The fourth weekend in October 1981 features five movies that barely exist

This one's pretty rough

It’s October 1981. It has always been October 1981. It will always be October 1981.

Or at least, that’s how this month feels when writing about it. Holy cow, there were a lot of movies. I have two more installments to go, including this one, and this particular piece of the October 1981 puzzle has got to be the most obscure of the bunch. The movies are largely forgotten, and there’s a reason for that.

Even so, I wanted to make sure we give all of these films their due, and so let’s dig right in and see what we’ve got to say about this particular fistful of titles…

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OCTOBER 23

Duel of the Century
Tony Liu, Elliot Ngok, Jason Pai, Sun Chien, Ku Juang-chung, Linda Chu, Ching Li, Tang Ching, Helen Poon, Ai Fei, Wong Rong, Walter Tso, Lung Tin-sang, Shum Lo, Cheung Ying, Gam Biu, Sek Gong, Ngai Fei, Cheng Miu, Yeung Chi-hing, Kwan Fung, Lau Siu-kwan, Lam Fai-wong, Chan Ka-kei, Alan Chan, Yang Hsuing, Fung King Man, Kara Hui, Yuen Wah
cinematography by Wong Chit
music by Eddie H. Wang
screenplay by Chor Yuen
story by Gu Long
based on the Lu Xiofeng series
produced by Mona Fong
directed by Chor Yuen
not rated
1 hr 34 mins

When one master swordsman challenges another to a duel, a detective is curious why these two old friends are suddenly on a collision course where one of them will die.

In 1981, there was still enough of a theatrical market for straight-up exploitation films that something like Duel of the Century could get a release in ten to twelve cities. This is deep cut Shaw Brothers programmer stuff, part two of a trilogy, and I’ve never seen the first or third films. No matter. I know of the Lu Xiofeng character, and this film feels entirely self-contained. This is wuxia swordplay mayhem wrapped around a procedural detective thriller, and it is a blast.

When you talk about wuxia, you’re discussing a wide range of stuff. Sometimes there are wildly heightened elements to the whole world, like wizards and magic powers and monkey kings. Here, you’ve got people roaming around the Chinese equivalent of the Old West, gunslingers who endlessly challenge each other to prove themselves, with powers that are just slightly beyond what any real person can do. At a certain point, all these swordmasters have to look forward to is constantly having to wait for the next swordsman to come through the door, looking to make a name. Even so, it makes no sense for Ye Gucheng (Jason Pai) and Ximen Chuixue (Elliot Ngok) to announce their intention to duel at the start of the Mid-Autumn Festival, set to take place on the rooftops of the Forbidden City. They are famously cool with each other, and they’re both already revered for their mastery of the sword. What could they possibly have to gain from this fight?