The title sequence of ODD COUPLE features Sammo Hung on spear and Liu Chia-Yung on sword, and it's a tightly choreographed ballet, to be sure: both men are amazing to watch. When Sammo delivers a sign reading KING OF THE SWORDSMEN to blacksmith "Dog Face," it triggers a reaction from a pair of swordmasters who have just arrived looking to take on the finest swordsman in town. Sammo and Dog Face pit them against one another before Sammo reveals himself and sends them both packing. Liu, using his Poverty Spear, literally gives a wannabe assassin a close shave before his annual showdown with Sammo. Sammo, using his sword, relieves Liu of his eyebrows; Liu cuts off Sammo's beard- a draw. They each go in search of a student to train for the next ten years (at the end of which, the students will be pitted against one another to see whose kung fu is best). Here things get interesting, because Sammo and Liu both play the younger disciples of the two older masters. Sammo saves Liu from a trio of would-be protection men, then proceeds to convince him to be his student by burning down the younger man's house. Meanwhile, Liu recruits Ah-Yao, a ferryman (played by Sammo), after convincing Sammo to sink his own boat. The stage is thus set for a number of great fight scenes between the two stars. When the elder masters both die at the hands of Hsiao Pa-Ten, the inevitable showdown is set in motion.
Review of Odd Couple
