Friday, December 12, 1975

Conflicting Points: which performance got Philip Kwok noticed? And Marco Polo (1975)

Beyond a personal interview directly with KC, I doubt I'll ever get a clear cut answer on conflicting information.  The first of these is the movie and timeline in which KC was noticed by Lau Kar Leung who then pointed him out to Chang Cheh.  From there, Chang Cheh gave him his first big break in Marco Polo (1975) that even gave him an introductory title in the credits.
Marco Polo: Kuo Tsui - first of name changes to KC's stage name
The interview by Toby Russell in Eastern Heroes S.E. #5 says the movie was Shaolin Avengers.  The HK Cinemagic filmography says Boxer Rebellion.
Far Right: KC in BOXER REBELLION
Of course I'm apt to believe the interview which means it'd be Shaolin Avengers.  However, Shaolin Avengers is listed as 1976 while Boxer Rebellion is 1975(1) within the Celestial Pictures remastered list of Shaw Brothers films.  I haven't seen Shaolin Avengers yet, but I did scan through Boxer Rebellion for KC footage.
Because of how little he's featured in Boxer Rebellion, I could imagine this being accurate.  Until I see Shaolin Avengers, I have nothing to compare it to.  Of course, all of this could be cleared up if I could get an accurate timeline of production times for the movies(2).  If I am ever so lucky, updates will be made here.


I enjoyed this film mostly because it was the movie that gave Kwok Choi his first opportunity as one of the leading characters.  

I'm also always influenced by the costumes and hairstyles and the way KC looks matters to me.  For Marco Polo, I don't dislike his hairstyle, and I think it's the only time he's had his hair like this for any SB period piece.    

The costumes are simpler which probably reflects the time period of the story but also it's of the earlier pre-Venoms heyday of elaborate costumes which I love on him! 

My SB/KC checklist:
Role - Hero
Hair - braided crown, ponytail
Handsome/Charming scale - **
Weapon of choice - n/a
Dub v.o. - unknown
SPOILER:
Ending
lives; only survivor with Fu Sheng

111002-2306
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(1) Downloadable PDF doc
(2) This timeline says it is release dates not production dates but it does have BR as 1/29/76 while SA is 6/18/76.