Return of the One-Armed Swordsman

Dir: Chang Cheh

1969

*****

Chang Cheh’s original One-Armed Swordsman paved the way for a new-wave of wuxia films and was a big hit for the Shaw Brothers, so a sequel was ordered fairly quickly. Director Cheh returned as did Jimmy Wang in the title role and Lisa Chiao Chiao as his wife. The story takes place some time after the events of the first film and the One-Armed Swordsman is now a farmer who lives peacefully with his wife working his land. While working his field one day he is approached by two men, a white and a black sword master. They invite him to a challenge on behalf of their masters, the Eight Sword Kings who are challenging the masters of all rival schools in an effort to take over the martial arts community. Any that refuse are murdered by the Eight Kings' twin enforcers, the Black and White Knights. Our one-armed hero tells them he’s never heard of them and tells them to leave. A local martial art school then visit Fang Kang and warn him that the Eight Sword Kings will not take no for an answer, they too don’t want to fight but decide it better to join forces and fight, rather than suffer the consequences. Fang still refuses. However, after capturing all the rival masters, the Eight Kings deliver an ultimatum; all the rival schools' students must cut off their sword arms and surrender the severed limbs to the Eight Kings, or the students' beloved teachers will all die.The students return to the legendary One-Armed Swordsman and ask his help, but he remains reluctant. When one student kidnaps his wife to force him to help he becomes enraged and goes after them but encounters the Eight King’s men. He finds his wife’s kidnapper dead and another pupil gives his life to save her but is is only convinced into helping them when a student actually does sacrificially chop his own arm off in despair right in front of him. With his wife’s blessing, the One-Armed Swordsman then prepares himself to contend with the unique styles and weapons of the Eight Kings. The first king is the Winged Blade (or Flying Dragon in another translation dub) who uses his speed and leaping prowess to attack from the air. One-Arm bests him and his students with a variety of ground-based traps. The second is Hooking Blade who wields a chained sickle. One-Arm defeats him by hanging him by his own weapon from a tree, allowing him to eviscerate him. Then he encounters Buried Blade who hides in pits before leaping out to ambush his opponents. One-Arm bests him by chopping down bamboo to pin down his students and then standing atop the trunks, keeping him out of reach of Buried Blade's attacks to stab him with a bamboo spear. Next is the Whirling Blade who wields a pair of bladed bucklers which can also be thrown as projectiles. He waits at the entrance of the King’s school. One-Arm catches the blades on his sword and flings them back at their owner, slicing through him like butter. Mighty Blade uses his immense strength and giant two handed sword to overpower his opponents. After luring him outside the Kings' fort, the students drop a net over him to restrain him as they mutilate him. Thunder Blade wields smokebombs and a sword whose blade conceals a smoke sprayer and a shotgun. After using water to douse the smoke, One-Arm uses a cloth shield to block the pellets before cutting him down. Thousand Blade (or One Thousand Fingers) the only female King uses her sexuality to lull her targets into lowering their guard before killing them with the many knives concealed in the sleeves of her robe. After failing to seduce One-Arm, she is fatally stabbed by one of the students she seduced and wounded. The Unseen Blade (the Unseen) the leader of the Eight Kings uses deception and distraction to confuse his opponents along with a collapsible sword whose blade can extend during battle and also has a hidden hook. One-Arm uses his skill in close range combat and left handed sword fighting to get inside Unseen's range and slice off his sword arm. In the end the One-Armed Swordsman defeats the Eight Kings and their armies, but by that time all of the sword fighting students who were helping him are dead. He leaves the last King, Unseen, to be killed by their vengeful masters as he and his wife return home. Return of the One-Armed Swordsman is an example of a sequel preceding the original. The title character had already been developed at this point, so really Cheh could just get on with telling a new story, which is what he does without wasting any time. The various different characters are brilliant – most wuxia films have one or two great villains, this film has ten, each one as colourful as the last. The fighting sequences are amazing with loads of wire work and trampoline stunts, keeping the action flowing constantly. It is as epic as a small-set studio film could ever be, with action taking place in various different locations. Its not just the best One-Armed Swordsman film but it’s one of the best wuxia films of all time. Fang is a complex hero – almost an antihero and the villains are serious enemies and not cartoonish. There is no feeble attempts at humour and all the supporting characters have depth to them. The direction is perfect, in fact, everything is perfect, even the script – which is something that is often pretty weak in martial arts movies. The original One-Armed Swordsman was hugely influential but its follow up really paved the way in terms of fighting scenes, character development and just plain awesomeness. If you don’t like Return of the One-Armed Swordsman then the genre just isn’t for you.

