Fortress of Flesh and Blood

Fortress of Flesh and Blood

1938 · 98 min · Drama, War

Professor Lo Yeung-guo (Hou Yao) and his students escape death from the Japanese army, and call on villagers in the countryside to form a guerrillas group. His son Lo Yung (Lau Hark-suen), however, indulges in debauchery. Entrapped by the Japanese, chicken-hearted Yung leaks information about the guerrilla that leads to deaths and injuries in the group. Yeung-guo reprimands his son for being an invisible traitor, inflicting even more harm than an outright traitor. Placing righteousness before family, he decides to execute his own son. As a writer-director-actor in the film, Hou Yao proclaimed his unwavering stance on resistance on the screen, and delivered a scathing attack on the cowardly ‘invisible traitors‘ at that time. Not long after, Hou was sadly arrested and executed by the Japanese army in Singapore.

Directed by Hou Yao · Written by Hou Yao

Your Rating

Cast

Make it a double feature

3h 18m together

Fortress of Flesh and Blood

The Pearl Necklace

Both from Hou Yao.

More from Hou YaoSee all →

The Pearl NecklaceThe Pearl Necklace · 1926
The Pearl Necklace
★ 6.51926
MovieDramaCrime
A wife borrows a necklace for a party, and it is subsequently stolen. Her husband embezzles funds to pay for the loss, but he is discovered and arrested.
Romance of the Western ChamberRomance of the Western Chamber · 1927
Romance of the Western Chamber
★ 6.21927
MovieDramaRomance
Based on the classic Chinese play Romance of the Western Chamber, Way Down West follows the love story between a poor scholar and wealthy woman. Unable to marry due to their social status, this changes when a bandit attacks the monastery they are staying at demanding the woman's hand. Desperate, her mother promises her hand to whomever manages to defeat the bandit.
A Poet from the SeaA Poet from the Sea · 1927
A Poet from the Sea
★ 6.01927
MovieDrama
Hou Yao wrote, directed and starred in A Poet from the Sea (1927). It was shot in Stanley, Hong Kong. The surviving copy was only 23-minute long, but Hou Yao's romantic side was obvious through the scenic location and beautiful set-up. The love story between Poet (Hou Yao) and his lover (Lee Dan-dan) was pure and lyrical, a gem from China Sun Motion Picture Company (Shanghai) in the 1920s.
Mulan Joins the ArmyMulan Joins the Army · 1928
Mulan Joins the Army
★ 5.21928
MovieHistory
This epic version of the Mulan tale was an early epic, shot on location in Northern China using hundreds of extras. It is the story of Hua Mulan, a young woman who takes her fathers place in the army as he is unwell. She gains glory but must eventually deal with her deception.
Broken-heartedBroken-hearted · 1941
Broken-hearted
1941
Movie
After Hou Yao moved to Singapore in 1940, he continued to work for the Shaw Brothers under Malay Film Productions and made a handful of films, including Bermadu and Hanchor Hati, before being murdered in 1942.
The Person in the Boudoir DreamThe Person in the Boudoir Dream · 1925
The Person in the Boudoir Dream
1925
Movie
DivorceeDivorcee · 1924
Divorcee
1924
Movie

More Like This

The Last TrainThe Last Train · 1973
The Last Train
★ 6.61973
MovieDramaHistory
Two people, a Frenchman and a Jewish German woman, meet on a train while escaping the German army entering France.
The Old GunThe Old Gun · 1975
The Old Gun
★ 7.51975
MovieDramaHistory
In Montauban in 1944, Julien Dandieu is a surgeon in the local hospital. Frightened by the German army entering Montauban, he asks his friend Francois to drive his wife and his daughter in the back country village where Julien has an old castle. One week later, Julien decides to meet them for the week end, but the Germans are already occupying the village.
The TrainThe Train · 1964
The Train
★ 7.61964
MovieWarThriller
As the Allied forces approach Paris in August 1944, German Colonel Von Waldheim is desperate to take all of France's greatest paintings to Germany. He manages to secure a train to transport the valuable art works even as the chaos of retreat descends upon them. The French resistance however wants to stop them from stealing their national treasures but have received orders from London that they are not to be destroyed. The station master, Labiche, is tasked with scheduling the train and making it all happen smoothly but he is also part of a dwindling group of resistance fighters tasked with preventing the theft. He and others stage an elaborate ruse to keep the train from ever leaving French territory.
Flags of Our FathersFlags of Our Fathers · 2006
Flags of Our Fathers
★ 6.92006
MovieWarDrama
There were five Marines and one Navy Corpsman photographed raising the U.S. flag on Mt. Suribachi by Joe Rosenthal on February 23, 1945. This is the story of three of the six surviving servicemen - John 'Doc' Bradley, Pvt. Rene Gagnon and Pvt. Ira Hayes - who fought in the battle to take Iwo Jima from the Japanese.
U-571U-571 · 2000
U-571
★ 6.62000
MovieWarAction
In the midst of World War II, the battle under the sea rages and the Nazis have the upper hand as the Allies are unable to crack their war codes. However, after a wrecked U-boat sends out an SOS signal, the Allies realise this is their chance to seize the 'enigma coding machine'.
Number 24Number 24 · 2024
Number 24
★ 7.12024
MovieWarHistory
On the brink of the Second World War, a young Norwegian man's drive to resist the Nazis sets a new course for his future – and the future of his country.
Fort SaganneFort Saganne · 1984
Fort Saganne
★ 6.01984
MovieWarDrama
In 1911, a willful and determined man from peasant stock named Charles Saganne enlists in the military and is assigned to the Sahara Desert under the aristocratic Colonel Dubreuilh.
19001900 · 1976
1900
★ 7.81976
MovieDramaHistory
The epic tale of a class struggle in twentieth century Italy, as seen through the eyes of two childhood friends on opposing sides.
AtonementAtonement · 2007
Atonement
★ 7.62007
MovieDramaRomance
A young girl irrevocably changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sister's lover of a crime he did not commit.
Triple CrossTriple Cross · 1966
Triple Cross
★ 6.11966
MovieAdventureWar
Safecracker Eddie Chapman is languishing in prison on the island of Jersey when the Nazis arrive. An adept manipulator of situations, Chapman convinces the Germans to use him to spy on the British. And when the would-be traitor arrives home, he convinces the English to use him as a double agent -- in exchange for a full pardon.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter