Pluskylang Great Film overall

Numerootno A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

gorthu Made in 1970, the Shaw Brothers really went all out on this one. Ku Feng stars as a Mongolian King who is famous for his great army, and his 13 sons. David Chiang and Ti Lung are his favorite sons. Chen Sing plays a warlord who doesn't like Ku Feng and his sons, at all. I don't really want to give anything away, so I will just say that the story is very well done, and the fight scenes are awesome for 1970. David Chiang looks sloppy, but with all the stuntmen on hand and Tong Gai and the Lau Brothers doing the action, you can expect greatness in a lot of the action scenes. The battle sequences are truly epic. There had to be like 200-300 deaths in this movie. Like I said, David Chiang doesn't look all that good, but luckily Ti lung is on hand and gives an amazing performance. This was one of Ti Lung's first big roles , and he really makes the most out of it. The rest of the cast includes Cliff Lok, Lily Li, Lo Wai, Lau Kong, musclemen Cheng Lui and Bolo Yeung, Bruce Tong, James Nam, Wang Chung, Chin Han... the list goes on and on. David Chiang's last scene of the movie is one you will never forget. The final fight I thought was disappointing with how it was handled, but if they could have made the final fight better then this movie would get a 10 star rating from me.

phillip-58 It's hard to add much to the other comments except to say that this is a very good film indeed. Yes the special effects look as cheap as the back lot sets but the actions ring true and as is the Asian film way heroic deaths seem preferable to a happy ending. David Chiang starts out as a carefree character ('Drunken Brother') but on the way to a bloody death has a touching understated romance, defeats Bolo Yeung in single combat and becomes someone you really care about. Just also to say a big thank you to Celestion for re-releasing this great film in such a good DVD print. Well worth watching. Ti Lung's rescue of his father is a classic fight against overwhelming odds and nearly succeeds. Shaws seem to have half of China as extras in this one scene alone. Production values in terms of interior sets and costumes were high, and a special word for the lovely dancing girls.

veganflimgeek First Let me say there is a real valid arguement that if you like serious good kung Fu movies you must own a region free DVD player. It's worth it. The celestrial picture re-issues alone make the money well spent. The heroic ones one of the films in this series that I was lucky enough to rent today. The recent region 3 re-issue is remastered so well that my friends who watched it with me did not believe me that the film was from 1970.Heroic ones is a must see for fans of high quality martial arts epics. The director was clearly trying to a eastern western feel with the opening credits,even the music. This brutal epic has massive battle scenes that are the size of big hollywood epic. Great half an hour battle with one man fighting hundreds. Good stuff.

Brian Camp THE HEROIC ONES (1970) is a large-scale 2-hour historical costume adventure set at the time of the Tang Dynasty in which the 13 sons of Tartar King Id fight on the side of the Emperor against assorted rebels. Directed by Chang Cheh, it's less a kung fu film than a fast-paced swashbuckler with a higher body count than any similar Hollywood epic. King Id is played by frequent Shaw Bros. villain Ku Feng, while his two favorite sons are played by David Chiang and Ti Lung, who would pop up as a team in several later near-epics also directed by Chang. The action centers around a campaign by the 13 sons to wipe out a rebel faction. The family is undermined, however, by treachery within the ranks when two of the sons, jealous of the 13th prince (David Chiang), make a secret alliance with a court member in league with the rebels. The twists and turns which follow culminate in a tragic and bloody ending. It's a spectacular, fabulous-looking production with a large cast, massive sets, lots of action and bloodshed, and a compelling story. While they weren't the Shaw Bros. studio's greatest kung fu stars, Ti Lung and David Chiang were both agile, athletic and energetic, twirling their swords, lances and spears with great flourish and fervor, and making superhuman acrobatic leaps with the help of convenient stuntmen. Other familiar Shaw Bros. actors appear in smaller parts, including Billy Tang, Lily Li and strongman Bolo Yeung (who is subdued and captured by the slender David in one far-fetched encounter). Be aware that subtitled prints have dramatic scenes and extended dance segments missing from the English-dubbed version, while the English-dubbed version has action scenes missing from the subtitled print.