Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
IMDbPro

The New One-Armed Swordsman

Original title: Xin du bi dao
  • 19711971
  • RR
  • 1h 38m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
1.6K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
45,799
3,097
Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman (1971)
ActionDrama
Lei Li lost his right-arm in a sword duel with the master of a martial arts school, long ago. Now, he is able to defend himself well with just his left arm, and kung fu techniques. That he p... Read allLei Li lost his right-arm in a sword duel with the master of a martial arts school, long ago. Now, he is able to defend himself well with just his left arm, and kung fu techniques. That he proves with just the help of his friend Chung-Chieng, when he crosses his path with a beaut... Read allLei Li lost his right-arm in a sword duel with the master of a martial arts school, long ago. Now, he is able to defend himself well with just his left arm, and kung fu techniques. That he proves with just the help of his friend Chung-Chieng, when he crosses his path with a beautiful girl in need, Pao Chiao. Even against impossible odds, he will prove a great warrior.
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
1.6K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
45,799
3,097
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Cheh Chang
    • Writer
      • Kuang Ni
    • Stars
      • David Chiang
      • Ching Lee
      • Lung Ti
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Cheh Chang
    • Writer
      • Kuang Ni
    • Stars
      • David Chiang
      • Ching Lee
      • Lung Ti
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 11User reviews
    • 10Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
    • Awards
      • 1 win

    Photos38

    Ching Lee in The New One-Armed Swordsman (1971)
    Ching-Ho Wang in The New One-Armed Swordsman (1971)
    Ching Lee in The New One-Armed Swordsman (1971)
    Ching Lee in The New One-Armed Swordsman (1971)
    Ching Lee in The New One-Armed Swordsman (1971)
    Ching Lee in The New One-Armed Swordsman (1971)
    Lao Shen in The New One-Armed Swordsman (1971)
    Lung Ti in The New One-Armed Swordsman (1971)
    Ching Lee in The New One-Armed Swordsman (1971)
    The New One-Armed Swordsman (1971)
    David Chiang and Lung Ti in The New One-Armed Swordsman (1971)
    David Chiang, Lung Ti, and Ching Lee in The New One-Armed Swordsman (1971)

    Top cast

    Edit
    David Chiang
    David Chiang
    • Lei Li
    Ching Lee
    Ching Lee
    • Ba Jiao
    Lung Ti
    Lung Ti
    • Feng Junjie…
    Feng Ku
    Feng Ku
    • Lung I Chih
    Sing Chen
    Sing Chen
    • Chen Chun Nan
    Chung Wang
    Chung Wang
    • Chin Feng
    Kuang Yu Wang
    Kuang Yu Wang
    • Fan Yun He
    Pei-Chi Huang
    Pei-Chi Huang
    • Chen Jie
    Kang Liu
    Kang Liu
    • Jin Yi
    Lei Cheng
    Lei Cheng
    • Ching I
    Ching-Ho Wang
    Ching-Ho Wang
    • Boss Li
    Kang-Yeh Cheng
    Kang-Yeh Cheng
    • Lung's Disciple
    Shih-Ou Chang
    Shih-Ou Chang
    Ti-Ko Chen
    Ti-Ko Chen
    Chun Chin
    Chun Chin
    • Chieftain Lin Shing
    Tien-Chu Chin
    Tien-Chu Chin
    Siu-Loi Chow
    Siu-Loi Chow
    • Extra
    Yun-Kin Chow
    Yun-Kin Chow
    • Extra
    • Director
      • Cheh Chang
    • Writer
      • Kuang Ni
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Du bei dao wang
    7.2
    Du bei dao wang
    The One-Armed Swordsman
    7.3
    The One-Armed Swordsman
    Five Shaolin Masters
    6.6
    Five Shaolin Masters
    The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter
    7.4
    The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter
    The Heroic Ones
    6.5
    The Heroic Ones
    Duel of the Iron Fist
    7.0
    Duel of the Iron Fist
    Five Fingers of Death
    7.1
    Five Fingers of Death
    The One Armed Swordsmen
    6.2
    The One Armed Swordsmen
    Dynasty of Blood
    6.8
    Dynasty of Blood
    Heroes of the East
    7.6
    Heroes of the East
    The Water Margin
    6.5
    The Water Margin
    Crippled Avengers
    7.3
    Crippled Avengers

