Brother Liu and Brother Wang on the Roads in Taiwan

Brother Liu and Brother Wang on the Roads in Taiwan
Brother Liu and Brother Wang on the Roads in Taiwan
Traditional Chinese	王哥柳哥遊台灣
Simplified Chinese	王哥柳哥游台湾
Hanyu Pinyin	Wánggē Liǔgē yóu Táiwān
Hokkien POJ	Ông-ko Liú-ko Iû Tâi-oân
Directed by	Li Hsing; Fang-Hsia Chang (張方霞); Tien Feng;
Written by	Li Hsing; 慕容鍾（編劇）;
Starring	Shorty Cai [zh]; Li Guanzhang (李冠章); Ko Yu-Hsia [zh];
Cinematography	陳忠信
Edited by	Li Hsing
Music by	Chow Lan-Ping [zh]
Release dates	Part 1: February 7, 1959 (Taiwan); ; Part 2: February 19, 1959 (Taiwan); ;
Running time	155 minutes
Country	Taiwan
Language	Taiwanese

Brother Wang and Brother Liu on the Roads in Taiwan, or Brother Wang and Brother Liu Tour Taiwan (Chinese: 王哥柳哥遊台灣) is a Taiwanese Hokkien-language comedy film directed by Li Xing, Zhang Fang Xia and Tian Feng. It was released in 1959 as a two-part series. Part One premiered on February 7, 1959. Part Two premiered on February 19, 1959.

Plot

Wang and Liu, a plump shoeshiner and a skinny rickshaw driver living together in Taipei, see a fortune teller who states that the former will strike it rich in three days but the latter will die in 44. Wang indeed wins the lottery as predicted, causing Liu to fear for his life; in response, Wang decides to traverse the entire island of Taiwan with Liu before he dies. The duo encounter various situations and predicaments due to their lavish spending of their new wealth. Finally, they return to Taiwan as the predicted day of Liu's death approaches so he can spend his last moments with his girlfriend A-Hua. However, on the day of his death, he waits and waits until midnight, where the prediction is disproven and Liu stays alive. The next day, he happily marries A-Hua with Wang in tow.

Cast

Li Guanzhang as Brother Wang (王哥)
Zhang Fucai (Shorty Cai) as Brother Liu (柳哥)

Reception

One of the first Taiwanese-language films that was a comedy and used an original script (as opposed to Taiwanese opera), the film was a blockbuster and seven sequels were made as a result of its success.^[1]^[2]^[3] The main characters were often held in regard as a localization of Laurel and Hardy. The film was restored by the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute (TFAI) as an effort to preserve Taiwan's history of cinema.^[4]

Home media

DVD

Release Date	Country	Classifaction	Publisher	Format	Language	Subtitles	Notes
2012-05-31	Taiwan	All Regions	Hoker Records	NTSC DVD	Taiwanese	Traditional Chinese

References

^ Wang, George Chun Han (2011). "Brother Wang and Brother Liu on the Road in Taiwan - Parts 1 & 2 (Review)". In Garcia, Roger (ed.). Asia Laughs! A Survey of Asian Comedy Films. Udine: Centro Espressioni Cinematografiche. pp. 220–221.
^ "Brother Wang and Brother Liu Tour Taiwan" (PDF). Tayupian - Taiwan’s Lost Commercial Cinema. King's College London, Taiwan Film Institute. 2017.
^ Wang, George Chun Han (22 December 2022). "A Brief History of Taiwanese Comedy Cinema". Archiv orientální. 90 (3): 599. doi:10.47979/aror.j.90.3.595-616. ISSN 0044-8699.
^ Hua Meng-ching 花孟璟 (29 August 2017). "Taiwan's Laurel and Hardy return to the 'big screen' 花蓮放老電影重溫台灣懷舊影像". Taipei Times (in English and Chinese). Translated by Jones, Edward. Retrieved 2 May 2023.