“The 14 Amazons” originally came out in Hong Kong back in 1972, months after the OTHER epic Shaw Brothers film of the year, The Water Margin, had been released. Of the two, only “TWM” made it to the U.S. (albeit, it was combined with [the sequel] “All Men are Brothers” in a heavily reworked overhaul by Roger Corman that came to be known as “Seven Blows of the Dragon”), and its [co-]direction by the great Chang Cheh helped to make it a favorite among many fans of martial arts movies. Back then, could “TFA” have made the Pacific leap (preferably intact)? It’s hard to say, but now, with Funimation taking up from the collapsed BCI (like Funimation, it was a Navarre company, so the switch-over had to be painless) fifteen classic Shaw films for domestic reissue, fans have a chance to see what was so special about a movie that did great box office in Hong Kong (number four for the year) and won some major Asian film awards. I say, it’s deserving of all the hype!…Of the many reviews online for “TFA”, I recommend reading Andrew Pragasam’s write-up on The Spinning Image site as HIS is the best at summarizing how great the movie is (with a load of good trivia included)! After that, I can tell you that this is similar to “TWM” in that it was adapted from an old story (“The Yang Heroes”); here, the women of the Yang family take up arms against invading barbarians after the son of the matriarch (Lisa Lu), a general, is killed in battle with his men (excepting two survivors, played by Paul Chun Pui and Fan Mei Sheng, who warn of the advancing enemy). The emporer would rather bargain with the barbarians than fight them, so the women round up an army of their own and set off against impossible odds (due to the small number of troops gathered up at short notice)….”ONE YEAR IN THE PREPARATION…..TWO YEARS IN THE MAKING!” is how the original trailer (not on the DVD) describes “TFA”, and all that effort shows up favorably on the big screen. Beyond a few technical points, this holds up very comparably to “TWM”, and sometimes, it OUTDOES “TWM” by the sheer spectacle of it all, especially with the violence. (One of the action directors, Cheng Hsiao Tung, would later choreograph House of Flying Daggers.) On the surface, it could be seen as a work of “feminism” or even as a counterpoint to Cheh Cheh’s movies that emphasized brotherhood (“yang gang”) and [mostly] kept women in small supporting roles, but it is more about FAMILY honor than anything else. (The Yang women are as tight-knit as the Yang men are, it’s no stretch to guess.) Like Mr. Pragasam, I see the moments that remind me of old John Ford westerns (Pragasam cites Ford’s “calvary” trilogy), as well as “Westward the Women” (1951), where the bond between the women never breaks through lean times as they fight against the barbarians; Cheng Kang (who co-directed with Tung Shao-yung) did craft a nuanced script for this!…The cast is big, including many ladies we’ve seen in other Shaw pictures, such as Ivy Ling Po, Lin Ching, Karen Yip and Wong Chin Feng, but special mention MUST be given to Lily Ho; she won an award at the ’73 Asian Film Festival for “outstanding lead female performance” by playing a…BOY. Yes, the subtitles to the Mandarin soundtrack are not in error; she is the last surviving Yang male in this. Compared to Cheng Pei-Pei in Come Drink with Me, the moment you first look at Ho, then discover she’s supposed to be a BOY, and look at her AGAIN, there’s no illusion to believe in the first place! Despite this, she does very well in the part, especially if you perceive her (more plausibly) as the youngest LADY of the clan! (For this specific mistake, be it in casting or the story, I deduct a “star” from my rating.) Also in the cast are Yueh Hua, Tien Feng, Lo Lieh, James Nam, Goo Man Chung, and look for Bolo Yeung and Yuen Baio in bit roles. Even [Alexander] Fu Sheng is an extra in this movie, but as the action gets very busy by the great number of people involved in many scenes, I couldn’t spot him if I tried! (He IS readily found in some publicity stills, so it’s no rumor about his involvement.) Overall, this is an epic that has a lot going on with a lot of characters to follow (like “TWM”, too), so more than one look at this will help you appreciate it, but that initial watching will stun you, even with the few bits that can be only described as OUT OF THIS WORLD (no spoilers)!…The picture on this Funimation DVD is 2.35:1 anamorphic and quite lush (better on your TV than a computer); the English dub is decent, but the Mandarin dub (with subs) is much better. No “extras” here (not counting “coming attractions”), but as fine as the feature is, you can manage without any. For those who love the big Shaw epics, and Lily Ho, this is to be gotten with all due speed! I’m looking forward to more Funimation/Shaw DVDs in the future!…All the best, Brother Fang.