During Japan’s occupation of Korea, a Taekwondo school does everything it can not to rock the boat in a tense situation. The adopted son of the teacher, though forbidden to learn, secretly picks up the skills and when expelled from the school, goes out to seek his fortune. He quickly becomes a favourite of the occupying Japanese as he visits different Korean schools in the area and embarrasses their respective masters. In a last ditch attempt to stop him, his former teacher sends out his best student to confront him while his daughter – who both men are in love with – joins the journey to bring the traitor to his senses.

While Hong Kong and Taiwan dominated martial arts cinema in the 70s, other countries like South Korea were keen to add their efforts to the collective. While they would go on to supply some of the genre’s great stars, the actual productions rarely came close to the films that inspired them. Yet seeing the first two names on the cast list above is intriguing to say the least; two of the greatest kickers going boot-to-boot a few years before they would become bigger names in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, despite the sheer talent that this pair have, ‘Black Dragon River’ is a pedestrian effort that just about holds the viewer’s interest but little else besides.

There is some novelty to be had from seeing Hwang Jang-Lee with short hair and as a hero, but considering what the director has to work with, this hardly seems enough. Made in 1976, the year that ‘Secret Rivals’ would revolutionise the industry by making bootwork a wonder to behold, ‘Black Dragon River’ is nowhere near as daring and turns two legendary kickers into arm-flailing antagonists for much of the story. There is a degree of drama in this story of redemption but it’s not constructed with any great care and can hardly make up for the lack of sparkle in the choreography. As a curio, it’s worth visiting, but other than a ‘Before They Were Famous’ piece, there is little to recommend it.

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Andrew Saroch

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