One-Armed Swordsman

Dir: Chang Cheh

1967

****

1967’s One-Armed Swordsman is the big wuxia film produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio that is considered the one that popularized the genre. It is, arguably, Hong Kong's first real martial arts film and the first of a new style of wuxia films emphasizing male anti-heroes, violent swordplay and heavy bloodletting. It’s funny, while the western world is still struggling to make films that feature a more diverse cross-section of society, martial arts films were featuring disabled heroes decades ago. Directed by Chang Cheh, it was the first Hong Kong film to make HK$1 million at the local box office, propelling its star Jimmy Wang to super stardom. This film became the first in the One-Armed Swordsman trilogy. A sequel was released in 1969 called Return of the One-Armed Swordsman, followed by The New One-Armed Swordsman in 1971, all directed by Cheh. The One-Armed Swordsman also met the legendary Zatoichi in 1971 in Kimiyoshi Yasuda’s Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman, starring the great Shintaro Katsu. The film begins as the Golden Sword school is attacked by bandits. The servant Fang Cheng sacrifices his life to protect his master Qi Ru Feng. In gratitude, Qi accepts the dying Fang Cheng's son, Fang Kang, as his student. Years later, Fang Kang is scorned by his snobbish fellow students because of his poor background. Deciding that he will only cause trouble for his master Fang Kang leaves the school only to run into his classmates and his master's spoiled daughter, Pei Er. In the ensuing fight Fang's right arm is cut off by Pei Er, who is angry at his indifference towards her. Stumbling away, Fang falls off a bridge into the passing boat of a peasant girl Xiao Man. Xiao Man nurses him back to health and the two fall in love. Fang Kang is nevertheless depressed as he is unable to practice his swordsmanship. Reluctantly, Xiao Man gives him a half-burnt kung-fu manual which she had inherited from her now dead parents. With its help, Fang Kang is able to master a new one-armed style of swordplay, making him stronger than before. Meanwhile, master Qi Ru Feng is preparing for his 55th birthday and has invited all of his students to the celebration to choose a successor from among them so that he can retire from the martial arts world. However, his old enemies the Long-armed Devil and the Smiling Tiger Cheng are taking the opportunity to destroy Qi Ru Feng. Using a specially designed "sword-lock", they ambush and kill Qi's students travelling to the celebration. Fang Kang inadvertently learns of the plot and, breaking his promise to Xiao Man not to involve himself in the martial arts world, rushes to save his master. He is delayed en route by the Long Armed Devil's accomplices and when he arrives the Long Armed Devil has already killed most of the students and wounded Qi Ru Feng. In a vicious battle, Fang Kang manages to kill the Long Armed Devil, but chooses to return to Xiao Man and become a farmer, instead of taking his master's place at the school. There is much to appreciate about Chang Cheh classic picture. For starters, I loved how the film removed all traces of humour, concentrating only on serious drama. Far too many of the Shaw Brothers films are, in my opinion, ruined by feeble attempts at comedy. I also liked the character development and the way our anti-hero goes about his unintentional revenge. For sure he kills a lot of people but his real revenge does not involve death. For instance, he actually saves Pei Er’s life out of respect for her father, his greatest revenge on her is to admit his indifference towards her. Other bandits who continuously bully him regarding his disability are also not attacked and killed, instead, our One-Armed Swordsman defends himself, cutting off their hands and making them just as disabled as he is, giving them the chance to better themselves as he did. The only frustrating element of the film is the supporting fighters. The students, we are told, have been learning their martial arts since early childhood. They learn what to anticipate and how to react accordingly. So when the Long-armed Devil and the Smiling Tiger Cheng turn up with their new weapon, you would think they’d quickly learn how it worked and how dangerous it was, especially after witnessing around thirty or so people (their brothers and loved ones) being killed by it. Of all the good things I learned from the film, the one negative was that most martial artists are impulsive and stupid – two things I always thought martial artist were very much not. Still, the film is intense and picturesque. Hugely influential, the One-Armed Swordsman is rightly regarded as one of the best and most important marital art film ever made.

