The Blood Brothers - David Chiang (1973) - nr Wong Chuk Yeung, Sai Kung

The Blood Brothers is a Chang Cheh bare-chested male actioner (he was very much into that sort of thing) that is loosely based on the assassination of Ma Xinyi - a Hui Muslim official who was involved in the eventual suppression of the Taiping rebellion in the later stages of the Qing Dynasty. In the film, Ma is played by Ti Lung and the story is told in flashback as his assassin, Chang Wen Hsiang (David Chiang), is brought before the courts and writes his confession before sentence is pronounced.

In the film, Ma's assassination is a direct result of his affair with Chang's sister-in-law and the subsequent plot and murder of her husband, Huang Chang (Chen Kuan-tai). Whether or not this is true remains unknown, but historically Chang Wen Hsiang was indeed the man caught immediately following the assassin. What isn't really known is the true motivation, so Chang Cheh has used a significant amount of artistic license, as usual.

Anyway, the first location is taken from Chang's reminisences as he recalls for the court when he and his brother first met Ma. They are bandits waiting in the hills for unsuspecting victims and Ma happens to ride by on his horse but is too skilled for them to rob him. HK film fans will already be familiar with this location because it is the same place used for later films such as The Young Master, Mr Vampire and Snake in the Eagle's Shadow. This is the former open area close to where the Firetower now stands near Wong Chuk Yeung in the Sai Kung hills.