In brutal martial arts drama Vengeance!, David Chiang embraced the blood-soaked aesthetic of filmmaker Chang Cheh
- Republic-era martial arts drama Vengeance! pushed David Chiang close to superstar status despite the film’s hideously violent action scenes
- The lead actor was not a typical martial arts hero as he was small and slim, but the director liked his Bond-like quality, and had his character fight in a suit
Suave and cool David Chiang Da-wei was already well known for his work on Chang Cheh’s sword-fighting films when 1970’s Vengeance! was released, but the martial arts drama set in China’s Republican era pushed him close to superstar status.
The film’s success, and David Chiang’s own career, were helped by his best actor win at the 16th Asian Film Festival in Jakarta, a festival which was then a highly influential showcase for movies from the region.
The win came as a surprise to all.
“I didn’t dare think about winning it,” David Chiang told the Post in an interview in 1970. Chang also took the prestigious best director award at the festival for Vengeance!, the first time a Hong Kong director had received an award in that category.
Vengeance! is an interesting work among the 90-plus films the director made. He had made his name directing hit sword-fighting films such as One-Armed Swordsman (1967) and Golden Swallow (1968) for Hong Kong production company Shaw Brothers, but felt that the genre was already in decline, and was looking for something new.