Five Deadly Venoms

Dir: Chang Cheh

1978

***

I think out of all the Shaw Brothers films, I like the ones directed by Chang Cheh the most. The story and concept behind 1978’s Five Deadly Venoms remains a firm favorite, however, I felt that the film itself never quite reached its full potential. The story begins with the dying master of the powerful Poison Clan (who is sitting in a pot of boiling water for no obvious reason). He tells his last pupil, Yang Tieh, that he regrets teaching him all of the various combat styles because it meant that he never truly mastered any of them. He then sends him on a crucial mission. Worried that the skills he has taught are being used to evil ends, he orders Yang to trace a retired colleague, Yun, and warn him that the fortune he amassed from the clan's activities is under threat from five of his former pupils, each an expert in his own lethal combat style. Yang must discover the whereabouts and true identities of these masked warriors, and decide which, if any, he can trust to join him in his mission. The five pupils are the Centipede, Snake, Scorpion, Lizard, and Toad. Centipede and Snake were the master's first and second pupils and they knew each other. Lizard and Toad were the fourth and fifth pupils respectively and they knew each other but Scorpion, the third pupil was unknown to the other four members. Before he dies, the master teaches Yang the strengths and weaknesses of each style. The Centipede is wriggly and quick, this style is a nice blend of defensive and offensive posturing. The strikes are so fast that it is almost as if he has a hundred arms and legs. The weakness of this style is to attack both the opponent's upper and lower body in a simultaneous assault. The Snake - On one hand: the mouth, venomous fangs emulated in precise finger motor control, designated to aim for the target's vulnerable spots with pin-point accuracy. On the other: the stinging whip of a rattling tail. Masters of this ability can even fight extremely well while lying on their back from the floor. The weakness of this style is to stop the "head" and "tail" (the opponent's two arms) from combining, as neither the head nor tail can function well individually. This usually meant pinning the two limbs, at an angle, as far away from each other as possible. The Scorpion represents a double threat. Kicks from the Scorpion style are just like the stinging tail of the namesake. When delivered by a master, a single kick can paralyze or even kill, let alone the strong pincer-style attack of the arms to contend with. The weakness in this style is not clearly revealed as Yan Tieh is cut off from his explanation but one can assume (by watching The Scorpion in his bout with Yan Tieh and The Lizard) that it would be to stay out of reach of The Scorpion's damaging kicks and make him come to you. The Lizard style has an emphasis on speed and gravity. It is best known for the ability to walk on walls, and can fight with ease from such positions, even maneuver in such a way that can rebound off such sources to both dodge assaults as well as strengthen own attacks. The Toad is primarily a defensive pose. The Toad is invulnerable to just about any form of damage, including blades and puncture. They can even bend solid metal. The weakness of this style is that any master of the Toad style has a "weak spot" that when punctured, drains the user's Toad style benefits (most notably the iron skin.) This particular Toad’s weak spot are his ears but many thought the way to discover the weak spot in one's Toad style was to use an iron maiden. Yang Tieh arrives in the village just in time to see the Centipede and the Snake go to the Yun family house to steal the money. They murder the entire family when Yun refuses to divulge the location of his fortune. A witness sees the Centipede at the house. Later, the Scorpion investigates the scene and retrieves a hidden map. The Lizard, working as a policeman, recruits the Toad to help arrest the Centipede. After the Centipede is arrested and charged with murder, the Scorpion tells the Snake to frame the Toad for the murders. The corrupt judge sends the Lizard away on government business. The Snake pays an officer to make the witness commit perjury. The Toad is framed by the witness, who tells the judge that he saw the Toad at the scene of the crime. Toad refuses to confess, and his kung fu initially makes him invulnerable to their torture. The Snake devises a torture device to counteract it. When this fails, the Scorpion secretly cripples the Toad with darts to his weak spot (ears). Subjected to further torture, the Toad passes out, and his signature is forged on a confession. The Centipede is acquitted of the murder charges and goes free. The officer suffocates the Toad and hangs him in the cell as if he committed suicide. The Centipede and Snake kill the witness and the corrupt officer. Two Chinese policemen in the restaurant tell the Lizard what happened to the Toad, the witness, and the officer while he was gone. The Lizard's supervisor, Chief Constable Ma, encourages him to forget the issue, but the Lizard refuses. Yang identifies the Lizard, teams with him, and together they practice techniques to defeat the others. As Yang and the Lizard prepare to confront the Centipede and the Snake, the chief constable joins them. During the fight, he reveals himself as the Scorpion and reveals that he intends to kill everyone and keep the Yun fortune for himself. The Scorpion fatally injures the Snake and bribes the Centipede into helping him. Yang and the Lizard defeat the Centipede, and the Snake helps kill the Scorpion before he, too, dies. Yang and the Lizard retrieve the Scorpion's map from his corpse, vowing to use the fortune for good to restore the reputation of the Poison Clan. I’m going to be frank about this cult favorite. Most of the film is like a bad episode of Colombo and Agatha Christie gone wrong. The ninjas have skills but tact and subtlety aren’t two of them – which is a little ridiculous when you think about it. We know exactly who each man is from the beginning but the film still insists on making a thing of their identity reveals towards the end. It is one of the most predictable films I’ve ever seen – which is what is so frustratingly silly about the whole thing. Yang Tieh comes across like a Hong Kong version of Robin Askwith and the plot is thinner than the fake beards half the cast seem to be wearing. The film is really at its greatest when the gang starts fighting. The film is inter-cut with loads of slowed-down action sequences that sees the venoms walking on walls and kicking crockery in mid-air while wearing their individual animal masks. The masks are brilliant, indeed, it is the visuals and the fighting that make this such a great film, it’s only the plot, acting and script that let it down. I’m not a big fan of remakes, film makers should always make something new and original, but, I would love to see a serious modern remake of Five Deadly Venoms.

