descended from the very lineage those films dramatize. The English title is a literal transliteration of the Chinese, but because it acquired a crude connotation in English slang that the original never had, it is considered one of the genre's most misleading titles, since the film is in fact a master and student comedy. Who it's for: Admirers of kung fu cinema's choreographic craft and of films that fold fighting into comedy. Who it's not for: Not for viewers wanting a serious, hard edged martial arts drama, since this is playful and funny throughout.