Zhang Che transitioned from the swordplay subgenre with this ultraviolent revenge drama set against the (relatively) modern backdrop of China's early republican period. David Jiang and Di Long, Zhang's preferred pairing of heroes throughout the 1970s, star in their first film together: Di as a dignified Beijing Opera performer whose murder at the hands of a corrupt local cabal launches his mysterious brother-a relentless, wraithlike Jiang-down the path of bloody retribution. Vengeance! heralded the rise of 1970s kung fu and radically revised narrative and stylistic templates at the Shaw Brothers' studio. A somber paean to male honor, Vengeance! is energized by Zhang's unfailingly inventive representation of violence, which drew homage from both Bruce Lee and John Woo. Zhang combines expressive widescreen camera angles, dynamic editing, and breathtaking use of slow motion to forge a stylized depiction of mayhem unrivaled outside Peckinpah's Westerns.