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Summary
A series of moving-picture show -The Brave Archertrilogy - is essentially the martial arts motion-picture show genre ’s very ownThe Lord of the Rings . Set in the fictional world of Middle - earth created by J.R.R. Tolkien , Peter Jackson’sThe Lord of the Ringsmovies exist amid a ocean of fantasy motion picture , yet stand apart from their coeval in a bit of way . concentrate on an ensemble casting and met with critical acclaim , The Lord of the Ringsfilms are known for the extremely nuanced mankind and characters it fetch to life , not to cite the epic escapade level that developed across three moving picture .
Martial arts films have been eff to paddle in the fantasy genre and the populace - buildingThe Lord of the Ringshas become celebrated for , but hardly ever liken to anything associated with that dealership . Interestingly , though , there is at least one serial of movies - which in reality predatesThe Lord of the Ringsby decades - that draws a lot of parallel of latitude to Jackson ’s celebrated moving-picture show . Shaw Brothers , remember as the top studio apartment in the Hong Kong martial arts movie manufacture , produced a serial publication of three films that fans ofold school kung fu moviescan passably regard as the genre’sThe Lord of the Rings .
The Brave Archer Trilogy Is Based On “The Lord Of The Rings” Of Chinese Fantasy Novels
Shaw Brothers tapdance Chang Cheh , the studio ’s top director , to helmThe Brave Archer , which was to serve as an adaptation ofThe Legend of the Condor Heroes , a democratic novel written by Louis Cha in the tardy fifties . standardised toThe Lord of the Rings , Cha ’s books are be intimate for existing in a fully take in fantasy world , terminated with massive hurl of characters , unequaled conception , and exciting battle . The difference is that Cha ’s books are classify as wuxia , a phantasy subgenre where the stories are set in a fictionalized version of ancient China and apply martial arts styles as the crux of the matter of the action .
The Brave Archerkicks off as a story about two brothers who develop up singly after their parents exit ; Guo Jing , the poor boy of the movie , is brought up by the Seven Freaks , a group of trouble - making characters perceived as villains in the martial fine art world . Meanwhile , Yang Kang winds up being adopted into a noble family . Eventually , Guo Jing hit out on his own and embarks on an adventure expectant on action and fantasy element , step by step growing more powerful along the way of life . The two brothers ' varying experience and viewpoint put them on a collision line and see them make new friends and enemies over the form of the trilogy ’s event .
The characters boast in Louis Cha’sThe Legend of the Condor Heroeshave also had their chronicle recite in various Chinese TV show .

Adding to the comparison between the two franchises is the approach taken with its casts . Both were ensemble supported by a combination of upcoming and A - list names in their several industries . The Brave Archerfilms were headline by Alexander Fu Sheng , one of thebiggest kung fu movie actorsof the late 1970s and 1980s . They also featuredall five members of the Venom Mob , a group of actors who starred in a farseeing list of Hong Kong soldierly artistic production motion picture . give them even more star mightiness were the plus of Ti Lung ( one of Shaw Brothers ' big martial arts headliner in the 1970s ) , Kara Hui , Dick Wei , Wang Lung - wei , and Ku Feng .
Movie Title
Alternate Title

Release Year
The Brave Archer
Kungfu Warlord

1977
The Brave Archer 2
Kungfu Warlord II

Custom image by Simone Ashmoore
1978
The Brave Archer 3
Blast of the Iron Palm

1981
How The Fourth And Fifth Brave Archer Movies Connect To Chang Cheh’s Trilogy
Two other Shaw Brothers films have caused some degree of confusion in terms of how they connect to the trilogy . After all , one of them -The Brave Archer and his Mate- once again star Alexander Fu Sheng and has been refer to asThe Brave Archer 4.However , it ’s crucial to note that it ’s more of a spinoff than a proper subsequence . It ’s specify in the same existence , but concentrate on a group of mostly new character and adapts another Louis Cha novel , Return of the Condor Heroes . That said , it does wed intoChang Cheh’strilogy , in that it - albeit briefly - wraps up plotlines fromThe Brave Archer 3and include Guo Jing ( but not as the primary graphic symbol ) .
In an unexpended cast choice , The Brave Archer and his Materecasts Guo Jing with Phillip Kwok and has Alexander Fu Sheng play a fresh character , Yang Guo .
The fifthBrave Archermovie , Little Dragon Maiden , has much loose joining to Chang Cheh ’s trilogy . Also known by the title ofThe Brave Archer 5 , 1983’sLittle Dragon Maidenacts as another adaptation ofReturn of the Condor Heroes(same asThe Brave Archer and his Mate),and recasts Guo Jing for the second prison term by giving the role to Chen Kuan - tai . Among its few links to the trilogy is that Ku Feng repeat the role of Hong Qigong , whom he play in the first film . But while it just feels like a sequel to its forerunner , it does encounter with the same world that the first three motion picture inThe Brave Archerseries wreak to the expectant screen .

All three instalment inThe Brave Archertrilogy can be purchased from Apple TV+ , or rain cats and dogs with a subscription to Shout ! Factory .
