Xiao ao jiang hu (1990)

Director:

King Hu

Writers:

Louis Cha (novel) and
Man-Leung Kwan (writer)

Release Date:

22 May 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Action | History | Romance

Plot:

When a scroll containing valuable martial arts secrets is stolen from the Emperor, an army detachment is sent to recover it...

Plot Keywords:

Martial Arts | Swordsman | Kung Fu | Wuxia | Based On Novel

Awards:

2 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Samuel Hui	...	Ling Wu Chung
Cecilia Yip	...	Kiddo
Jacky Cheung	...	Au Yeung
Sharla Cheung	...	Ren Ying Ying
Fennie Yuen	...	Blue Phoenix (as Fanny Yuen)
Siu-Ming Lau	...	Ngok (as Siu Ming Lau)
Ma Wu	...	Lau (as Ma Wo)
Ching-Ying Lam	...	Kuk (as Ching Ying Lam)
Wah Yuen	...	Zhor
Shun Lau	...	The Eunuch
Ming Man Cheung	...	Luk Ta Yau

Also Known As:

Swordsman (Hong Kong: English title)

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

Hong Kong | Taiwan

Language:

Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Hong Kong:IIB | Singapore:PG | Germany:16 | South Korea:15

Company:

Film Workshop

Movie Connections:

Version of "Xiao ao jiang hu" (2000)

A classic, nearly as good as Swordsman 2

Since Swordsman 2 is one of my favorites, I was delighted to find part one finally released on DVD. It is nearly as good, even better in some ways.

If you have not seen either, start with this one and get ready to enjoy 4 hours of primo wuxia.

Too bad that the cast completely changed between the 2 films (except for the excellent Fennie Yuen as Blue Phoenix) Most of the players in part one are as good, and I even preferred Cheung Man as Chief Ying to Rosamund Kwan who takes over in part two. I do think Jet Li in 2 is far better than Sam Hui in this one. Jet copies Sam Hui's style and character well, but is far more athletic and intense which really helps the action scenes in part 2. Sam sings well at least, which is important considering how much singing of "Hero of heroes" there is in part one!

A note about the cast list above: Michelle Reis and Rosamund Kwan are NOT in this film. Kiddo is played by Cecilia Yip and Ying by Cheung Man.

A classic pair of films then. Too bad part 3, "The East is Red" was such a letdown. The first two films stand on their own though, so no real loss.

One warning, if you are new to wuxia or Hong Kong films in general you may find the action in these films often too fast and incomprehensible. Repeated viewing will accustom you to the pacing, as well as allowing you to savor all the rich density of the storyline and its numerous characters.