Eastern Condors
7.8 /10 2 Votes
Language CantoneseEnglish | 7.4/10 IMDb Genre Action, Drama, War Duration Country Hong Kong | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Release date 9 July 1987 (1987-07-09) Cast (Tung Ming-Sun), (Man Yen (Rat) Chieh), (Cambodian guerrilla leader), Lam Ching-Ying (Lieutenant), (Szeto Chin), Cheung Kwok-Keung (Ching Dai-Kong)Similar movies Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones , Batman Begins , The Matrix Revolutions , Kill Bill: Vol. 1 , Shaolin Invincibles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Eastern condors promo
Asian POWs get a chance at freedom when the United States offers them a mission to destroy a secret depot of missiles in Vietnam.
Contents
Eastern Condors (Chinese: ) is a 1987 Hong Kong action film directed by Sammo Hung, who also starred in the lead role. The film co-stars Yuen Biao, Joyce Godenzi, Yuen Wah, Lam Ching-ying, Yuen Woo-ping, Corey Yuen and Billy Chow. The film was released in the Hong Kong on 9 July 1987.
It was set in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. Although set in Vietnam, the most of the film was shot in the Philippines. The scenes set in the United States were actually filmed in Canada. The ensembles of convict soldiers in the film are reminiscent of similar squads in American action war films like The Dirty Dozen. Hung believed his normal size and body shape, whilst suited to his comedic characters in his other films, would be inappropriate for a soldier. In order to get into shape for the lead role, Hung lost 30 pounds in 3 months, by surviving on a diet of nothing but chicken and rice.
A motley group of Asian prisoners held in the US are given one chance for freedom. They are to go deep into Vietnam and destroy a secret depot of missles that the US left behind during the pull-out. The group, led by Lt. Lam and convict Tung, hook up with a trio of female freedom fighters and a happy go lucky martial artist named 'Rat'. The entire group is captured by the VC because one of them is a double agent, but they escape, cross an un-crossable bridge, and get to the secret base just ahead of the VC. By this point nearly all of the original group is dead, and it's up to Tung and Rat to fight the VC's leader, a bizarre giggling man who's lightning fast with martial arts.
Plot
Lieutenant Colonel Lam is an American army officer given a top secret mission by the US military. The mission entails entering Vietnam to destroy an old American bunker filled with missiles before the Viet Cong can get to them.
Due to the dangerous nature of the mission, a group of Chinese American soldier convicts are selected to accompany him, led by Tung Ming-sun. Survivors are promised a pardon, U.S. citizenship and $200,000 each. After a brief training session they are dropped into Vietnam. During the jump, Lam learns too late that the mission has been aborted.
Once in enemy territory, they are met by some Cambodian guerrillas led by Godenzi and take refuge in a small town. There they meet Weasel (aka Chieh Man-yeh), and his mentally ill "Uncle", Yeung.
Later, the squad is captured and incarcerated in a POW camp, where the prisoners are forced to play Russian roulette in a similar manner to the film The Deer Hunter. After escaping, they discover that one of the Cambodian guerrillas is a traitor. With the Vietnamese military in pursuit, they are able to reach the bunker, where a final showdown with the (giggling) Vietnamese general occurs.
Cast
Awards and nominations
Home media
On 2 April 2001, DVD was released by Hong Kong Legends in the United Kingdom in Region 2.
References
Eastern Condors WikipediaEastern Condors IMDb Eastern Condors themoviedb.org