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Connections
      Featured in Chop Socky: Cinema Hong Kong (2003)

    User reviews11

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    A Nutshell Review: (DVD) The New One-Armed Swordsman (1971)
    I can't remember the details behind the reason why Wang Yu left the franchise, but Chang Cheh replaced him with David Chiang in the titular role, and of course it's a totally new character, having his own motivations and background, as compared to Yu's Fang Gang.

    Written by Ni Kuang (author of HK's popular Wesley science fiction series), the new one- armed swordsman is now Lei Li (Chiang), an arrogant young swordsman whose specialty is his "yuan-yang" double swords. A hotheaded, up and coming hero, a diabolical plot was hatched by Lung I Ching, a veteran swordsman in the martial arts world, to keep these young upstarts at bay. With his three-joint-poles, which always seem to defy gravity, he schemes and manages to duel with Lei Li, defeating him and caused Li's arm to be chopped off.

    Herein lies the difference between this One Armed Swordsman, and the original Fang Gang. Fang Gang had lost his arm because someone else hacked it off in a fit of rage. Here, Lei Li actually gambled with his arm - the loser of the duel would have to remove it, and retire from "society". While Fang Gang had to learn his martial arts all over again, Lei Li was already skilled with his left hand, because he was originally ambidextrous. Also, Fang Gang's weapon of choice is his father's iconic broken sword, Lei Li doesn't seem to have any preference, and could fight with any.

    While there is a token romance with the daughter of a village blacksmith, the introduction of a special sword didn't seem to auger well, and it didn't last - it lacked something special, be it emotions or prowess, and seemed too generic. Anyway, I can't help but to chuckle at Ti Lung's character Feng Chun-Chieh, also a young upcoming swordsman who uses two swords. Chun-Chieh and Lei Li formed a sense of brotherhood when the former protected the latter from bullies, only because the latter doesn't wish to use his martial arts skills anymore. They become fast friends, but from the way their scenes were shot - the numerous hugs, back-slapping, arm holding, eyes longing, you might be expecting one of them to say that if only he knew how to quit the other.

    That aside, you'd come to expect the usual ketchup blood laden violence which have become the hallmarks of Chang Cheh's swordfighting movies. Here, it doesn't get any less bloody, and scenes can be quite graphic with the numerous decapitations of limbs, and one really interesting decapitation of half a human body, across the waist.

    There are plenty of set action pieces, like that iconic fight on the bridge with many footsoldiers simultaneously. Scenes like these are what Tarantino adopted in his homage Kill Bill double feature, where the hero goes on an unstoppable roaring rampage. Though I must admit the introductory fights don't contribute much to the plot - just there for the sake of showing off what Lei Li can achieve.

    All in all, it's great fun, just to watch what our parents were watching as they grew up, and comparing these films to the standards of today. While cheesy, the good old classics stand out for their groundbreaking effort in those days, to bring us what has evolved till now.

    Code 3 DVD contains minimal extras, just one trailer, a photo gallery, the original poster, one general paragraph passing off as production notes, a biography and selected filmography of the cast and crew.
    helpful•6
    0
    • DICK STEEL
    • Jun 11, 2006

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 7, 1971 (Hong Kong)
    • Country of origin
      • Hong Kong
    • Official site
      • Official site (France)
    • Language
      • Mandarin
    • Also known as
      • Triple Irons
    • Filming locations
      • Hong Kong, China
    • Production company
      • Shaw Brothers
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 38 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman (1971)
    Top Gap
    What is the English language plot outline for The New One-Armed Swordsman (1971)?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    The Best Movies and Shows to Watch in August
    See the full list
    View list
    List
    Fall TV Guide: The Best Shows Coming This Year
    See the full list
    View image
    Photos
    These Stars Are on the Rise
    See the gallery

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Back to top
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more access
    Sign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.