Ma Ge Bo Luo (1975)

Accompanied by his uncle, the Italian traveler Marco Polo is granted an audience with the Mongol Khan Kublai in China. The guests are entertained with a martial arts tournament. Later, Polo is appointed governor of Yangzhou and is given permission to travel to various parts of the country. Two Han Chinese warriors, Jin Dian and Zu Jianming, try to break into the palace to kill Kublai, but are repelled by three of the emperor’s skilled warrior-fighters and die in the ensuing fight. The Mongols, led by Polo, capture Jianming’s wife, Wang Rong, but fail to obtain any information from her about the attempt on the emperor’s life. While she is being escorted to Yangzhou, Wang Rong is rescued by Jianming’s four sworn brothers—Li Xiongfeng, Zhou Xingzhong, Huang Zonghan, and Chen Jie. Together, they travel to Tiandao Village to study martial arts under the village chief, Wang Dao, a renowned martial arts expert who is also Wang Rong’s father. Meanwhile, after learning that Jianming’s wife and his associates have found refuge in Tiandao, Polo pays the village chief a visit. He suspects something, but decides to take no action until later. Several months later, Polo plans to send a detachment of warriors to attack Tiandao, but first he visits the settlement once more. Upon arriving, he witnesses festivities organized by the villagers. The Italian is greatly impressed by the Han Chinese people’s determination to overthrow their Mongol tyrants, so he warns them of the impending raid. Using the skills of warriors who have mastered martial arts, and using Polo as a hostage to draw some of the troops away, the villagers succeed in repelling the attack. During the battle, Jianming’s sworn brothers defeat three Mongol warriors and avenge their brother’s death.