Dirty Ho 1979

Master Wang, Gordon Liu Chia-Hui, is the 11th prince of Manchuria living undercover as a refined jewellery dealer and a connoisseur of art and wine. He has no interest in the throne and savors a peaceful, cultured life, yet he is drawn into a perilous game to figure out which of the other 14 heirs is plotting to assassinate him. A true martial arts expert, he deliberately masks his skills to keep his true identity hidden, even as he quietly trains and prepares to defend himself if needed. His cool intelligence and elegance contrast with a world of intrigue where every gesture could be fatal.

An infamous jewel thief named Ho Ching, also known as Dirty Ho, enters this dangerous orbit and ends up clashing with Wang. The two men square off at a brothel, each trying to outwit the other—Wang with legitimate jewels and Ho with stolen loot. Ho, not the sharpest blade in the drawer, keeps misreading the tranquil, refined prince as a coward, only to stumble and fall as Wang deftly dodges and defeats him with calculated moves. When the law arrives to arrest them, Wang displays his royal seal to the captain, who orders Ho to be detained temporarily and then released at a later time. Ho is arrested again when he tries to reclaim his stolen jewels, only to be freed once more by Wang’s intervention. The rivalry blends humor and menace, with Wang maintaining a serene façade while quietly steering events from behind the scenes.

In a pivotal turn, Wang engineers a dramatic stratagem to unmask his enemies: he enlists the help of a poised female musician, Choi Hung, Kara Wai Ying-Hung, who becomes his supposed bodyguard. This elaborate ruse uses her movements and musical instrument as a concealed weapon, guiding a confrontation with Ho and enabling Wang to keep Ho out of real danger while keeping his own true abilities under wraps. The ruse is only part of a larger plan to shield Ho—the troublemaking yet good-natured ally—from his own worst enemy, a fate he cannot foresee.

Ho, initially unaware of Wang’s hidden prowess, gradually becomes a devoted student once Wang administers a life-saving antidote in exchange for Ho’s loyalty and tutelage. This partnership shifts the balance of power as Ho endures two life-threatening attempts on Wang’s life: one at a wine-tasting and another inside an antique-dealer’s shop. Each encounter showcases Wang’s cool precision and Ho’s growing trust, with Wang managing every crisis while maintaining the illusion of a harmless, aesthetic discussion.

The duo then embarks on a perilous journey to Beijing, with Wang disguised and wheeled forward by Ho. They confront a onslaught of assassins in a ruined city and extract from their leader the identity of the Prince who seeks Wang’s demise—the Number Four. This revelation funnels them into a final, epic clash with General Liang Jing Cheng and his captains, a sequence that tests their skills to the limit.

As the throne room finally opens, the Emperor appears, and the fate of the heirs hangs in the balance. Ho stands outside the door, passing Wang a necklace of beads on the pole used during the fight; the Prince deftly uses the beads to launch Ho into the air, sealing Wang’s triumph. The film closes on a freeze-frame of Dirty Ho mid-air, a playful nod to the ruse, the loyalty, and the unlikely friendship that sustained them through a labyrinth of danger and deception.