And the results are nothing short of incredible, epic entertainment. The Yang men have been all but wiped out, so when the bad news comes that Commander Yang has fallen, his grandmother She Tai Chun (Lisa Lu) does the only thing a respectable patriot can do: she leads what remains of the Yang family - 14 widows and her teenage grandson (for some reason played by Lily Ho Li-Li) - into battle. The Yang family has fought in every war to defend the Song Dynasty, but this patriotic family is not without its share of losses. They comply against their wishes to stay and help him, and here the film introduces us to the titular female characters. Understanding his fate, he sends two of his generals, Chiao Ting Kuai (Fan Mei-Sheng) & Meng Huai Yuan (Wong Chung-Shun), to travel home to inform his family of his death and to ask for more troops to be sent to the border. We open on the battlefield as Commander Yang Tsung Pao (Chung Wa) is wounded and cornered without many options. The film specifically tells the story of how the Yang family defended the western Song borders from the invading barbarians from Western Xia. The 14 Amazons is based on the Generals of the Yang family group of stories that have been passed down through Chinese culture since as early as the 11th century. But to compare the two films is wrongheaded, as they complement each other instead of being in competition. Where The Water Margin is a small slice of a larger tale (and it feels it), The 14 Amazons feels meatier and more contained (even though it is also part of a larger story). The two films are epics of different proportions, though, and feel almost nothing alike. The 14 Amazons is a true Shaw epic, bringing together a large ensemble cast and a well-known, classic Chinese tale just like The Water Margin had done a few months earlier in 1972. Starring Ivy Ling Po, Lisa Lu, Lily Ho Li-Li, Yueh Hua, Fan Mei-Sheng, Wong Chung-Shun, Lo Lieh, Tien Feng, Wang Hsieh, Shu Pei-Pei, Wang Ping, Lau Ng-Kei, Karen Yip Leng-Chi, Li Ching, Tina Chin Fei, Ou-Yang Sha-Fei, Wong Gam-Fung, Betty Ting Pei, Teresa Ha Ping, Chen Yan-Yan, Lin Jing, Bolo Yeung, Goo Man-Chung, James Nam Gung-Fan, Tin Ching, Paul Chun Pui, Yeung Chi-Hing, Cheng Miu, Chung WaĮxpectations: Very high.