Film / The Long Chase

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The Long Chase is a 1971 Shaw Brothers Wuxia film starring Yueh Hua and Lo Lieh.

Kou-ying, an assassin (Yueh Hua) is on the run after killing a corrupt magistrate. The Imperial Court wants him captured, dead or alive, and the Imperial Officer, Fan Yi (Lo Lieh) - who was also the bodyguard of the murdered magistrate - is being held responsible for the arrest. Should Fan Yi succeed in arresting the assassin, he will be promoted, or else he will be expelled from the Imperial Court. But as both men confronts each other repeatedly, they start developing a sense of mutual respect.

The Long Chase contain examples of:

• Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene: After the finale, when Fan Yi's arrival ends up assisting Kou-ying defeating the bandit legion, there is a scene where both men, despite being enemies, decide to spend a night having dinner in the lonely tavern, as Kou-ying decide he will simply turn himself in to the authorities in exchange for Fan Yi's assistance. The scene is rather long, dramatic, and surprisingly poignant, especially minutes after an intense and massive battle scene where dozens upon dozens of bandit mooks get killed onscreen.
• Action Prologue: Kou-ying's assassination of the corrupt magistrate, and subsequently fighting off the magistrate's bodyguards before taking on Officer Fan Yi in an extensive, one-on-one duel before making a quick getaway.
• Back-to-Back Badasses: At one point in the final battle, Kou-ying and Fan Yi together against hordes of bandit mooks.
• Catch and Return: When fighting the bandits, one of the bandit lieutenants tries to ambush Kou-ying by throwing three daggers at him. Kou-ying instead catches all three daggers (two with both hands, and one with his teeth), and flings all three back at the thrower. The bandit lieutenant dodges though, so instead Kou-ying ends up killing three unfortunate bandit mooks.
• The Cavalry: At the end of the movie, Kou-ying has to battle the Bandit Chief and the other half of the bandits' ranks, single-handedly, when Officer Fan Yi and a platoon of Imperial soldiers arrives. They initially intends to capture Kou-ying but end up unintentionally helping by battling the remaining bandit horde.
• Dirty Coward: The Bandit Leader in the finale; when he realizes majority of his minions are either killed by Kou-ying, Fan Yi, or the Imperial troops, he immediately leaps on his horse tethered to a nearby post and makes a run for it, coming back the following day for a Post-Climax Confrontation.
• Enemy Mine: During the forest scene, Fan Yi and Kou-ying are forced to put their differences aside when being ambushed by hordes and hordes of bandits. That is the first sign of Fan Yi developing a sense of respect for Kou-ying, which culminates in him eventually deciding to resign his position as an Imperial Officer so that Kou-ying may escape.
• Final First Hug: Between Kou-ying and Hsueh-Niang, after Kou-ying decide to surrender to the authorities. Subverted because ultimately Fan Yi decides to let Kou-ying go instead.
• Friendly Enemy: Fan Yi the Imperial Officer towards Kou-ying the assassin. Despite the former being assigned to have the latter captured, dead or alive, when they meet each other in a tavern, Fan Yi is more than eager to accept a toast from Kou-ying before they have a chat.
• Handy Cuffs: Kou-ying in the final scene, being ambushed by the bandit remnants while handcuffed, kills one of them by choking him with his cuffs.
• Improbable Aiming Skills: Kou-ying when it comes to throwing projectiles, either knives or darts. In the final battle against the bandits he packs a pouch containing at least twelve darts with him, and uses all of them, NONE which missed their intended targets.
• In a Single Bound: Both Kou-ying and Fan Yi, thanks to Wire Fu.
• Inspector Javert: Officer Fan Yi will chase Kou-ying all the way to heaven and hell to have him arrested. Subverted when Kou-ying saves Fan Yi's life near the end of the film, at which point Fan Yi decides to instead give up his position as an Imperial Officer and be a wandering swordsman instead.
• I Owe You My Life: This is the reason which makes Fan Yi abandon his intention of arresting Kou-ying, choosing to leave his life as an Imperial Officer behind in the process.
• Ladder Tipping: In the climax, Kou-ying noticed Hsueh-Niang being tied on top of a very tall tower in the middle of the bandit camp, and has to scale a tall ladder to reach her. Numerous bandits immediately try to make him fall by pushing the ladder over. Kou-ying barely survives, nearly being crushed by the ladder in the process.
• Nice Girl: Hsueh-Niang, the tavern owner's daughter and a waitress, ends up falling for Kou-ying.
• One-Man Army: Kou-ying can take on hordes and hordes of faceless extras, and win. In the climax he single-handedly carves a bloody chunk through the bandits' ranks, killing dozens upon dozens of them before engaging the bandit chief on personal combat.
• Pinned to the Wall: The deadly version occurs late in the film when Kou-ying kills one of the Elite Mooks by throwing the sword he has in hand toward the latter, which also resulting in the opponent being Pinned to the Wall, after launching the latter to the wall behind the throne.
• Roaring Rampage of Rescue: Hsueh-Niang gets captured by the Bandit Chief and his minions near the end of the film, in an attempt to force Kou-ying out of hiding, leading to Kou-ying mounting a daring, one-man assault on the bandits' hideout.
• Sword Fight: Between Kou-ying and Fan Yi (multiple times), and later the two of them against the bandits.
• Sympathy for the Devil: After multiple interactions, Fan Yi starts realizing Kou-ying, supposedly a bloodthirsty killing machine and a wanted murderer, isn't as bad as the Imperial Court depicts him to be, even developing a respect of sorts for the man he's supposed to capture.
• Throwing Your Sword Always Works: Kou-ying kills one of the bandit generals by launching the latter to the wall behind the throne before throwing a sword his way, impaling him and pinning him to it as a result.
• "Wanted!" Poster: After the opening scene, the very next morning Wanted Posters depicting Kou-ying are displayed all over the city streets, necessitating Kou-ying to flee to the countryside and stay low.
• Weapon Specialization: One of the Elite Mooks uses a whip instead of a sword, giving Fan Yi a rather tough battle.
• What a Drag: In the final confrontation when Kou-ying and Fan Yi have to face the Bandit Leader and a handful of remaining bandits, Kou-ying is subjected to this treatment as a bandit lassos him and drags him behind a horse until Fan Yi kills that bandit and forces the horse to stop.
• Worthy Opponent: After spending much of the movie's first half fighting-cum-bantering between each other, Kou-ying and Fan Yi seem to have developed mutual respect for each other, despite starting off on opposing sides.