The Boxer from Shantung

Dir: Chang Cheh, Hsueh Li Pao

1972

***

Chang Cheh's Shaw Brother's Production The Boxer from Shantung is full of kung-fu action but it's not a great example of the director's or the studio's best work. It is the classic tale of one poor man's rise to the top, with the exception that this poor man doesn't turn to crime as such but tries to expel it while also enjoying the life of a mob boss. The martial arts action sequences are strong but just that little too relentless, the constant screaming and shouting becomes quite irritating and the mindless fighting overpowers the story. Of course this is a martial arts film but it all get a little too much too soon. That said, the final fight scene is gloriously lengthy, absolutely overcooked but in the best possible way. It is a scene typical of many classic kung-fu movies, better than most but overall the film doesn't have a stand out scene of its own. Chen Kuan-tai's performance is commanding though and he carries the film well on his own shoulders. Overall the film could be said to have influenced many a martial arts film since (2004's Kung Fu Hustle and 2006's The City of Violence in particular) and many of assistant director John Woo's films. The cinematography is strong but I fail to see why the film is regarded as the classic it is, although I've always liked the Mario Milano appearance where he plays a Russian heavyweight fighter who simply stands there as local wannabe hard men take turns to punch the living daylights out of him before he simply unfolds his arms, picks them up and throws them across the room. Worth watching for the last half an hour but with the sound down, as the endless shouting will get on your nerves.